Owen stepped from the car. He threw a bag over his shoulder and squinted against the dying sun’s light. A house stood before him, monolithic yet humble. The cab behind him sped off, leaving nothing but swirling dust trails in its wake. Owen crossed the gravel road. He raised his hand to knock on the purple front door when it suddenly opened.

          A girl’s face stared at him. After a moment, she frowned and said, “You’re not the pizza man,” before slamming the door shut.

          Owen was questioning whether this was the right place when the door swung open again. This time, an older face looked out. The woman smiled and said, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost.” She ushered him in.

          “We just ordered pizza,” his aunt said. “Aria, show Owen his room please.” The girl, who had previously slammed the door in Owen’s face, frowned before waving him farther in.

          Owen followed his cousin through the winding old house. There were eclectic decorations all over the walls: keys, crystals, feathers, strange diagrams. Peeling wallpaper revealed old wood underneath. An assortment of lamps and candles threw the house into an array of shadows. Soft, plush rugs covered the creaky wooden floor and muffled their footsteps.

          “The bedrooms are upstairs,” Aria said.

          At the end of the hall, the house opened into a wide landing where a large set of stairs flowed downwards like a waterfall. Aria started up, her bare feet leaving soft imprints in the carpet. Owen chucked his shoes at the base of the stairs and followed.

          “I didn’t know you’d be here,” Owen said.

          Aria shrugged. “I didn’t either until about three days ago.”

          Owen’s eyes flitted to his cousin. His frown increased.

          “This one’s mine,” Aria said, gesturing to one of the doors at the top of the stairs. “So, that one’s yours, I guess. Aunt June is at that end over there.” Aria flounced back down the stairs.

          Owen opened the door to his room. It creaked loudly as it reluctantly gave way under his push. Inside, the air was alive with dancing dust motes. A small twin bed piled high with blankets and thick pillows was shoved into the far corner. At the end of the room closest to the door was a tiny closet that looked more like an afterthought than anything.

          As Owen threw his duffel bag onto the bed, Aunt June shouted from downstairs, “Owen! Pizza!”

          After getting lost only once or twice, Owen eventually found the dining room adjacent to the kitchen. Aunt June and Aria were already digging into the steaming pizza. Owen sat on a mismatched chair and took an offered slice.

          Once they had all endured a few minutes of awkward silence, Aunt June said, “So, how were your flights?”

          “Fine,” Owen said.

          “Sucked ass,” Aria grunted. Aunt June cast her a cool look.

          “Language, Aria,” she said. Aria wrinkled her nose in the slightest. Owen looked between the two of them and could practically see the tension sparking.

          They looked like alternate versions of each other. They had the same button nose and heart-shaped face. But Aria’s curly black hair tumbled recklessly down her pale shoulders while Aunt June’s light brown hair was tied up in a messy bun. Aria’s dark green eyes had a constant glare and Aunt June’s peered out curiously from behind round glasses.

          “How long are we going to be here?” Owen asked.

          “Your parents said four months,” Aunt June said. Owen coughed on his pizza, and Aria stopped mid bite. She slammed the pizza down on the plate.

          “Four months?” Aria snarled. “You’re joking.”

          “Your parents didn’t tell you?” Aunt June asked.

          “My dad didn’t say shit about being gone for four months,” Aria said. She leaned back in her chair, a furious look dominating her features.

          “Well, um…” Aunt June seemed at a loss for words. The pale skin beneath her freckles turned beet red. Owen stared at his pizza for answers, but the dripping grease had nothing to offer except heart disease.

          “But it’ll be fun, won’t it?” Aunt June tried, “Won’t you enjoy the summer here? I mean, I haven’t seen you or my brothers for ten years. We have so much to catch up on—”

          The chair let out an ear-piercing shriek as Aria stood. She grabbed her half-eaten slice of pizza and stomped out of the dining room. Her echoing footsteps could be heard going up the stairs. Aunt June winced as a door slam shook the house.

          “That could’ve gone better,” Aunt June sighed.

          “Why did my parents send me here?” Owen asked. Aunt June looked at him before her eyes darted away.

          “To reconnect with your long-lost aunt,” she said. Owen’s eyes, the same green as hers, searched her face for any sign of the truth. Finding none, he stood from the table as well.

          “I’m tired,” was all he said before leaving the dining room. As he left, Aunt June pressed a thin hand against her drawn face.

