CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ollie's Big Secret, Part 2
I’m not sure how long I lay there crying, but it was a while before I finally wiped the tears from my eyes. And when I finally found the strength to sit, I discovered that the bear was gone.
Tracks of overturned dirt and grass set a straight path from where the bear had lain stretched out to the safety of the trees to our right.
“It must have escaped,” I guessed, my voice hoarse.
As for Ollie, well, I could see his jeans behind the clearing’s lone tree. He’d gone barefoot, and I wasn’t sure, but it did seem like the hairs that had covered the skin of his foot were gone now.
Still, that wasn’t e
Note: This chapter's been rewritten. New direction, pacing, and content. Recommend you read it again if you'd read it before October 7, 2021, or you might not understand the events of the next chapter. CHAPTER FIFTEEN Roanoke, Part 1 Most people don’t know this, but Forest Hills is one of the oldest towns in the US, dating back to way before the American Revolution… and that kind of history brings a lot of baggage with it, some that still haunt our town to this day. — Tweet from Raven_Eye. “Vampire?” I couldn’t help rai
Note: Please read the previous chapter first as it's been mostly rewritten (Oct. 7, 21) or you might not understand what's happening in this chapter. Sorry, and thanks. CHAPTER SIXTEEN Roanoke, Part 2 “Are you okay?” Ollie asked in that gentle voice of his that just made me weak in the knees. I know, I really have become a cliché. But I guess that wasn’t such a bad thing. He had his arms around my waist while I leaned against my beetle’s front door and resisted the urge to kiss him again. We’d done that en
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Love, Ghosts, and Alcohol, Part 1 Never ever walk the streets of the town at night alone… but if you really, really have to then make sure to bring some protection. Garlic or sage will do because, apparently, evil spirits don’t like herbs. — Tweet from Raven_Eye. I was so nervous I imagined there was a little drummer boy beating his sticks against my heart. That’s how loud it had become. It didn’t help that I was running like my life depended on it, which it might if Ollie’s story really was true. “Jessica,” the sing-song voice called. Every time I heard that voice, I would get the shivers and that made it twice as hard to catch my breath. I raced down a street that ha
CHAPTER ONEHomecomingAnother missing person in our idyllic little town... shit, Forest Hills is going to hell. In more hopeful news, a new hottie just rolled into the suburbs and the ravens say she’s a feisty redhead from Orange County. — Tweet from the Raven_Eye.I don’t like stories that start with someone moving into a new town, which, ironically enough, is exactly what this was. But I guess it’s more of a homecoming for my dad. I was just the seventeen-year-old girl who was along for the ride because I wasn’t old enough to live on my own yet.“It’s going to be great, Jess, I promise,” dad said.“Sure, great, who wouldn’t want to restart senior year at a school full of strangers in a town like Forest Hills, last stop in the middle of nowhere,” I replied wryly.My dad had grown up in Forest Hills back in the nineties, which he claimed had be
CHAPTER TWOBoy Meets GirlHow many kids have to plunge down Suicide Cliff before #sheriffclueless blocks access to it...? #Governmentfails whenever we really need them... Forest Hills, the place kids go to die. — Tweet from Raven_Eye.No, I don’t know how I did it either. Call it an adrenaline rush or whatever — because I’m no track star — but it just happened. I literally leaped the distance between us and slid over to the edge to tackle him right before this gorgeous idiot jumped off the cliff. It was an honest-to-god miracle for both him and me.And no, we didn’t fall to the ground in a heap like I imagined we might. He was pretty damn sturdy. Still, I managed to drag him back a few inches so it counted as a win.I clung to him, my arms tightening around his waist, with words spilling from my mouth, “Are you crazy?!” and then, “Why would you do this?”Yes,
CHAPTER THREEStranger Things, Part 1There are way too many wolves outside town, and the ravens say there are even a few within. Whatever the case, don’t forget to lock your doors at night, people. We are not safe. That should be the town logo. LOL. — Tweet from the Raven_Eye.Dad was livid.“Do you know what time it is, Jessica?” he snapped at me.Jessica — he never called me that unless he was really, really angry.“I was about this close from calling the cops!” he continued.The lecture about how dangerous it was to be out at night alone would go on for a full five minutes, and I was honestly just glad none of the neighbors had come out to see why a forty-two-year-old man was raving like a lunatic on our front porch. I was also glad he didn’t notice Ollie earlier, either. That would have been a whole other rant.Still, seeing how pale dad’s freckle
CHAPTER FOUR Stranger Things, Part 2 Two days after my night in the woods, dad surprised me with a car. I know! A freaking car! And it had been such a struggle just getting him to pay for driving lessons last year. “Driving before you’re eighteen and responsible just leads to accidents, Jess, and I’m not comfortable with you driving in the city with all the other drunk drivers who populate California’s teenage driving population,” he’d once lectured. But now, mere days after we’d left Orange County behind, he actually got me a car... a car! Yeah, I still can’t believe it. “Okay, who are you and what did you do with my dad?” I joked, although I w
CHAPTER FIVE The New Girl, Part 1 The ravens come bearing news. A certain new redhead was spotted in Midtown today. And I hear her daddy dearest is every bit the #mchottie his daughter is. Forest Hills could certainly use middle-aged eligible bachelors. Too many of them leave. #foresthillsmysteries — Tweet from Raven_Eye. They say lightning never strikes twice, but it apparently does in Forest Hills. Ollie’s life was in danger once more, and there I was trying to rescue him again. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how I did it, but I managed to reach him just before the truck did. “Hey!” I grabbed onto the sleeve of his arm and then pulled him back in desperation. I didn’t mean to twirl him around so he
