Chapter III

With the second day of the festival drawing to a close, the crowds were finally starting to thin out in the hallways. The sun was beginning to set and its orange light shone into the corridors, bathing it in warm hues. However, the joy and excitement felt the afternoon prior wasn’t as strong that day and it mostly had to do with the strange rumors that started going around that morning relating to the incident at Ralph’s Diner. It was unheard of for such a violent and seemingly random attack to occur in Wilham, and with the Diner not far from the school, it had everybody a little on edge. Combined with the even vaguer rumors about the hospital break-in, the school seemed to be growing more tense by the hour. It felt like everywhere he went, there were people whispering about it. However, considering all that was going on and all that was still a mystery, Evan Wright chose not to let it worry him. The spring festival was an excuse to not have to go to school and to simply relax all day and he wasn’t going to let some dumbass rumors get in the way of that.

And it’s probably just being blown all out of proportion. I doubt it’s as bad as people are saying, he thought irritably. Hell, I’d bet good money that somebody probably went into the diner with a gun, shot one person, and fled. I doubt there was any sort of fucking “massacre” like everybody seems to think there was.

Evan snorted, then glanced sidelong at the two boys walking to his left. Steven McCormick and Brad Fischer were side-by-side, talking in low voices about the very issue Evan had just been thinking about.

“I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to think,” Steven muttered. “It’s just so…sudden. I mean, hell, when does anything even remotely close to something like this happen in fucking Wilham of all places?”

Brad nodded, his features clearly displaying how concerned he was. “I know. I’d have been spooked regardless, but just the fact that they don’t even know who did it is even more unnerving. I hope they catch the guy fast cause he sounds like a damn psychopath.”

“Maybe they already have,” Steven replied. “For all we know, the cops already caught him and just haven’t issued any statements yet. That’s at least what I like to think.”

Evan snorted, drawing both boys’ attention toward him.

“What?” the red-headed boy snapped. “Don’t tell me you’re not at least a little creeped out by all this?”

Evan shrugged, barely sparing Steven a glance as he instead turned his attention out the window to his right, getting a full view of the courtyard below where students were already beginning to pack things up for the day.

“I’m not,” he grunted. “I really don’t think it’s all that big a deal. The story’s probably been exaggerated to hell and back and I’m sure whoever did it is gonna get their ass caught soon enough, if he hasn’t already. So why should I bother getting all worked up about it? I’m trying to enjoy the fucking festival and you guys should, too.”

Steven rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, Evan. Be like that for all I care.”

Glancing between the two and clearly wanting to avoid any arguments, Brad quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject. “By the way, Steven,” he began. “I heard from Charlotte that Rina collapsed this morning. Is she okay? Have you heard from her?”

Instantly, at the mention of Rina Davens’ name, Evan felt his stomach begin to churn. He hadn’t spoken to that girl since December, back before he got arrested. Despite their relatively close relationship before, Rina hadn’t once tried checking up on him while he was out of school and when he came back, she avoided him. Even when he approached her, wanting to make sure she was alright, she simply made up an excuse to blow him off and left. Of course, he didn’t blame her for acting the way she did. She was almost certainly scared and he really couldn’t blame her. He had no idea what the Magic Club did to her with his body, and for all he knew, she believed it was him who was responsible for whatever happened to her. After all, who would ever assume it was somebody else in his body? He sure wouldn’t have. Not before he experienced it himself.

Evan grimaced as images of the Magic Club, Mendez, and Brooks began flashing through his mind. As much as he hated to admit it, he did exactly what was demanded of him. He was ordered to stay away from the club and from Mendez or else they would use their magic to steal his body and further ruin his life, and he knew full well that they weren’t bluffing. Tipping off the cops about the drugs was almost certainly their way of proving that.

Naturally, he still hated each and every one of them, but he wasn’t stupid. When he got back to school, he left Mendez alone, and stayed as far away from the Magic Club as he could. He wanted nothing more to do with them. Even on the few occasions when he grew furious and wanted to get revenge, or even just began to wonder what else they could do with their magic, he quickly decided it was for the best to just stay away. Instead, he’d been spending his time with his football teammates, most of which had migrated to the baseball team for the spring.

