The Sisters: The Curse of Gabriel's Gardens

Messengers

"So that's why were you so jolly yesterday evening!" Diane said. "Thank God! I honestly thought you're going nuts. Well, that explains it all!"

"Do you mind?" Anna said shyly.

Diane bursted out laughing. "Why the hell should I? My sister and my best friend are dating - that's, like, the best thing ever! At least I can be sure that you both found the right person. And you were also made for each other, you nerds. Come on! Show me one more smooch!"

The lovers laughed and enjoyed one more quick kiss.

All three girls sat in the kitchen to have breakfast. "I'm glad you took it so well, Dee," Alexis said. "After all we went through... I think we deserve love without being judged."

"If someone ever made fun of you or tried to trash you, I'd beat them to a bloody pulp," Diane said. "You two gaybies are now officially under my protection."

Anna raised her hand. "I object against the term gaybies. I'm a bisexual."

"Eh, call it whatever you want. I'm just happy you're together, that's all. I'm just a bit disappointed that my boring nerd sister found love sooner than me, hot and cool chick."

"That's probably you manage to completely destroy and discourage every guy you meet within two sentences," Anna smirked. "You should try to be more welcoming."

"Try to be welcoming when eighty percent of male communication towards you is catcalling. Sometimes I think it'd be easier if I liked girls, too, but no matter what homophobes say, you can't just simply turn gay."

Alexis laughed. "Your time will come, I'm sure. We can try to pair you off with someone. Just tell me what you seek and we can arrange something."

"Diane has only one condition: he has to be hot," Anna noted.

"C'mon, Annie," Diane looked offended. "I'm not that shallow. For example, I'd never fall for Kyle like Marlene did, even though he was hot as hell. And neither for Gray Forrestal - he's too snobbish for me."

"Too bad," Anna said. "You and Gray were my ship."

Alexis finished her breakfast and turned on her laptop. "Let's see what happened while we were asleep," she said - checking the news was among the first things she did every morning. Usually, she found only news about murders and other crimes or gossip about local celebrities. Lately, the Gardens news website also contained many articles about Kyle Fletcher's death. But today, something interesting showed up after all.

<<>>

"Look at this," Alexis pointed at one of the articles:

A scientist finds a mysterous metal tablet. "It's made of unknown materials," he claims.

"This looks like some kind of hoax," Diane said sceptically. "These 'forbidden archeology' items are found really often and are usually debunked somehow. It's usually found by losers looking for attention."

Anna was more open towards the message. "Open it," she told Alexis.

Upon opening the article, Alexis' eyes widened in surprise. "I know that guy," she said. The photo depicted a chubby, white-haired man in a lab coat with a wide smile on his bearded face and folded arms. "That's Samuel Masterton, a lead scientist of Gabriel's Gardens. I've cooperated with him a few times while working on my school projects. He's indeed wise and very friendly."

"That means he's not just a loser looking for attention?" Anna said.

"I'm certain he's not," Alexis nodded. "I fully trust him."