River's Creek

Chapter one

I always enjoyed how smoothing the woods are in the morning. The sky was clear. The birds were singing softly. And the sunrise was calm. It was a beautiful morning. I would look out as far as I could into the distance. Imagining how far I could go, freely. I would come here every chance I get. It was my safe place. I guess because it was quiet and outdoors. But sooner or later, I had to go back home. With a deep sigh, I rise from the ground, dusting the dirt and leaves from my body. I closed my eyes enjoying the soft sunlight and the small breeze as I walked back through the trail to head home. The house eventually came into view. And my cheerful mood was over. Entering a dark run-down house with a drunk inside.
"Emma!"
His rough voice echoes through the thin walls of the house. Disrupting everything. I didn't feel like dealing with him in the morning. But his voice was still echoing. I sigh deeply. Earl was sitting on his arm chair drinking his ninth bottle of beer. And that's just counting today. He still had on his suit from yesterday. His white shirt was unbuttoned and wrinkled. His black hair was frizzy. His eyes are stone cold blue. He stared at me as he finished drinking his beer. I was standing in front of him frustrated.
"What is it?"
"Get me another beer!"
I exhale softly. "Alright."
I grab a beer bottle from the refrigerator. Earl was switching through different channels on the tv. I place the cold beer on the coffee table and pick up the other empty beer bottles. The tv then turns onto the news. The first words that I caught made me tremble. Erin White was…missing? I stared at the tv in disbelief. The news was explaining that Erin mysteriously disappeared last night. And never came back home. The town I live in is very simple. It's black and white. Rich and poor. The White family is one of the richest families in the north side. Practically untouchable. I go to school with both kids, Erin and Jackson. Erin is the youngest of the family. And Jackson is the oldest. I'm actually in the same class with him, but he doesn't notice me. I'm just another dark shadow in River's Creek. Everybody knew about the thick invisible line between the poor and rich. Nobody had dared to cross it. For Erin to go missing..the town must be on high alert. And something bad was happening.
Earl suddenly chuckles.
"One less person to worry about." He mumbles.
I turned towards him, irritated. But I didn't say anything. The last thing we need is for him to have another episode. Explaining why it's hard to be in his shoes. He pretends that everything he does is complicated. When he's in this mood, you just have to be understanding. It's the fastest way to end the conversation and it defeats him easily because he feeds off anger. Then he gets abusive. I walked back to my room and sat on my bed to think. Staring at the blank walls of my room. And still feeling the lingering taste of boredom. The only tv we have is in the living room. Unfortunately, Earl spends most of his life there. The only entertainment is my mind and the outdoors. I glance towards the window. Watching nothing but trees drifting in the wind. But for some reason, it felt off. A strong feeling ran through my body. It wasn't good. I felt this before. My alarm clock suddenly went off. It was time for school. After getting ready for school, I closed the door behind me eager to leave home. I took a deep breath of the fresh air outside the house. Only to be able to move in the shadows. I kept to myself until I made it to school. Of course when I got there, the only thing people could talk about was Erin White going missing. Some people speculated while others voiced their concerns and worries. But I was only concerned about Jackson. And everybody else was too. His main friend group was shielding him from the others. And Jackson was shrouded in darkness. I'm surprised he came here today.
"Emma."
Amelia came walking towards me waving. She then looked at Jackson and sighed softly.
"What happened to Erin is terrible."
"Yeah."
"I'm surprised he's here."
"It's probably suffocating at home."
"Erin going missing is now the scariest thing that happened to this small unknown town."
"That's an understatement."
The fact that someone took Erin and got away with it destroyed the harsh balance of this town. The rich are no longer untouchable. Things around us were changing for the worse and Erin was the first to be collateral damage. The bell rings for class to begin. I walked in with Amelia, heading to the first class. I was daydreaming in class when blood suddenly dropped on my paper. I felt this intense force echoing on my head. I then looked outside and saw someone standing there. Across the school yard was…Erin. She was staring directly at me. At least, it did from far away. But I knew the truth. The problem was what was she doing here? After class, I snuck outside to find Erin's after image. She was standing outside of my first class window. But she wasn't looking at me. She was staring at the football field. Luckily nobody was out here. Not as far as I could see. But why here? The only thing I could think of was cheer practice. Erin is the captain after all. I went searching the field for anything from Erin's. If her after image or echo is here, then something is linking her here. The news only said that she was missing though. But the fact that I can see her when nobody else does means she doesn't have long to live. I kept searching until I stepped on it. A necklace? Did she drop it in the middle of the field? But why this? I picked it up to examine it. A silver chain necklace with a diamond hanging from it. And something else.
"Ricky's girl?"
Who's Ricky? Is that a student I don't know? Maybe a football player. I heard the bell ring echo outside. I rushed back inside as quickly as I could. I glanced around my second period thinking of who could possibly be Ricky. Everybody is looking for Erin, but she could possibly be dead. And the only person who knows about it is me. I didn't interact with her echo completely. Which means she's still fighting, barely. Those thoughts only made my heart pump faster. I paid close attention to who Ricky could be. He's the only lead that I have. A firm knock then echoes from the classroom door. The teacher stops talking to open the door. Two male police officers walked inside, scanning at us. This wasn't good. If I was hoping to escape to get answers. It was already too late. Ms. Read, my second period science teacher, pressed her hands together with a smile.
"Hello gentlemen. How can we help you today?"
"We have permission to interrogate each of your students about the disappearance of Erin White."
