Trouble in Tiltown

Storytime

As the sun set and we had been dried off for a while now, we decided to get on our bikes. I looked to Jerrick who was sitting on his bike waiting for me.
The redness from the sun shined on his face, "Should we really do this?" I hesitated on the plan.
He nodded, seriousness written across his face.
"Yes. We explored, we asked and now we need to figure it out." He replied as his eyes shot through mine.
"What's after that?" I questioned.
"Fixing it. And West will help. Along with Kat and James." He stated before he began peddling off with me following from behind. The cool breeze embraced my cheeks as we rode. Wanting to close my eyes, I kept them on Jerrick's back. Before, we would ride our bikes to places like the Lost creek, the town's snack store or at his house. Here we are now, driving to a man who we barely know. My mother would kill me if she knew.

Before I know it, we landed our bikes nearby the shed that held West down inside of it. I knocked on the door and there stood West within seconds.
He smiled a warm smile at us, "Ah. Laurence and Jerrick. I'm relieved, come in." He welcomed us down the ladder as he followed behind. His dog slept on the floor peacefully, not being bothered by new visitors. West scrambled his fingers through his bookshelves and pulled out a couple books and hand them to Jerrick and I.
"You know, this town has held lots of bad luck." West began. My hands skimmed through pages as he spoke.
"How do you mean?" Jerrick questions him, his hands holding onto the book given to him.
West took a sit on his chair, "People have said they have seen beings here. Not human. But a different kind of being." He explains.
My eyes glance up from the book, "Like-
"Ghosts? Demons? Aliens?" Jerrick cuts me off with his guesses.
"People have claimed to have seen those as well." West nods.
Jerrick bursts out laughing before looking at me, "We don't believe in those."
"I'm not opposed to believing in them." My bony shoulders shrugged up to my neck.
"It's not about believing after all." West interjects us.
Jerrick places the book down on a nearby shelf and glares at West with a raised eyebrow.
"So what is it about? Since you seem to know everything." Jerrick suggests with his arms folded. As I went to calm him down, West responded back almost immediately as though he became immune to Jerrick's comebacks.
"Oh, no. I only know so much. What you believe is entirely up to you, it's about what you know for a fact and what you don't." He calmly replies to a cocky Jerrick. My eyes darted back to the words on the page, my ears tuning out the voices arguing back and forth.
"She claimed to have seen aliens in town. She cried to me about her child being taken from them in the middle of the night. I couldn't help her but hold her. I think she seriously thought it was aliens."
"What's this?" I handed him the book with the cryptic story. As his eyes followed rapidly with the words, he sighed heavily to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Exactly what it says. It's my experience." He said.
"If not aliens, what was it then?" I inquired him. My eyes squinted into his. However, his expression stayed emotionless. His eyes relaxed but stared through mine.
"People." West simply responded, slightly turning his head.
Jerrick groaned, "People get kidnapped all the time everywhere."
"Yes but this town is much more different. When you enter this town, it's as though the town has got it's hold on you and it holds you tight. Once you let it go, it lets you go too."
"Since you don't want to make sense, can I take these home to read?" Jerrick rudely asked.
"Go right ahead. That's the whole point of this." West says. My hands picked up the book once again, reading more experiences of West's.

"My son came to visit me after I told him not to. Everything was going so well for the week until he hung out at the creek. As I wandered all over town for him, it was clear to me he had went missing. The town has taken another one. I sobbed that night until I couldn't." My face turned red. It was too personal and once I looked up from the page, West could see it.
"I'm sorry." I spoke softly. My cheeks feeling as though I had just been slapped repeatedly.
West sits back in his chair, "It's okay Laurence. This town chooses people and takes them."
"Why do you leave if you think this town is so troubled?" Jerrick interrupts.
"I feel it's my duty to keep this town looking as normal as possible. For the people and my son." West said. Jerrick took the book from me and scanned through the words on the brown turning page.
"I'm sorry about that." Jerrick says more quietly. West closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"Thank you boys for helping me through this but I reckon y'all should get on now." He rises to his feet before standing by the ladder. Jerrick climbs up the ladder while carrying books in the other hand. Before I began climbing, West spoke to me.
"The papers are right. It's okay to ask and wonder, but don't it too much." He gave me the cryptic advice, but instead of seeing it as a cryptic message, I attempted to see it more as a helpful piece of information and held onto it.

We biked our way back to my house.
"Can I stay the night?" Jerrick questions.
"Sure. I'll have to ask my mom but I'm sure it'll be fine." I replied over to him as our tires were hit my tiny rocks on the road. My eyes glanced over to Jerrick and as I did so, I could've sworn I saw a dark figure in the woods. My feet started peddling harder.