          With just a bit of trouble, Owen managed to navigate his way back to the bedroom. Across the hall, he could hear music faintly blaring from Aria’s door. Though it wasn’t very late, Owen climbed into bed and sank into the marshmallow cushions. His hair curled over his eyes, and he pushed it back with a short huff. Though the room had been hot during the day, it was getting much colder now as the night wore on. He dove deeper under the covers and tried to find the illusion of sleep amidst the swirling of his mind.

 

          “OWEN!”

          Owen sat bolt upright to an incessant pounding sound. Half-tripping on his tangled bedsheets, he stumbled to the vibrating door. He opened it and narrowly avoided a fist to the face. Aria stood, imposing despite her shorter stature.

          “We’re leaving in ten,” she said. She started to turn away.

          “Where are we going?” he asked.

          “Aunt June is going to town to sell pot,” Aria said. Any further communication was cut off by her slammed door. Owen blinked and decided not to press the conversation further. He retreated to his room and threw on whatever clothes were at the top of his bag.

          It took a few minutes of exploring the various doors down the hallway to find the bathroom (and he nearly caused avalanches in several mysterious closets along the way). Inside the newly discovered bathroom was a small shower, an even smaller toilet, and an even smallest sink. Several bottles of products that must’ve belonged to Aria were already scattered around the bathroom. Owen shoved a few items aside and set his own things down.

          He tried to no avail for just a few minutes to straighten his curly hair. Once he had been thoroughly disheartened, he brushed his teeth instead. He was just spitting out the toothpaste when the incessant pounding returned to the door.

          “Let’s GO!” Aria shouted.

          “ALL RIGHT,” Owen snarled back. He slammed the door open and elbowed Aria out of the way. She wrinkled her nose and elbowed him back. They plodded down the stairs together and exited the house.

          A detached garage leaned against one side of the house. Inside was a dumpy old truck with a mysterious tarp covering the back. The other car was a small, light blue 1960-something Volkswagen Beetle. Aunt June was already in the truck and gestured for them to join her.

          “Slug bug!” Aria said before punching the hell out of Owen’s shoulder. He swore, but she pranced away before he could retaliate.

          Owen reached the truck door and found Aria already wrestling with the peeling brown leather seat. She eventually managed to wrench it free of its lock. With a great deal of swearing and quite a bit of squirming, Aria wedged herself in the tiny backseat of the truck. She pulled the front seat back, and Owen entered the musty old beast.

          “Damn tall people,” she muttered. “I always get shunned to the back.”

          “Aria,” Aunt June said, “I believe I’ve mentioned my issue with swearing a few times already. I don’t want to keep repeating myself all summer.” Aria gave a mighty roll of her eyes but didn’t respond.

          The truck sputtered to life and rumbled down the gravel road. Aunt June rolled her window down with a crank in the door, and curly wisps of hair that had escaped her bun fluttered in the breeze. She tapped at the radio until settling on a melancholic tune.

          “How far is it into town?” Owen asked, raising his voice over the wind.

          “Just a couple of miles,” Aunt June said. Her left arm rested on the outer edge of the door. Her multi-colored top fluttered against the assault of a summery gust of wind.

          “So,” Owen said, “you sell pot?” Aunt June’s eyes widened before an involuntary gasp of laughter burst from her lips. She snorted, and even Aria’s lips twitched into a half-smile.

          “I sell pottery,” she said. She tossed an accusatory glance at Aria over her shoulder. “And various other things: crystals, herbal teas, psychic readings, etc., etc.” Owen tilted his head. Aunt June waved her hand, dismissing any other questions.

          As Aunt June had said, it was only a few miles into town—if you could call the assortment of ramshackle buildings a town. The small houses on the outer edges of town looked as though something large had stepped in the middle of them; front porches drooped in the already climbing heat, and doors and windows hung off their hinges.

          Farther into town, there were two or three main avenues with a few tightly-packed stores. A gathering of lost souls were wandering the streets; some had a bag or two on their arms from their weekend shopping. Many waved to June and others gave her new passengers a cursory glance.

          Aunt June pulled the truck into a diagonal parking spot and killed the engine. She kicked the door open and wrestled with the seat for far less time than Aria had. Owen and Aria piled out of the truck and onto the dusty cement road. Owen shielded his face against the blazing sun and glanced down the street.

          It was cute in an old, slightly dilapidated way. The buildings were only a story or two and made of old-fashioned brick. Glass windows showed the insides to the small, eccentric shops. Trees and a few gatherings of flowers on street corners were the only spots of green in town.

