Into The Vale of Shadows // Max Mayfield

o. hide and seek

prologue
hide and seek

     GAZE LINGERING IN the night sky, backs laid on the grass of their backyard, and heads filled with thoughts. Raven Buckley was tucked in the arms of a Robin, lying comfortably as they talked about random things that would come up in their minds.

     "Hey, do you still remember about how we dreamed of going to Europe? France to be precise." Robin ran her fingers on the girls blonde locks, looking at the girl with a glint excitement in her eyes.

     "Yeah," said the girl with a smile, "what about it?" The girl looked at her, nose scrunched up in curiosity.

     "Well . . . I want that dream to come true," she paused for a bit, swirling her finger around the girls hair, "I want to bring you there."

     "Bring me to France?" Raven sat up, not minding the tangled strands of her hair on Robin's fingers. "Robin, we don't have money for a ticket to France, we're broke remember? Where we'll we get that money?"

     "I'll get to work and start saving . . . I'm calling it "Project Croissant", you can help me make a plan about it," the older girl responded as she untangled her finger with Raven's hair.

     "Mind if I add in my contributions?"

     "As you should." Robin sat up and attacked the younger girl with a tickle, sending the girl to lie back down and burst into laughter.

     "Stop, Robin!" Her laughs were contagious, it made Robin laugh too. "P—please!" She laughed as she plead, not receiving any mercy from the older girl. "I . . . I can't breath."

     Robin let go of her sister, giggling as she watched her catch her breath. The girl looked at her, slowly advancing forward. "No, Raven." The girl gave her a mischievous grin before tackling her and tickling her back. "Raven!" She laughed as she tried to push the girl off of her. "Raven!"

     "Tickle tickle," the girl giggled as she poke Robin's side. "Tickly tickle."

     "Stop! stop!" Raven did what she was said, grinning at the older girl. "Now back to planning."

     "We can listen to your French learning tapes while we're making a plan," the girl suggested, bouncing up and down from her seat.

     "You know what?" Robin placed a finger on her chin, looking up, acting like she's thinking. "Let's listen to my French learning tapes while we're making a plan."

     "Hey, that's what I said." The younger girl jokingly punched Robin's shoulder, receiving a dramatic whine from the older girl.

     "Ahh . . . You broke it! It has killed me!" Robin held her shoulder, lying on her back as she kept on whining.

     "Alright, drama queen. You've won the Grammys, now get your ass up and—" Robin sat up and eyed the girl.

     "Woah, woah, woah. You watch that mouth of yours, young lady," said Robin with such authority, making the girl giggle. "And it's the Oscars, not the Grammys. The Grammys is for music, dumbass."

     "Ok, mom . . . Now, please go get the tapes." Robin stood up, stretching her arms and back. She dropped her arms to the side and yawning.

     "Be back in a bit," Robin exclaimed, lightly slapping the girl. Raven gave her a smile, brighter than she had ever seen before. She want that smile to remain on her sister's face.

     She walked from across the lawn and to the patio, entering the slightly opened door. When she entered the humble home, warmth had hugged her, making her cold nose warm up a bit. As she walked down the hallway, she took a glimpse at the pictures of her and her sister that hanged on the wall, bringing back old memories making her smile. Robin climbed up the stairs and into the hallways, as she neared her parents room, her face fell as she caught the sounds of their loud voices, yelling out insults, arguments, and reasonings, the reason why she'd brought Raven out to the yard.

     She slowed her pace, ear nearing the wall as she tried to hear what it was that they were saying. "She was a friend from work, Melissa!"

     "Tell that to your ditching dick!" She heard a thud followed by the sound of glass breaking.

     Robin furrowed her brows. This has been her parents' nightly routine, sometimes if she walked just past them they'd pour their anger on her sister or on herself. The strings of insult and occasional hitting would come their way, it was tiring, it was madness, that's why she'd come up with a plan to escape this town, with her sister.

     She walked down the hallways and into her bedroom, grabbing the walkman and the tapes that lied on her desk and took her way back to the backyard, passing by the sobs of her mother and the soothing whispers of her father. She swung the back door open, excited to plan things out with her sister as they listened to the tapes. She expected to see her sister, bouncing up and down as she walked her way to their spot, but instead she was greeted by the empty backyard.

     "Raven?" she called out but received no response. The girl is probably just hiding from her again, wanting to play or jump on her and tickle her breaths away. "Raven?" She started looking around, exploring the whole backyard with a loving smile on her face. "Raven?" She looked by the bushes but the girl wasn't there. She looked at the shed, thinking her sister was hiding there like the usual. "Raven?" She threw the shed door open, expecting to see the girl covering her mouth, trying to contain her giggles, but she wasn't there either. "Alright . . . I guess I'll have to listen to this tape and plan it alone and go there by myself!"

     She smiled and went back to their spot, she expected for Raven to emerge from her hiding place, run to her and give her the most living and comforting hug Raven usually provides. She sat on the grass only for the smile on her face fade away and her eyes widened when she felt a warm puddle of liquid under her palms, she lifted her hand up to see it smudged with red liquid, her nose being taken over by the smell of iron. It made her worry.

     Her sister wasn't there. What could have happened while she was gone. Whose blood was this, could it have been Raven's? Was Raven Buckley hurt? Where could have she gone? Several questions ran in her mind, bursting from where she sat, looking around hoping to find her. But she wasn't there.

(1.9k words)

and here is where the madness starts