"Let's just go in," I said. "We've been here over an hour and no one's gone in or out. That's gotta mean it's abandoned."
"Not necessarily," Landon replied. "They could be using a back entrance, or they know we're out here watching."
"I say we just go," Colton said. "We'll tell FP we didn't see any activity and move on."
I groaned, looking at the brick building across the street. "Come on, this is boring just sitting around in different hiding spots spying on the Gargoyles. All we've done is sit around for the past week."
"We're not going in," Landon said firmly. "We're just doing recon, that's it."
"You say that like we're on some secret mission," I laughed.
"Well, we kind of are though," Colton said, smiling. "Hiding out to get info on the enemy. And we get to wear our Trainee jackets too, make it more official."
I stood, looking out the window one last time. "You two are wearing Trainee jackets, I however, am not," I said, turning to face the pair. "For all anyone knows, you two are being trained by me, which means you have to follow my orders. And I say we quit wasting our time and go over there, get some real info for once."
"I still say this is a bad idea," Landon sighed. "Just because no one's been in or out doesn't mean there aren't Gargoyle's in there playing G&G."
I rolled my eyes, the good mood I was in just moments ago fading. "The last time I went into a room full of G&G games, they were so high on Fizzle Rocks they barely even noticed we were there. We'll go in, make a quick count of the junkies, check for any signs of a lab setup, and get out. No harm done."
"Abigail, wait," Colton called after me. "If they're setting up a lab there, someone's going to be someone on guard. And if it's more than one, we might not be able to protect you."
"I can protect myself just fine," I snapped. "If it comes down to it, we can just pretend to be on some quest of our own. Raid the castle or something."
The stairs creaked under me as I started down, not waiting for my shadows. That was a lie, that I could defend myself, but at this point, I didn't really care. I was tired of sitting on the sidelines, being coddled by everyone. FP wouldn't let me join in any of the deputy training, not wanting to risk me getting hurt worse, and I wasn't in school anymore so even if I'd wanted to, there was no part for me in the musical with my friends. Not for the first time, I wondered where I was supposed to fit in around here.
I led us across the street carefully, still keeping watch for any sign of movement. This particular section of Southside had been falling apart when the Serpents still held it, and it was even worse now. We all froze when I kicked a broken brick on our way towards the open door but still nobody appeared.
"Hey, wait for us," Landon hissed as I peeked inside.
"Come on, it's empty," I said, waving the two to follow. It was empty now, but there were clear signs that the Gargoyles had been here. Symbols covered the walls, empty Fizzle Rocks packets littered the ground, and more of those creepy little voodoo-like dolls hung here and there over our heads.
After poking around the building and finding nothing useful, the three of us headed back to the Sheriff's station. FP wasn't there so I quickly wrote up my report, leaving out the part about us actually going into the place, and added it to the file he'd designated for my reports.
Back at home, I waited for Sweet Pea to finish with rehearsal, or whatever it was that Evelyn had them doing when they weren't rehearsing. The other day, she'd had them all laying on the floor, spouting some nonsense about everyone using their traumas and experiences to improve their acting. It sounded like some sort of cult recruitment strategy to me, but what did I know?
Sweet Pea burst through the bedroom door excitedly a while later, a garment bag slung over his shoulder. "Planning a fashion show?" I asked, putting down the book I'd been reading.
"We have plans tonight," Sweet Pea said. That wasn't an answer, but I waited for him to explain further. "You know how the Farm bought the old church the Sisters were in? There's gonna be a party there tonight, in place of the usual cast party after opening night. And you're coming with me."
"Sweet Pea, in case you've forgotten, I'm not part of the cast, so why would I be at the cast party?"
"Because it'll be more fun with you there," he replied, dropping onto the bed with his head in my lap.
"Why else?" I asked when he looked everywhere but at me.
Sweet Pea sighed, grabbing my hand. "I still feel weird playing across from Josie. I'm playing her character's love interest, and since she and I hooked up over the summer..."
"We've been over this already," I reminded him gently, running my free hand through his hair. "We talked about it when you got the part. It's like I told Josie when she came to me about wanting you to be her date to the wedding: you may be my boyfriend, but you're still your own person, you can make your own decisions. You wanted this part, and right now that means you have to be close to her."
"You're really okay with this?" he asked, finally meeting my eyes. "It's last minute, but I can still pull out. I don't have to do it."
Yes, I wanted to tell him, drop out of the play, don't give those feelings you had a chance to rekindle. Instead, I forced a small smile and said, "No, it's almost opening night, you can't drop out now. Everyone's counting on you."
"So will you please come with me tonight?" he pleaded. "It'll be fun."
