Truths Unravel

Prolouge

      Laughter. That was something people could always hear from the inseparable trio in Galendio, Alabama. Wherever they went, you would get to witness just how much they laugh all together. It seems as though those 3 friends had a perfect life, and they did. But, life one day, could decide to give you a not-so-perfect-day, and that's what these best friends had to face soon.

                                                                        20 Years Ago...1971

      "W-w-wait," A girl with long, brown hair and light brown eyes struggles to say this because she's out of breath from laughing to hard. "Who would ever say that?" She bursts out laughing and loses balance. She falls to the ground, clutching her stomach, all the while still laughing.

      "Cara, calm down." A tall boy, whose name is Galvos, is standing a few feet away from Cara trying to suppress a laugh. He makes a stern face that looks really strange, but cannot keep it that way, due to the loud laugh that comes out a second later.

      Another boy, slightly shorter than Galvos, steps onto the grass and says, "What, I'm serious. Why can't I say that?"

      "Because, Mrs. Turlo will expel you in 2 seconds if you say that, Ryker." Galvos is calm now, unlike Cara, who is rolling on the ground, trying to suppress her laugh, but failing.

      The 17 year olds, Galvos Aldrich, Cara Ambrose, and Ryker Coltrane, are all hanging out at Sunny Creek Park, making jokes about Ryker's speech to the grade 8ths. It's a fine Friday evening, with nothing to worry about. However, there was something to worry about. There was a woman, dressed in all black, taking pictures of the trio. The woman, who appears to be a stalker, is hiding behind a tall, thick pine tree. The trio doesn't notice her and end up going home.

                                                                                    ***

      It's Saturday; the day Ryker must give his welcome speech to the grade 8ths, and most of the new teachers. He rushes to memorize it while he gets ready to leave. He peeks out the window to check the weather, and he sees a woman, dressed in all black, behind the large bush in his yard. He quickly looks away and looks back again to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He doesn't see her and hits his head saying, "I'm just worried about the speech. I'm just seeing things."

      As Ryker is walking to his school, Mencory High, he gets distracted by tons of police cars outside a big blue house; a big blue house that is Cara's. He drops his highlighted cue cards with his speech on it, and gets through the crowd surrounding the house. He is frozen with shock at what he sees.

      Cara is on the ground, bleeding from her leg and stomach. A bloody knife is beside her, a nurse is stopping the blood from coming out, and police are talking to the heartbroken parents of Cara. Ryker slowly puts the pieces together; someone stabbed Cara.

      Ryker sprints and falls next to the almost unconscious Cara and holds her hand. He says, "It's fine. You're fine. Don't go, stay with me." He starts sobbing and talking all at the same time, and his words sound jumbled. He frantically looks around to find Galvos, but doesn't spot him anywhere. Quietly, so the nurse doesn't hear him, he says to Cara, "Where is Glavos? He has to pass by your house to get to school, so why isn't he here?"

      At this comment, Cara lets out a sharp cry and her tears fall faster down her face. "H-he w-was kill-killed." She takes a breath and continues, "A woman d-dressed in all black stabbed him and t-took his body away. I was in t-the way so she s-stabbed me." Cara's eyes are closing, but she says one last thing, "Ryker, before he was stabbed, Galvos was talking about being killed. I said that if one of us goes down, we all do. He made me promise him that if one dies, then we all die, too." At that last word, her eyes shut and Ryker's vision becomes darker.

      "Why was Galvos worried about dying?" Ryker says under his breath. He looks around him, a bit scared.

      Cara survived, but was shaken by the events that had occurred. Nothing was the same in Galendio. The woman in all black never was found, Galvos's body was not found either, and Cara and Ryker moved away with their families, to Senrol, Alabama. They got married years later and lived as happy couple. However, that happiness wouldn't last to long; for them, or their family. Laughter was once again, going to be taken away.