Violet Night

Prologue

  "Riley, you've done nothing but read that comic book the entire time you've been here! When are you going to try something fun?" A teenage girl clad in pale pink sleepwear cheerily called to the girl on the bottom bunk, popping her head upside-down from her top bunk to look at her roommate. The girl dressed in red flannel pajama bottoms and a baggy black cotton t-shirt, Riley, momentarily shifted her bright green eyes up from her graphic novel.

"I-It's not a comic book; it's a graphic novel... And I've also been drawing and writing, t-too...? Oh! Heather, don't hang upside-down like that, you might fall...!" The honey blonde-haired, bob-cut Riley squeaked, momentarily setting her graphic novel down on her lap. "You worry too much, Riley... but thanks." The blue-eyed girl named Heather sighed, a grin spread on her face as she swung herself right-side up and hopped down from the top bunk, plopping herself at the end of Riley's bed.

A tiny glass lamp placed on the old oak nightstand cast a dim yellow-orange glow throughout the small dorm room that had one bunk bed and a small living area with a couch, a four-shelf wooden bookcase, and a circular area rug. "I'm just saying, you need to get outta your shell a bit, Rye! You've always been telling me how you want a boyfriend, and this summer break is the perfect opportunity~!" Heather giggled.

"L-like any guy in this semester school would be interested in someone as shy and... s-small as me..." Riley stammered, self-consciously looking down at her immature figure as she spoke, then rolled her eyes and blushed slightly as she went back to reading her novel. Heather scoffed and placed her hand on the spine of the book, pushing it down so she could see Riley. "Oh, c'mon! Don't use that excuse! You're beautiful, Riley!" She replied with a serious smirk.

Riley averted her eyes from Heather. "Th-thanks, but..." She trailed off, looking out of the four-paned window towards the bright full moon. "I don't think anyone will really even want to talk to me regardless unless I..." Heather let out a frustrated sigh and leaned earnestly towards Riley. "Don't tell me you're going to go through with that dare Victoria told you to do?!"

Riley kept her eyes out of the window, now focusing her gaze on the silhouette of a large oak tree, which stood much higher above the other shadows of trees against the moonlit night sky, and nodded slowly. Heather quickly grabbed her hand. "No, Riley. It's dangerous to stay out in the forest all by yourself at night like that. You could freeze or be attacked by wild animals!" Riley looked at her best friend in the eye with a determined look. "H-Heather... I have to. I can't let Victoria and the others keep calling me a coward and push me around...! I-I have to show that they aren't going to intimidate me!"

Despite her protests, Riley had ignored Heather's warnings and got dressed in a white t-shirt with red trim and two stripes lined vertically across the front, jean shorts with two small, partially-ripped holes with black leggings underneath, a vermillion zip-up hoodie with drawstrings, and red sneakers, getting ready to spend the night at the base of the largest oak tree within the deepest part of the forest surrounding the north side of the campus.

"Riley... are you sure about this...? That forest did used to be a campsite, but it's still pretty fishy..." Heather gave one final, resigned attempt to dissuade her. Riley pulled the single strap of her canvas messenger bag over her shoulder, shuffling her hand through a small side pocket and pulling out a deep blue smartphone to show Heather. "I-If anything happens, I can call someone... i-it's fully charged, so if I keep the volume and brightness down, it should last u-until morning..."

Heather whined and hugged Riley. "Just don't let anything happen. I don't want to have to punch you for worrying me!" Heather laughed half-heartedly, releasing Riley and giving her a kind, but worried, smile. Riley grinned back. "I'll be fine, Heather, d-don't worry." With that, she walked towards the wooden door and departed for the old camp's abandoned Lilac Trail.
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  Armed with a yellow flashlight and a water bottle, Riley had arrived at her destination after a few hours of hiking through the steadily narrowing dirt trail. She laid out a small throw blanket she had packed at the roots of the ancient oak, leaving the snacks such as packaged cookies and soda cans she brought to hold her out through her midnight snack urges, along with her handheld gaming console and a few books to keep her entertained in her shoulder bag.

Checking the time on her phone, Riley sighed to herself. The digital clock read '11:48 PM' It's just until 7:30... I should be fine, right...? She kept telling herself, taking a seat by the base of the trunk on the comforter and leaning her back against the bark. She took a few sips of her water, twisting the cap back on the plastic bottle afterwards and putting it back in her bag, simultaneously pulling out her graphic novel and shining her flashlight at the page to continue reading.

About two and a half hours had passed, but to Riley it only felt like 30 minutes by the time she finished her novel, closing the book and shoving it back into her bag. She checked her cellphone's clock once more. '2:34' Ugh... barely any time passed at all...? ...Maybe I should just try to sleep... She thought to herself, zipping up her jacket and yanking the hood over her head. She settled in, adjusting her back against the tree so she was lying down slightly, and closed her eyes...
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  Meanwhile, Heather had been trying to force herself to go to sleep, but her racing thoughts were preventing her eyelids from staying closed. She tossed and turned, occasionally stuffing her head beneath her pillow, but finally let out a groan of frustration. "Argh, that Victoria really ticks me off!! Encouraging everyone to tease Rye like that until she does that dumb 'Sophomore's Initiation'!" She sat up and threw her pillow across the room, hitting the short bookcase as the cushion made a 'boof' sound.

As soon as the pillow hit the wooden bookstand, a beam of red and blue shone through the first-story window next to the bottom bunk, reflecting off of the mirror on the opposite end of the room. Assuming it was Victoria and her clique trying to instigate Riley, she growled and leaped down from her bunk, rushing toward the window. "Just quit it, Victoria! She already left--"

Heather stopped herself in her tracks at the source of the light. It wasn't some kind of colored flashlight like she had thought. Eyes glued to the sky, she saw that two circular-shaped, translucent bodies of light were slowly moving towards the equally-sized full moon."Wh-what the... I don't think this boarding school... has a lightshow club...?" She gasped.

Eyes widening, Heather watched as the two lights finally collided and transformed into a shade of amethyst, the light of the moon behind them casting the deep purple glow throughout the sky. Too preoccupied with the strange lights in the air, she failed to notice that the leaves of the oak tree where Riley was currently sleeping had begun to faintly glow the same hue as the violet night sky...
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