The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 14

Mavis lit a candle in her room. She believed it would help open her mind. At least, that's what the internet told her. "Okay," Emmett stopped at the door. "I draw the line at witchcraft."

She playfully glared at him, "shut up. I'm trying to open my mind."

Emmett snorted, "that sounds like a bad idea."

"I guess we will see."

"I'll leave you to your weird meditation thing," he waved his hands. "We'll be outside if you need anything."

"I know." Emmett winked before disappearing.

Mavis shook her head at his childish antics. Clutching the necklace around her neck, she unlatched the hook. The girl had never been a fan of wearing jewelry to bed.

She set the necklace on the nightstand. Her eyes roam over the wooden wolf charm for a moment. It was a gift from Paul. She wore it every day. "Okay," she spoke to herself. "You can do this." She got under the covers and turned off her lamp. "Just relax and focus on your breathing. Clear your mind."

She laid on her side, as she always did. Her back faced the door, and her front faced the wall. Mavis tried to clear her mind, to keep it open and vulnerable.

Truthfully, she had no idea if this would work. Claus had told her not to let her in, and Mavis was doing the exact opposite. She began to wonder why he said that. Claus said that Melissa was her biological mother. Her mother wouldn't hurt her, right? That wasn't what mothers were supposed to do. Yet, some did. Some people weren't made to be mothers.

Mavis was seventeen now. Melissa had plenty of time to look for her if she really wanted to. She never did. That couldn't have been a good sign. Or maybe Melissa couldn't find her. Perhaps she spent years searching for her daughter and had no luck.

But if that was true, why didn't Melissa approach her the moment she saw her? There were so many questions in her mind that Mavis began to lose track of what she was doing. Her mind grew tired, as did the rest of her body. Soon, the girl was fast asleep.

The time ticked by slowly. Hour after hour went by, and Mavis slept. Her mind was restless, and the dreams stayed far away.

The clock on the table read 1:04 A.M. A loud slam woke her up. Mavis's eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the wall in front of her. Nothing had changed since she had fallen asleep.

It didn't work.

Mavis let out an annoyed sigh and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed her blanket and turned over in the bed, but the blanket vanished. Reopening her eyes, Mavis realized she was on the ground. Sitting up, she realized that the world around her was not that of her bedroom.

Mavis was at the high school. She stood up, feeling her heart start to race. She had no idea how she got here. "Hello?" There was no response. The hallway was dark, the only light from the small windows. "Hello?" A locker slammed closed, causing her to spin around.

There was nobody there. The panic she felt was overwhelming. Mavis had to get out of here as fast as she could. The school was miles away from her house.

She searched her pockets for a phone, but it was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, she heard the sound of her ringtone. It echoed down the hallway. Mavis frantically looked around and caught sight of a glowing light inside a locker. She ran forward, dropping to her knees.

The phone screen was visible through the small cracks. There was a purple lock on the locker. "Come on." She messed with the lock. "Open up, please." She slammed her hand on the locker. "Come on!" This was slowly becoming a nightmare. "Mavis, if you're asleep right now, I really need you to wake up." She closed her eyes. "Wake up right now." Mavis opened her eyes, but nothing changed. "Come on! Wake up!" She shoved her fingers through the hole but gasped as she cut open her index finger. She yanked her hand back.