Chapter 1

MYSTIC HOLLOW  

Homicide 

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BY NAOMI INNOCENT 

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CHAPTER 1

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"Sarah is growing up, don't you think?" Her dad asked as her mom touched her chin. She didn't say a word as they had their breakfast. 

"Just yesterday, my little toddler had become a grown up girl" her dad said as she got fed up and placed her ear phone on her ears till they finished having breakfast. 

Sarah Bellos walked out of her dad's mansion, carrying her bag pack at her back, she stopped at their open corridor that would pass for a mini parking lot and operated her iPad. 

Her driver and four guards walked out of the mansion as the driver headed to her limo. Two guards stood close to it while the other two went to coax her to enter the limo so she would not be late for school. 

"Sarah, your limo is ready" the first guard told her. 

She lifted her head and stared at the both of them for a while. She shook her head sideways and continued operating her iPad. 

"Sarah please, since you started Mystic Hollow High School, you've refused going to school with your limo. What's the issue? Your parents are worried" Miss Zoe, her female guard said as Sarah didn't bother to lift her face and spare her a glance. 

Zoe took a peep at what she was doing with her iPad, seeing she was solving  Geometry, she shook her head sideways. 

"Sarah, you'll be late for school!" Zoe told her, almost in a snap but she managed to contain her rage. This time she lifted her face and glanced at her as she glanced back at her watch almost immediately. 

It was exactly 7:00Am. 

She squated and did arithmetic on the ground and it ended at 10.12

She smiled and stood up as she placed her earphone carefully on her ears and started trekking to school which was some miles away. 

'Such a crazy girl.' 

"What did she just do?" The first guard asked Zoe who bent down and studied the arithmetic she solved on the ground. 

"Simple arithmetic, it ended at 10.12. Which means by 10:12Am, she'll be in class" Zoe told him and he nodded and stood akimbo. 

"This kid is one weirdo" he said and shook his head sideways. 

"Come on. We better go tell Mayor Bellos that she refused again" Zoe said standing up as she and the other guard walked into the mansion. 

They got to the spacey parlor of the mansion, Mrs. Bellos was knotting Mr. Bellos tie as they conversed. 

"Is Sheriff Ruth attending the meeting?" Mrs. Bellos asked and he gave a fake grin. 

"Yh, it's more like a Mystic Hollow thing. You know the Homicide is getting out of hand and.... 

He didn't finish his speech when Zoe interrupted the both of them. 

"Mayor Bellos? " she said and bowed as the other guard did same. 

"Don't tell me Sarah refused going to school with  her limo again" Mayor Bellos said as both guards bowed their heads. 

"I was told you were the best Zoe, that was why I hired  you. You can't do your job properly? Well if you can't, there are lots of trained guards out there that would do better and be glad to seize this golden opportunity" he yelled at them angrily as they kept their heads bowed. 

"Honey,  honey, it's ok. You know how Sarah is. She's just one kind of a child that I've never seen. She doesn't like being forced or coaxed to do something. And have you noticed lately? since she started High school, she refused entering her  limo. Maybe she was made jest of in her Junior years in school that's why she decided to drop it and live like normal kids do" Mrs. Bellos said. 

"Well she should get used to it. She's not like other kids. She's Sarah Bellos. The only child of the mayor of this city" her dad yelled angrily. 

"You may go. And make sure before this week runs out, She had changed her mind! " Mayor screamed at Zoe and her mate who nodded and left. 

"Damn that kid!" Mayor said as his wife continued knotting his tie. 

"Let's just let her be" she said smiling as she knot the tie. 

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So guys, meet Sarah Bellos, a 17 years old teenager. She's a brainiac and a weirdo. She's the only child of the mayor of Mystic Hollow, Mayor Fedrick Bellos, which literally means, everyone would love to be her and at same time jealous of her. 

But one funny thing is that, since she was born, she hasn't said a word. When she was eight years old, her parents took her to the city hospital where she was scanned and x-rayed to check what's the issue for that problem. After several medical check-ups from different doctors and hospitals, they found no problem in her genetic makeup and internal structures. 

Which  definitely means, she had decided to stay that way. That is, to remain mute or dumb, well which ever you call it. 

So the doctors advised her parents to let her be,  that she would only talk when she feels like or want to. 

But now she is seventeen years old, she still hasn't said a word. She has no friend in High school, they thought she was a mute or something. So, everyone stayed away from her thinking she has psychological issues. But the best person that knows Sarah Bellos was just herself. 

Well guys, I am welcoming you all to the city of Mystic Hollow, where the woods whispers. 

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Sarah Bellos kept walking on the street straight to her school, she stopped at a mall and stared at a sign post. On it were different adverts, but what drew her attention was a number written on it *954*

She stared at the figure for a while as she shrugged and continued her walk to school listening to the weirdest song any high school teenager would ever listen to.(this story is written by Naomi innocent) 

And did I mention to you that her favorite stuff is solving geometry, painting and drawing? Well, I think you should know that now. 

"Hey! Stop right there!!!" Two cops shouted and chased after a shoplifter as he speedily ran past Sarah who was not taken aback. Guess she was too engrossed with the music or it was part of her weird lifestyle. 

She looked at the back of the shoplifter's shirt as she smiled seeing *954* written on it. 

She put on her hoodie and continued walking as the cops chased after him. She got to their school and watched as students ran helter skelter at the sound of the warning bell. But this weirdo wasn't perturbed at all. She just kept strolling down the hallway. 

