Dark Before the Dawn

Chapter 2

Elaine felt cold calm descend on her. It was a technique she honed over the last couple years. She glanced at her parents, who were chatting with Jodi's parents. No need to tell them anything. It was either an idiot that sent her the message, or a friend. Either way, she could take care of it. She looked around. Jodi was dancing without a care in the world. If it had been her, she would have been looking at her to give her a confirming look, right?

Leslie, her least favorite person in the room, was chatting with Hunter, who was your typical jock with a quasi-typical mean streak. They were all flirtation, Leslie twirling a blond lock around her finger. It didn't look like they were conspiring, but that didn't mean it wasn't them. Leslie was a master of pretension. Nice to the staff, and mockingly friendly to the people she didn't like. It always made Elaine's skin crawl.

Elaine pulled Jodi, dressed as Harley Quinn, aside. "What's up," her friend asked. Some people were in costume and others weren't. Elaine was not. She was in a bespoke brown suit, brown low-heeled boots, and burnt orange blouse. If pressed, she could say she was Sailor Uranus - she had the hair and build for it.

"Did you write this. Or get something like it?" Elaine asked.

Jodi looked at the message. "No."

"Will you come with me to the woods, and see what this is about?" Elaine asked.

Jodi smirked. "Okay, let me get my bag. I brought a flask," she winked.

"The woods then, oh, mysterious person," Elaine texted back. There was still no response.

They nipped at the vodka and seltzer from the flask as they walked across the hospital grounds. It was full dark, but the light from the hospital and two light posts in the parking lot were enough illumination to get where they were going.

"Do you still talk to Sunny?" Jodi asked. "You were hot and heavy at the Institute."

"We do video calls sometimes. But its hard. Her school's in North Carolina." Elaine stayed local, still needing help from her parents for a while longer. There were residual affects to her condition that she can ignore more and more. And eventually, they'll be gone.

"Yeah," Jodi sympathised. "I'm graduating this year."

"That's great," Elaine said, and meant it. "Congrats."

When they entered the woods, they turned the flashlights on their phones on. The Fall air whistled through the sparse trees. Elaine felt the crunch of the dried leaves under her feet that scattered the narrow path.

She remembered her first foray into these woods. It was her second year and Sunny talked her into it. The independence of it had been thrilling. She did what she wanted, with the girl she wanted to do it with, without the help of anyone else. And, she got the chance to be truly alone with her. Major bonus.

They reached the small clearing scattered with tree stumps and flat rocks, and sat down on her favorite stump. Jodi sat next to her.

"No one here," Jodi said, and took a sip from the flask. She passed it to Elaine.

Elaine sipped, and looked at the time. "Ten minutes left." She went into her purse and took out some napkin wrapped chocolate chip cookies. She made sure her pepper spray was in its pocket inside the purse while she was at it, just in case. "Dessert?" she asked, offering one to Jodi and taking a big bite of her own. Jodi accepted with a smile.

Elaine heard the rustling of footsteps, and she could they were made by more than one person. She looked at Jodi and then toward the path.

"Too good for the rest of us?" Leslie asked as she traipsed into the clearing with her cat ears and body suit. Hunter was behind her, wearing the wolf mask she saw him with before. She used a nasty tone, but Elaine ignored it.