Once in a Lifetime

38

Malia shook Scott and he mumbled, "Where are we?"

"According to the GPS, this is it," Malia replied.

The three of them stepped out of the car. There were numerous old cars and rickety houses.

"This is it," Lydia said. "Canaan's a ghost town."

Scott frowned. "I don't hear a single heartbeat."

Malia faced them. "I'm not catching any scents."

"Why would Tabi send us here?" Stiles wondered.

A streetlight shone and dissipated immediately. They walked through the town and Lydia stopped in the middle, staring at a faded banner.

"This is the place I saw in the mirror," Lydia told her friends.

Scott, Stiles and Malia walked toward a picnic table.

Lydia said, "We shouldn't be here."

Scott shook his head. "We can't leave. Not until we figure out why Tabitha sent us here."

Lydia frowned. "Who are we going to ask? There's no one here."

Malia pointed to a young boy across the street with his back to them. "We can talk to him."

"Hey," Scott and Stiles called as the boy ran off.

"What do we do?" Lydia asked.

"Follow him!" Malia and Stiles yelled, running after the boy.

They ran further down the street and stopped in front of a house. The curtain moved slightly and Scott walked up to the door and opened it slowly.

The teens walked inside and asked, "Hello? Anybody here?"

The room was brown and the furniture had been nicely laid out, but was dusty like no one had sat there for years.

A woman's voice caught their attention. "Visitors? I can't believe we have visitors. Oh, Caleb will be so happy to see you. It's been such a long time since he's had anyone to play with. Oh, you must be thirsty. Come on in and have a seat while I get you something to drink." She walked off, giving them a wide smile.

Malia frowned. "Seriously? What is with her?"

Lydia let out a sigh. "She's the woman I saw in the mirror."

The woman reappeared moments later. "This was my grandmother's recipe. At least, as much as I can remember. We always served this when we had friends to visit."

Lydia shook her head. "We didn't come to visit. We're looking for a someone."

"A friend of ours," Scott said. "Maybe you've seen her. Her name is Tabitha?"

The woman frowned in thought. "It's been awhile since anyone came through Canaan."

"How long?" Lydia asked.

"Since April 8, 1987?" Malia questioned, setting down a newspaper.

The woman's face hardened. "Why would you disturb those things? They don't belong to you."

"We need to know what happened."

"There was a picnic. A community party."

"It seems like everyone left in a hurry," Stiles commented.

"People have been leaving Canaan for a long time. That's the day the last of them left."

"All at once?" Scott asked. "They just disappeared?"

The woman grew irritated. "I didn't say they disappeared. I said they left."

"Did they leave in a cloud of green smoke?" Malia inquired.