3 Chapter 3: Whispers

Emma

It was the next evening and the shop had been busy that day, so I was so glad to finally make it to closing time. Well, it wasn’t quite there yet because we had a lot of people still sitting in the booths chatting, but they were slowly starting to head out to the point where I could start wiping down tables.

My mom always told me to mind my own business and try not to listen when other people are talking privately, but I can’t help overhearing sometimes. Mom says I’ve got some kind of supersonic hearing; she says it as a joke, I know, but I’ve noticed that she doesn’t exactly look like she’s joking when she says it. Sometimes I just don’t understand that woman, but she’s my mom and I love her, quirks and all.

One group of people had been sitting there for about an hour. Normally, I don’t mind. Our shop is one place in town where the college-age crowd likes to hang out, so it’s nice for me because I have a lot of friends around when I’m working. It makes the day go faster. But tonight, I was just a little tired and wanted to get all the closing tasks over with so I could just go home.

A hot bubble bath sounded amazing.

I had to clean a table nearby, so I really couldn’t help overhearing one group’s conversation. It seemed like they were trying to keep their voices down, but it was as clear as a bell to my ears.

“It’s been over twenty-four hours,” said one of the girls. She was about eighteen with jet-black, straight hair that looked as soft as silk. I love my wavy long hair, but I’ve often been jealous of people who could just brush their hair and go first thing in the morning while still looking incredible. When I wake up, my hair looks all bent out of shape like it got run over by a mini truck or something.

“I know,” said one of the guys, a tall one who was slender but with an athletic build. “We’ve got a team out scouting for him.” I paid a little more attention because something in this guy’s voice sounded off - like a mix of fear and worry.

“Do you think he’s okay?” This time it was a girl with butter blonde hair. Why do I pay so much attention to hair color? Colors, mannerisms, even smells sometimes - I just seem to notice a lot about people.

“I wish I knew,” said the guy. “He’s only seventeen, and it’s not like him not to check in.”

So they were looking for someone who was missing, and he was only seventeen. I was starting to get worried myself. Emerald Valley is a safe town, but we’re located right on the edge of a pretty wild forest.

It’s gorgeous here, with lots of beautiful greenery and a crystal-clear lake that I love to hang out by in the summertime.

But for a young boy stuck out there alone, it can be dangerous. The forest is incredible, but it’s full of wildlife of the more dangerous sort - bears and wolves that can tear you apart. I loved to be out there, but I’d rarely go it alone, especially at night.

The girl with the dark hair looked at me funny, and I realized I’d paused my table wiping to stare at the group a little bit. I hadn’t even noticed that I’d done that, and I felt bad for listening in. I went back to wiping, but I also felt bad for the group - the girl looked at me for a split second with frightened eyes. Maybe she was asking for my help.

“Emma?” Suddenly my mom was right beside me. I hadn’t even seen her walk up. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Oh, no, sorry,” I said distantly. How had I heard this group’s every word and not heard my mom call me? I didn’t even know these people. Well, I’ve seen them around a lot; you don’t miss anyone in this town. But I didn’t really know their names or who they were. Yet I felt a weird connection like I should listen to them. I guess I was just worried about the boy.

My mom shook her head. “Are you feeling alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine, Mom. What did you need?”

“I was asking if you can handle closing up for me,” she said. “I’d like to go over some paperwork and was going to just take it home where it’s easier to spread out. But if you’re not feeling well…”

“No, Mom. I’ve got this,” I said. “You go ahead.” Mom and I lived together; it was just the two of us, although we had a lot of support from friends in this town. If she was tired, I wanted her to go home.

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking like she was fighting the urge to put her hand on my head to check for a fever.

“I’m fine,” I said with a smile. “I can close up. Seriously, you go ahead.”

She still had that crooked-mouthed mom look on her face - the one that’s half a smile and half a ‘maybe I should call the doctor or rush you to the ER real quick’ look that I’d seen on her a million times before as I grew up.

“I really am fine,” I repeated, laughing lightly to get her to stop worrying.

“Alright. I’ll go gather the files. I’ll be home if you need anything. Just call,” she said.

“I will, Mom,” I said reassuringly.

It still took her a few minutes to get ready to leave, and all the while the people at the table kept talking about the missing kid and how worried they were about him.

After my mom walked out the door, I turned to them. They were the last group still in the shop, so I felt comfortable blurting out, “Hey, I noticed you were talking about a missing teenager. Have any of you called the police?”

They all stiffened a little, but the dark-haired girl looked at me with that worried expression again, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I just had to help.

“I’ll give them a call for you,” I said. “It’ll be okay. The sheriff here is really nice. All she’ll care about is getting him home safe. So, what does he look like, and where was he last seen?”

They all looked at each other like they were trying to decide if they should answer me, almost like they were silently communicating with each other. Finally, the tall guy spoke up.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have more eyes out looking for him,” he said cautiously. He kept looking at one of the other guys and raising an eyebrow. I guess they all thought they’d get in trouble. Maybe they were supposed to be watching the kid who was missing or something.

“Okay, good,” I said, ignoring the other guy. “What does he look like?”

“Blond hair, about to his shoulders. Skinny. Average height,” said the blond guy.

“Okay,” I said, taking out my cell phone and dialing the sheriff. I wasn’t sure how much of an emergency this was, so I didn’t want to call 911 and get everyone in town all worked up. After all, he was a teenager. Maybe he was just at a girlfriend’s house or something.

I had the sheriff in my contacts - like I said, it’s a small town, and my mom and the sheriff are good friends.

“How about where he was last seen? Or where he might be?” I asked.

They all shrugged their shoulders. “Last we knew of him was yesterday in school,” said the blonde girl. “I don’t think he ever made it home.”

I raised my eyebrows, a little surprised that his parents didn’t already have the cops out looking for him, but I relayed all this information to the sheriff, who had just answered me.

“Okay, she’ll be by shortly,” I told the group as I hung up. “Hang out here for a few, please, so you can give her more details.”

“Okay,” said the tall guy, a little hesitantly.

As I walked away, I heard them still talking about the boy, although they were trying to talk in a low whisper. I swear I heard the strangest word. But I must have misheard them. Maybe I was just tired.

Vampires?