CHAPTER ONE: THE GIRL IN THE RAIN
351 Words
I don’t sleep anymore. Not really.
Sleep means dreams. Dreams mean her.
Every night for the past week, I wake up choking on the smell of wet earth and gasoline, my fingers curled like I’m still clutching the steering wheel of that damned car. But now, there’s something new. A girl.
She stands at the edge of my vision, her hair plastered to her face by rain that isn’t there, her mouth moving in silent pleas. I know her name without her speaking it—Evelyn Graves. Missing for five years. Presumed dead. Never found.
And she’s pissed.
---
Present Day - Precinct 13
The precinct’s coffee tastes like battery acid, but I drink it anyway. It’s better than the alternative—closing my eyes and seeing *her* again.
Across the bullpen, Detective Harlow slams a file onto my desk hard enough to make my teeth rattle.
“Cold case,” she says, like it’s an insult. “Captain says you’re special with this kind of thing.”
I don’t answer. My fingers twitch toward the folder, already knowing what’s inside before I open it.
Evelyn Graves. Age 19. Last seen October 31st, five years ago. Walking home from a party. Rain. Blood on the sidewalk. Then—nothing.
The moment my skin touches the paper, the world splits.
---
The Vision
Rain. Cold. Laughter. A man’s voice, too sweet, like syrup laced with poison. “You need a ride, sweetheart?”
Evelyn’s pulse jumps. She hesitates. The car door opens.
Then—pain. A hand in her hair. The screech of tires. The wet crunch of bone as her head hits the dashboard.
And then… darkness.
---
I come back to myself gasping, my fingers denting the file. Harlow is staring at me like I’ve just sprouted horns.
“You good, Veil?”
No. I’m not.
Because Evelyn isn’t just *in* my head now—she’s watching me. And she won’t let me go until I find the bastard who left her in a shallow grave.
I slam the file shut.
“Yeah,” I lie. “Just peachy.”
- Writer
