I got up around noon. Even though I slept in, I didn’t end up getting much sleep. Lula was up making tea and Travis was laying down with the TV on. I groggily made myself eggs while avoiding interaction as much as I could.

“So, what’s your plan for your first day here?”, Lula cooed, to my dismay.

“I guess look for a job for rent money”, I replied, not looking up from my sad scrambled mess on a plate.

“Oooh that could be fun.” She was really grasping at straws here and she knew that. With a sigh, she sat down beside me. “I’m sorry this isn’t the most exciting place to be. I, at least, wish there could have been a better start to it.”

“Did you know Jess before last night?”

She paused. “Sort of. In the way everyone knows everyone here. I’ve heard about her a lot, actually talking to her is different though.”

“I’m guessing not good things?”

“Well, she is a person who really likes to be... alternative, so to speak.”

“You mean she likes to do things that make her seem like she’s a bit of a non-conformist.”

“Yeah. Pretty much that exactly. I think she’s harmless, but she just seems to really love being negative or creepy. She says she likes to do witchcraft and drink and smoke, but I don’t think she actually does. She didn’t even know the first step to casting a circle for the full moon.”

I stare confusedly.

“Oh sorry, it's to stand north and call on the spirit of the earth.”

“Are you a witch?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t think to tell you when we talked on the phone. Didn’t think it really mattered.”

“Don’t you think that stuff is kinda dangerous? I mean you don’t really seem like the type to channel ghosts or curse people.”

“Well, no. I am more heavily based on the idea of balance and consequence, so I don’t believe in cursing people. The only magic I do is to either create positive energy or ask for guidance.”

“Alright. I guess that’s not so creepy.”

Lula chuckled and we ended our discussion talking about where I could go to look for a job around town. We ended up agreeing that I would probably do best at the antique store right off of main street, because I like history and also don’t have to talk to too many people. I put on my best interview type outfit, meaning a button up shirt and black jeans, and drove down to main street.

It was pretty quaint, but it was all covered in a thin layer of dust. You were seeing a lot of cute little corner store type shops, and realizing that was all these people had. The road the antique store was on only had that shop, all the other store fronts were empty. Made it easy to park at least.

The man running the store wasn’t as old as I thought he would be, but he was definitely at least in his 40’s.

The store was pretty packed, as is the norm with these stores, and seemed to focus on mainly having salt shakers, small glass trinkets, and bits of jewelry.

“Please be careful not to bump anything.”, he barked as I walked in.

“Ok”, I replied, “I’m here to look for a job. I was told you need someone to run the cash register on the weekends and such.”

He looked me over, seeming to not believe me. “What makes you want to work here?”

“I like old things and do pretty well talking to people.”

“Well, I could definitely use the help. Are you 18?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, you got classes you need to be scheduled around?”

“Not currently.”

“Good, can you start today?” “Sure.”

“Alright, I take my break for lunch around 2. Come back then and I’ll give you a basic walk through of the place and have you take over.” He seemed pretty uncaring about the store, but as long as I got paid I didn’t really care. It was about 12:30, so I decided to go down main street to look for where people might get food in this town. There was a small cafe between a cobbler and seamstress that seemed like it would do well for lunch. I sat down, got an ice tea and a grilled cheese and people-watched out the front window.

Lots of average looking folks passed, mostly white families with kids who walked contentedly and quietly. There were a few outliers. A man I assume was a mechanic came by with dirtied hands and a scarred cheek, but a somewhat Santa like disposition. There were a few rowdy teenage boys that looked like they were either describing a fish they caught, or a girl they saw, hard to tell by the hand motions. None of it seemed strange, until I caught red out of the corner of my eye.

Katrina, or at least who I assumed was Katrina based on the eyepatch. She walked along the other side of the street. Her copper hair was cropped unevenly below her jawline, her skin looked ghostly and the only eye I could see was completely covered in bandages. She walked with her head down and her hand in her pockets, like she was sorry for being seen. She went into a drug store across the street and I watched intently for her exit. She stepped out with a small bag and for a moment I could see her face. She had a sad, glassy stare. Her cheeks were fuller like a child, but they were high and tapered down to a well defined chin. Her nose was small and ever so slightly upturned and her lips were small but full. She had very dark eyebrows and one piercingly silver iris.

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She was hauntingly beautiful, like seeing the ghost of murder victim you knew had their whole life ahead of them.

I left my money on the table and walked outside. I don’t know what she even knew about what happened last night, and it was risky going after her this soon after I almost blew my cover, but I needed to know what she knew. I didn’t know what I was going to say or do when I caught up to her, I just kept going and hoped it would come to me later. She walked down the sidewalk and turned off the main drag. I peaked around to see her on what looked like another deserted side street. I walked around the corner and she stopped walking, clearly aware of my presence.

There was a silence as I tried to guess what she was doing and she tried to do the same for me.

