The trees were stripped bare, their empty branches spidering up through the flat grey sky like cracks through glass. This was the first thing that struck Penelope as odd. It's summertime, shouldn't the trees be heavy with green leaves and needles?
The observation wasn't enough to stop her walk. She followed along the path that wove through the strangely dead forest, studying their empty branches. Maybe she had stumbled on a stretch of woods that had fallen victim to an infestation, or the aftermath of a forest fire, though the earth was regular brown not scorched black.
Whatever the reason, she figured it was temporary. If she kept on the path, then it would lead her through to greener pastures—or forest.
It didn't.
Instead, the trees opened up completely, giving way to an open expanse of deadened grass, all yellow and brown. And beyond the strip of grass, a sheer cliff that overlooked a river. The river was swollen, spilling over its banks and washing up against the foot of the rock face. Across the river, another cliff. There the forests and grasses were green, like they should be. And over the lush green forest on the other side a swirl of hundreds of black birds flew together in a wide circle. Ravens. Penelope could hear their croaking, even from here.
She stepped out from the dead forest and approached the edge to get a better look. Why were they flying like that? They were circling something, like vultures honing in on something freshly dead...
But as she neared the cliff's edge, the earth was softer than she thought. Her feet sank into the ground before it crumbled beneath her. A large chunk of the cliff gave way, taking Penelope with it. She scrambled back, turning to grab onto whatever was within reach to save her—a branch of one of the dead trees. She grabbed it, but the brittle wood snapped easily under her hands. She fell back, nothing stopping her from falling off the cliff and into the river—
The minute Penelope opened her eyes, her dream was gone. Only the fear remained, making her breaths come in gulping gasps. She blinked for a moment, letting her heart slow, trying to figure out why she felt so afraid, before giving up and rolling over in bed to reach for her phone.
It'd been a while since she'd felt the urge to check her phone first thing in the morning. For a while, the internet's rage had beaten the habit out of her. Part of her wished she would have kept it that way. There had been something freeing about not being compelled to check her notifications and likes and views every five seconds. Maybe, after this was all over, she'd take a proper break—chosen, not forced—from the internet.
But until then...
Yesterday's interview with Henry had gone well, very well, even with Penelope freezing up at the end. After Henry revealed that he had heard the ravens talk, too—saying the exact same things they had said to her—she never quite recovered and the interview ended soon after. Even so, they had amassed almost a quarter-million live viewers. And she was sure even more people would watch the recording that had gone up afterwards. Her phone had been buzzing all night with people's reactions, but she hadn't checked them. She had done the healthy thing and muted them for the evening before retreating to Liam's house to join her dad and Liam's family for a night of pizza and pop and a simple-but-competitive card game they called Gimme Five.
But it was morning now and she had to return to the real world, online and off. As she scrolled through the comments her viewers had left, she was pleasantly surprised to find that they were, for the most part, supportive. Whatever they thought of Penelope, the commenters seemed to really like Henry.
Wow, imagine seeing the Raven with your own two eyes...
Dude looks like he's seen some shit. Badass.
I believe you, Henry!
Damn, you know a guy like that ain't playin' around...
It seemed his gruff, no-nonsense demeanour had given her a much-needed dose of legitimacy. Penelope couldn't help but smile. This is exactly what Henry needed, what he had deserved all along—people believing him. She couldn't wait to show him and Liam...
Then, one comment caught her eye.
WOW! We got this trending on Twitter! LET'S GOOOO
Penelope's eyes went wide. We trended on Twitter? She swapped apps, opening up Twitter. It might've been too late to catch herself on the Trending page, but she wanted to see for herself. With Twitter open, she tapped on the Search tab, and then over to the Trending tab. She scanned the list of popular topics...
Then she froze and her skin turned cold.
There was no mention of her name, PARANELOPE, or even Henry.
But DAEVONIC was there, the second item on the Trending list. And Xander Green was number one.
