The Wandering.

Chapter 4

This little girl
Just could not sleep
Because her thoughts
Were way too deep
Her mind had gone
Out for a stroll
And fallen down
A rabbit hole

1

Shari Davenport almost forgot it was her birthday. You may think - who in hell would forget their own birthday? And the answer would be: Shari Davenport. The truth was: it wasn't Shari's birthday. It was their birthday. The day they were born. The day they shared - together. And now there was no they. Now there was just she and that meant Shari had no reason to celebrate - it was just a painful remember of her sister. May 20th was not a day for happiness.

And everyone would try to make a fuss and make her feel better, just like every year, just like every birthday. This year she was 28. And the worst thing was that whilst she was 28, her twin would be 5 forever. Once upon a time, Shari and Sadie were identical. Now, Shari was a woman and Sadie would always be the five year old, frozen in time, a memory, a shadow of the terror Sachem Bay had experienced.

Sachem Bay. It felt weird to say it, never mind think it. Shari rarely thought about the town she grew up in: why would she? It was a nightmare. To Shari, Sachem Bay was like knowing what to say deep down but never being able to let it roll off your tongue. A memory that was surely there, but never acknowledged.

Just like Sadie. Living without her was trying to live without legs. She was a part of her; they were a part of each other. And now Shari always had something missing as if a segment of her died with her sister.

The 7.30AM alarm ripped Shari from her inner thoughts and pulled her back to the safety of reality. Good. Shari hated it when her mind wandered, because she may accidentally think about Sadie, or her parents or Sachem Bay or the thing that killed Sadie Davenport.

Shari simultaneously shook off her nightwear and her worries and ventured into the shower. The water was hot, but Shari still turned it up hotter: she liked it scolding, it relaxed her and helped with the tension. For a few minutes, Shari could forget who she was and bask in the pleasure of the hot water and steam, as if all the negative memories would seep out from her pores and leave her forever.

Yet, the memories were still there, deep within her, stamped permanently like a branded tattoo. She still saw how her mother simply refused to believe Samuel Tenner, shaking her head frantically, causing a scene and damn right refusing to accept any condolences for Sadie. She remembered clearly how many times her mother would call her Sadie and how eventually Shari stopped correcting her. She accepted that Michelle Davenport couldn't look at Shari without the ghost of Sadie looking back at her. Two souls born together but only one would live.

She remembered how Shari had been awoke at 3AM, a low, dim, shrieking, wailing sound that seemed to be coming from everywhere. And for some reason, it called out to Sadie in a stronger sense, compelling her to walk out of the bedroom they shared, down the steps and out of the house, in which Shari followed - not because of the noise but out of fear of Sadie getting into trouble.

And she couldn't get Sadie to return to bed, she was smitten on following the noise, reluctant to think rationally and determined to walk towards the sound. And Shari would try to tell her parents about the sound the morning after her disappearance but they would declare they heard no sound and nobody else did. That was until the day her death was declared - Shari would overhear her mother tell her father of the sound - she claimed she heard it as the police officer told of Sadie's death. But her father would tell her the shock has gotten to her and to don't speak such nonsense and Michelle Davenport would believe him. Because let's be honest, who believes in monsters? Shari knew Jenny Cooper did - she claimed she saw the creature when they took her brother, Conrad. Just like Shari did when he took Sadie. And Scott Davenport, her brother. And Tobias Ledger, Justin Wainwright, Diana Jet and Prue Harris. They all saw Him. They believed her.

The truth was - they all knew exactly what was going on in Sachem Bay. It was a ghost town, haunted by the darkness and secrets that lurked in the shadows.

But Shari hadn't heard of them in a while. She was 28 now. Her brother Scott was 30. Jenny Cooper would be around 36. Tobias, Parker, Diana and Prue would also be in their late twenties. All grown up.

Shari sometimes wondered if they still thought about Him - what they called "The Monster". She knew Scott still lived in Sachem Bay, he wanted to be close to their parents. The first chance Shari got, she was on a bus to New York City and she found a job waitressing.

But running away wouldn't erase the stain of Sachem Bay and what happened there. Nothing had occurred there for ten years; the evil was dormant. Not exactly dead, but dormant.

And it was on Shari's 28th birthday, at 9.08AM as she sat down at a table for her break when she received a text from her older brother, Scott.

It's started again. They've taken Gracie.

- S.

Shari stared at the text for a good five minutes, unsure of how to react.

Her niece had been taken. Shari took off her apron and left instantly - she knew she'd be fired but after seven years of the crappy job, Shari found it hard to care. Not too long after, Shari stormed into the apartment she shared with her gay friend Eddie and started for bedroom. She stormed in and ripped open the drawer below her desk and pulled out a handgun. Breathing heavily, she changed; pulling on some tight jeans and a white top and slid the handgun into the waist of her pants.

She grabbed her leather jacket from the hanger and threw it over her shoulder.

"Woah woah, hold up Lara Croft..." Eddie joked, standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

Shari ignored him, piling clothes into a backpack furiously.

"C'mon Shari, what's up?" Said Eddie.

"I have to leave. Family issues." She replied quickly, zipping up the bag. "My share of this month's rent is in the drawer by the couch. After that you'll have to find a new roommate."

"This is crazy, Shari. And so not like you." Eddie said in a bewildered state.

Shari froze and faced her friend. "Look. I'm sorry, but my niece's life is on the line. I wish I could explain it, but I can't. I have to go and I'm sorry - I'll make it up to you when this is all over."

Eddie nodded slowly, clearly confused but Shari had no time to care. She stormed past her  friend, straight through the front door she'd left ajar and left her life behind once again.