The Banshee -Paul Lahote-

Chapter 16

Mavis stood next to Bella as she spoke to Charlie. "Yeah, dad, I know." The sun was out today, and it brought much-needed warmth to their small town.

"Well," he put a hand on his hip. "Well, I want you home for dinner tonight." She felt out of place in the conversation. Her eyes traveled down the hallway. There she noticed Billy, Sue, and Jacob. They appeared to be waiting for Charlie to finish up his conversation.

"Who's there," a voice spoke. It was the voice she had been hearing for a while now. It was Riley. "Who's there?"

"Now why don't we-" Charlie and Bella began walking towards Billy. Mavis glanced over her shoulder, and the sight before her caused her heart to stop. It was Riley. He was walking down the hallway with a large bag.

"Riley?" Mavis began walking down the hallway. The man pushed open the back doors before disappearing outside. Now that he was out of sight, she began running after him. Pushing open the back door, she was met by darkness. It was pouring out. The sky filled with stars.

"Help!" It was Riley. Mavis tried to look through the rain for the boy. She had no idea what was going on, but it sounded as if he needed help. Something went sprinting past her. The girl spun around from the force.

For some reason, Mavis began sprinting down the alley towards the harbor. The rain weighed down on her, causing her clothes to stick to her skin. Her actions weren't her own. It was as if someone was controlling her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she didn't see anything. Her legs stopped before her mind could process the action. The road was gone now. In front of her was the start of the harbor. "What do you want?"

Mavis looked in all directions but couldn't see anyone. The rain was too heavy. She could hear screaming, but nothing had happened yet. The blonde girl spun around again, noticing a light approaching. The rain seemed to slow, and her breathing evened out. There was something in the center of the light approaching her. The closer the light got, the closer it got.

Mavis squinted as if that would help her see better. The light grew in size, and in the middle, a person came into focus. They were close, so close she could almost touch them. However, it was still blurry. As the person became more distinguishable, there was the sound of a car horn. A body collided into hers seconds later.

Her body hit the ground hard. Opening her eyes, she noticed the sun in the sky. There were no longer any stars or rain. The wet clothing she had was completely dry. As if it never happened. Trying to catch her breath, she looked at the person above her. It was Jacob. "What the hell was that?"

"Mavis," Bella screamed running down the steps of the police station's back exit.

It took her a moment to figure out her surroundings. She was on her back in a small ditch with Jacob on top of her. Cars drove by feet away from them. "What happened? Where am I?"

"What happened?" He moved to the side and sat up. Mavis copied his actions. "You just walked into oncoming traffic. Do you have a death wish?"

Bella dropped to the ground beside her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Mavis pulled the leaves out of her hair. "Thanks, Jacob."

"Don't mention it," he took a deep breath. "Please, stop doing that to me."

"Mavis," that voice belonged to Charlie. He ran across the road, waving at the car that slammed on their breaks. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," she brushed them off.

"You're bleeding," he grabbed her arm. In all of the chaos, she hadn't realized. Blood dripped down her forearm from where she had landed on a rock. Charlie grabbed her arm to examine the wound better. "You'll need stitches. Let's get you to the hospital."