Accueil / Fantasy / The Summer of Jake and Sarah / Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

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Chapter Twenty-One : A Story Meant to Be Told

The tension in the room managed to drop after a while. The air stopped feeling like it was one wrong word from exploding. "Uhh... Who is Señora Mendes?" Bonnie asked, breaking the quiet. "She is an old lady who uses old medical and herbal knowledge to slow her aging," Aren said, leaning back in the chair. "Okay..." Rose said and paused. "How can she help us?""She witnessed the Tidewalker's first attack on Ashford Cove." "The Tidewalker has walked this earth before?" Jake asked, eyes wide. "Yes." "How come I don't know about it?" Sarah asked, arms crossed. Aren laughed, low and dry. "I'm sure you were not born at that time. It was a hundred and twenty-three years ago." "How do you know all of this?" Bonnie asked. Aren laughed again. "I'm a hundred and thirty years old vampire. At that time, I was seven." "How old was Señora Mendes?" Jake asked. "She was sixty." "And how old is she now?" Rose asked. "They say Señora Mendes has lived for a hundred and eighty-three years."

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-07

Chapter Twenty-Two : Ashford Cove – 1903

The ripple stopped.For several seconds, nothing happened.Then a hand rose from the water.Not reaching.Not grasping.Just rising slowly until the fingers broke the surface.The crowd screamed.The Reverend stumbled backward.“Stay back!” he shouted. “Everyone, stay back!”The hand disappeared.Then the water went still again.A dockhand whispered, “Was that one of the dead?”“Nobody answered,” Señora Mendes said. “No one except me. I only said no. That was not one of them. I remember my face going completely white.”Then a deep groan rolled beneath the wharf.The wooden pilings trembled.And then—Something struck the underside of the dock.People scattered.A second impact sent water splashing over the stones.The Reverend raised his cross. “In the name of God—”A voice whispered from the water.It was not loud.It was not human.But somehow every person on the shore heard it.“More.”The crowd went silent.“I dropped to my knees.” Señora Mendes said.The Reverend's cross slipped

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-08

Chapter Twenty-Three : The Calling

At night, in an abandoned boat houseRain hammered the tin roof until it sounded like stones. The river sloshed against the dock just outside, close enough that you could taste salt in the air. Inside, it smelled like wet wood and rot. A single lantern hung from a beam and swung back and forth. Each time it swung, it threw light over a circle carved deep into the floorboards. In the center of that circle sat a mason jar of river water. The surface rippled even though nothing was touching it.Douglas stood in the middle of it all, coat dripping. He looked calm.The door creaked open. A man in his thirties stumbled in. Fisherman’s jacket. Eyes red and sleepless. Water ran off his boots and pooled at his feet.“You said you could help me hear him again,” the man said quietly. His voice was hoarse.Douglas didn’t answer at first. He just shut the door behind them and turned the latch. “I can,” Douglas said softly. “Come here.”The man hesitated, then stepped forward. Douglas gestured t

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-09

Chapter Twenty-Four : What Isn't There

The room was warm. Sun cut through the blinds in strips across the floor. Books were stacked on the desk. Rose's baby photo hung on the wall.Rose sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through a notebook. Aren was in the chair by the window, sharpening a pocket knife. Slow, steady scrapes."You hear that?" Rose asked."What?" Aren said. "The wind. It's picking up again."The door was thrown open. Jake rushed in carrying Sarah in his arms. Bonnie followed him behind, breathing hard, hair stuck to her forehead.On seeing this, Rose and Aren stood up immediately. The knife clattered to the desk."What happened to her?" Rose asked."I don't know," Jake said. He was sweating. "I think she was hallucinating at school, then she just fainted.""Lie her down," Aren said.Rose helped Jake, and they slowly laid Sarah on the bed. Her face was pale. Her lips were dry. One hand was still fisted like she’d been grabbing at something.Aren leaned over and touched Sarah on her neck. He found her pulse

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-10

Chapter Twenty-Five : Salt Burn

The sky was the color of bruised plums. The river moved slowly and black.The wagon rattled to a stop where the dirt turned to mud.Mr. Calloway, the horse owner, climbed down. He was tired. Dust on his coat. The horses hadn’t had water since noon."Alright, girls," he said, patting the lead mare. "Just a quick drink and we’re home."The two chestnuts, BELLE and MAE, walked fine until the trees opened up.Then they saw the river.Belle stopped first. Her head shot up. Nostrils flared. Mae froze right after, like she’d hit a wall."Come on," Calloway said, tugging the reins. "Water’s right there."Belle let out a sound. Not a whinny. A high, broken scream. She reared. Front hooves came down hard, splattering mud. The harness straps creaked.Mae started backing up, eyes rolling white. She was shaking. Foam flecked at her mouth. She tried to turn the wagon with her and almost tipped it."Whoa! Easy!" Calloway yelled, but his voice shook. "What’s got into you?"The smell hit him then. W

