This story is about to take a dark turn.
Usually I love dark turns. Like when the carousel brakes mysteriously failed at my eighth birthday party.
But not this one.
Currently, Ember was walking through the Nevermore halls to Weems' office, hearing from the sheriff, who had been out searching for Rowan's body. He hadn't found it.
"How could you miss a dead body?" Ember asked, walking beside the sheriff, Weems behind them.
" 'Cause it wasn't there," the sheriff answered, adamant about it. "No footprints, no blood, no sign of a struggle. Nothing, nada. My search party looked all night."
"Well your search party must've left their seeing-eye dogs at home," Ember quipped. "I saw the monster. It killed Rowan right in front of me. And my eyes can definitely see."
"So you got a good look at this monster thing?" Was the next question.
"Did you think it was sticking round for a cup of tea?" Ember asked rhetorically.
The sheriff shrugged. "Maybe it was one of your classmates."
"Sheriff, I find that question offensive!" Weems said, stopping half way up the stairs and facing the man.
"Well, I don't care, 'cause I got three other dead bodies in the morgue!" The man bit back. "Hikers just ripped apart in the woods."
"The mayor said those were bear attacks," Weems shrugged, still facing him head on.
"Well, the mayor and I disagree on that one," the sheriff sighed.
"So you automatically think that a Nevermore student is the murderer, even though there's no evidence that a crime was even committed?" Principal Weems was many things, but Ember sort of admired her for sticking up for her school. Even if the whole place was a trash heap.
"He has a certain prejudice against us," the girl spoke up. "All because of-"
"Oh sorry, I forgot, you only teach the good outcasts here, right?" The sheriff bit back.
As they entered Weems' office, the principal strode purposefully to her desk and sat down at it. "My guess is Rowan ran away," she said. "State troopers have put out an alert and I've contacted his family but they haven't heard from him either."
"I've never known a dead person to return a call," Ember snapped.
"So, what were you doing out in the woods with him, Miss Addams?" The sheriff asked, sitting in an armchair opposite Weems' desk.
Ember ignored the second chair, deciding to lie and to keep standing at the same time. "I heard a noise coming from the woods and went to go investigate it. That's when I stumbled upon the attack."
Weems and the sheriff shared a glance then the latter continued. "And what happened next?"
"Then I ran into Bianca Barclay and told her to go for help," Ember finished smoothly. "Next thing I remember I was in the infirmary, with no clue how I got there nor who had taken me."
"And just to be clear, this monster wasn't a bear or some other wild animal?" Sheriff Galpin asked.
"I've hibernated with grizzlies and I'm a 'smart girl', as people say. I know the difference," Ember replied.
"Thank you, sheriff," Weems suddenly said rather hurriedly, standing up. "I think Miss Addams is done now."
"Actually, I would like to speak to Sheriff Galpin," Ember posed. "Alone."
Weems seemed reluctant. "I'm not sure I can allow that."
"Well, I'm sure I could take her to the station and get a formal statement," the sheriff spoke up, still sat down. He flashed a second's smirk at Weems. "Yeah, let's go."
"Fine," Principal Weems gave up, her heels clicking against the floor as she left the room. But before she did, she faced the sheriff. "You have five minutes, and everything is off the record. Oh, and do play nice... or I will call the mayor."
Ember waited until the door was firmly closed, then she turned to the man before her. "Someone is trying to cover up Rowan's murder. It's the only reason to scrub the crime scene."
"Is that your professional opinion as the daughter of a murderer?" The sheriff asked.
"Niece, by your standards," Ember replied. "Gomez is my uncle, and he's twice the man you are, but he's not a murderer. Well, apart from the occasional opera in the shower. It makes me wish I didn't have ears."
"Very funny, Addams," the sheriff said stiffly. "But it's been a long night and I'm tired of your games-"
"I'm not playing games," Ember told him. "I'm telling the truth. And you want to reject my claims but you can't."
Sheriff Galpin scoffed. "And why's that?"
"Because you and I both know there's a monster out there," Ember said in a low voice. "And Rowan's its latest victim. You are many things, sheriff, but you're not stupid. Or at least, I didn't think you were."
Before the sheriff could say anything, the door opened.
"Sheriff?" A woman who worked for him was at the door. Both Ember and the sheriff watched on. "You might wanna see this."