“I think she’s okay,” Steven said, pulling him back out of his brief moment of thought. “I called her during lunch and she said she was fine and that she just got a bit lightheaded. I guess she hadn’t eaten much today. She did go home, though, which sucks cause I know she was totally excited for the festival.”

Brad frowned. “Man, I feel bad for her. Did she say anything about whether she'd be staying home tomorrow?”

“She said she was coming whether she could or not,” Steven replied with a chuckle. “So, if you guys are okay with it, I think I’m gonna spend the day walking around with her.”

“Oh, of course dude,” the other boy said. “Take some time with your girlfriend. It’s totally understandable.”

Evan was forced to suppress a scowl, realizing that meant he might be stuck dealing with Brad alone.

Oh, fucking hell. Yeah, that’s not happening. I’d rather hang out alone than with that bastard, he thought bitterly.

He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Brad was getting all friendly with the Magic Club. Whether he knew about their magic or not was unclear to him, but he’d seen the boy interacting with Harper, and he’d also taken their side during the whole Mendez incident. To Evan, it was pathetic that somebody as popular as him would ever waste his time interacting with the club.

Although…I do have to wonder if Reiner or one of the others blackmailed him somehow, too.

It wasn’t the first time Evan had considered the possibility. They had used their magic to blackmail him into obeying them, so for all he knew, they had Brad wrapped around their finger as well. He lowered his head to stare down at the floor for a moment as he once again thought about how likely that could be, before deciding just to brush it aside and go back to listening to his friend’s conversations. However, just as he was checking back in to what they were saying, Brad’s next word caused him to hesitate.

“Reiner?”

Evan’s head snapped up and, sure enough, he could see Eric Reiner headed their way, but his eyes weren’t fixed on Brad. Instead, he was staring straight at Evan.

Oh, fucking hell. Why’s he looking at me?

Reiner brushed past a few of the lingering students and made his way toward their trio. When Evan spared a glance at the boys beside him, Brad seemed confused and Steven just looked annoyed, as if he couldn’t imagine why the guy would be coming toward them.

“What’s up, Reiner?” Brad greeted. “You okay? You look a little sick?”

Once Brad pointed it out, Evan quickly realized that the boy before them did look quite pale. Evan had only interacted with Reiner directly on occasion, and it was usually during their back-and-forths in Mrs. Kentz’s classroom in first period. Whenever they did speak, Reiner always had this obnoxious grin on his face, like he enjoyed messing with them, and it was one of the things that irritated Evan the most about him. Now, however, he appeared almost lethargic and when he looked at them, his eyes seemed glazed over, like he could drop unconscious at any moment.

What the fuck is wrong with him? Is he all bent out of shape about this diner incident, too?

“I’m fine, Fischer,” Reiner muttered. “Thank you.”

Steven cocked an eyebrow. “So can we help you or what? The hell do you want?”

“Um…” He furrowed his brow as if trying to collect his thoughts, before once again looking at Evan. “Can we talk for a moment, Wright? I promise it’ll be quick. I just need your help with something.”

Evan immediately narrowed his eyes. Talk to me? Why? What the fuck is going on here? I thought we had a mutual agreement to just stay the fuck away from each other!

“What about?” he demanded.

Reiner shook his head. “I’ll…tell you in private. I think it’s better that way. And I promise, it’ll just be a moment.”

Evan cocked an eyebrow and once again looked to the other two to gauge their reactions. Steven just stared back and shrugged, as if he was quickly losing interest in the whole thing, and Brad, unsurprisingly to the boy, motioned for him to go with Reiner.

“Please,” Reiner insisted once more, with a little more force than before. “Please, Wright.”