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-11

Chapter Twenty-Six : A Game of Bait

The night was heavy.Outside Rose's house, the Ashford River didn’t make a sound. No frogs. No wind in the trees. Just the low pull of water, like something was breathing under it.Inside, the sitting room felt smaller than usual.The lamps were dim. One of them flickered every few seconds, throwing shadows across the walls.The air smelled like old wood and iron. Cold, even though it was July. Jake, Sarah, Rose, Bonnie, and Aren sat around the center table as usual."We are trapping the Tidewalker tomorrow night," Aren said, looking up from the notebook."Tomorrow?" Sarah asked. She leaned forward. "It should be today.""No," Aren said. "Jake just found out Douglas is the Tidewalker. He will be on alert. We have to give him time to forget. If we move now, he’ll smell the trap."Jake nodded. His knuckles were still white from gripping the sachet earlier."Alright," Sarah said. She exhaled. "How do we trap it?""There are four elements I believe we can use to trap it," Aren said. He

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-12

Chapter Twenty-Seven : The Trap — No Way Out

In Aunt Marisol's room, early in the morning.Sunlight cut through the blinds.Aunt Marisol's phone buzzed on the nightstand. buzz buzzBefore Aunt Marisol could pick it up, Jake, who was curled on the floor with a blanket, shot up and grabbed it.Aunt Marisol sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?""Uhh, nothing," Jake said. Too fast.He checked the notification, and it was a message from Douglas. The preview read: “I'd love that. See you at 7”"Perfect," Jake muttered."What?" Aunt Marisol asked."Uhh, nothing," Jake said again.He quickly deleted the messages and handed the phone to Aunt Marisol.She took it, frowning. Sitting up on the bed properly now."You have been weird since yesterday.” Aunt Marisol said. “Not letting me use my phone all night, and now checking my notifications?"Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "I was using your phone to text my Dad.""What happened to yours?""I don't know. It was just malfunctioning all throughout yesterday."Marisol narrowed he

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-13

Chapter Twenty-Eight : It Was Never Douglas

The words hung in the air.Nobody moved.Jake looked at Aren.Sarah looked at Douglas.Rose tightened her grip on the chain. “What does that mean?” she asked. Her voice was small in the big space.Douglas smiled. “You really think this is enough to stop me?”Aren stepped closer. “You're surrounded by salt.”Douglas looked down at the white circle beneath him. “I know.”“You're trapped.” Aren saidDouglas lifted his eyes. “Am I?”Aren's expression hardened. “Try to leave.”Bonnie looked around the basin. The salt line. The moon. Douglas standing in the middle of it all like he owned it.Then she started walking. Toward the front entrance."Bonnie?" Sarah called.Bonnie stopped. Turned."Where are you going?" Sarah asked."I have to make sure we are not ambushed in our own plan." Bonnie said"By who?" Sarah asked."I don't know," Bonnie said. Her eyes flicked to Douglas, then back to the door. "You heard what he said."A beat of silence. The river outside didn't make a sound.With that,

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-14

Chapter Twenty-Nine : New Normal

For the first time in weeks, Ashford Cove was quiet.Not the strange kind of quiet that made people look over their shoulders. Just... quiet.The Ashford River flowed normally again. No black water. No voices coming from the fog.The fishermen were back. The shops were open. People walked the streets without rushing home before sunset.And, most importantly — Jake and his crew focused fully on school.The bell rang. Exactly eight.Students poured through the gates, laughing, shouting, complaining about homework they hadn't done. A soccer ball bounced past. Someone dropped a textbook.For them, it was just another Monday.For Jake, Sarah, Bonnie, and Rose, it felt almost strange.They had gotten so used to preparing for the next attack that having nothing to prepare for felt wrong.Jake stood by the school entrance, hands in his pockets, watching students walk past. The sun hit the pavement. No shadows where they shouldn't be.Sarah came up beside him. "Feels weird, doesn't it?"Ja

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-15

Chapter Thirty : Greywater Hollow

Jake sat by the window, his forehead resting lightly against the cool glass.The seat shook under him with every pothole. Around the edges, the windows were fogged from the long ride, making everything outside look smeared and gray.He hadn’t really slept.His backpack was hugged against his chest, one arm wrapped around it like it was a pillow. His head kept nodding forward every few minutes.The engine hummed beneath him. Toward the back, a kid was playing videos on his phone without headphones. Every once in a while, a burst of laughter came through the tiny speakers.Jake closed his eyes.He’d been counting down to this.It wasn’t that he hated Ashford Cove. He’d settled in. The school. The people. Sarah. Bonnie. Rose.Even the endless supernatural mess that kept finding them.But home felt different. Home was home.The bus slowed.Jake opened his eyes as the buildings outside started looking familiar.The old grocery store.The gas station with the busted sign.The line of trees

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-10-16

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