Penelope swallowed. What has Daevon done now? Had he come up with some scheme to get back at her for scooping him and Xander on Henry? Penelope's stomach twisted and dropped. It felt like those first days all over again.
With a trembling finger, she tapped on Daevon's name.
Thousands of tweets filled her screen. The top tweet was, to her surprise, from a news channel with a short clip attached, featuring a serious-looking newscaster behind a desk. Penelope tapped on the clip, and it expanded to take over her screen.
"...sad news from the internet today," she said, already halfway through a sentence. "Xander Green, the famous paranormal investigator, and Daevon Peters, a young YouTube sensation, have been reported missing along with several members of their film crew. They were visiting the small mountain town of Ridgestone for a new series about a local legend known only as The Raven. Yesterday afternoon, they ventured into the woods to film a segment and were due to return late last night, but never showed. Local authorities are currently searching for the media personalities..."
The reporter's voice was cut off as Penelope dropped her phone into the folds of her covers, muffling the sound.
Her head was reeling.
Daevon...
Daevon was missing?
"Why are we doing this again?" Liam groaned before letting out a big yawn. Beneath them, Penelope's dad's truck bumped along the rough road.
Earlier that morning, as soon as the news sank in and her brain started working again, Penelope had rushed over to his house. She hadn't realized how early it was until Beth answered the door in her housecoat, bleary-eyed with her short-cropped hair sticking up in every direction. But after Penelope managed to explain what had happened, everyone in the house sprang into action, agreeing to help in the search effort.
"Because," Penelope replied sharply, "just because Daevon is a certified douche bag doesn't mean I want him to get hurt, or die. Or any of them, for that matter, even Xander. They need our help, so we're helping. It's the right thing to do."
Liam grumbled again, but nothing Penelope could hear. She didn't get what he was so bothered about. Maybe he just wasn't a morning person.
Penelope ignored him and looked out the truck's big back window. Behind them, Beth and her dad were following in Beth's SUV. Lyla and Henry had stayed back to look after the campsite. Her dad saw her looking and waved, giving her his best be-strong smile. Penelope tried her best to smile back, but it just felt forced.
As she turned back, the trees were opening up as they arrived at the abandoned logging camp they had visited only a few days before. It was anything but abandoned now. The clearing was now packed with vehicles and people. Officials like police, fire, and SAR—Search and Rescue—were cloistered in tight groups, discussing strategy over large maps spread across vehicle hoods. Nearby, more people were standing around, every one of them decked out in bright orange visi-vests emblazoned with VOLUNTEER. But what shocked Penelope the most was the sheer number of news vans, their teams on the hunt for anyone who would submit to an interview, though it looked like the police were keeping them at bay—for now.
Penelope was suddenly glad she wore her big hoodie. She pulled up the hood and tucked her hair into it, hoping to go unnoticed by the many watchful eyes. The last thing she needed was to get recognized now. If they knew who Daevon was, then they would know her, too...
Liam pulled the truck alongside the row of other parked vehicles. "Damn, what a zoo," Liam said, his brows folding into a frown. "You sure you want to do this? It looks like they have plenty of volunteers already."
"Yes, I'm sure," Penelope said. Whatever her history with Daevon, it felt wrong to sit back and do nothing. She opened the truck door and hopped out, heading for the crowd.
Her dad was already out, too, and waiting for her. Beth had parked right next to the truck. "How're you doing, kid?"
Penelope eyed him. "Fine," she said.
"You sure?" he said, nudging her lightly. "I mean, your boyfriend—"
"Ex-boyfriend," Penelope corrected quickly.
"Ex-boyfriend," her father repeated the correction. "Well, whatever he is or was, you two were close. This can't be easy for you. Are you sure you're okay?"
A knot formed in Penelope's throat. "M-Maybe. Maybe not," she said, her voice coming out thicker than she was expecting. She didn't really want to admit it, but she really was worried for Daevon and her being here was more than just doing the right thing. "But I'll feel a lot better about it if I can do something to help."
