"Hey, girl, wake up?" My head felt as if an elephant decided to roll over on it. My whole body ached. "Girl, what's your name? Are you up?"
I focused all of my energy on trying to open my eyes, but I was drained. Body, mind, gone. Something brushed against my leg. Goosebumps covered my skin with contact.
"She's alive." Came another voice. A male. "That's good."
There was a few seconds of silent as I tried to move. My body quivered. Why was I so weak?
"Stay down." Whispered the first voice, a girl. Her tone was coaxed with concern I couldn't quite place. "They'll be back soon."
They? I could feel my brows bind together with confusion.
"Shut the hell up!" The man roared. The sound of flesh against flesh ripped through the air. My stomach knotted. The girl, she didn't speak. The sound of her voice was replaced with the sound of soft sobbing. My heart leaped. Where am I?
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]