When Evan turned back and looked him in the eyes, there was a desperation in them that caused him to pause. For a moment, he felt as if this would have been the perfect time to just blow him off and leave him to suffer whatever was bothering him and had he not been weary of the club’s strange powers, he might have done so. Yet, he feared what the boy might do to him if he refused and, not sensing any hostility for the moment, he merely snorted and reluctantly nodded.

“Yeah, fine,” he snapped. “Just make it quick.”

“Thank you,” the other boy whispered.

Then, without saying anything else, he turned and motioned for Evan to follow him. Hoping to be done with the whole thing as fast as possible, he went after Reiner as he led him further down the halls and into an even more empty corridor. Most people had either already gone home or were hanging out in the gym or one of the classrooms, so the corridors were relatively private now. Once they reached the end of the hall, Reiner pulled off to stand against the wall and Evan moved to position himself in front of him, folding his arms across his chest as he regarded the boy.

“So?” he demanded. “The fuck do you want with me? I did exactly what I was told to do. I’ve left you fuckers alone, haven’t I? So if this is about the Mendez situation then—!”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It is about that incident,” Reiner interrupted, “but I’m not here to threaten you. I just wanted to ask you a question about it.”

He frowned. “What? What kind of fucking question?”

“Well…” Reiner chewed on his lip for a moment as he stared at the ground. “Look, I’ll be blunt with you, Wright. I wasn’t involved in what happened to you. In fact, it was done by one of my club members behind my back. I knew he was going to do something, but I didn’t know what that was and because of that, I actually don’t have all the details on how it went down.”

Evan eyed him for a second, trying to determine how true his words were. It didn’t feel like he was lying, and Reiner certainly hadn’t been anywhere at the little house in the woods when he was jumped, so unless he was in Brooks' body, which seemed unlikely, then for the moment, he decided to at least humor him, if only to see where he was going with this conversation.

Not to mention, he thought with an internal sneer. Reiner’s never come across as the type of guy with the balls to pull off something as twisted as that.

“Alright, say I believe you,” Evan growled finally. “Then what?”

“Then…I want you to tell me what happened,” he replied softly. “I know this is sudden and I know it sounds kind of strange, but that’s all I want. How did it all go down and…who did it to you?”

Who did it to me? Don’t tell me this fucker doesn’t even know which of his dumbass club members went behind his back? Maybe he doesn’t have as much control over that group as I thought he did.

Having already decided just to do what Reiner wanted, and since it wasn’t that hard of a request to fulfill, Evan merely shrugged his shoulders and obliged. “Fine then,” he spat. “If that’s all you want. I was walking down that forest path back behind Doris Street when…” He paused, trying to find the words to convey what he was remembering, but unable to do so. “Um…it, uh… I think I…”

What the fuck? I…don’t remember what happened. I was out in the woods and…I wound up in that cabin and then…well, my body was stolen, but by who? Brooks? No, Brooks stayed with me while I was tied up. But then…?

Who?

“Wright?” Reiner pressed. “What is it?”

Evan scoffed and shook his head, feeling frustrated at how much of a daze that afternoon suddenly was to him. “Look, I don’t fucking remember,” he snapped. “Go ask the dumbass who stole my body in the first pla—!”

He stopped mid sentence and Reiner grabbed him by the soldiers, his eyes wide in sudden terror. “You don’t remember?” he demanded, his voice sharper than Evan had been prepared for. “You aren’t just saying that? You actually don’t remember who did it? You aren’t lying to me?”

Evan quickly shoved him off and shook his head. “Don’t call me a fucking liar! I said I don’t remember and can you really fucking blame me? I don’t know what the hell you guys are, but I want nothing to do with you. I’m not gonna go near Mendez so just leave me alone!”

He then quickly turned around and began stalking back in the direction they had come, his hands shoved in his pants pockets. Part of him figured Reiner would chase after him, but the boy just stayed put even when Evan rounded the corner and put him out of sight. He quickly tried to shove the conversation from his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, it just kept nagging at him.

Damn it, he cursed. Why can’t I remember? What happened that day? Who was it that stole my body? I feel like I should know, but I don't! So why…?

Why can’t I remember?!