          “My friend runs this shop here,” Aunt June said, gesturing to the place she had parked outside of. “I’ll probably be a while, so feel free to explore the town. I want to leave before dinner time, but I’m really in no rush.” Aria’s mouth dropped at the mention of “dinner time”.

          “And there’s no cell service. Anywhere,” Aunt June said. She threw the truck’s tarp open and revealed several tightly-packed boxes of surprisingly well-crafted pots. “So, if you need me, I’ll be here.”

          Aria blinked several times, looking between Aunt June to the pots and back to Aunt June again. Aria shook her head as Aunt June disappeared into the shop with one of the boxes. She shot a look at Owen.

          “Got any money?” she asked. Owen’s brow furrowed.

          “I’m scared to ask why.”

          “I’m starving,” Aria said. Owen shrugged, and they both started down the sidewalk.

          A cool breeze relieved the brunt of the sun’s rays, but heat still shimmered from the cement sidewalk. The townspeople gave Aria and Owen curious glances, but none seemed keen on broaching conversation. The cousins walked the length of one main street without a restaurant in sight other than a dumpy fast-food shop that wasn’t even open yet.

          They turned a corner, and Aria pointed to the end of the street. Resting at the border between town and a stretch of woods was a tiny, brightly-painted bakery. There was a small gathering of people clustered around the front even though it was already well into the afternoon. Owen shrugged in response, and they meandered their way toward it.

          The crowd had mostly dispersed by the time they arrived. Owen squinted at a hand-painted sign. Several delicious pastries were listed, and Owen’s stomach growled. Aria rubbed a hand on her chin introspectively.

          “The blueberry muffins are the bomb.” Owen nearly leapt out of his skin at a girl’s sudden appearance beside him. He stepped back onto Aria’s foot. She swore and kicked him in the shin. Owen yelped, and Aria gave him a fierce glare for good measure. When the pain had subsided, Owen’s hazy gaze focused on the girl about his age that had spoken. She gave him a bemused smile, her dark brown eyes crinkling at the edges.

          “Uh, sorry, what?” Owen said, acting as though none of that had just happened.

          “The blueberry muffins,” she said. “They are the aforementioned bomb.” Sensing his hesitation, she continued, “You’re new in town, so I figured you could use a suggestion.”

          “How’d you know that we’re not from here?” Aria asked.

          The girl shrugged. “Because this town is so miniscule that everyone knows everyone, and no one knows you two.” She brushed a lock of curly red hair over her freckled shoulder. “Tessa Rodriguez,” she said, holding out her hand. Aria shook the girl’s hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Owen shook her hand as well.

          “Aria,” Aria said. She nodded towards Owen, “That’s my cousin, Shitface.” Owen rolled his eyes to the sky, knowing now that there couldn’t be a God.

          “Hilarious, but my name’s Owen,” he said.

          “That’s Paxton, my boyfriend,” Tessa said, nodding towards a man who was making his way through the crowd towards them.

          “Hm?” Paxton said as he arrived, handing a blueberry muffin to Tessa.

          Paxton towered over the small group, though his hunched shoulders made him appear shorter than he actually was. He had curly black hair shaved close to his head and amber eyes that stood out against his dark skin.

          “They’re new in town, Pax,” Tessa said.

          “I can see that,” Pax nodded as he took a bite out of a blueberry muffin.

          “I recommended the blueberry muffin.”

          “A delightful recommendation.”

          “Well, I certainly thought so.”

          Aria had a slight smile on her face. After deftly removing the wallet from Owen’s pocket, she made her way up to the window to place her order. Owen scowled in her general direction. Aria eventually returned with Owen’s stolen wallet and two blueberry muffins. She gave Owen the muffin that didn’t already have a bite taken out of it.

          “Quite, as you put it, the bomb,” Aria conceded. Owen took a bite, and the sweet blueberry taste flooded his mouth. He nodded his agreement.

          “So,” Aria said in between bites, “what do people do for fun around here?” Tessa finished her muffin in two clean bites. She gave a half-shrug.

          “Not much,” she admitted. “Swim in the creek, hike through the fields, get the shit scared out of you by the haunted woods, and various other engaging activities.” Aria raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. Pax rolled his eyes.

          “Tessa is convinced that the woods around town are haunted,” he said.

          “Because they are,” Tessa said. “I know what I saw.” Pax simply shook his head.

          “What’d you see?” Aria asked around a mouthful of muffin.

          “I saw a little ghost girl,” Tessa said, “in the woods, just past town.”

