Secrets of the Willow

Chapter 22 - Good against the bad

“Morning Sheriff!” I greeted on the phone as soon as he answered my call. “It’s Eva”.

“Hello Eva”. He sighed, and I shook my head knowing he wasn’t in the mood for yet another argument with me.

It had been a week since we were last attacked, and I had made several phone calls demanding the town was made more secure.

“Am I going to hear some good news today or are you all planning on keeping yourselves tucked up in your offices while we’re out here having to deal with this thing!”

“Not today, Eva”. He huffed frustratingly.

“Oh, I do apologise Sheriff Burke. Are my phone calls an inconvenience?” I asked sarcastically.

“Actually, I meant there is still no news”. He replied and this time I was the one sighing with irritation.

“Something’s got to change! Things can’t continue this way”.

“I know”. He agreed, but it sounded like an empty gesture.

“No you don’t! And I know you don’t believe me about what I saw, or that it’s after me and my friends, but I’m telling you Sheriff, it wants us…. Or me… I don’t know which but it’s not going to stop”.

“Eva….” He paused before speaking more quietly down the phone. “I do believe you”. He added which stunned me.

“You…. You do?”

“Yes, I do. I think you’re right, it does seem to favour choosing you and your group for some reason, but we don’t know enough about it, or even what it is to know why”.

“So what do we do? My friends are still really scared since Conall got hurt. What are we supposed to do?”

“Honestly, Eva, I’ve spoken to the mayor several times this week, in fact, I’ve begged him to add a full town curfew and to call in extra reinforcements to patrol the streets and the forest, but he’s having none of it”.

“What!” I exclaimed angrily. “Why the hell not?”

“He doesn’t want to draw too much attention to the town and have everyone evacuated while this thing, whatever it is, is tracked down and killed. He keeps telling me it would be bad for our economy and could end up being a waste of time if it’s not even found”.

“He can’t be f*****g serious”. I exhaled heavily as I ran my hand through my hair wanting to scream.

“I’m going to keep pestering him to put something in place, but all I can advise you to do, is to always stay indoors when it’s dark and…..”

“Sheriff, I did that!” I interrupted him as I started pacing around my dorm room. “I was at home, in my bedroom when it was dark, and it still came for me. Nowhere feels safe anymore”.

“I know”. He answered, with a tired tone that sounded like he was beginning to feel just as frustrated as I was. “Unfortunately Eva, I can’t do anything without the mayor’s permission. He’s agreed to my department patrolling the town, but there’s just not enough of us here to cover enough area”.

“I’m scared, Sheriff”. My voice croaked down the phone as I sat on the edge of my bed and felt my watery eyes wanting to break with tears. “I’m scared that the next time it comes for us, one of us….. one of us is going to end up dead”. I said to him as I muffled a sob with my hand.

“I’m sorry, Eva. I’m going to send a patrol car to cover the campus grounds, but still be vigilant, ok?”

“Ok, Sheriff. Thank you”. I whispered in return as I felt myself wanting to burst out crying as I hung up the phone and sat for a moment hoping for a miracle to end this thing.

“Eva!” I heard Natalie’s voice with a light tap on the door. “Are you in there?” She asked as I wiped my face and got up to open it.

“Hey, are you ok?” She asked with both her and Yas looking worriedly at me. “We thought you were going to meet us in the café”.

“I was going to”. I answered as I motioned for them to come in. “But I decided to call the Sheriff again”.

“And?” Yas quizzed as they both sat down on my bed. “He said he’s been asking the mayor to do more to help, but he’s not budging. All Sheriff Burke can do is have a patrol car stationed here and to keep a lookout”. I sighed heavily as I joined them on the bed.

“I hate the dark now”. Natalie voiced as she looked glumly at me and Yas. “As soon as the sun starts to set, I’m terrified”.

“We all are”. Yas agreed as she comfortingly rubbed Natalie’s back.

“How are the boys doing?” I asked with concern and guilt for not making it to join them all for our get together.

“They’re… they’re ok I guess”. Yas answered. “Just as scared as we are to be honest, and Conall was asking where you were”.

“He was?” I replied hoping he wasn’t too traumatised after being up close with the monster.

“Yes. He wanted to thank you for going after him”. Yas informed me which made my heart warm.

“He’s actually waiting outside for you. That’s one of the reasons we came to see if you were here. We wanted to make sure you were ok, and he wanted to speak to you”. Natalie added to my surprise.

“Go and speak to him, Eva. We’re going to stay here for a bit. We were thinking about having a sleepover in here tonight, just us girls, if that’s ok?” Yas asked and I could see they were close to crying themselves.

“Of course”. I happily agreed before grabbing my jacket and heading outside.

