A Secret on Raven Block - Raven City Part Two

11

Before she knew it, June flew by. She spent most of June hanging out with Jade, Hannah, and Stephanie, and occasionally they included Haley, Shelby, Caitlyn, and Sarah as well though, for the most part, it was just the four of them. They went to the pool, the city's best amusement park, Raven Land, and the arcade, and had sleepovers - they spent every second they could together.

Kendall was able to get to know Jade more as they continued to hang out and she really liked Jade. She kicked herself for not trying to reach out more as she discovered that Jade was actually a very sweet, soft-spoken girl. Of course, Jade was very private about her home life - which was understandable and Kendall wouldn't pry - but she had a wicked sense of humor and they started texting and even wanted to try to hang out one and one when they had the chance.

She also invited them over to her house and gave them a tour of her house. She noticed the way the other three girls got nervous when they saw Sterling Manor as she drove them to her house but they loved seeing her new home and spending time over there.

She still got nervous at seeing Sterling Manor and she did have a nightmare about being possessed now and then, but being around her friends and keeping up with her appointments with Dr. Young helped her handle it. Her parents did say they were looking for a new house within Raven City but Kendall has so attached to it already - she didn't know how and why she was so attached to this house but she'd loved living in it so far - and she told them that she was fine living here.

She loved living in this house - why, she couldn't put her finger on it, but she never wanted to move out anytime soon. She also had more secret doors to explore and it always gave her something to do every day.

Though there was a mystery that had been plaguing her all summer: she kept having the dream about the fox morphing into a man and she'd never had the chance to meet the family next door. She had this nagging feeling that this dream was important and she wondered why she was having this same dream over and over. She also never had the chance to meet the family next door since she was nearly out all the time anyway and anytime she saw the family they looked like they were in the middle of doing something because they still had the stuff to move in and she didn't want to interrupt them. She was eager to have someone her age in the neighborhood and she was dying to know if he was going to Raven City High School so she could get to know the school's newest student.

She was driving home from Stephanie's house one evening after hanging out over there with Hannah and Jade and saw that there were BAN SUPERNATIRALS signs posted in yards. She slowed down as she drove by, reading the signs. She thought back to the man in the grocery store for the millionth time and wondered if he was indeed a vampire and wondered if any supernaturals would be going to Raven City High School. She'd been so adamant that this was all such a weird hoax but after seeing videos all over social media and the news of people shifting into animals, drinking blood, and using elemental powers, she wasn't so sure now. Of course, all of those videos could have been heavily edited and fake, but she had a gut feeling that this was real. She had no idea how to wrap her mind around it all.

She got to her house and saw that the boy next door was outside, standing by his mailbox and flipping through his mail. She parked her car in the driveway and got out and approached him.

"Hi!" she called out with a bright smile.

The boy looked up and a guarded expression came over his face. "Oh, hi."

She stuck out her hand and he reluctantly shook it, not fazed by his unenthusiastic response. "I'm Kendall Warnell, your next-door neighbor. I saw you moving in around the same time we moved in here. I wanted to say hi and give you a belated welcome to the neighborhood."

"Oh, thanks. I'm Kameron Patterson. Cameron with a K."

They dropped hands and he gave her a small smile though he seemed nervous to be around her.

"So are you new to Raven City?" she asked.

"Yeah, we moved here from Louisville, Kentucky. You?"

"No. We moved from Raven City before Christmas then moved back here because we missed it here so much and the other town didn't work out for us. How do you like it here so far?"

"I like it. It's a nice place and I'm glad to get out of Louisville. I hated it there." He seemed to be getting more comfortable around her.

"I've never been to Kentucky before."

"Don't - trust me, you're not missing anything. Kentucky's horrible," he said with a laugh.

She laughed as well. "Duly noted. Are you going to Raven City High School?"

"Yeah, are you going?"

"Yeah, I've been going since my freshman year and going back this year. It's a good school and I think you'll like it. Though be careful about Mr. Yates, the chemistry teacher, he's a hardass."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded and looked down at his hand where she could see his tattoo more clearly. Her eyes widened when she saw it wasn't a bunch of numbers as she thought - she was way off. It was a small tattoo of a fox that stretched over his fingers. She thought back to the dream about the fox turning into a man and the voice that kept whispering about the dream meaning something was screaming at her full force now.

Kameron noticed her staring and immediately became guarded again. "You like my tattoo?"

She quickly snapped her eyes back up to his face and felt her face grow red. "Y-yes, sorry. I just. . .Yes, it's really cool." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I couldn't tell what it was at first but it is really cool. Is there any significance behind it?"

Kameron looked away and seemed very uncomfortable. The smile slipped from her face as she sensed she said something wrong.

"I just like foxes," he muttered. "I have to go, my family's making dinner. It was nice meeting you Kendall. I'll see you around." He turned and quickly made his way into his house.

"Nice meeting you too," she said quietly as she watched him walk away.

***

She was walking through the woods. She felt a familiar sense of peace as she allowed the moonlight to guide her way. She knew she'd traveled down this path before and knew the events would be the same as always, but she still walked on, not wanting to let the peace and happiness leave her.

Eventually, she found herself leaving the woods and was in front of a clearing that a hill sat on, a fox standing on top of it. The fox was staring up at the moon before slowly turning its head to look at her. She felt curiosity pique inside of her and she took a hesitant step forward, not sure what was about to happen next.

The fox slowly turned into a man. Kendall gasped and took several steps back. Her shock intensified as the man started making his way down the hill towards her. She was tempted to run away but the man walked into the moonlight and she gasped when she saw it was Kameron. Her curiosity won out and she let him walk over to her.

He stopped in front of her and smiled at her. "Hello, Kendall."

He took her hand and -

She woke up abruptly and cursed as she wished she could find out how the dream would end. A glance outside revealed that the sun was starting to rise. Way too early for her to get up. She managed to go back to sleep but the dream never returned and she woke up around noon thinking about the dream and wondering what would've happened next.