One Summer

DARK OBSESSION Episode 1 — The Summer Begins Twenty years ago, three girls made a promise. They promised they would never return to Blackwood. They promised they would never speak about what happened that summer. And most importantly, they promised to take the truth to their graves. Nobody knew what had happened. Not their families. Not the people of Blackwood. Nobody. Twenty years later, Amy Blackwood was about to discover that some promises were never meant to stay buried. --- The bus moved slowly through the rainy streets of Blackwood. Amy rested her forehead against the cold window, watching the unfamiliar town pass by. Old houses stood behind tall iron fences. Trees covered the narrow streets, their branches moving in the wind. Everything looked strangely quiet. Too quiet. "Amy." She didn't answer. "Amy!" She finally turned around. Mia Sterling was staring at her. "What?" "You've been looking outside for ten minutes." Amy shrugged. "I'm just looking." Bella Forger leaned over the seat in front of them. "She's probably nervous." "I'm not nervous," Amy said. Bella smiled. "Then why do you look like you're about to solve a murder?" Mia laughed. Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. Something about this place feels weird." Bella looked through the window. "You've never been here before." "I know." "Then maybe you're just imagining things." Amy turned back toward the window. Maybe Bella was right. Then she saw it. At the top of a hill stood a massive black mansion. Its windows were dark. Ivy covered parts of the walls, and an old iron gate surrounded the property. Amy couldn't look away. "What's that?" Mia followed her gaze. "The Blackwood Estate." Amy frowned. "Why does it have my surname?" Bella stared at her. "Wait... you're a Blackwood." Amy nodded slowly. "Exactly." For a moment, none of them spoke. Then Mia noticed something beneath the seat. "What's that?" She reached down and pulled out a dusty envelope. There was no stamp. No address. No name. Only three words written across the front. YOU CAME BACK. Bella's smile disappeared. "Okay. That's creepy." Amy took the envelope. "Maybe someone left it by accident." "Then why does it say you came back?" Mia asked. Amy didn't know. She carefully opened it. A photograph slid onto her lap. Three teenage girls stood in front of the Blackwood Estate. They looked happy. They were smiling at the camera. Amy stared at the girl standing in the middle. Her heart suddenly began beating faster. She knew that face. She had seen it in family photographs. She had seen it in old albums. She had seen it every time she looked at her mother. "That's my mom." Mia and Bella looked at her. "What?" Amy turned the photograph over. There was writing on the back. SUMMER 2006. Underneath were seven words. We should have left when we had the chance. Amy's hands went cold. "What happened here?" she whispered. Before either of her friends could answer, the bus suddenly stopped. Everyone looked toward the front. The driver opened the doors. "Blackwood." Amy looked outside. Rain continued falling over the town. The three girls stepped off the bus. Amy held the photograph tightly. Across the road, an elderly woman stood beneath a black umbrella. She was staring directly at them. More specifically, she was staring at Amy. Amy blinked. The woman was gone. "Did you see her?" Amy asked. "See who?" Bella replied. Amy looked around. Nobody was there. "Never mind." The girls picked up their bags and began walking toward the house where they would be staying for the summer. Amy looked back at the hill. The Blackwood Estate stood silently above the town. One of its windows suddenly lit up. Amy stopped walking. "Mia." "What?" "Look." Mia turned. The light disappeared. Bella sighed. "Can we please get inside before you two convince me this town is haunted?" Amy forced a laugh. But deep down, she knew something was wrong. The photograph hadn't been there by accident. The message hadn't been written for anyone. It had been written for them. And whoever had left it knew they were coming. The summer had only just begun.