Chapter 3: Thunder

Five and a half hours later, I woke up with a groan. I was sprawled out on my couch with a random sitcom playing loudly in the background. My head throbbed and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth with a slight bit of dehydration. The book I was reading draped over my chest, a stupid romance novel that I bought in college. I am hopeless in that department. Most nerdy girls aren't very good in the romance department anyway, but I seemed to be utterly miserable at it. I sat up slowly and winced as my head pounded harder and the light started to hurt my eyes. Maybe I needed to talk to Mr. Gregory about taking some time off for health.

I put the book on the coffee table, grabbing the crusty plate I left from a few nights ago and shuffling to the kitchen. The dish clattered into the sink loudly, making me wince. I glanced at the stove clock, it was 5 pm. Did I really nap that long? That is…unusual. It's dinner time though, so I guess a quick dinner and I could take time to write my book. Mindlessly moving about the kitchen, making some small sandwiches and tea. While waiting for the tea kettle to boil, I took a peek outside. The side yard looked normal at first, the crunching leaves waiting for me to rake them up and my fence leaning from the summer storms and wind. I was looking slightly into the neighbors yard when out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur take off. I…that is odd, I swear I just saw someone snooping around the neighbors yard. Maybe I should go over and try to knock? They're a fairly new family that haven't been in town before. I better go let them know, they have young kids.

I tromp through to my front door, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and grabbing a pair of sunglasses from the shelf, I grumble at the light. Storm clouds in the distance grow and swell, promising cold shivers and warm fires to come soon. The hairs on my arms stood up to greet the fall wind, making me wish I brought a jacket despite the very short distance between porches. The little girls had their freshly carved pumpkins decorating the doorstep with princess carriages and movie themes. A welcoming wreath dangled loosely from a rusted nail in the door. I knocked.

A young woman, not much older than me answered the door with a smile and a slobbering baby on her hip. Her face was soft and warm, with blue eyes that shone with the happiness of a fulfilled life. "Hey Laura, I'm sorry to bother you and it could be nothing. I just wanted to warn you that I am pretty sure I saw someone skulking around your backyard."

A flash of fear passed briefly through her eyes before her smile returned, "Thank you, Morgan. You mind coming inside for a second? I have to finish getting the kids dinner and prepping Keith for the night shift, then we can talk."

I nodded and stepped inside, her home smelt like freshly baked snickerdoodle cookies. It was decorated on every available surface with family photos and artwork done by it seems to be Laura. She painted a lot of landscapes and still shots, lots of sunsets with explosive colors. Keith worked a lot to help provide her with time to establish herself in the art world, that is how I first met them. They were a sweet couple and her children were adorable. I heard her shuffling around the dining room as I peek at the newest art on the walls. "Hey, Laura, I've been meaning to ask. How is your brother Nathan doing?"

"Oh he was asking about you too! He just traveled to Greece and wanted to give you the details of this sleepy little seaside town that he was in. He thought you could use it as a basis for a new book. Jason also says hello."

I smiled and made my way to the dining room, "I'll have to give him a call when he gets settled back in the states. I'm sure his expertise would be beneficial for the romance I was thinking about writing."

The two girls sitting at the table, age 5 and 7, turned to look at me and squealed in excitement. "Aunt Morgan!"

I walked over and gave the girls a tight hug. I helped Laura get dinner put on the table and the baby down in his playpen. The girls tell me about their days at school and how their teachers are so very fun and they are taking them on a field trip soon. It takes a bit to get them to settle down and finish their food. Keith's sister comes over about an hour later to help get the kids to wind down so that I can talk to Laura about what I saw. Laura guided me to her studio located to the back of the house. Once we shut the door, Laura's face fell into the worry that she had been hiding from the kids. "What do you mean you saw someone?"

"I don't know if there is anything to worry about, I just thought it would be better to tell you rather than wait till something happened. I was looking out the window of my kitchen, just kind of taking an inventory of my life. As I was looking, something moved in the corner of my eye. I think it was an adult in dark clothing with a hood or mask covering their face. Or perhaps a cap?"

She stopped me with a hand. "Well..that's not what I wanted to hear but at least I know I am no longer going crazy?"

It was my turn to look at her with fear and confusion.

"I have been having my bushes and flowers crushed all summer. I've noticed holes by the fences between our houses. It started out as those small things at first and I thought maybe it was a mole or some other creature but that was before things in the garage started to go missing. Tools and my children's bikes. Then I saw things around your house go missing too. Your plants and odd things at first, and then packages on your doorstep. I just think.."

"Does Keith know?"

"He thinks I am overthinking things. He thinks we need a vacation."

"Well, maybe a vacation wouldn't be a bad idea just incase he breaks in, at least then you guys are safe.:

"But, I…there is so much stuff that we can lose. Precious memories."

I chewed on my lip for a few moments. Laura had a point, even if getting away for a while would be the safer option. I mean, I have noticed some odd things going missing around the house, but I just choked it up to me misplacing things. I guess that doesn't account for the scratches on my back door.

"How about this, I will call my uncles and see if there is a possibility of them beefing up security around our houses. Maybe they can even watch them for a few days, just in case."

Laura seemed to relax at this answer. We chatted for a bit longer about it, and made some plans for a big dinner next week when a small flash lights up the room. I waited for a moment to see if thunder or the soft taps of rain on the roof would follow, but it didn't. I looked at Laura to see if she noticed the flash but she didn't seem to have as she started to clean and put away some finished paintings. She sifted through them before she pulled one. "Oh, this is for you. A thank you gift for all you've done for us."