***

The rest of the festival’s second day passed by just as slow as the first half for Lilly. Eric only ever stayed in the clubroom for an hour at most before heading back out again and he never took over his job as the fortune teller. Instead, it was Lilly and Liz who had to come up with ideas for the handful of people that stopped by the clubroom that day. Right as they were getting ready to pack up and leave, Eric vanished from the room again, telling her that he would be back soon. He seemed like he might have thought of something and she hoped it was a good omen, but when he returned twenty minutes later, he was just as panicked and defeated as he had been earlier. He wouldn’t tell her what he’d been up to and she decided not to press him for any details. She knew Eric well enough to know that he would confide in her once he was ready.

From there, the four of them departed the clubroom and made their way through the school building and out into the courtyard. At the gates, they bid goodbye to Damien and Liz, leaving Lilly and Eric to walk the streets alone. The sun was setting but there was still plenty of light left to illuminate the roads. Normally, she and Eric would start talking and joking around, but this time, they just walked in silence. It wasn’t the normal, comfortable silence they sometimes shared, but one that made her sick to her stomach. She wanted to break it and start up a conversation, but every time she tried, Eric only responded with very little enthusiasm or energy. She was at a loss, and she could only hope that they would learn something at their destination that might give her an idea of what to do.

Eric said he wanted to visit the family of Vinny Mickelson and so, she prayed that something there would give them a clue to follow on how to solve the problem facing them. The simple fact was that their memories weren’t adding up, and Lilly wasn’t sure Vinny Mickelson existed or ever did. But if his family was real, she wasn’t sure what she would think. It was all so insane to her.

And then there’s Alice…

She still hadn’t heard back from her friend, and it didn’t seem like she ever showed up at the festival that day. It wasn’t normal for her and the chance that something bad had happened was increasing by the hour. If she knew where Alice lived, she’d have gone straight to her house to check up on her, but unfortunately, she’d never been to Alice’s house, and the only person she knew of that would know was Jay.

I could always try asking Matt or Ellie, she thought. And if push comes to shove, I imagine Rina would know.

She had actually considered asking Rina Davens about it despite their history, but had quickly learned that the girl passed out that morning and had been forced to go home and rest. Lilly hoped that Rina would be back the next day, but there was no guarantee of anything.

Of course, there’s the possibility that Alice just shows back up tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe she just came down with a really bad sickness and has been sleeping all day…

She knew the chances were slim, but it was what she wanted to believe. Then, as she thought about Alice, a question came to mind, one that she’d been meaning to ask Eric all day.

“Hey,” she said softly, “when you came in this morning, you said that Alice went with this Vinny guy on a date at the diner. Obviously, I don’t remember Alice ever having a boyfriend, but…what do you remember?”

She believed that the first step in figuring it all out would be to try and learn what the past was that Eric claimed he remembered. If she could do that, maybe she could at least discover something that might tell her what was going on.

Her boyfriend glanced down at her for a moment and then sighed. “What I remember is that Vinny and Alice started dating back during Christmas, right before the whole Wright incident. That situation caused some problems, but they stuck it through and kept together. Last night, Vinny told me that he and Alice were going to the diner for a date and that was all I knew. When I woke up this morning, everybody had suddenly forgotten that Vinny existed.”

Lilly took in everything he said and tried to process it all. Unsurprisingly, none of that added up with her own memories. She remembered the bullying incident with Evan Wright and she remembered Alice saying she was going to the diner that night for dinner, but there was no Vinny Mickelson involved in any of that. However, Eric’s words were unsettling to her. Assuming Vinny did exist and he was at the diner, what happened there that would have erased him from existence. After all, she still remembered Alice so whatever happened to Vinny didn’t happen to her.

But…the only thing that could have done this is something supernatural. And if something supernatural happened, then does that mean the person who killed those people in the diner has magic, too?

“Here we are,” Eric announced meekly.

When Lilly looked up, she found them approaching an average looking house. There was nothing special about it to her, and she certainly hadn’t been there before, but as they walked up the driveway and stepped onto the porch, one glance at the welcome mat made her sick feeling grow worse. Upon it was the word “Mickelson”.