The door opened and there was Rowan.
No blood. No wounds. Not dead. Just... standing there.
Ember's eyes went wide.
Edgar Allan Poe said. "Believe nothing you hear, and half of what you see."
Clearly, Nevermore's most famous alumni picked that up here. No wonder he became a drug-addled madman.
Maybe I'm going the same way.
❣︎❣︎❣︎
"Help me understand why you would claim you witnessed a murder," Dr Kinbott said, whilst Ember sat, bored and ready to leave any second, in her office.
"Because I witnessed a murder," Ember said.
"Was it to gain attention?" Kinbott went on, ignoring the last comment.
Ember shrugged. "I don't think I should bother telling you anything else. You've already decided I'm lying."
"Your life's had a lot of upheaval recently," Kinbott said kindly, but to Ember, it was cool. "It's okay to be confused about things."
"Nothing in my statement said anything about being confused," Ember retorted. "So don't try and lure me into one of your psychological traps."
"No one is trying to trap you," Kinbott smiled. "I'm here to help process your emotions."
"Emotions are something I don't. Do. They lead to feelings, which trigger tears. Another thing I don't do," Ember said firmly.
Kinbott changed the subject. Leaning forward, she said. "Tell me how you're adjusting to school."
"Satre said. "Hell is other people." He was my first crush," Ember recited, never breaking eye contact.
"Ember, part of the reason you were sent to Nevermore is so you could find your people who. Become part of a larger community," Kinbott tried.
"I like being an island," Ember quipped. "A well-fortified one surrounded by sharks."
"Have you considered your antisocial tendencies might be triggered by fear of rejection?" Kinbott posed.
"If you were to reject me right now, I would not be upset," Ember said sharply.
"You can't rid yourself of a therapist that easily," Kinbott said, turning to the clock. "And look, you've made it through an entire session without trying to escape. I'll take that as a win."
Ember left the session not feeling very winning at all.
"Guess you decided to stick around Jericho," Tyler told her a second later, as she came out the door of the therapist's. "Wait, you see Dr Kinbott too?"
"You should know I'm legally required to be here," Ember said, taking note that he had a therapist. Why?
She shut the door and crossed the road, Tyler following her. "Me too," he said. "Court ordered."
"Look at us, a couple to teenage tearaways," Ember rolled her eyes.
Tyler chuckled. "You know when you ran off at the Harvest Festival last night, I wasn't sure what happened, and then I heard... kinda crazy."
"That's what you called me, but still, everyone, including your father believes I made it all up," Ember bit back.
"You know, I-" Tyler started, but then his phone rang and he looked down at it. "Time to get in touch with my inner rebel. And you know, for the record, I believe you."
He crossed the street back to the therapist's before she could reply, wondering at why this boy seemed to like her.
❣︎❣︎❣︎
When she got back to Nevermore, she found Enid painting a boat. It was black with a cat painted on, The Black Cats written on the side of it. Ember had no idea what it was for, all she knew was that Enid was instructing two other Ophelia Hall girls (one a Fang AKA vampire called Yoko, the other unknown to her).
"Ladies, come on! Let's work on those teeth! More. Scowl! This kitty is taking no prisoners!" She heard Enid shouting as she approached. "If Bianca Barclay wins again this year, I will literally scratch my own eyes out!"
"There's no limit to the amount of money I would pay to see that," Ember said, standing at the back of the boat.
Enid, however, turned round smiling, skipping the short distance to her. "Howdy roomie! I'm so glad you decided to stay."
"Not a decision, more circumstance," Ember replied. "I thought you wanted your single room back."
"Full disclosure, I don't like living solo, and Thing gives a killer neck massage, it's a win-win," Enid smiled. "So... why the change of heart?"
"I refuse to play the role of a pawn in someone else's game. At the least, I'm a Queen," Ember said.
"You mean Rowan?" Enid deduced.
"I witnessed his murder, Enid," Ember said.
"It's just- we all saw him this morning, sort of, like, not dead," Enid tried to say gently.
"I know. Which leads me to believe I've been losing my mind," Ember sighed. "I wish it was as fun as I'd anticipated."
She changed her tune as she thought about the girl before her. "You're Nevermore's gossip queen. What's Rowan's story?"
She was thinking more about the fact that he had been told to kill her.
