The Night Things Will Come

That Aberdeen girl.

It had been a year since our breakup. Life went on, I went on "living" and I say that because I have no life. I sit in bed binge eating ho hos and drinking beer after beer. It's not that I'm sad.... I don't feel.... sad. I don't feel anything any more. I blocked out the disappearance of Clementine Aberdeen and that was much easier then expected, no one talks about it. I guess it was a situation too eerie for the little town of Eyefull, San Francisco. Heaven knows a brutal murder would mess up the town's sweet homey feeling. I haven't heard from Petal directly since the whole thing, I let Archie keep my pets, actually he insisted. Think he knows how incapable I am? Geez I can't even take care of my own pets. Archie tells me about Petal. It hurts but i need to know she was real. She's 20 now, she married Archie's good friend and moved into an apartment. They have a daughter together and they bought a cat, I know she loves him because she gave him everything she told me she'd never have with me.

I think about that girl Clementine Aberdeen, often. After the breakup I went in to report her missing, there were already posters up around the town. It was a really weird case, and I never really knew if Petal was telling the truth but I'm sure she had something to do with it. nobody even talked about Clementine. It was as if she'd vanished without a trace. It always felt like the town was calling me to solve it. The only posters I'd ever found were on my mail route.

In the midst of my pitiful existence, I found time to print out more missing posters for my parents, put them up in every place I went. No calls yet and it would be pure bullshit to say I never lost hope, I lost hope all the time, what mattered was that I didn't give up. Ever.

I threw the mail bag over my shoulder and adjusted the blue cap over my blonde hair, parting it in the middle like always, and like always there was one tendril that hung over my right eye.
"We're not even brushing our hair today?"
"Why do I need to?"
"You might meet some nice person"
"I'm a mailman, who on earth am I going ta meet?" He rolled his eyes throwing a pillow at me. Archie was, at the time my best friend. He was a good kid, got mostly As in every report card, spent 90% of his time doing volunteer work. He kept an insane amount of wisdom in his fat head.
"Hey, if you keep having bad luck in the department of looove, just do what I did" I chuckled
"I'm not dying my hair black"
He shoved me playfully
"Oh come on, I guarantee it works" he mused
"Why do you think I dyed my hair in the first place"
I squinted
"Archie Matthews, you dyed your hair black because your parents thought it'd be funny to name their red headed child after the infamous Comic book character, and you, being the stubborn mule you are, decided to dye" he shrugged
"Yeah man... ya got it"
The door creaked open and there stood Mrs. Matthews. According to Mrs. Matthews, nobody came around much anymore, the walls were all flowered and the carpets were a puke green with that weird woolly texture.
So Mrs. Matthews was ecstatic every time I came to stay, which was often, my house got lonely and it was unbearable.
"There's my favourite boy!" She glanced teasingly at Archie
"G'day Mrs Matthews"
"Oh hun, that ACCENT! I swear if you were just a couple years older-"
"Ma!"
"Whattt?"
"That's weird.... and.... and.... you're married, to Dad!"
She rolled her eyes
"Relax Archie, Nicodemus isn't old enough for me.... but Lord if he was"
"Ma!" He threw another of his pillows at her.
She lingered, her smile dropping
"You...didn't happen to know that Aberdeen girl did you?"
Archie shrugged
"I mean, we had math together but she was quiet...."
She turned to me
"Not really.... we went to tha same school, she was best friends with Petal but... I never KNEW her ya'know?"
I looked down, my heart was racing as my mind went back to Petey's blood soaked nightgown.
"What happened to her?" Archie questioned. His voice was smooth and I knew he wasn't worried about it
"See, that's the thing... no one really knows;"
My reflection in the mirror seemed to become darker and I shuddered
"She just disapeared" Mrs Matthews continued
And the way she said that word 'disappeared' made me flinch, it echoed in my brain and sizzled there like acid.
"Wait... what do you mean?" I whispered anxiously
Her eyes seemed to glow with....excitement?
"What do you think I mean?" She leaned forward
"I think that you should go find her. Jesus Christ told me you're the one"
I pulled away from her grasp and chuckled nervously
"Yeah, maybe" I rubbed the back of my neck anxiously.
"Mom? What are you even.... are you drunk again?"
She shrugged teasingly
My mind flashed to the breakup.

