The Trial Of Alyssa Miller (Teen Thriller)

Prologue

They said a nightmare usually begins with something soft, then brews into something terrible, until it finally turns into a horrifying scene. But not for the town of Tarika. The nightmare came like a tornado, shattering everything in its wake.

The small town is located in the province of Ballesteros, a place that is comprised of eleven towns majorly surrounded by trees and lakes.

On the afternoon of March 14, 2022, the residents of Tarika ended their day just as they always did. There was nothing in the air but the squabble of married couples, complaints of tired workers, children screaming as their parents commanded them to return home for dinner, and of course the sound of machinery that was in the process of constructing a bridge.

As the sun sets and gave way to the evening sky the residents were graced with a moonless night. Even the stars failed to twinkle. The clouds rode the sky in a dark fluff of menacing dance. Thunder rumbled, while lightning crisscrossed the horizon, forming imaginative claws on the sky. The usually still water below the half-built bridge was disturbed by a barrage of raindrops that fell with an intensity none of the town's people had ever experienced. The water in the river shifted and created small waves that crashed onto the bank. As the water and wind continually hit the dirt, a scalding occurred. The river bank which had been constantly battered by nature—even before that gloomy night—slowly revealed a secret.

It was a rodent who first approached what appeared to be a twig sticking out from the ground. Despite the rain and the thunder that would have scared the creature, its curiosity got the best of it. Drenched in water, head moving from side to side it scratched at the twig, then gnawed at it.

Hooked by its endeavor, the animal had barely given the storm importance. It seemed to have enjoyed whatever it was munching on. But minutes later, it scurried away, scratching its face when a burst of lightning drew a frightening line in the sky. Though the animal was startled, it managed to take with it a portion of the twig. As it tried to chew on it again, it squealed and scrunched its nose as if something had attacked it.

A few minutes later, another rumble pervaded the horizon. The animal—with the strangely shaped twig still in its grasp—ran towards a burrow, hiding its prize.

As the night deepened, the downpour continued and the river danced, swaying with the wind. Its waves grew higher and moved faster, whipping mercilessly on everything in its wake. Within minutes of the continued assault, the ground where the twig stuck out disintegrated, eroded by the wave that came crashing towards it, resulting in the collapse of a huge portion of the river bank. A ton of dirt was taken by the water's rush, unearthing what appeared to be a group of oddly shaped twigs and logs.

Unfortunately, they were not.