BEYOND THE BARRIER

Another body had been found in Ashport, a small city in Summerwells. The third in a single week. The first body had been of the old cotton farmer, who had been sick for a while before returning into the fields, the second body was the body of Mr Tuscan, the retired doctor who met his end on the day he was returning from part-time job as a medical consultant at Smallview Hospital, down the town. And both death had been labeled natural by Ashport police department but the people were far from satisfied with their report. Under normal circumstances, three deaths would have been enough to unsettle the town…but what truly frightened people was where the bodies kept appearing. Every victim had been discovered near the barrier along the isolated road leading into the woods. Now the rumors had started, In markets, schools, and crowded shopping centers, But nowhere did it spread more freely than the “gossip mill”…a nickname for Shopping Mill, the old trading center owned by Mrs. Mills, one of Ashport’s wealthiest and oldest residents, people whispered the same thing: the centuries-old conflict between witches and vampires was about to happen again. And with every new body, the fear stirred by the rumors only grew stronger. "But, what is the problem.." Melody asked Lisa, their footsteps echoed softly as they made their way down the stairs into the dimly lit hallway. "Why are bodies being found there these days?" Probably her twentieth question that evening, She had been in Lisa’s room rummaging through her wardrobe when Colonel Jeff called earlier and overheard their conversation. Lisa made a mental note to never allow her in her room again before answering. "Melly, I am a witch not an investigator," she said softly. "Aren't powerful witches like you suppose to foresee these things?" She pressed. Lisa exhaled sharply, impatience flickering across her face. Just like when she had questioned her about why their family was bound to have only one powerful witch that can control everything with their power and also be the guardian of the barrier, Melly had a talent for making people run out of patience, She asks too many questions, never knew when to stop, and somehow always managed to be exactly where she wasn’t supposed to be. Yet despite all of that, she was still Lisa’s closest friend in the house because beneath the unbearable questions and reckless curiosity, Melly was fun to be around, in fact she prefer her company her company over her older sister, Merlotte. "Melly...." She stopped at the door, furrowing her brows in a show of confusion that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I was wondering but…did Colonel Jeff phone you too?" 
Melly glanced down at her feet for a moment before looking back up at Lisa. "No" she answered quietly. "Good…now, back off," she said with a playful smirk but the words came out sharper than she intended which made Melly went quiet, visibly angry, which is not a good sign. A faint rumble rolled in the distance, low and uneasy, and the clouds above Ashport dimmed as though something had briefly pressed a hand over the sky. “Melly…” Lisa’s tone changed instantly, Melly didn’t respond. Her hands lifted slightly in front of her, trembling. Her gaze drifted out of focus, no longer fixed on anything in the room, shadows flickered faintly at the edges of her eyes…unstable, slipping. It wasn’t control...It was spillover. "Melly, Stop..Not today," Lisa said, stepping closer, her voice firm now. No response. Lisa exhaled slowly as she watched the energy shift around Melly. Lisa knew exactly what was happening. A few words and a little focus would be enough to force the magic back under control, normally, she would’ve done it without hesitation.But not today. Today she had somewhere else to be and she cannot be bothered by Melly not being able to put her emotions…powers in check. Then the clouds begun to darken still answering to Melly’s unsettled emotions. A cold breeze threaded through the hallway, and far off, thunder rolled again....uneven, almost hesitant. Lisa closed her eyes briefly. Of all days for this to happen, the only option she has now is to pacify her so she could calm down and stop before her powers spiraled out of control. She looked at Melly again. “I’m sorry,” she said, quieter this time. Melly fingers curled slightly,the tension easing as the darkness in her eyes faded, then the cloud lightened slowly until it is normal again. Lisa watched her for a moment, her expression unreadable. Another day...she would have shut it down completely. But today, there were bigger problem waiting. As Lisa sped down the road, something immediately felt off. The streets that was usually bustling with people at this were quieter than usual. Stores were already shutting their doors, and the few people still outside walked quickly, eager to get home before night settled completely over Ashport. Lisa frowned slightly. Nobody wanted to say it aloud, but fear had settled over Ashport like a storm cloud. She glanced at her wristwatch. 7:00 PM. Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the message. Colonel Jeff: They want to conduct post mortem. Be quick. Lisa’s grip tightened on the wheel as she pressed harder on the accelerator, the engine responding with a low growl as the car surged forward. By the time she arrived, a crowd had already gathered near the barrier. Too many people. Too close. Nervous whispers spread through the cold evening air. Lisa focused slightly letting her sense stretch, fragments of thoughts brushed against her mind. Is it an animal? I should tell father to fix the gate.. Who is next?.. Lisa’s eyes shifted briefly across the crowd until her gaze landed briefly on Jane Parker, the mechanic first daughter, she knew because she had followed Stephen, her driver, to fix her car few times, Jane looked pale, her hands clenched tightly around her coat. Lisa looked away, She knew exactly what Jane was waiting to hear about and so did everyone in the crowd. The real cause of the deaths happening in Ashport. As soon as the crowd noticed her, they stepped aside for her. The whispers faded, replaced by an uneasy silence. “Who found the body?” Lisa asked, her voice steady as she crouched near the edge of the scene. Before Colonel Jeff could answer, Colonel Pam stepped forward. “Isn’t that our responsibility?” she said sharply, crossing her arms. “Just do what you came here to do so we can all leave.” A low ripple of murmurs moved through the gathered crowd at her words. Jeff shot her an immediate warning look, but Pam didn’t back down. Lisa slowly straightened. Her eyes lingered on Pam for a long moment....unblinking, unreadable, as though she were trying to send a warning through her gaze. Then she moved toward the body. It lay still beneath the white sheet...too still, too pale, as though every trace of warmth had been pulled out of it. Lisa crouched slowly as her gaze caught on something near the exposed wrist as the sheet shifted slightly. A tattoo. Small....familiar. Her breath caught in realization as she shook her head in disbelief. She knew that tattoo. “No” she shook her head again as though to erase what had happen. Her eyes dropped to the exposed wrist again. It couldn’t be Is this… Eric? For a second, her mind resisted the thought. No, It couldn’t be. She had seen him at the shopping mall...just last week. Eric was helping his mother with grocery bags, laughing as she complained loudly beside him. His easy smile when he noticed her watching. The way he had flirted casually, like the world was something simple and harmless. Lisa exhaled slowly, something tight settling in her chest. His mother… Her throat tightened slightly. She didn’t finish the thought. Instead, she removed her glove slowly, the motion controlled, deliberate...like she was afraid any sudden movement would make this anymore real than it already is. Her fingers hovered just above his skin.
Then she placed them gently against him and closed her eyes. “Shabbat… Dabar… hukkik…” she began under her breath, the words rising carefully at first, almost like a whisper of air. The atmosphere around her shifted. A light drizzle started to fall. Her eyes flickered white. Her body tensed as the energy moved through her. Then she stopped. Her breath caught sharply in her throat. “No…” Her hand hovered in the air for a fraction of a second longer before she pulled it back completely, like the contact itself had become dangerous. Her eyes stayed fixed on the body, refusing to move away, as though staring harder might somehow rewrite the strange energy she had felt. She had felt and it clearly…far too clearly. The same sensation had lingered around the previous victims, but this was different. The reading, the pull, the certainty.... But... it's impossible. Lisa took a quick step back, her expression tightening as she forced herself to regain control, swallowing down the shock rising in her chest before it could spill over. “Take the body,” she signaled to the medical team, her voice firm and carefully controlled, as if nothing had shifted in her at all. Then she turned to the crowd "You should all go home," she said firmly " there is nothing to worry about, it is a natural death". The people began to murmur in disbelief but slowly the crowd began to disperse. "Colonel Jeff " she called after the people had left. He stepped closer. "What is going on?" She contemplated on whether to tell him what she had felt but decided against it, She held his gaze and said sofly ." Nothing you should worry about" He hesitated "Lisa...this is the third body this week" he finally said after scanning her face.
"And I said it is handled,” she replied, her tone firm and final in a way that left no room for further argument. For a moment, Colonel Jeff only looked at her, his gaze steady and unreadable, as though he were weighing words she wasn’t saying out loud. Then, he nodded. “Alright.” Lisa turned away before the conversation could stretch any further, choosing silence over whatever questions were forming in his eyes. The drive home was quiet, streetlights slid across her windshield in steady intervals, painting brief flashes across her face as Ashport slowly faded in the rearview mirror. But her mind didn’t follow the road.. it stayed behind, trapped at the scene. Every few seconds, her grip tightened unconsciously on the steering wheel.
One thought lingered stubbornly at the edge of everything else. Unmoving. Unshakable. And she couldn’t ignore that feeling, no matter how hard she tried.
Her great-grandmother’s words echoed softly in her mind, uninvited and persistent. Whatever a witch feels… is either happening or about to happen. Lisa tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “That’s impossible,” she whispered.