Secrets of the Willow

Chapter 26 - Stranded.

“Cyran!” Natalie and I exclaimed as soon as he opened his front door. We opened up our arms and instantly embraced him as Darius and Josh chuckled.

“Hi”. Cyran replied with a smile. “I didn’t even know you were all coming”.

“Well, we miss you bud”. Josh responded as he stepped past us and patted him on the back. “We wanted to see how you were doing”.

“I’m better”. Cyran answered as we finally loosened our arms and he gestured for us all to come in.

We sat on the couches in his quiet and old fashioned decorated house, with mustard coloured seats and brown floral wallpaper. There was an antique grandfather clock in one corner and a heavy mahogany bookshelf in the other, filled with books about wars and old ships. There was something depressing and gloomy about the room and it’s lack of light.

“So, I hear you had your stitches taken out”. I said with a cheery smile. “So you’re healing well?”

“I guess”. Cyran shrugged, void of his usual playful mannerisms that we’d come to know. “The scars look awful though”.

“I doubt they’re as bad as you think”. Natalie chimed with optimism.

“No, they’re f*****g ugly”. Cyran rebuffed as he stood up and lifted his baggy shirt, revealing three long scars reaching from his belly button all the way up to the left side of his chest. “I definitely won’t be going shirtless to the beach anymore”.

“Naa, scars like that get all the women”. Darius chuckled. “Just think of them as your war wounds. Tell them how you fought off a wild animal, the girls will love it”.

“That was more than just some wild f*****g animal”. Cyran replied with a despondent look.

“That’s what Eva and Conall keep saying”. Josh informed him.

“I thought you didn’t see anything?” Natalie asked as her eyes widened.

“I didn’t… not really”. Cyran said thoughtfully. “But I do remember seeing these really long and bony arms and these…. These massive hands and claws”. He explained as he held out his hands to measure how big he remembered them to be.

“Well a bear doesn’t have long bony arms”. Josh sighed with a frustrated expression. “And neither do wolves”.

“Whatever it is, it’s definitely not either of those, I can put money on it”. Cyran responded as he sat back in the couch.

“You’re not coming back to campus, are you?” I asked softly as I put my hand on his with understanding.

“No”. He replied shaking his head. “I have no intentions of going back at all”.

“But will they keep allowing you to finish your course at home?” Darius asked.

“Actually, I given it up. I’m not doing it anymore”.

“WHAT!” We all exclaimed at the same time.

“No, I got a job instead and I’m saving every penny. As soon as me and my sister have enough to pay for somewhere to stay, we’re leaving”.

“Wh… when?” Natalie pressed.

“Most likely within the next month. I start at seven in the morning and I’m back by five in the evening, way before it gets dark, so I’m safe for now, but we’re not chancing either of us getting hurt and our parents won’t leave. As soon as we have enough, we’re packing what we need and going. We’ll leave them a note and we won’t be coming back”. Cyran informed us all.

“So you’re not even going to say goodbye to them properly?” Natalie questioned with disbelief.

“No. They’ll only try to stop us. But don’t worry, I’ll let you all know when we’re ready to go so I can see you all one last time”.

“I’m going to miss you”. I said to him as I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. “But I get it, and you should leave. I’m glad one of us will be safe, and maybe when you’re settled wherever you go, you’ll send us all a postcard or something”.

“Of course I will”. He replied as he used his free hand to stroke the top of mine. “And I’m going to miss you all too. And if any of you decide to leave, just call me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you get out of here” .

We all left feeling rather glum and disheartened knowing we didn’t have much time to spend with one of our closest friends before he left for good. The whole car ride back to camp, we all sat in thoughtful silence, contemplating if we too should give up campus, make money and leave just like Cyran.

I let out a heavy exhale as I wrote out another paragraph for my coursework, wondering if I was just wasting my time. I looked up from the pile of books and papers to see the dorm room was now dark, and as I turned on my bedside lamp, I glanced over at Kate’s bed to see it was empty. I stared at it for a moment with a confused frown, she never stayed at home unless it was a visiting weekend. Just like the majority of students here, she went home as little as possible.

I quickly grabbed my phone and called her number, after several rings she finally answered.

“Hello?”

“Kate? It’s Eva!” I replied anxiously.

“Oh, hi, Eva. What’s up?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m just at the library on Connington road. I was just finishing up on some research, is everything ok?”

“WHAT?” I screeched down the phone. “What the hell are you doing down there? What’s wrong with the library on campus?”

“Well, they didn’t have anything I was looking for. I had to research something…. Well it’s important. It’s ok, you don’t need to worry, I was just about to leave”.

“Leave! Kate, it’s dark outside!”

“Wh… what?” Her breath shook, then I suddenly heard her feet scuffling and the sound of the library blinds being pulled open. “s**t”. She whispered down the phone. “I… I didn’t even realise! I was so busy on the computer I forgot to keep an eye on the time”. She said as her voice cracked.