So…then this place is…the home of a family with the surname Mickelson…

Lilly swallowed nervously as Eric stepped forward and rapped his knuckles against the door a few times. She had no idea what to expect here, but even just learning that the family could exist was enough for her doubt to strengthen their grip on her mind.

“Coming,” came a call from the other side of the door, immediately followed by the click of the lock and the door being pulled open. “Oh? Eric! How’s it going?”

Standing before her was a young girl probably around middle school age with long blonde hair and blue eyes, who was looking up at Eric with a wide grin. When she noticed Lilly standing beside him, a look of curiosity flashed across her features.

“Good afternoon, Mia,” Eric greeted softly. “How… How are you?”

The girl, evidently named Mia, frowned and then shrugged nonchalantly. “Um, I guess I really can’t complain.” She then glanced once more at Lilly, with an expectant look in her eyes.

“Oh, right,” Eric quickly said. “Mia, this is my girlfriend, Lilly.”

Her expression quickly turned mischievous at Eric’s introduction. “Girlfriend, huh? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lilly. I’m Mia, a good friend of Eric’s.” She then stepped aside. “Want to come in? I can make you guys some hot chocolate or something?”

Eric moved inside and Lilly kept close behind him, staying silent and allowing him to take the lead of the conversation. She had no idea what he planned to do or what he could be thinking, but this Mia girl’s existence alone was enough to intrigue her.

“Thank you for the offer but I don’t plan to stay long,” Eric muttered, sparing a look down the hallway and into the relatively silent house. “Are your parents home?”

Mia shook her head. “Nope. They were working late today so they won’t be back until around seven.”

“And…?” The boy swallowed nervously and Lilly could see his hands shaking as he turned his attention back to the young girl. “...what about your brother? Is Vinny here?”

For a moment, the entry hall went silent and Lilly realized she was holding her breath as she waited for Mia’s response. The girl frowned, as if taken by surprise at the sudden question, then narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“Um, Eric? What are you talking about?” she asked. “You know I’m an only child? I mean, I don’t know who this Vinny guy is, but if anybody were to be considered my brother, it’d probably be you. Is there some joke I’m missing or…?”

Despite having almost certainly expected such a response, Eric took a step back and stared down at Mia with wide eyes. “No,” he whispered. “No, come on, Mia! Think! Vinny! Your big brother! How can you not know what I’m talking about?!”

As his voice rose to a shout, Mia looked startled and she turned to Lilly as if seeking help. “I don’t…” she murmured. “What do you mean, Eric? I don’t get it.”

“God damn it,” Eric cursed.

Then, before either of them could stop him, he turned and darted into the house.

“Eric! Hold on!” Lilly called after him, but he ignored her completely.

“What’s wrong with him? Did something happen?” Mia asked her, tears welling up in her eyes.

She could see the girl clutching her hands together and it quickly became apparent that Eric had scared her more than Lilly first realized. She placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

“I’m not sure,” she replied.

Then, she turned and hurried after Eric. She felt bad barging into the house, but she had to be by Eric’s side. When she rushed into the dimly lit living room, she didn’t see any sign of him, and so she hurried toward the staircase in the corner of the room. She quickly found him standing in the doorway of a room near the top of the stairs, just staring into the interior with a pained look on his face. When she moved up to stand behind him, she peeked over his shoulder to find some sort of workspace or office, probably belonging to one of Mia’s parents. There was a desk with a computer on it and various boxes of what looked to be files and other sheets of paper.

“This is wrong,” Eric uttered, his body shaking and tears forming in his eyes. “This was…his bedroom. This is Vinny’s bedroom. I’ve been here a million times. Ever since we were in middle school…”

“Hey,” Lilly said, reaching out to grip his hand with her, but he didn’t even respond, as if not processing the fact that she was there.

“Vinny,” he continued softly, “why doesn’t anybody remember you? Where…did you go?”