          “In the middle of the night,” Pax added, his disbelief evident. Aria nodded, mulling over Tessa’s words. She swallowed her last bite of muffin and tossed the wrapper in the trash.

          “Well then, let’s go to where you saw her,” Aria said. Owen grunted his displeasure.

          “That’s what we’re going to do with our day?” Owen said.

          “What else would we do?” Aria shot back. Owen made a face, and Aria grinned at her victory. He chucked the remaining bit of muffin into a nearby trash can and wiped his hands on his pants.

          “Fine,” he said, “but we have to be back before dinner, or our aunt will kill us.”

          “Eh, that’s fine. I have to be back anyway for my graveyard shift tonight,” Tessa said with a flippant wave of her hand. She started down the street, her chunky boots slamming loudly against the cracked concrete. Pax flitted after her, silent like a shadow.

          “How far away is this ghost girl?” Aria asked, jogging slightly to catch up. Tessa half-turned to talk while she strolled along.

          “Maybe forty-five minutes if we walk? An hour at most,” she said.

          “This seems like a lot of effort for something that doesn’t exist,” Owen said. Tessa quirked an eyebrow.

          “You don’t believe in ghosts?”

          Owen shrugged. “I don’t have a reason to.”

          “Not yet.”

          The group went around the bakery and walked along the line of trees. Owen peered through the clustered trunks, but even with the bright sun above, the forest remained dark. Only thin shafts of light were able to penetrate the leaves. Thick undergrowth covered the forest floor and crept up the trees’ trunks, cutting the light down even further.

          Tessa turned onto a dirt path that Owen would’ve missed if she hadn’t shown him. She ducked under a low-hanging branch and started down a steep, rocky incline. Owen scrambled for traction as his shoes skidded. Beside him, Aria swore as she experienced a similarly ungraceful slide. Somehow, despite her shoes, Tessa managed to elegantly walk down the hill as if there wasn’t even a dropoff.

          “It’s pretty straightforward from here,” she said as Aria and Owen half-fell to the bottom. “We just follow this path for a ways.”

          “Are we going to the old church?” Pax asked.

          “Kind of,” Tessa said.

          “There’s an old church in the middle of the woods?” Aria said. “That does seem like prime ghost territory.” Owen rolled his eyes so hard he nearly ran into a tree.

          “Yeah, it’s from the early town settlers, or something. They were miners and such,” Tessa said. “It hasn’t been used for, like, a hundred years now. It burned down a while ago, but even before then, people didn’t like to go near it. Bad juju.”

          “People say a man murdered his wife in these woods and then hanged himself in the church,” Pax said. “But most of that is just people trying to scare their kids. ‘Don’t go in the woods past dark or Old Man Whatever’s gonna get you’ type of thing.”

          Aria looked at the treetops above her. “It’s so green here,” she said.

          “Where are you from?” Tessa turned around to face Aria. She miraculously managed to not trip over the roots covering the dirt path even though she was facing backwards.

          “Arizona,” Aria said.

          When Tessa turned to Owen for response, he added, “North Carolina.”

          “What brings you to Shithole, Washington?” she asked. Aria and Owen shrugged.

          “Not a clue,” Aria said. “Our parents decided to ship us off to an aunt we haven’t seen for ten years. I thought my dad was just sick of me, but then I saw Owen here too so now I dunno what to believe.”

          “Oh,” Tessa said, “weird.” She flipped back around and jumped over an ankle-breaking hole. Pax smacked a bush out of his way.

          “Who’s your aunt?” he asked.

          “June Maverick,” Owen said. Tessa stumbled over a rock. She and Pax exchanged a look. Pax coughed and turned away, avoiding the cousins’ eyes. Aria furrowed her brow.

          “Something wrong with our aunt?” she asked, more curious than defensive.

          “No…” Tessa played with her hair.

          “She’s just,” Pax rubbed at the back of his neck, “a bit strange is all.”

          “Oh, so she’s the town weirdo,” Aria said. “I mean, to be expected. Her house is a hoarder’s dream, and I’m pretty sure the rooms she gave us used to be storage for her art projects. Mine smells like herbs and shit.”

          “She doesn’t come to town very often,” Tessa said. “Usually just to sell pottery or crystals or whatever. Most people don’t really even know her. She’s very… elusive.”

          “That sounds like her,” Owen said.