“It’s ok, don’t panic”. I replied trying to calm her down. “Just ask the librarian to drive you back. If the library’s open she must still be there. She must have lost track of time too, but you both need to leave, you’re supposed to stick to the curfew”.

“What curfew?” She asked in a puzzled tone.

“The one the mayor announced this morning! Did… did you not watch it?”

“No, I’ve been here all day”. She squealed and I could hear in her voice she was about to cry.

“Ok, just get her to drive you back”.

“No, I can’t. This is an open library, Eva. There is no librarian! No one locks up, they just send someone twice a week to sort the books”. She responded as she started to sniffle.

“Oh s**t”. I breathed out heavily as my heart sank. “Ok… ok, umm…. Just give me a minute, I’ll call Josh and we’ll come and get you. He has a car so don’t worry. I’ll call him now, then I’ll call you back”. I told her in a hurry as I hung up the phone and tried to call Josh.

After several attempts of unanswered calls, I sat on my bed feeling at a loss of what to do, and as each minute passed, the more I was scared for Kate. I reluctantly called her back, not wanting to give her the bad news.

“EVA!” She exclaimed as soon as she answered. “Are you on your way?”

“I’m… I’m sorry Kate, he’s not answering his phone”. I replied remorsefully.

“Oh my gosh”. She said in a panic. “I’ll…. I’ll call for a taxi, it’ll be fine”.

“But Kate, there are no taxi’s. Everyone’s gone home, the curfew isn’t just for students. The mayor set it for the whole town”.

“f**k”. I heard her faint gasp down the phone. “I’m…. I’m scared, Eva. What do I do?”

“I don’t know”. I responded as I could feel a lump in my throat anxiously worsening for her. “We just have to think”.

“There’s no one else here”. She cried with a shudder. “I’ve just looked around and there’s no one.

“Wait!” I snapped when a sudden idea hit me. “I’ll call the sheriff, he’ll still be at his office. Just stay where you are, and I’ll call him now”.

“Ok… Ok”. She agreed as she sniffled back her tears.

“Sheriff?” I asked as soon as I heard his phone pick up.

“Yes, this is Sheriff Burke, how can I help?”

“Oh, thank heavens! Sheriff, it’s Eva. My friend Kate is at the library on Connington road”.

“What?” He answered angrily. “Why is she there and not at her dorm?”

“She lost track of time, ok! Just please go and get her. Lecture her if you want, I don’t care just get her back here”. I rambled down the phone, not wanting her to be stuck alone for too long.

“Ok”. He huffed in annoyance. “And yes I will be giving her a lecture! I’ll leave now”. He added as he hung up the phone and I instantly called Kate.

“He’s on his way”. I told her as soon as she answered.

“Oh my gosh!” She sighed heavily with relief. “Thank you Eva. I was so scared I was going to have to stay here on my own all night”. She said as she tried to calm her anxious breaths. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to be here so late”.

“It’s ok, you’re going to be fine now, and I’ll stay on the phone until the Sheriff gets there”. I replied trying to calm my own nerves.

“Thank you Eva”. She responded as I heard the shuffling of her bag in the background.

“What were you researching anyway?” I asked with intrigue. “Have you got another assignment already?”

“Oh, it’s…. it’s not for class. Just something I was working on in my spare time”.

“Like what?”

“Well, actually, I was looking into the….” She paused as I heard her suddenly gasp.

“Kate….. Kate, what is it?” I asked as I pressed my ear against the phone, hoping to hear that she was ok.

“There’s…. there’s something here”. She whispered in a trembling voice.

“WHAT!” I replied with a panicked screech.

“I…. I just heard a window open”. She answered with a gulp. “And something’s…. Eva something’s scraping the walls”.

“It could be anything, Kate. Just keep calm!” I instructed, even though my heart was pounding.

“It’s still there”. She muffled quietly down the phone as I heard her stifled sobs. “I can still hear it”.

“HIDE!” I shouted down the phone. “JUST QUICKLY HIDE!” I told her, and I could hear the shuffling of the phone as she tried to subtly move.

“Ok…. Ok, I…. I’m trying. I just… I don’t know wh….” She spoke when she suddenly screamed. “AHHH!” Her voice rang through my ear as the sudden slamming of windows echoed in the background one after another. The rough wood snapping and glass being smashed. “STOPPP! OH MY GOD, PLEASE NO!” She screamed again as she cried even harder.

“KATE GET OUT OF THERE NOW. GET TO THE ROAD AND THE SHERIFF WILL SEE YOU!” I yelled to her as she continued to cry.

My mouth went dry, and my heart hammered as I listened through the phone to hear her screaming and the sounds of her feet hitting the wooden floors in the distance.

“KATE!..... KATE!” I screamed for her, but I figured she must have dropped her phone, whether to make a run for it, or if it was because she got….. hurt. A thought that made my stomach fill with dread.