Dark Side of the World // S.S. [Book Two]

Chapter 39

Lydia shakes me awake. "Meg, we're here."

Malia shakes Scott awake and he mumbles, "Where are we?"

"According to the GPS, this is it." Malia answers.

We step out of the car. I see old cars and rickety houses, indicating the town's age.

Lydia states, "This is it. Canaan's a ghost town."

I shudder and mumble, "Always hated ghost towns. They're eerie."

Scott glances to me. "I definitely agree with you there." He then frowns. "I don't hear a single heartbeat."

Malia turns to face us. "I'm not catching any scents."

I frown. "What I don't get is why Stiles would send us here."

A street light shines and dissipates almost immediately. We walk through the town and Lydia stops in the middle, staring at a faded banner. "This is the place I saw in the mirror."

Scott, Malia, and I walk over to a picnic table. As I'm walking over, I see Peter lying on the ground, a gaping hole in his chest. "Peter! Oh, gods! No!"

Lydia cups my face and shakes me a few times. "Meg, it's a hallucination. Peter is fine."

I glance to my friends and back at Lydia. "I don't think we should be here, guys."

Scott shakes his head. "We can't leave. Not until we figure out why Stiles sent us here."

Lydia frowns. "Who are we going to ask? There's no one here."

Malia points to a young boy across the street with his back to us. "We can talk to him."

"Hey!" Scott calls, causing the boy to run off.

"What do we do?" Lydia asks in a panicked tone.

"Obviously go after him!" I yell, running after the boy.

We run further down the street and stop in front of a house. The curtain moves slightly and Scott walks up to the door and slowly opens it. We walk inside and ask, "Hello? Anybody here?"

The room is brown and the furniture is nicely laid out, but dusty, like no one has sat there for nearly thirty years.

A woman's voice startles me. "Visitors? I can't believe we have visitors. Oh, Caleb will be so happy to see you. It's been such a long time since he's had anyone to play with. Oh, you must be thirsty. Come on in and have a seat while I get you something to drink." She walks off, giving us a wide smile.

Malia frowns. "Seriously? What is with her?"

Lydia sighs. "She's the woman I saw in the mirror."

The woman reappears a few minutes later. "This was my grandmother's lemonade recipe. At least, as much as I can remember. We always served this when we had friends to visit."

My best friend shakes her head. "We didn't come to visit. We're looking for someone."

"A friend of ours." Scott explains. "Maybe you've seen him. His name is Stiles?"

The woman frowns in thought. "It's been awhile since anyone came through Canaan."

"How long?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Since April 8, 1987?" Malia asks, placing down a newspaper I hadn't seen her grab.

The woman's face instantly hardens. "Why would you disturb those things? They don't belong to you."

"We need to know what happened."

"There was a picnic. A community party."

"It seems like everyone left in a hurry." Malia comments.