"What brings the investigation here?"
"We have reason to believe that these kids have a part in Erin's disappearance."
The students began to mumble under their breaths. But his words only made me more curious. What brought them here? Did someone have a hint? Or was it a coincidence? While students were getting picked one by one by the cops, Ms. Read was still trying to teach us. Even though it was hard when everyone was worrying more about the cops. But as the students were coming back, they started whispering. I tuned everything out to listen.
"It was the same with me. Questions like your name, where you've been that night, the last time with Erin and relationship with her."
I see. Maybe the police are getting somewhere. I could possibly learn something. Of course I can't let them know I have an investigation myself.
"Emma Walker."
Everybody stared at me as I walked towards the door. It was also followed by whispers. Ones that haunted me. "The weird girl." "The outsider." "The freak". I followed the cops to an empty room. They tried to intimidate me with their eyes but I studied as much as I could.
"Emma Walker. I'm officer Page and this is my partner officer Green." Page says.
"Where were you on the night of Erin's disappearance?" Officer Green says.
"I was home. Most likely taking a nap."
"Do you have an alibi?" Page questions.
"My father. But he won't talk to cops. And to save you the trouble, I have no relationship with Erin nor was I with her. She's the popular girl that always gets attention. I make it my goal to stay away from people like that."
"So you already know everything, huh?" Officer Green says.
"Kids like to talk."
"Okay smart-ass. Tell me what else you know."
"You already know the things I do."
"Well since you have nothing for us then if anything else comes up. Call us." Page says.
He hands me one of his cards. But before they could leave-
"I have a question." I said.
"What is it?" Page responds.
"Have you already talked to all of the students?"
"Yes."
"Including Ricky?"
"Ricky? There was no student named Ricky." Green said.
"I see."
"The closest I can think of is Richard. But he's a teacher."
"A teacher."
"Why ask?" Page says.
"Maybe you should talk to him."
I got up and left the room. So Ricky is a teacher. Come to think of it. He's the PE teacher and coach to the football team. Fuck. How did I forget? Mr. Richard has always given me a creepy feeling. The way he would look around and stare at the hottest girls. The way he would talk slowly and pervy. But I never thought Erin would fall for someone like him. Unless she didn't. After class, I made my way towards PE class. But Mr. Richard wasn't here. I wonder if the cops took my advice. I tried to get as far as I could, but the office was locked. I'll have to come back at night. School was soon over. Some of the kids were hanging around the parking lot. I just kept to myself and continued walking home. That is… until I bumped into someone and ended up on the ground. I could feel everybody turn to look at me. I was so deep in my mind that I wasn't paying attention. I should have been.
"Are you okay?"
My body turned red. That voice belonged to a boy. I even saw his hand stretch out to me. But something made me look past the hand. My face turned red and I felt hot. It was Jackson. He was reaching out to me. I was hoping to leave inconspicuous, but I bumped into the one person that has all the attention. The one person I wanted to avoid. I held in my breath to calm my shaking heart.
"I'm fine."
Instead of grabbing his hand, I just helped myself up. I just wanted to leave.
"You dropped something."
Jackson ends up picking the necklace. He saw Erin's name with Ricky's. He looked at me with shock as I snatched the necklace away. I speed walk away from Jackson. Feeling everybody's pair of eyes trailing me. I took a deep breath once I was free. This was bad. Jackson saw the necklace. I hope he didn't think much. I came home to a dark and silent house. Earl fell asleep in his chair while the tv light was left on. So I cleaned up behind him and just gently usher him to his bedroom. I then got dressed in darker clothes to break in the school. It also gave me a chance to think. Someone kidnapped Erin and injured her. The fact that I saw her afterimage means she's fighting to live. But out of all places she could have appeared, her afterimage was looking at the football field. Did she have cheer practice? Or was she here to be with Richard? The necklace that was left there wasn't on purpose. She could have been attacked right there. And it definitely wasn't meant for me to find. After a while, I left the house to break into the school. Since I'm usually invisible, it wasn't that hard to get there without attention. I head straight for the window to his office. But the strange thing was that it was left unlocked. I opened the window and climbed in. The office was trashed. There were papers and trash everywhere. Richard was a pig. I wonder how he and Erin became a thing. Under all the papers, was a note. Erin and Richard pass notes to keep their relationship a secret. But this note was serious. She wants to urgently talk to him. But that was it. Just a posted note. But it could be the reason why the necklace was out in the field. They came here to talk. I searched everywhere again but so far nothing. Back to another dead end.  I climbed back out of the window and walked back home. I was shocked that I didn't find anything in there. The only thing left was to find Richard. He's the only one who may know the truth. For right now, I have to follow through with Richard. I then looked ahead of me. Everything stopped when I saw her again. Erin. She was staring at me this time. I walked up to her and reached out my hand. The next thing I knew, I was transported into the medium. A mirror world filled with the dead. Some things look exactly the same while other things are totally different. But one rule in this place is to trust only yourself. Erin's echo was calling out for me. I followed her wandering soul to an abandoned house in the medium. But the house was strange. It was surrounded by a dark aura. Not to mention, I've never seen this house before. I tried to walk closer but my mind wasn't strong enough.
"Help!"
Erin's voice was echoing hoarsely. The connection wasn't strong enough. I squinted my eyes at the numbers on the door. 321? The environment then began to change. And I was cast out of the medium. My body was trembling with weakness and my nose was bleeding. But at least I know what to do next. To find this address and that hallway. That's how I will find Erin.