"Understood," her dad said with a knowing nod. He knew when to drop it. "Whatever you want to do. If you want to help, I'll help, too." He pulled her close and gave her a quick one-arm squeeze.
Penelope leaned into him. "Thanks, dad."
As they neared, one of the police officers noticed them."What, more volunteers?" he cried, his eyes going wide.
"More rubberneckers," muttered another standing nearby. "Anything to get a glimpse of a famous person, living or dead." She rolled her eyes and walked off with a scoff of disgust.
Penelope opened her mouth to object but the first officer interrupted.
"Look, folks," he called to them, heading their way. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We've already got more than enough volunteers for the job. The woods are too tight for a big crowd and—"
"Easy there, Duncan," came a familiar voice.
Both the officer and Penelope turned to see Gunnar appearing from the crowd, already wearing a bright orange vest of his own. He towered over the already imposing officer, grinning down at him with his bright blue eyes.
"This young lady knows one of the missing," Gunnar explained, clapping his hand on the back of the police officer. "From what I understand, they were very close. Let her stay."
Officer Duncan frowned, but then gave a nod. "A-Alright, Mr. Christensen, but that's all we can handle. We've already got way too many people and we've gotta do some crowd control on the news jockeys." The officer glared past the mayor and into the crowd of volunteers who were currently being pestered by reporters that looked altogether too perky for such an early hour.
"Don't worry, Duncan," Gunnar said. "I'll handle the news. That's my job, after all. Just focus on yours." With another slap on the back, Gunnar sauntered towards Penelope and her father.
"Nice to see you here, Penelope," Gunnar said with a nod as he passed.
Penelope gave him a polite nod back. She had no smart remark for him this time.
"Greg," the mayor said to her dad with another nod, giving the same to Beth.
As he caught a glimpse of Liam, he just smiled—which Liam returned with a glare—before he headed off towards the news vans. He stopped along the way to greet some of the other volunteers, including a pair of camo-decked guys with bright red hair.
"Here," Officer Duncan said, sounding annoyed, and pulling Penelope back to reality. He shoved a stack of folded orange vests towards them. "Put these on, and go stand with the others."
Penelope slipped on the vest over her hoodie. The shade of orange was truly obnoxious, but that was kind of the point. Hard to lose sight of someone in something this bright. The rest of them did the same without complaint, though Liam looked even more disgruntled.
"Of course, he's here," he growled, still glaring at the back of the mayor's white-haired head.
"Why wouldn't he be?" Penelope said sharply. She didn't like feeling thankful for Gunnar's presence, but he had just helped them out.
"Yeah, why wouldn't he?" Liam replied with a snide edge, his eyes still fixed on Gunnar. "Gunnar's never one to pass up a chance for publicity."
Penelope followed Liam's gaze. Gunnar was now surrounded by the news teams, multiple people shoving microphones and cameras into his face. Most people would've been overwhelmed by the crush of reporters, but Gunnar seemed to be in his element. He was effortlessly handling their questions, presenting himself with the precise right mix of sombre and charming. Exactly what they wanted.
"They're probably faking all this," Liam grumbled.
Penelope swiped at him, smacking him in the arm. "Shut up!" There were too many people around to overhear. "That's such a cruel thing to say! This is serious! People are missing!" She went to smack him again.
"What?" Liam said, dodging her this time. "You don't believe this circus, do you?" He motioned to the scene around them. "Missing, my ass. You don't think it's suspicious that they suddenly went missing right when you were beating them to the punch and kicking their ass? When you're down, what better way to drum up publicity than to stage a perfectly timed disappearance?"
"Daveon would never!" Penelope snapped back. YouTube drama was one thing, but wasting official resources like this... But suddenly she wasn't so sure. He had faked all her evidence after all, without telling her—she couldn't be sure what he would and wouldn't do anymore.
"Yeah, sure," Liam said. "Because he's been so trustworthy lately..." And he stormed off to join his mom in the crowd of other volunteers.