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Love, Ghosts, and Alcohol, Part 1 Never ever walk the streets of the town at night alone… but if you really, really have to then make sure to bring some protection. Garlic or sage will do because, apparently, evil spirits don’t like herbs. — Tweet from Raven_Eye. I was so nervous I imagined there was a little drummer boy beating his sticks against my heart. That’s how loud it had become. It didn’t help that I was running like my life depended on it, which it might if Ollie’s story really was true. “Jessica,” the sing-song voice called. Every time I heard that voice, I would get the shivers and that made it twice as hard to catch my breath. I raced down a street that ha
Note: Please read the previous chapter first as it's been mostly rewritten (Oct. 7, 21) or you might not understand what's happening in this chapter. Sorry, and thanks. CHAPTER SIXTEEN Roanoke, Part 2 “Are you okay?” Ollie asked in that gentle voice of his that just made me weak in the knees. I know, I really have become a cliché. But I guess that wasn’t such a bad thing. He had his arms around my waist while I leaned against my beetle’s front door and resisted the urge to kiss him again. We’d done that en
Note: This chapter's been rewritten. New direction, pacing, and content. Recommend you read it again if you'd read it before October 7, 2021, or you might not understand the events of the next chapter. CHAPTER FIFTEEN Roanoke, Part 1 Most people don’t know this, but Forest Hills is one of the oldest towns in the US, dating back to way before the American Revolution… and that kind of history brings a lot of baggage with it, some that still haunt our town to this day. — Tweet from Raven_Eye. “Vampire?” I couldn’t help rai
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Ollie's Big Secret, Part 2 I’m not sure how long I lay there crying, but it was a while before I finally wiped the tears from my eyes. And when I finally found the strength to sit, I discovered that the bear was gone. Tracks of overturned dirt and grass set a straight path from where the bear had lain stretched out to the safety of the trees to our right. “It must have escaped,” I guessed, my voice hoarse. As for Ollie, well, I could see his jeans behind the clearing’s lone tree. He’d gone barefoot, and I wasn’t sure, but it did seem like the hairs that had covered the skin of his foot were gone now. Still, that wasn’t e
CHAPTER THIRTEENOllie's Big Secret, Part 1Most people aren’t aware, but wolves are just one of the many savage beasts hiding in our own version of the #DarkForest… What I’m saying is, if you ever meet a brown bear in the woods, RUN! — Tweet from Raven_Eye.As alarmed as I was by the appearance of the brown bear, I was possibly even more shocked by Ollie’s reaction to it. I mean, I was shaking in my sandals, but he just looked calm. And then this crazy, reckless, gorgeous boy actually moved between me and the bear in what I guessed was him trying to protect me.It was exactly the same thing he did with the wolf, and I had to wonder what was up with Ollie and wild animals? And
CHAPTER TWELVE Ghost Story, Part 2 A long, eerie silence arrived at the end of Emma’s shocking reveal, one where my brain attempted to process her words — and just couldn’t. I’m a California-bred teenager, and we’re naturally inclined to be skeptics over almost anything. But, despite the fact that I couldn’t bring myself to fully believe her, there was this nagging part of me, a teensy bitsy part, that couldn’t just refute her claim either. I mean, I’d been visited by freaking red fireflies with large girl shadows hovering behind them so who was I to say that a dead girl didn’t actually appear outside Emma’s front door. It was Emma who broke the
CHAPTER ELEVEN Ghost Story, Part 1 Rule number one of Forest Hills; don’t ask questions… you’ll never like the answers. Rule number two; when you do learn the truth, do your absolute best to look like you don’t know… that’ll keep you alive. #surviveFH #Spooksville — Tweet from Raven_Eye. I’m not entirely sure why I let Emma drag me into the school library during lunch. I’m also not sure why I didn’t just shut her crazy theory down immediately after she’d said it. “Emma…” I sighed. “Haven’t you heard of the internet?” “The internet’s overrated,” she replied. Emma had dropped me off at a table at the far end of the library before she went hunting off for the thing she wanted to show me. She came back wi
CHAPTER TEN Nancy Drew, Part 2 “Are you serious?” Emma asked as she leaned over her seat to whisper in my ear. “You saw the red fireflies?” “Y-yeah,” I replied. I was surprised by how serious Emma seemed to get the more she listened to last night’s weird episode. “Do you know what they are?” I asked. I’m pretty sure I held my breath while waiting for her to reply. Emma’s face turned contemplative just before she leaned back in her chair and said, “No, first time I’ve ever heard about them.” She was grinning back at me, and I nearly threw my book at her. “Seriously?” I frowned. “Well, you were being so serious I didn’t want to kill the mood,” she admitted. Now I really had my his
CHAPTER NINE Nancy Drew, Part 1 People say Forest Hills memorial is so old even the ghosts don’t remember who they are… I’d be cautious when visiting the place though. Some stories claim that a daytime visit to the cemetery might mean you get a visitor at night too. #ForestHills #Spooksville — Tweet from Raven_Eye. The following message was read from the email of Jonathan Day and later added into the live journal of Jessica Day; Jono, It’s happening again… but it’s worse now because there’s no one else in the know. The rest of our goon squad has moved away, and the few of us who are left have begun to forget, or at least they’re trying to… Ellen did. It’s why she couldn’t protect her girls from it. Sh