Red Velvet [The Boy Next Door]

Mysterious Substance

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THE BOY NEXT DOOR

 

Copyright © 2012 by Taina Regina

(Title and Cover may be subject to change) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Chapter 3: Mysterious Substance

 

AS THE DRONE of the static came through the speakers of her VW, Ember knew instantly she was closer to Shallows Falls High.

She made a point to shut off the radio but it only flicked to a different station. Frowning, she pressed the ‘off’ button instead, only the volume went louder and she could almost swear she heard that foreign accent she’d heard from that strange boy that lived next door to her.      

Okay what the hell. She shook her head, as if trying to clear it. Did she just hear her name coming from the speakers?

“A mea,” it whispered, making her heart pound at every syllable. Her eyes bugged out, fighting their way from the radio to the road. It wouldn’t stop saying those words, it was almost like a chant of some sort. She started pressing down frantically on the off button, and the stupid thing finally shut up. Sighing in relief, she focused her eyes on the road.

God! I’m freaking going crazy!

She bit her lips, stealing a glance over at Leroy who was sitting in the passengers seat, jiggling his leg while staring at the window. The radio flicked back on. it merely just sputtered out static most of the time, but what she was hearing now, was a song. An actual song with lyrics.

That’s it, she was definitely going crazy.

The hypnotic beat that she was hearing was seductive in its own right. Punk rock with a little hint of indie. The voice singing had that slight accent again, that was awfully familiar.

Leroy turned the dial on the volume. “Now this is a mint song from Kurphew. The rifts are wicked.” That was probably the only words he’d said since she’d picked him up.

Ember frowned at the name Kurphew. She’d heard of it before, Julie had mentioned it earlier. She almost shivered when she heard the line: ‘my blood boils to ashes leaving a fine trail of embers behind, I’m loose like a canon waiting for the poison to seep in my veins as I drink your silky wine’.

She felt like the verse was pointed directly at her. As the song faded out, the voice of the radio host came through.

“That was the latest song from the uber talented band: Kurphew, scheduled to be playing their next concert down Shallows Falls Point. Donations and funds would go to Teen Suicide Charity. See you there at seven thirty PM. Don’t be late!”

Ember raised her eyebrows. That must be the band her dad was talking about – well rather what Julie was talking about. She was about to shut the radio off when the news came through.

“You’re here with news hour with Shelly Snowden. A young teen was found murdered last night just hours after a Kurphew concert near Linedale High.” Ember frowned, turning the dial of the volume up louder. “A local janitor discovered the body around ten fifteen in the evening, while he closed up for work. The body was later identified as Janet Combsly, by local police department of Wisconsin State Homicide unit. The cause of death is still unknown...”