Dark Secrets

Chapter 01

Chapter 01

Growing up, I always thought I knew what monsters were.

Stories; Dracula, goblins, werewolves, or even the famous boogeyman - they were always just stories to scare us as kids. Heck, I even remember my younger brother always talking about the dementors in his favorite Harry Potter books. But that is what they always were - stories. Imaginary creatures. They weren't something that could harm you physically, only play tricks with your mind to scare you.

Unfortunately for me, these weren't the type of monsters I was afraid of. There was no creature lurking in my bedroom closet or under my bed. No men turned wolf at the sight of a full moon, and definitely no soulless phantoms flying around to deprive human minds of happiness. It's a scary world out there and I wish that were all that we had to be afraid of but unfortunately, the world is not as simple as black and white, and fears go beyond our imaginations.

Monsters. Monsters go far beyond this.

It was the summer of 2015. I had just finished my junior year of high school and was happily spending my summer relaxing. I used to love the summer months soaking in the sun, bike rides, getting into mischief with my friends, and of course the beach. We lived in Gig Harbor, which was about an hour outside of Seattle, Washington; with a cozy population of 6700. It's hard to find a waterfront more picturesque than the one here. With snowy Mount Rainier as the backdrop and evergreen forests, white boats, and the cobalt waters of the Puget Sound in the foreground, it's the quintessential Washington postcard.

But memories of summer and home also were now memories of fear for me.

Waking up one hot July morning, I rubbed my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock. 8:10 am. Stretching, I pulled myself out of bed wearing a pink tank top and matching pajama pants, I looked at myself in the mirror fixing my hair, and looking down at my beautiful silver crescent moon necklace that was given to me by my best friend, Madison. Once finished, I walked down the hall towards the kitchen and saw parents huddled in front of the TV, worried. Whispering.

"What's going on?"

They turned around, their eyes wide at the sight of me, turning off the TV before I could see the screen. "Oh, good morning, honey." My father spoke first. "It's nothing."

But I instantly knew it wasn't anything. The way my father spoke and quickly withdrew into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee was off. My mother's lips quivered as she turned away to join him. "I made pancakes. Would you like some?"

My father was dressed in his police uniform ready to head out for the day. As Lieutenant of our local police department, he wore his badge proudly for every day on duty for the past fifteen years. My mother was a grade school teacher at a local school nearby; as you may have guessed, yes, the same school I attended and my younger brother still attends.

They made the perfect, sweetest couple; loved by the whole community. Yet behind that sweetness still stood a firm and obedient father, and a shy restricted mother. He never wanted to get this work and family life mixed and, together with my mother, would do his best to keep that separate. But as I was now nearing adulthood, I deserved to be treated like one and wouldn't let them try to continue to shield me from the world. Once they were back in the kitchen, I marched over to the living room and turned on the television, watching both my parents turn their attention to me to see my eyes glued to the screen reading the breaking news headline.

The body of a local teen girl was found.

At fourteen years old, a local girl from Gig Harbour who had been missing for two days was found last night in Soundsview Forest Park. News like this was almost nonexistent in our small town. This was the second missing teenager found dead within the last month. The first, a fifteen year old, was found in the woods near Adam Tallman Park.