Mrs. Matthews gave me a quick eager glance before gliding out of the room, Archie on her heels, excusing himself to check on her

I had a lingering feeling of disgust, like after you watch a really disturbing movie. I don't know why it bothered me so much but it did. I sat on the bed for a moment watching the clock tick by, trying to shake that gnawing feeling.
As the clock seemed to go faster and faster I felt myself think more of that Aberdeen girl, I ripped my virus ridden laptop from under a pile of week old laundry, reminding me I couldn't over stay my welcome. I desperately searched for "Clementine Aberdeen" very few results came up, a couple article clippings, stating that she was gone, nothing to say where she was last seen. I let my eyes pause on the picture of her. She had a light peaches and cream complection and dark wavy hair. Her eyes were an extremely pale blue and her smile  seemed to taunt me, like she knew I couldn't do it. I forced my eyes away from the picture and down to the number to call in case I found her. I called that number.
Archie sprinted back into the room once I got off. He stared at me for a minute.
"What are you planning Anders?"

"Thank you so much for calling me"
"Nah, thanks for havin' me over"
The weary woman set down a cup of tea and took my hand in her blue veined hand, she shook so much my fingers rattled.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled a watery smile.
"So, did you, did you find my niece?"
"Niece?"
"Oh, um yes, Clementine's parents died when she was eight years old,  they were actually um... murdered. It was absolutely traumatizing, I raised her since, she's like my....my own kid"
I gritted my teeth. Was this a mistake? Should I even be here??
"Well, I...I haven't found her, but..." 
That was enough for her to breakdown. She slumped down with her head in her hands.
Slowly, she looked up at me
"why did you call me? You just some bored kid looking for something to do? You go freakin ding dong ditching, not calling some broken old woman" I didn't understand that... she looked about 35 not old at all. I bit my lip and scratched at my arm
"Well see, I haven't found her, but I will"
She smiled and cocked her head to the side "that's very sweet dear... how old are you?"
"19 ma'am"
"Look, you're just a kid, you should be out doing things... do you Even know Clem?"
"Sort of, she was best friends with-"
"Oh, don't, please don't..."
"I'm sorry?"
"She isn't dead, you, you need to refer to her as present tense"
"Excuse me but how do you know she isn't..... dead?" I regretted asking that one.
The woman looked shocked
"Because I know! I just know! If you can't help me, you need to go, I understand your intentions but you're just a kid, you won't find her" she practically shoved me out of her house. I whipped around
"Please! Give me a chance to find her! I have this feeling like, like I'm meant to find her... I just need to find some things out! Please! Let me help you!" It seemed she wouldn't come out, I turned to leave and the door slowly peaked open and she reluctantly led me back to couch
"What do you want to know?"

She took me to Clementine's room, maybe there'd be something that would let us know what happened. From what I'd gathered, Clementine got interested in cryptid hunting, and joined some type of club at school, every friday night, they'd go camping in the woods, search for footprints, Clementine had spent nearly all her money on books and supplies for her hunting trips. The night before she disappeared, she had said they were close to finding some creature (Ms Sycke; Clementine's aunt, couldn't remember which creature it was)
I dug through drawers and looked through her journals, one really caught my eye. I tripped over the floorboards, kicking one up and revealing a notebook, titled
"If I disappear"
I grabbed the book quickly shoving it in my mail bag
"I think I'm done here, mind if I borrow a few things?"
"Go for it, the police took everything they needed, and then they.... they closed the case. Said she'd been murdered and left it at that"
I put an understanding hand on her shoulder and put a few more books in my bag. Ms Sycke grabbed my arm making desperate eye contact with me
"You're serious about this, aren't you?"
"Yes ma'am, I am, I promise I will find her. I'll bring your niece home"

I left the bedroom and stared at my reflection in the hallway mirror. A dark looking figure appeared behind my shoulder. I snapped back but nothing was there. I glanced back at the mirror. I must just be a bit riled up.

I wasn't quite sure where to start. I left the house promptly and opened up the journal.

If I disappear
Clementine Aberdeen
Chapter 1