          A bird cried somewhere in the trees. Its chirp was suffocated in the thick silence. The only other sounds were their footsteps and the occasional crackle of undergrowth as something flittered by. A deep, musty smell of dirt permeated the air. Though the temperature had dropped considerably in the woods, it was still humid enough that Owen had broken a sweat.

          Though the walk was long and slightly arduous at times, Tessa had no problem filling the silence. She talked about everything. Pax added an occasional comment here or there, but he only listened for the most part. He kept his hands in his pockets and his head bowed as though he was walking against a blustery gust of wind.

          “This is where things get interesting,” Tessa said, stopping in the middle of the path. Aria flapped the sides of her flannel jacket, airing out her pits.

          “This is where it gets interesting?” she said, slightly breathless.

          “We have to break away from the path and go through there,” Tessa said. She pointed into a thicket of trees so close together that they almost looked like a solid wall. Aria followed her finger and frowned.

          “How the hell did you walk out here in the middle of the night?” she said.

          Tessa kicked a loose branch aside. She shrugged. “There’s nothing interesting in town, so I spend a lot of time out here.” Pax rumbled an agreement.

          “Well,” Owen said, “we’ve come this far. Lead the way.”

          Tessa ducked under a branch that Pax lifted with his thick arm. He nodded the cousins through and followed up at the rear. Tessa kicked her way through the undergrowth, plowing a path through the greenery. She vaulted over a fallen trunk that Owen and Aria went around and leaped over a thin creek that the cousins tripped into. Halfway through the trek, she tied her thick hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of the branches that had begun to close in.

          “God, it’s humid today,” she said.

          In the blink of an eye, Tessa pitched forward violently. With a shriek, she slipped down a steep hill and tumbled to the bottom. Not realizing her downfall until it was too late, Owen stumbled over something hard and unforgiving and fell as well. He landed on his ass and scrambled for purchase on the slick shrubbery. He’d only fallen a few feet when an iron grip wrenched at his arm. Pax grunted as he struggled to hold Owen while simultaneously keeping his grasp on a thin tree trunk. He pulled Owen up with surprising strength so that Owen could grab onto the tree as well. It leaned sickeningly against their weight but still held.

          “Are you okay?” Aria yelled from the top of the hill.

          “I’m—” Owen started to say.

          “Not you, dumbass,” Aria snapped. “I can see you’re fine. I’m asking Tessa.”

          “I’m fine,” Tessa called. She was already standing at the bottom of the hill, dusting her jeans off. She frowned up at the others. “What did we trip over?” Aria shrugged and started to inch her way down the hill.

          “Don’t,” Pax said. “Just stay up there. Don’t want you falling too and breaking your neck.” Aria huffed but took a step back.

          Still holding onto the tree, Owen and Pax crouched low to the forest floor. From where they were, the boys could see a soft bump raised in the foliage. Pax ripped the greenery away until a dark object was revealed. Pax’s hand froze midair when he realized what it was. Owen’s heart thudded to a stop. Pax and Owen exchanged a look.

          “What is it?” Aria asked.

          Goosebumps raced across Owen’s arms, and he was overcome by a violent shudder. Pax coughed, and his breath came out in a white cloud. A crackling noise struck the air. Tessa turned and took an involuntary step back. She screamed. It was short, involuntary, and ear-piercing.

          Twenty feet away, there was a girl. She wore a dirty, ripped dress that cut off at the knees. Her feet and hands were filthy as though she hadn’t bathed in years. Long, dark brown hair was in ringlet curls that stopped in a line at her neck. Her eyes were dark, unseeable.

          But that wasn’t what had made Tessa scream.

          The girl was floating ten feet in the air. And blood poured from a jagged gash in her neck.

          Slowly, painfully slow, her dark eyes looked each of them over. They stopped at Pax with his hand just over the object. Her face twisted into a grimace, and tears flooded into her eyes. She opened her mouth, and a long, hollow moan drew itself out. It lengthened, turned into a deep scream that permeated everything. Trees shook, animals hid, and the four friends covered their vulnerable ears.

          Pax started to slip down the hill with his hands no longer holding the tree. Owen grabbed him, pulled him up, and together they cowered against the scream. They folded inwards like broken dolls and waited, waited for it to stop.

          And it did.

          Owen hesitated, pausing to make sure the assault was over. He lifted his head. The girl was gone—like she had never even been there. Tessa lay at the bottom of the hill, shaking all over. Aria was at the top, still as a statue. Pax ran down the hill, avoiding the hazardous object. He knelt beside Tessa and gently grabbed her arms. He pulled her up, wrapped her in his grasp. She huddled against him, shivering wildly.

