Saving Grace

38

Lydia shook her friend. "Emma, we're here."

Malia shook Scott and he mumbled, "Where are we?"

"According to the GPS, this is it," Malia replied.

The four of them stepped out of the car. Emma's eyes studied the old cars and rickety houses.

"This is it," Lydia said. "Canaan's a ghost town."

"Finally," Emma mumbled. "Let's get this over with."

Scott frowned. "I don't hear a single heartbeat."

Malia faced them. "I'm not catching any scents."

"Why would Stiles send us here?" Emma wondered.

A streetlight shone and dissipated immediately. They walked through the town and Lydia stopped in the middle, staring at a faded banner.

"This is the place I saw in the mirror," Lydia told her friends.

Scott and Malia walked over to a picnic table.

Emma noticed her father's bloody body lying in the road and ran up to him. "Dad, hey! No, no, no, no. No, please!"

Scott shook her and said, "It's just a hallucination. I had one too. Your dad is okay."

Emma stood slowly. "We shouldn't be here. This place is... I don't like it."

Scott shook his head. "We can't leave. Not until we figure out why Stiles sent us here."

Lydia frowned. "Who are we going to ask? There's no one here."

Malia pointed to a young boy across the street with his back to them. "We can talk to him."

"Hey," Scott called as the boy ran off.

"What do we do?" Lydia asked.

"Follow him!" the blonde yelled, running after the boy.

They ran further down the street and stopped in front of a house. The curtain moved slightly and Scott walked up to the door and opened it slowly.

The teens walked inside and asked, "Hello? Anybody here?"

The room was brown and the furniture had been nicely laid out, but was dusty like no one had sat there for years.

A woman's voice caught their attention. "Visitors? I can't believe we have visitors. Oh, Caleb will be so happy to see you. It's been such a long time since he's had anyone to play with. Oh, you must be thirsty. Come on in and have a seat while I get you something to drink." She walked off, giving them a wide smile.

Malia frowned. "Seriously? What is with her?"

Lydia let out a sigh. "She's the woman I saw in the mirror."

The woman reappeared moments later. "This was my grandmother's recipe. At least, as much as I can remember. We always served this when we had friends to visit."

Lydia shook her head. "We didn't come to visit. We're looking for someone."

"A friend of ours," Scott said. "Maybe you've seen him. His name is Stiles?"

The woman frowned in thought. "It's been awhile since anyone came through Canaan."

"How long?" Tessa asked.

"Since April 8, 1987?" Malia questioned, setting down a newspaper.

The woman's face hardened. "Why would you disturb those things? They don't belong to you."

"We need to know what happened."

"There was a picnic. A community party."

"It seems like everyone left in a hurry."