I could see Conall through the glass of the doors as soon as I approached them, and he looked just as glum as me and the girls did. I could only imagine the rest of the boys looked and felt the same way.

“Conall, how are you doing?” I asked as I opened the door and stood outside with him.

“I’m ok. My leg is a lot better”. He replied, but I couldn’t tell if he seemed shy or distant as he tucked his hands in his front pockets and fidgeted on his feet.

“Good, I’m glad”. I simply answered, unsure of what mood he was in today. “The girls said you wanted to speak to me”.

“Umm, yes. I just wanted to thank you for coming after me. It was dangerous for you to do it, but you did it anyway. It… it meant a lot”. He said awkwardly.

“Well, of course I’d come after you. You literally flung yourself at it to get it away from me, it’s me that should be thanking you, and I have wanted to. What you did…. It was incredibly brave and selfless”.

“Hm”. He mumbled as a small grin began to grow on his face. “How could I not?” He questioned as he looked thoughtfully at me. Once again staring right into my eyes as if everything around us was vanishing.

“Well, it… it was brave”. I stuttered with a gulp from his intense stare and how it was making my legs feel like jelly.

“I saw it grab you Eva”. He said as his brows furrowed. “All I could think was to get it away from you. I couldn’t think of anything worse than it taking you away from me”. He said softly, before shaking his head nervously and clearing his throat. “Us… I mean taking you away from us”.

“I was terrified Conall, that it was going to be you taken away, and when I couldn’t find you, I… I thought”.

“I know”. He nodded as he took a step closer to me.

“But what happened to your clothes? He must have been close to hurting you more than…. More than I dare to think about”.

“Uhh, yea, well… it was trying to grab me as I was trying to get away from it, and it tore all my clothes. But luckily it got spooked by something and it ran off”.

“I know it did, and I know why”. I said, feeling a strong urge to finally spill my secret.

“You do?” He questioned with a quizzical brow.

“Yes, but… you’ll just think I’m crazy if I tell you”. I replied as I looked away from him.

“No!” He instantly answered as his hand held my chin and he gently moved my face to look at him again. “No, I promise, I won’t”. he assured me as he looked at me for a moment before hesitantly retracting his hand back into his pocket.

“Can I trust you not to tell anyone until I know it’s safe for people to know?” I pressed with a serious expression.

“Of course”. He nodded.

“Did… did you hear the howling that night? Just like when we were attacked near the carnival?”

“Yes, why? Do you think that’s what’s attacking us?”

“No! No, not at all, Conall”. I whispered as I glanced around to make sure no one else was around in earshot. “Every time that thing has come for me or us, it runs away as soon as it hears the howling”.

“So you think that whatever this thing is, and from what I’m guessing and what we’ve seen of it, it’s pretty big and it’s savage, but it’s scared of a bunch of wolves?”

“Yes! I know it sounds…. Ridiculous, but when I was in the forest with it, it was seconds away from killing me, then it heard the howling and even I could hear them coming and it ran! That’s the real reason how I made it out of that place alive, Conall! And when it came to my house, I saw the monster with my own eyes, standing in my yard but once again as soon as it heard the howling it disappeared, same as the carnival. I know it might sound crazy to you, but I know what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard. I’m telling you, they’re the only ones trying to stop it”. I blurted out to him, feeling better with each word that finally I wasn’t the only one holding onto the truth of how I got away from it.

“Ok”. He said with a puzzled look as if he was trying to wrap his head around what I’d just confessed. “So, if that’s true, and that is the reason why you managed to escape it in the forest, why didn’t you tell the Sheriff?”

“Because…..” I hesitated with a sigh. “Because I know if the mayor hears about it, he’ll blame the wolves for being behind the attacks and what if he demands the Sheriff’s department kills them all? Then not only will there be nothing at all standing in it’s way, but…. But they helped me Conall… they helped us, and more than once! I know they did, I can feel it”.

“So you’re trying to protect them?” He asked as he listened intently.

“Yes! Yes, I am. If they’re trying to protect us, then we need to protect them too. I know they’re good, I know what they’re trying to do, so please just trust me on that”. I said to him as I closed the gap between us by stepping even closer to him.

“Ok. Ok, I believe you”. He said with a convincing nod. “And I won’t say a word about it to anyone else”. He smiled, then reached his hand up and ran it lightly through my hair, sending a tingle down my spine and butterflies to erupt in my stomach. “You really are surprising”. He voiced in a whisper as he scanned my face with a look of wonder.

“Surprising?” I questioned with confusion if he meant it as a good or bad thing.

“Yes, wonderfully surprising”. He replied which caused my heart to leap.

“Oh”. I breathed out in a shaky breath as I stared back at him.

“Stay inside Eva”. He said softly as he twizzled the ends of my hair between his fingers before turning away and walking to his dorm.