          Owen and Pax, who still held Tessa, met Aria at the top of the hill. She cast a furtive glance past Owen’s shoulder and shook her head. They walked, not requiring Tessa’s guidance to return to the path. Not a word was spoken. Not a word was needed.

          Halfway back through the woods, Tessa lightly tapped Pax’s shoulder. Aria and Owen stopped and waited for Pax to set her down. Tessa ran her shaking hands over her shirt. She let her hair out of its restraint, patted it down, and took a breath. She nodded, and they continued onwards.

          They emerged from the trees as the sun was just starting to go down, its fading rays a final protection from the darkness behind them. Without looking back, they hurried into town. They skirted the abandoned bakery and walked along the desolate street.

          A choking, rumbling truck pulled up beside them. They stopped as Aunt June killed the engine. Her eyes were blazing, and her mouth was set in a hard line. But when she saw their expressions, her anger faded. She looked between the four of them, her eyes growing darker by the second.

          “Are you four okay?” she asked.

          “Great,” Aria said, her voice cracking like glass on the word.

          A pause.

          “Do you two want a ride home?” Aunt June asked, now looking only at Pax and Tessa. They nodded silently. Aunt June frowned and told them to hop in the back. Tessa and Pax told her their addresses and then clambered into the truck’s bed to sit alongside Aria and Owen. The truck screeched to life and limped down the street. The wind picked up, drowning out the noise from the cab.

          “We’re not going back there,” Pax said before Tessa could even open her mouth. She shook her head.

          “Not yet,” she said. “We have to learn what we’re up against.”

          “And what is that?” Aria said.

          “Isn’t it obvious?” Tessa gave a humorless laugh. “It’s a fucking ghost.”

          “We’re not going back there,” Pax repeated.

          “You two,” Tessa said, pointing at the cousins, “if you’re in this, meet us at the library tomorrow. I won’t blame you if you don’t.” Aria opened her mouth and then closed it. She set it in a drawn line. Instead, she turned to Owen.

          “What did you two trip over?” she asked. “What was on the ground?”

          Owen looked into Pax’s eyes. Beneath an emotionless layer, Owen could see a spark of fear in their depths. Pax turned away, nuzzling his face against Tessa’s hair. She put a hand on his chest, but her eyes remained on Owen. He swallowed.

          “An ax,” he said. “A bloody ax.”

          The engine died. Aunt June patted the side of the truck to signal her passengers that it was time to get out. Pax lifted his head and peered at the house they had arrived at. His eyes locked on a car in the driveway, and his muscles visibly tensed. A sneer twisted his features.

          Tessa followed his gaze and patted his arm. He gave her hand a squeeze before standing. Effortlessly, he vaulted over the side of the truck and landed on the cement. He thanked Aunt June before walking up the driveway and disappearing into the open garage. Aria already had a question in her eyes.

          Before she could ask, Tessa said, “He and his dad don’t get along.” Aria snorted and looked away. The truck rumbled back to life, and they continued on.

          Tessa was silent, which was almost as haunting as the ghost had been. She watched the houses skittering by and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Her clothes had torn when she’d fallen, but she somehow managed to make it look intentional.

          Only a little ways away from Pax’s house, Aunt June stopped once again. Tessa thanked her as well and left, her wild hair a single flickering flame in the darkening night. The house she entered was small, sagging to one side, and peeling everywhere. But the lights inside were merry, and the smell of food wafted through the air.

          Aunt June didn’t call Aria and Owen to the front, so they didn’t move. She started the truck again and headed for home. Owen looked at Aria. She turned to him. When he didn’t speak, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

          “What?”

          “Are we going?” Owen asked. Aria looked away. The wind blew curls across her pale cheek. She brushed them back and shrugged.

          “I thought it was obvious,” she said.

          And looking into the night, into the clouds stained in watercolors and the sky dotted with stars, Owen knew that it was obvious too.

 

About the Author: Kaylee Allen

          Ever since I was little, I've always loved getting lost in the vast world of books. When I was in middle school, I started writing my own stories and coming up with my own worlds to get lost in. I take inspiration for writing in everything I can: people I've met, the world I've seen, and even dreams I've fallen into. This story in particular came to me in a dream. I met Owen and Aria in the dream as they were running through the woods from a shadowed figure. I initially wrote this for a high school writing class, but I'd love to make it a full story someday. I want to see how Owen, Aria, Tessa, and Paxton's story unfolds.