Shadows of Lakecrest

Chapter 1

     Psychologists say that there is an inherent difference between the want and need to be liked. While both seem to encompass a similar feeling, both come to one in a significantly different state of mind.

     The former is an innate human experience, which many individuals will experience as they come into adulthood and many times this want will dwindle to a mere thought in the back of your mind just loud enough to come back to haunt you after an embarrassing moment, however, it will remain like a small fire throughout your life. The latter, however, is a fundamental change that alters the chemical composition of your brain so much it leaves one maimed in the aftermath of a catastrophic event in which one's ability to please people doesn't, in fact, please their peers. 

Being in high school not only shows you who the former is but more importantly who the latter is. In the final year of high school Ruya Saleem had learned the ability to see people for who they were and most importantly who they claimed to be. 

     In class when the class clown allowed for jokes to rip through while the substitute teacher regretted ever signing up Ruya saw the intricate roles both of these individuals played. One had the want to be liked however it wasn't a necessity, as signing up for a death sentence to supervise a bunch of teenagers one knows it will never end well. Whereas the other one changes their behavior based on external validation, the sheer need for validation in the form of laughter drives his need to alter his behavior permanently.

     This wasn't a simple case of seeing societal roles play out but rather an instinctual gut feeling she would receive in waves of punches to the gut. For years her family assumed that she had health issues beyond their understanding but it wasn't until recent years that these feelings would be accompanied by prophetic visions during the night. She'd wake up with visions so vivid she'd mistake herself to be present in those visions. It wasn't until a couple of years ago when she dreamt of a childhood friend who would pass away, and upon opening her eyes she saw her vision play out before her eyes. Like a film, she'd been able to see a premiere too.
     Since then, Ruya listened closely to all the words spoken and unspoken. It was almost like she wanted to train herself, to get better, maybe if she did these visions could come days before rather than hours. And maybe, her actions leading up to it can alter fate. They never did.

     The guilt that washed upon her in the moments that followed would haunt her for life, and to ensure blame wasn't wrongfully placed on her she decided best to keep quiet. The world may have changed, but it would be naive to assume people won't still kill a woman in the name of being a witch. 

     The secret of occasionally seeing powerful images was a secret bound to her and light whispers of it spoken to her immediate family. It wasn't a taboo topic in the household but it also wasn't something she deemed necessary to talk about. Visions, though they can be seen as a curse, were a blessing in some ways. In a world with little control getting a warning in some ways allowed her to become hyper-aware of not only her surroundings but her mind. If she could see visions, something others cannot, then what was her limit?

Her absentminded train of thought was disrupted by the short screech of the over head announcement. Through the speaker, the sound of her principal, Mr. Shanshaw, echoed through the classroom."Good Morning Lakecrest High, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you that one of our own, Jayden Owen, has disappeared. If you or anyone you know might have information regarding this please come to the main office. We will be having a ceremony in the gym at 2 o'clock, today."

As his voice rings around the classroom, eyes can be seen shifting from friends looking at one another to students searching their phones for answers in group chats or the local news to get more information. The rest of his speech was drowned out by the uproar of chatter in the classroom.

Missing. Ruya could not believe her ears. It seemed so real now. She had heard whispers of how Jayden had been known to ditch school occasionally, after all, who doesn't? But going missing in a town of 6,000 isn't a common occurrence. It wasn't like everyone knew everyone in the town personally but it was a tight-knit community and chances were you had probably heard about someone's habits through someone else. In addition to this, she hadn't received any visions in the past few hours so she wasn't entirely sure how to process this. It couldn't be that serious could it? How could someone go missing in a town of 6,000 and no one knew about it?