"Okay, just quit looking at me like that," I said. "When do we have to be there?"
Sweet Pea grinned, sitting up to press his lips against mine. "Not for a few more hours. Let's go get something to eat," he said, answering my question when pulled away.
The doors of the former nunnery were standing open when we arrived and Sweet Pea and I followed the flow of people to an inner room. From the looks of it, I wasn't the only non-cast member present. Someone was passing around jello shots, though Sweet Pea wouldn't budge when I tried convincing him just one wouldn't hurt. Despite that, I still had fun, having learned some of the songs through Sweet Pea practicing them.
After a while I slipped away to an empty hall, needing a few minutes of quiet. The thick doors of the building muffled the sounds of the party and I couldn't help wondering what else was being hidden in here by the Farm. The Sisters definitely had their fair share of secrets in this place, it was only fitting that the Farm had moved in now. As I turned the corner, lost in thought, someone crashed into me, nearly pushing me to the ground.
"Oh, my God!" the person cried in terror, grabbing hold of my arms to steady himself. "You've gotta help me."
"What the hell?" I questioned, pushing their hands off me. "When I thought this place had dark secrets I didn't mean fucking ghosts attacking me."
"Abigail, you've gotta get me out of here," they said desperately, turning to look behind them again.
I took hold of their arm, pulling the person towards the windows so I could see better. "Kevin? I guess you're better than a ghost or some leftover demon the nuns exorcised," I muttered.
He looked at me confused for a moment before the fear returned. "No, no, her ghost is here. She's here for me." I moved to look down the hall Kevin had been coming from but he pulled me back. "No, don't look. It's worse than when it happened."
"Kevin, what are you talking about?" I snapped, pulling free from his grasp. Peeking around the corner slowly, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. There was only one door in that part of the hall before it deadended, and I could hear the party still going on behind the door. We'd have known if someone opened it. "There's no one there."
Kevin inched closer, peering down the hall. He sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall. "I saw her though, she was there, blood all around her."
"Who?" I asked softly, watching him carefully.
"Midge. She was there, hanging on the wall, all those knives in her just like when the Black Hood killed her." I looked to where he was pointing, seeing nothing but a blank wall. "She looked at me, Abigail, she blames me for what happened."
"Stay right here, okay?" I said. I waited until Kevin nodded to walk down the hall, inspecting the wall. As expected there was nothing there. "Listen to me. Midge is not haunting you, it's probably just stress from directing the musical."
Kevin nodded as I did my best to calm him down. "Yeah, that makes sense," he said. "I have been worried about things repeating. I'm just seeing things."
"Kevin, have you taken anything tonight?" I asked, stepping closer to him.
"You mean like Fizzle Rocks? No," he protested. "I mean, I've had a little to drink, and Evelyn gave me this amazing brownie before I came out here to get some water. She said it had farm-grown maple mushrooms baked in."
I groaned inwardly. Of course the Farm would pull some kind of stunt like this, causing people to hallucinate to get them on their side. "Kevin, look at me," I ordered, holding his head steady between my hands as I did my best to peer into his eyes. Seriously though, would it have killed the Sisters or the Farm to put some lights in the hall?
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Cheryl Blossom asked, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked down the hall slowly.
Kevin jerked his head free of my hands and I knew how things looked. Or at least, how they would look if the guy in front of me was anyone other than Kevin Keller.
"What do you want, Blossom?" I asked, turning to face her.
She came to a stop in front of us, arms crossed in front of her. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"
Kevin's eyes widened. "What? No, I, uh, I was just going back to the party." He all but ran down the hall, letting the door swing shut behind him.
"Did you need something?" I asked, trying to keep my temper under control.
"Oh, no. I was just on my way back to the others myself," Cheryl replied cooly. "And don't worry, I won't mention your little tryst in the shadows to anyone."
I gave a short laugh. "Why not? It's not like anyone would actually believe it."
"Oh, Abigail, you should know by now that what I say goes," Cheryl said, beginning to walk slowly to the door. "I'd be a little more careful if I were you."
Left alone in the dark hall, I took a breath, trying to calm myself down. I walked back down the hall I'd come from before running into Kevin, buying myself time. And since I'd left the party through a different door, all I had to do was find it again and hopefully avoid Cheryl for the rest of the night.
"Abigail!" Fangs cheered, throwing his arm around me when I let myself back in. "I didn't know you were here."
"Yeah, I've been with Sweet Pea most of the night," I answered, forcing a smile. "Any chance you know where he is now?"
"Uh...that way?" he guessed, gesturing down the length of the room.
"That really narrows it down," I muttered, pulling away from Fangs to push through the crowd.