“Hey, I know you don’t know me but, I’m new here and I wanted to 24

introduce myself.”, I said into the air. “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me; I heard some weird noises outside my room last night and I know you live kinda close by to me. Do you know anything that might have

happened last night?”

She stayed tense as she turned

around to look at me. “You don’t live anywhere near me. I know because the only apartment complex in town just removed it’s vacancy sign.” She said, in that same deepish timber as the figure from the night before.

“I guess I was mistaken then.”

“It’s not safe to go wandering around my part of town after dark.” She said.

“Why?” I said curiously.

She stepped closer to me. In that moment I could see her bandaged eye in a more full view, uncovered from her hair. It was padded in gauze and around it you could see deep, scabbing gauges and bruising. “Because what hit you last night, is nothing compared to the dangers you could have run into.” With that, she turned and walked away. I stood shocked, watching her go out of view. I knew one thing at that moment: I was absolutely going back to her house that night.

I did go back and get trained for my job. It was as uneventful as I expected and it left me a good amount of time to go home and relax while I waited for everyone else to fall asleep.

At 12:03 I ventured out into the night, using the same path I did before to find out what exactly Katrina was talking about. Circling around the church still didn’t lead to anything, and I even tried to go a little farther out into the woods behind the grounds. I headed down to Katrina’s house. The first thing

I realized was that her whole house was lit up this time. I went around to the back like I did before. This time the window was shut, and it was again quiet. I peeked into her room and saw that it appeared to be empty again. The room was just as barren as I originally thought, the only thing there was a small music box on the end table beside her desk.

I tried to jimmy my hand under the window so I could hear inside the house better, but no dice. I started walking around and as I did I noticed a gruff man was walking from room to room angrily. This must have been Dave, and he must be unhappy that Katrina isn’t in her room. I didn’t think I was gonna get any good info out of this jerk, so I started searching the area for anything interesting. The woods were pretty dense but the brush wasn’t too thick.

The only sounds around me were the normal night chatter of creatures. It didn’t sound like there were any large animals, so I thought that would make it obvious when something was coming towards me. It did not. A large force struck me on the back. I smacked face first into the ground, quickly flipped over to see this boarish figure, only in silhouette. He lifted a huge club over his head as I darted to avoid another impact. I dart up a tree, just to be yanked back down by my leg. I reached behind my back, where I stored my knives just in case.

Twisting my spine I slashed his arm. I was dropped as he let out a groan like a bear. He stumbled backwards. I reached for my phone to turn on the flashlight, and saw this strange man- like creature. His skin was hanging over itself in rolls like fabric and what I thought might be a club was just his forearm, which had swollen into a huge club like mass. His head was pear shaped, jaw protruding, his stomach a pile of rolls that had fallen all the way from his almost non existent neck. He had unmatched large forearms with emaciated biceps and overly bulky legs with club feet. If he were not breathing, I would think he was made of clay. The worst part? His cut leaked a fine sand in the place of blood, like he was a demented stuffed toy.

He sprinted away in pain. I was so shocked by his appearance that I didn’t even think to follow. I was snapped back to reality by the sound of a voice behind me.

“So, are you a masochist, or do you just hate being told what to do?”, it called out.

“Katrina, is that you?”, I said, slightly panicked.

“I’d try and lie, but it doesn’t seem like that's going to work on you.”, she called back

“Do you know what that thing was? Where did it come from?”

“I don’t really have a name for those things, they’re just kind of mindless hitting machines.”

“Are they cursed people or something?”

I could hear Katrina walking a little closer to me, “No, they died long before they became what they are now. You really shouldn’t worry too much about them.”

“Well, what should I be worrying about then?”

“You have a lot of questions.”

“Yeah. In the 48 hours I have been here, a lot has happened.”

“Well, if it scares you, you’re still in a good place to leave.”

“I’m not gonna let my fear stop me from helping the people here.” Katrina sighs, “If you're not going to leave, can I ask you your name?”

“It’s Athena.”

“It’s nice to meet you Athena, I hope you know what you are getting into. More importantly, I hope it ends up being worth it.”

“Why do you think it won’t be?”, I ask, crossing my arms.

“Well these are the kind of people that only care about their version of right. No matter how much it might help them in the future, they only care about what’s in front of them.” I heard a little shuffling in the brush,

“But, that’s a lot to get into in one night, you should probably get home and tend to your turtle or actually sleep.”

“Oh are you spying on me too or something?”

“No, I am also friends with Jess and she has not stopped talking about a girl named Athena who's moving to town. I can’t imagine it's a common name.”

I can feel a little blush on my cheeks in the dark, “Yeah she certainly does seem to like me. I’ll head home, but don’t think it means I’m going to stop asking you questions.”

“I will see you around Athena, try not to let curiosity kill you.” Katrina said, as I heard something moving away from me. I ran back to my apartment. I give Wally an extra piece of lettuce, and lay in bed. I tried to sleep, but one thing was dangling over my mind, keeping me up: I heard Katrina walk deeper into the woods, not out of them. Where was she going?