She handed over a painting of Tapiki waterfall, the bridge sat cold in front of the water. It looked like fall or early winter. The water looked bitter and the trees sagged. It was morbidly beautiful. I shivered slightly at the coincidence of the location and my recent story. I smiled appreciatively, I did adore her art. "Thank you for this. I think I should be going though now. I need to make those calls and get working on my book."

"I will be first in line to get your autograph when you become a best selling author." Laura smiled and guided me out to the front door.

"You guys will be on the dedication page for sure." I smiled and shut the door behind me. I tucked the painting close to my chest and started walking back to my house. As I walked, the clouds grew over the town, and the first kisses of rain blessed my skin as I started up the porch. I closed and locked the door before remembering that I can't call my uncles. The evening paper will have just dropped. Looks like I will have to wait till the morning to call my uncles. That's when I smelt the burning metal. I ran to the kitchen in a panic. The tea kettle's bottom was changing color and the water had long left the container.

"So much for tea." I grumbled as I shut off the eye and dumped the kettle into the sink. I grabbed my plate and walked upstairs. I sat down at my computer and rolled my neck. Let's see if I can distract myself from the chaos the story will cause.

'This night would have been like any other. Dark, wet, and full of whatever mysteries awaited those who wandered too deep into their waiting nightmares. It would have been fighting monsters or sitting there as your peers laughed at your naked presentation.

For some reason though, Abi stared up at the ceiling in the darkness, listening to the rain tap of the window panes. There was no feeling in her heart or in her soul. The sounds echoed off the walls as lightning flashes through the panes every once in a while. The wind suddenly slammed through the doors from the balcony and ripped the curtains to the floor.'

I finished the first draft of my side project and smacked my head into my desk. I have rewrote this first draft like 5 times in the last few hours. I even knew it sounded cheesy. It was my newest project, and the love was too fresh in my mind to allow for any cutting or changing to what I wrote. But I didn't think it would ever sell. I haven't even published a book yet! Snuggles was such a good character too, but no company will take him.

I rolled my head to the side to glance up at the desktop to look at the clock. 10:30 pm…damn. I looked beside the clock when I saw the pop up bubble. 100 emails. I groaned and clicked on the bubble. My email came up and there were so many emails from people I didn't really talk to in town. I just started deleting them all slowly. So many people are attacking me for this story. That's when I noticed…an odd email. I'm not sure what caught my attention about the email first, the fact that the email was 'youaremynewdream' or that the subject line was 'Hello, my new love'.

I double checked the email to see if it had ever tried to contact me before as a prank or spam email. This new email…this was the only email from them. I stared at the unread email for a long time, wondering if I should take the bait and read it. After a while of deleting other emails of no use to me, I finally worked up the courage to open the mystery email.

'My new love,

I see you have begun to dig into a past that was buried for good reason. You are as curious as you are beautiful. Your green eyes sparkle at the promise of mystery and your black hair cloaks you in nights embrace. A word of warning to you, my sweet blossom. The case you are about to unfold will surely mean your death. What a shame it would be to deprive this world of the masterpiece that is yourself. How I wish to take care of you. I dream of you being mine. The only price is you abandoning your story. Sarah committed suicide. That is the end of it. I will then be by your side and worship you as my one and only. Continue on your path, and the consequences will be painful and deadly.

To your wisdom,

Your newest admirer.'

A weird feeling spread across my skin, the need to go shower and scrub my entire body over and over again. I read the email over and over a few more times. Each time I become more and more uncomfortable in my own home. For my own sake, I decided to take a few screenshots and send them to various external sources. I then printed off a few copies, then shut down the computer. As I was securing the copies, I heard someone frantically beating on my front door.

I nervously walked down the stairs, peeking down to try and see who it could be at the door. I could see the silhouette of what looked like a man in front of the door. As I stepped off the landing onto the main floor, I reached my hand around the banister, grabbing the old baseball bat that my brother used to play with and creeped to the door. The door knob was cold against my fingers, turning slowly and pulling until the chain strained against the frame. "Who is it?" My voice shook as I looked at the door.

"Morgan, its just me. I have been calling you for hours. I am glad you are okay." Jeremy looked into the crack, rain dripping down the curve of his nose. I let the bat down and sighed. I shut the door quickly to remove the chain before fully opening the door. Jeremy was soaked. His leather jacket shone in the streetlights.

"Jeremy, it's late. Are you alright? Did your mother kick you out again?"

Jeremy shook his head and pulled his hand out of his jacket, holding a rolled up newspaper in his hand. He waved it in front of my face slowly. "You've caused quite an uproar in town….people have been knocking on Mr. Gregory's door for hours. You're going to be lucky if you have your job in the morning. I came to warn you."

"Are they really going that…wait warn me for what? Mr. Gregory wouldn't fire me. He read the column, if he didn't approve of it then he wouldn't have put it in the newspaper. I'm sure my spot is secure and I should be able to continue my work."

Jeremy hung his head for a moment before reaching out and grabbing my wrist. "The mob…the people rushing Mr. Gregory's house, they said they were coming here next. They told him that if he didn't make you apologize and run you out of town, they would do what was necessary. Morgan, they're coming after you and god knows what they're going to do when they get here. There is another thing, Morgan."

My whisper was barely audible against the storm, "What…what is it?"

Jeremy's grip tightened, "Your Mother is the leader."