Enid cocked her head. "Other than being a weird loner... uh, no offense," she added, with a throwaway look at Ember.
"None taken," she said quickly.
"Xavier Thorpe's his roommate," Enid shrugged. "If you had a cell phone, you could just text him and ask him."
"Xavier's would be the last number I put into my phone, if I had one," Ember vowed.
Enid sighed, turning to the people still painting the boat. "Yoko, come on! Flare those whiskers! The Poe Cup droops for no one!"
"What is this Poe Cup anyway?" Ember focused her attention on the boat now.
"Only my entire reason for living right now!" Enid shouted. "Part canoe race, part foot chase, no rules! Each dorm has to pick an Edgar Allan Poe short story for inspiration.
"You could grab a brush," she suggested. "Ms Thornhill's just ordered pizza. Wanna take a stab at being social?"
"I would take the stab. The social part, not so much," Ember said. "Besides, Wednesday's trusted me to write her novel."
"No worries," Enid smiled. "Just as long as you're lakeside, cheering us to victory on race day!"
Ember gave a hard stare.
"Or you can just stare uncomfortably, whatever works for you," Enid sighed, giving her a wink.
Ember didn't know what worked for her. Even later, as she sat up in her room, pushing keys on the typewriter.
I've always hated the expression. "Write what you know." It's a hall pass for the imagination impaired.
But when your life becomes a twisted mystery...
She abandoned another sheet of paper, annoyed that she couldn't write this part of the novel. Bored, she picked up the picture Rowan had shown her. Noticing a strange watermark in the corner...
Maybe it's time to lean into it.
The watermark depicted a skull with a weird thing that looked like a flower behind it, the whole mark encircled.
Ember didn't know much about why Rowan had wanted to kill her, but she did know it was because of this picture.
"I need to speak with Rowan. Immediately," she said, striding into Weems' office.
"It won't be possible, I'm afraid. He's been expelled," Weems said, not looking up from her laptop.
"For what?" Ember needed to speak to him.
"Never you mind. He'll be on a train home this afternoon," Weems sighed. "And what were you doing out in the woods with him in the first place?"
"I told you already," Ember begged she would buy it. "I heard a noise in the woods and I went to investigate."
Weems scoffed. "And that excuse might have placated the sheriff but you can't fool me. You had a psychic vision, didn't you?"
Ember's eyes widened but she didn't give any other indication to whether this was true. But of course, it was.
And Weems knew it. "I suspected you might be having them when we passed the accident, and you knew that poor farmer had broken his neck."
Ember still didn't make any attempt to reply.
Then the jugular was delivered. "Your mother started having psychic visions around your age," Weems sighed.
Ember opened her mouth-
"No, I mean Ophelia, not Morticia," Weems knew what she was going to say. "I remember... they were notoriously unreliable and dangerous. At first, she thought she might be losing her mind. Did she ever speak to you about them?"
Still, Ember didn't say anything.
"Clearly the person withholding information here is you," Weems sat back, tapping away again at her laptop.
"Can I go now?" Finally, Ember found her tongue.
"Not until you've chosen your extra curricular activity," Weems smiled. As though she knew this was torturing Ember and enjoyed it. "We want our students to be well-rounded."
"I prefer to remain sharp-edged," Ember told her.
"Well, I took the liberty of putting together a list of clubs that have openings," Weems picked up a clipboard and pushed it towards Ember.
"I'm so thankful," the girl replied flatly.
"You and Wednesday both need to have picked one by the end of the day," Weems told her. "I'll be keeping my eye on you."
"And here I thought two were better than one," Ember sarcastically said.
Weems shrugged. "No doubt you'll find something that tickles your fancy."
"The last person that tickled me lost the fingers they did it with," Ember said, taking the clipboard and walking out.
❣︎❣︎❣︎
"Scales on scales on scales on scales..."
Ember, apparently, was going to the choir first for an activity. But before that, she was hiding in an alley out nearby the quad, where they practiced. And as they sung, she talked to Thing, who was on the ground before her.
"Weems is clearly trying to keep tabs on me," she told him. "Wednesday, too, probably. But you need to keep an eye on Rowan," she commanded him. "Don't let your fingers out of his sight."
Thing gave a bow and walked off on his fingers. Ember nodded alternatively and walked off to join the choir, who were in the quad, getting conducted by Bianca.