"Outta my way you snail!" Peter pushed her off balance as she fell to the ground. 

Oh wait, that's Peter, don't forget that name, he's part of the crew called The Freaks, he is an important person in this story. 

As he ran past her, on the Jersey he was putting on, she saw the number 9 at the back. She stared at it for a while as he ran while the warning bell kept ringing. He finally ran out of sight, that was when she stood up and dusted her butt. 

She walked majestically to the class, and it was exactly 10:12 at the dot. 

They were having their second period as their History teacher, Mr. Alaric stopped her. 

"Miss Bellos?" He called out to her. She halted and turned to face him with no facial expression. 

"You're late again, this is the third time this week you've been late to school, missing classes. Seriously, what's the issue?" He  asked which Sarah took as a rhetorical question because she simply doesn't have any answer to his question. 

She adjusted her spectacle and stared at him as her classmates giggled. 

"Just because your dad is the mayor of this town doesn't gives you the audacity to come to school any time you want to. You should be a leader by example!" He yelled at her as she clenched her fist. 

She definitely does not like the mayor part, it always freaks her out when they talk of it as if it was something very important.

Well actually Sarah, I think it's important. 

She released her fist and took a breath in and stared at Mr. Alaric. 

"You may go now!" He told her as he continued his teachings while she nodded and left for her  seat  which was at the extreme of the class. Close to The Freaks. 

Mr. Alaric continued teaching as she brought out her drawing book and started drawing. 

After their history class, they had 2 other classes and it was lunch break. 

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So guys, let me introduce you to the crew called "The Freaks"

Their names are, Elena Gilbert, Alex Bennett, Laura Saltzman and Peter Parker. And by Peter Parker, I don't mean the spider man. Just Peter Parker of Mystic Hollow. Don't forget these names. 

These four teenagers are best friends since kindergarten. They live few blocks away from each other. 

They are known as The Freaks right from Junior High, and Mystic Hollow is their home. 

"Can you please pass me the jam?" Alex said to Laura who was showing Elena something on her phone. 

She passed the jam to him, he muttered a thanks to her as he pasted  it on his bread. 

"What's she doing here?" Elena asked as her friends followed her gaze and they saw Sarah Bellos sitting right opposite them which had not happened before. 

She's without any food or water, but just her drawing book as she continued drawing what she didn't finish in class. 

"Oh, it's the mayor's daughter. The weirdo" Laura said. 

"I think that girl's a psycho" Alex said and munched on his bread. 

Sarah stopped drawing and raised her face as her gaze met with theirs. They quickly remove their faces and pretended to be doing something else. 

"I think she heard us" Elena whispered to them.

Sarah stared at them for a while and continued what she was drawing. 

"You know I mistakenly pushed her down at the hallway this morning?" Peter said. 

"Did she say a word?" Laura asked curiously as Peter heaved a sigh and shook his head sideways. 

"I think she's a mute. She hasn't said a word since she came to this school" Alex said. 

"Or maybe a psycho as you said earlier" Elena said. 

"And seems she doesn't have any friends" Laura cut in. 

"Seriously who wanna be friends with a Psycho?" Peter chipped in as they all laughed and stared at her again while she was busy with her drawing and she was doing it vigorously and was crying. 

"What's she doing? She's gonna rip that paper to pieces" Laura said. 

"Wait! What? Is she crying?" Elena asked as they heard a gunshot  and screams outside. The student panicked as they rushed outside. 

Well one thing you should note is that, Mystic Hollow High school is close to the woods. 

Sarah was panting and crying as she stared at what she drew. Peter, Laura and Alex ran outside to see what happened as students gathered outside. But Elena slowly walked towards Sarah to peep at what she drew. 

Sarah sat down, closed her eyes and clenched her fist while Elena peeped at what she drew. 

"What's this?" Elena muttered to herself as she stared at what Sarah drew. A little boy, lying on a rock on the pool of his blood with a gunshot at his forehead. She wrote the number 9 close to her drawing and circled it. 

"What the fuck is this? " Elena muttered to herself. 

"Elena! You've got to see this!" Laura called out to her but she was still staring at the weird drawing. 

"Elena?!" Laura called out again as she retraced her footsteps slowly  and ran outside to meet her. 

"I'm coming" Elena said as she ran outside where people gathered. 

By this time, the cops and sheriff Ruth were already at the scene and they've locked the crime scene so no one could come in. 

Sheriff Ruth was asking a student who probably might have  been some eye withness to what happen as she took down reports. 

The student cried as she gave her report because she seemed shocked and scared at what she saw.  Sheriff Ruth pat her back and assured her everything would be ok. 

"What happened?" Elena asked no one in particular as she struggled and managed to see a lifeless boy on a rock who was shot at his forehead. It fitted correctly to what Sarah drew in her drawing book. 

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself as she could not contain the shock. 

"What happened over there?" She managed to ask a girl as she trembled. 

"A nine  years old boy was shot" the girl said as a tear slipped off Elena's face without her knowing. Then it dawned on her that Sarah circled the number 9 in her drawing. 

Her heart skipped a beat as she muttered to herself. 

"What just happened?"

She stared at the school building as if she could see Sarah as Alex patted her back. 

"Is anything the matter? Elena?" He tapped her bringing her back to earth. 

TBC