Chapter 2
It was past midnight but I still couldn't stop myself from thinking about what's waiting for me in Wild Oaks. I was thirteen when a transfer student from a small town near Wild Oaks spread creepy stuff about the said place. For a teenager who's scared of the monsters of the night, I refused to listen to most of it.
Well, I was wishing now that I had the courage to know the things the weird girl said before. Now all I knew were the basics and that wasn't helpful at all.
If only I wasn't running out of options...
And if only the weird transferee wasn't my now bestest friend, Jessy, who didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Wild Oaks was a town surrounded by woods which no one dared to enter without permission. They said trespassers who attempted to sneak in never got out of the woods anymore. If that's true, I would never know.
The weirdest thing I heard about the place was it's a private property. I never got the chance to confirm it but since sleep wasn't paying me a visit, I decided to reach for my old laptop which, by the way, I was going to sell tomorrow. As soon as the search engine popped open, I prayed heaven for some strength to absorb whatever shit I was about to find out.
Pulling my sleeves up, I took in a deep breath before I finally typed "Wild Oaks" in the search bar. It only took a couple seconds before numerous results flashed before my eyes, yet all of it were nothing but a bunch of conspiracy theories about the place.
I shook my head then sighed, totally disappointed that it was the best I could get on the internet. Tucking a few strands of my messy hair, I whispered to myself, "what an odd place..."
According to some articles, which by the way, didn't come from reliable sources, Wild Oaks really was a private property. The town was never exposed to the media and the numbers of rumors about it being inhabited by inhuman creatures was quite alarming.
People only come to Wild Oaks by invitation and in order to have the privilege to have a glimpse of the said town, a huge amount of money must be paid to the "ruler".
"Hmm..." I pouted as my eyes narrowed at the blurry image of a man wearing black face mask and cap. Paired with an ensemble of white shirt, denim jeans, and black leather jacket, I couldn't help but smirk. "Where do you spend the money you get from the invites when you look like a bank robber in that outfit?"
I gasped when I heard a loud screech coming from the window. With my heart banging wildly inside my chest, I jumped out of bed and went to check it.
My hands were trembling as I held the curtains to open it, but when I saw the huge scratch on the glass window, as if a giant animal with big and sharp claws scratched it, I swore I almost felt my heart stopped from making another beat.
"I told you, Jessy. It's real!" I exclaimed as we walked towards Uncle George's house.
Jessy chuckled softly. "You must just be dreaming last night. Don't worry about it, Entice. Wild Oaks isn't as scary as I told the class before."
"Yeah, right. Back when you're still a weirdo to me."
Jessy shook her head while laughing. "So I'm no weirdo anymore, hmm?"
"Psh." I rolled my eyes at Jessy. "You just leveled up. You're now my kind of weirdo."
Another giggle left Jessy's lips, her sparkly blue eyes almost disappeared. "I didn't know that's how you see me before? Is it too late to feel bullied?"
I sighed, my lips trying its best not to flash a smirk. "Sometimes I really don't understand why I offered you a seat before."
"Oh, you like me even back then. I could tell. Besides, birds with the same feathers flock together, Entice."
I lost my battle and smirked. "But you're still the weirder one. Anyway, have you texted Jonas already? He's been bugging me all day and—"
"Let's not talk about him." Jessy's face turned pale. Her eyes began looking around, as if she's afraid someone might've heard me. "I don't wanna see him anymore."
I halted and faced Jessy. "Can you just tell me the truth? Did he cheat on you? Did he do something—"
"No, no! Jonas is... Jonas is a sweetheart and if I'll just keep seeing him..." Jessy breathed out in a hopeless way then shook her head. "Nevermind. You won't understand right now. Anyway, he deserves better, Entice."
"Are you kidding me? You're the best girl in town! And hey, what do you mean by I won't understand it right now? Is there something you're not telling me that I should have known a long time ago considering that I happened to be your favorite person?"
"Oh, Entice. You never failed to flatter me." Jessy flashed a broken smile as she held me by m arms. "Look, things may soon turn too complicated but always remember that I will always be your friend. I am only keeping things right now because it isn't the right time yet to, you know, unfold everything to you but soon. I promise, Entice, just trust me on this one. I'm gonna tell you everything you're gonna need to know."
My brows curled even more. "I'm really confuse right now, Jes. english, will yah?"
"We're best friends, Entice. You just gotta trust me. I never broke a promise, did I?"
I pouted, realizing Jessy was right. "Yeah. But you're killing the cat in me right now."
Jessy flashed a ghost of a smile. "Nah. I don't think so." Jessy then pulled out a necklace with a butterfly pendant made of gem, probably an amethyst, out of her hoodie's pooch. In the middle of the pendant was a reddish liquid in a tiny vial.
"Here's a gift from me," Jessy said, placing the necklace in my hand.
"Oh, no I can't accept that. I got nothing to give you anyway—"
"I ain't asking for anything in return." Jessy looked away. "You've already done enough for me, Entice..."
"Just take it." Her eyes seemed begging. "Please."
My lips parted but no words came out anymore. Instead, I sighed heavily then forced a smile. "It's not like we're not gonna see each other soon. I'm going to work hard and save some cash for your birthday present."
The two pulled for a tight hug before a loud honk from an old truck interrupted their cheesy moment.
The old man with beard that reminded me Santa, opened the shotgun seat's door. For the record, he was the nicest, coolest, most awesome adult person I had ever met. He had a different glow in his pair of brown rims which get chinky whenever he laughs louder than anyone could ever do. Probably even louder than Santa himself.
"You ready, Ice?" he asked, but for the first time in a long time that I had known Uncle George, the curve on his lips seemed... fake. Beads of sweat were forming on his forhead and even his hands were a little shaky, as if he's nervous about something... or someone.
I swallowed the pool of saliva in my mouth while trying to tell myself that I was just overacting because of the crazy shit that happened last night. Who wouldn't have instant anxiety even without proper diagnosis because of what I'd seen, right? Not like I entirely saw what scratched my window but those claw marks were enough to scare the shit out of me.
The little hairs on the back of my neck stood to its end. I wasn't dreaming, right? That was real... wasn't it? Yes, it should be real because if not then so help me God. My sanity was the only thing left in me. May heaven have some mercy and spare it.
"Ice?" Uncle George called, earning my attention. I didn't even realize that I already spaced out because of what happened. I breathed in, feeling the comfort of being called by my petty nickname.
Uncle George was the only one who liked calling me Ice, and truth be told, I was okay with that. George was, anyway, the closest to a father figure I had. He's been taking care of Jessy eversince she was four after Jessy's dad died. And when they moved to Callypso, he informally adopted me as well. During recognition days when my own daddy was too busy losing money in casinos as if we own tons of stocks in multi-million companies, Uncle George joined me at the stage, took the liberty to pin the silly ribbons on my chest, and then we'd go to the diner to celebrate with Jessy.
He would never put me in danger..
I held the straps of my backpack then gave Jessy a goodbye smile. "See you soon, Jes. Pray that God will send me an angel to keep me alive," I joked but my best friend smiled with teary eyes.
"You have nothing to worry about life anymore, Entice. I know he's going to choose you... He will surely do..."