"We... got... scales on scales on scales on scales on scales on scales on scales on scales on scales..."
As the choir stopped singing, Ember walked up to Bianca. The siren turned to her and looked her up and down. "Weems said you'd be stopping by. But to be honest, after your performance at the Harvest Festival, the drama club might be more your speed."
Ember wasn't interested in the games. "After I passed out, who did you tell?" She asked in a hushed voice. "The sheriff?"
"You think I trust normie cops?" Bianca scoffed. "I went straight to Weems and let her handle it.
"Anyway, let's get this audition over with," she changed her tune and talked louder, the choir going back into their formation. "Uh, what are you? Alto? Soprano? Or just loco?"
The choir laughed around her.
But as she played a note on the piano, Ember opened her mouth, displaying a tune so high no one could hear it.
Though the glass in one guy's glasses cracked. And maybe a couple of the windows up the tower.
"What was that?" Bianca looked around in confusion.
"A note only babies can hear," Ember said. "So I would've thought you'd have no problem."
And with that she walked off, going to the next place on her list. Archery.
As the choir sung a harmony of Don't Worry, Be Happy, Ember headed over to where she saw the bows and targets. And only one boy there shooting.
Xavier.
"And if that hopeless romantic Xavier Thorpe hadn't saved you, I wouldn't have to be doing this right now."
Ember had only just remembered Rowan saying this. She had no idea what it meant after all, for she hadn't exactly displayed any interest in the boy since she had arrived.
Nevertheless, she still had to go over.
She watched Xavier fire an arrow, landing three rings outside the bullseye. As he lowered the bow, he turned to her. "Huh. You actually showed up. Ever shot a bow and arrow before?"
"Only on live targets," Ember said.
Xavier took this in. "Okay," he picked up an arrow. "Well, square stance, load the arrow like this, yellow side out. Three fingers," he held the bow up. "Pull back, and..." he shot again, this one landing five rings away. "Let it fly."
He looked at her. "Any questions?"
"Many," Ember told him. "Few of them to do with archery. When was the last time you saw your roommate, Rowan?"
The only good part about working with Xavier was the fact that he had known Rowan.
"Oh, you mean the one that was killed by a monster?" Xavier mocked.
Ember made no attempt to defend her statement. It was true, she knew it.
"The Harvest Festival," Xavier answered her. "I haven't talked to him since," he knocked another arrow. "But his side of the room was all packed up this morning. Rowan's always been a little off, but, uh, the last couple weeks he's been more erratic. You know, telekinesis can mess with your head. You know, he's... it started to freak me out."
Ember didn't question this.
"So what's the deal with you and Tyler?" Xavier asked, shooting his arrow. Still didn't hit the bullseye. Ember stared blankly at him.
"I'm sorry, were you the only one that got to ask non-archery questions?" He asked.
"I was planning it to be that way," Ember said.
Xavier chuckled.
"There is no 'deal'," Ember answered. "He was doing me a favour, driving me out of town."
"Yeah, word of advice, steer clear," Xavier said, handing the bow to her. She made sure their hands didn't touch when it passed from him to her.
"Is this jealousy or do you actually care?" Ember questioned. "Either way I'm nauseated."
"Tyler and his friends are a bunch of jerks," Xavier ignored her. "They can't stand that this school is the only thing holding up their podunk town."
"Says the boy whose life was served to him on a silver platter," Ember retorted, knocking an arrow.
Xavier looked hurt. "Hey, girls in glass houses-"
"Should throw bigger stones," Ember interrupted, getting an apple out her pocket, throwing it in the air, and letting the arrow fly. The arrow hit the apple and pinned it to the bullseye. "At least I'm not an elitist snob."
For a moment, something flashed across Xavier's face. Whether it was hurt or surprise, Ember didn't see.
"Ouch."
Ember debated for a second. "Why did you save me from that gargoyle?"
"I told you," Xavier said bitingly. "Instinct. What's got you investigating more?"
"Something Rowan said," Ember said quickly.
"What'd he say?" Xavier asked.
Ember didn't say anything. She didn't feel it was right to tell Xavier.
"What did Rowan say?" Xavier asked.
"Nothing, now I really think I am losing my mind," Ember sighed, putting another arrow in the bow and shooting at the next target, knowing this would be her last. She wasn't choosing archery club.
However, no surprises.
It hit the bullseye again.