Strange Magic

Mysteries

"I don't know," Amelia said absently as an answer to all the neighbors' questions. "I'll just go now..." she muttered, trying to leave the crowd. Just then, the sound of sirens blasted through her ears. "Oh great," she sighed as police cars pulled up to the house. Now any neighbors who were still asleep would be awake as well. As police officers swarmed around her house, Amelia thought about what had happened. That had been strange. Very strange. The malfunctioning air vents? Last time Amelia checked, their AC had been fine. And rats? With red eyes? In the air vent? That was just plain weird. And abnormal. Her mind raced, alert and awake, as she pondered what had happened. "Anna? Anna? Really?" An teenaged boy, around 18 or 19, wandered the street, calling for Anna. Whoever she was. The kid walked up to her. "Hey, you know where Anna is? Anna Hudson, I mean." Curious, Amelia curved her lips into a smile. "Maybe. Depends on who you are." She answered. He looked proud. "I'm Anna's... friend. Now have you seen Anna? She was here just a minute ago. We were in her bedroom..." He blushed furiously and cleared his throat. "I need to find her. We were in the middle of..." He trailed off. Amelia smirked. Obviously this guy was a new player. Not that she had that much experience. "I don't know," she began. His face fell. "But I can help you look!" She finished brightly. He flashed a quick smile at her. "Thanks. I'm Jason." "I'm Amelia. Nice to meet you." She searched the neighborhood, but saw no one. "By the way," Jason started. "What's up with the police cars at your house?" Amelia shrugged and didn't answer. She didn't feel like talking about it. "Also, I'm really sorry about your loss." He said nervously. Amelia just nodded and kept on walking. There was an awkward silence. Trying to start some conversation, Amelia asked, "Where could Anna have gone?" Jason thought for a moment. "I don't know. Why don't we split up? She's probably just hiding somewhere," he stated cheerfully. Amelia had just began to look around the eastern neighborhood when she heard a loud yell. "NO!!!" She followed the direction of the noise, tracing it to the backyard of her own house, and saw Jason screaming. Next to him was the lifeless body of Anna Hudson.