What follows is part 6 of the re-serialization of Westville Book 1. New parts drop every Monday and Friday.
If you’re new to Westville and want to dive in, you can get the books on Amazon or signed copies direct from my website:
21
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Kyle grumbled.
He fidgeted with his neatly pressed Boy Scout uniform. His sash was weighed down with badges gleaming under the dim glow of the porch light.
“Would you just knock already?” Olivia said, crossing her arms.
The white plastic of her Scream mask dangled loosely from her fingers, its hollow eyes staring back at her in some cheap, unspoken dare. Same costume as last year. Same cheap vinyl cloak. She could’ve picked something new, something different. But everything else had changed, and it was something familiar, despite the reek of plastic, chemicals, and sweat.
A sharp wind tugged at her hood, carrying the distant echoes of kids laughing and sneakers slapping against pavement. Up and down the block, jack-o’-lanterns flickered, faces grinning in dimming light. Meanwhile, Kyle had been stalling for a good two minutes, his knuckles hovering just shy of the door. Austin, already impatient, shoved him forward. His half-assed zombie costume, a collection of mismatched, tattered clothes, did little to hide his irritation.
“Come on, man. We don’t have all night.”
Kyle groaned but finally knocked. “Happy now?” he muttered.
The door swung open, revealing a man with a thick mustache, a shiny bald patch surrounded by a ring of gray hair, and a flannel shirt that strained slightly over his belly.
He squinted at them before his expression softened with recognition.
“Hey, Uncle Roger,” Kyle mumbled. “Is Eli ready?”
“What, no trick-or-treat?”
“Ah, I’m kidding,” Roger said, rubbing the back of his neck before calling inside. “Eli! Your friends are here!”
A few seconds later, a gangly boy with pale blond hair and oversized glasses bounded onto the porch, throwing back a mini-package of purple and neon pink Nerds, his Boy Scout uniform nearly identical to Kyle’s but twice as weighed down with merit badges.
“Hey, guys!” Eli chirped, practically vibrating with enthusiasm as he crunched on the candy.
“You kids be careful out there,” Roger said, his tone pointed. “Things are… you know.”
“We will,” Olivia replied coolly. “I’ll keep them in line.”
Roger grunted, clearly unconvinced, but shut the door behind them.
As they stepped off the porch, Eli beamed. “Man, I’m so jazzed for this. Isn’t this great, Kyle? We get to put our Scout skills to real use. Oh, man.”
“How many times have I told you that no one says ‘jazzed’?” Kyle let out a long-suffering groan, dragging a hand down his face. “Remind me to not let him have any more sugar.”
Eli wheezed, took a quick puff from his inhaler, and extended a hand to Olivia. “Eli Lancaster, troop leader in training. Nice to officially meet you.”
Olivia shook his hand, hiding a smirk as Kyle groaned again. “Olivia Fischer, future Westville restaurateur and heiress,” she quipped, because she couldn’t think of anything else. “Thanks for helping us,” she added.
“Helping? Are you kidding? This is the most exciting night of my life!”
Olivia tried to steer him back on track. “Did you get the key to the shed?”
Eli grinned mischievously. “No need. Dad keeps it hidden under a barrel around the side.”
Kyle threw up his hands. “You could have told us that earlier.”
Eli shrugged. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Austin sighed. “We should hit a few houses first.”
It was part of the plan. Stick to the river-adjacent houses for a while, trick-or-treating just enough to look convincing. Later, they’d loop down toward the cemetery and Harrison Street, where they’d ditch the candy run and slip toward the Scout cabin. If anyone saw them, they’d just be another group of kids pushing curfew.
Eli nodded, hefting his pillowcase like a soldier preparing for battle. “Excellent idea. Plus, I could really go for a Snickers or two.”
Olivia laughed despite herself, the sound foreign in her throat after days of tension.
“Let’s do that,” she said, her voice softening. “Once it’s darker, we head to the cabin.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Eli snapped a salute before marching down the leaf-strewn sidewalk.
Kyle moaned. “See what I mean? Why’d I even bring him?”
“You know why. And at least someone has a good attitude,” Olivia replied, brushing past him.
“Whatever. You can thank me later. He made me promise to wear this stupid uniform. Lamest costume ever.”
They moved down the street, the night deepening around them. Kids in costumes darted between porches, plastic pumpkins bouncing at their sides. Olivia’s gaze snagged on a pair of girls dressed as princesses, their sequined skirts glimmering in the glow of a nearby porch light.
Last year, she and Millie had been out here, too.
They’d gone home afterward, dumped their candy onto Millie’s bedroom floor, and argued over trades. Millie offered up her Almond Joys first, pretending she wasn’t secretly hoarding all the Kit-Kats. Eating too much and watching Hocus Pocus, reciting most of the movie until sugar-induced delirium drew them into laughing fits.
That was last year.
Now, the streets felt wrong. Like a place she didn’t belong anymore.
Her grip tightened on the mask in her hand.
Ahead, the street curved toward the woods, where branches clawed at the gathering clouds. The wind whispered through them, rattling dead leaves.
A cold determination settled deep in Olivia’s chest, sharp and unyielding.
Tonight, they would find Millie.
They had to.
22
Darkness swallowed Westville before 7 p.m., and a light spit of rain began misting down in a steady hush, softening the edges of the world. The last traces of the sun faded behind thick clouds, turning the world to a shrouded blur.
Olivia hoisted her pack higher, the straps digging into her shoulders as she led the way down the winding dirt road toward the Boy Scout cabin. Her flashlight cut through the night, its narrow beam bouncing off slick mud and scattered leaves. They’d spent the last hour maintaining the ruse, hitting a few houses along the way, keeping up appearances.
Old Mrs. Potter, predictably, had been the most suspicious.
“Now, just what are you kids supposed to be?” she’d asked, peering at Austin over her thick glasses.
Austin hesitated. “Uh… zombie.”
“An Indian zombie,” Kyle quipped, grinning.
Austin shot him a look, flicking long, dark hair from his brow. “Sure. Undead Indian.”
Mrs. Potter didn’t look convinced. Her papery fingers hovered over the candy bowl a second longer before handing them each a handful of sticky, old-fashioned sweets wrapped in red-and-white stripes or crinkled gold foil.
“You kids stay outta trouble tonight,” she warned. A slight edge in her voice. A knowing one.
Now, the house was far behind them, and Olivia pushed forward, setting the pace. She felt better here, away from the prying stares and suffocating concern.
Out here, they could do something.
They came to a dirt turnaround, and walked up wooden stairs to the cabin. Eli jogged ahead, already searching along the side of the building.
“Barrel… barrel… there.” He dropped to a crouch, feeling along the ground until his fingers closed around something small and metallic. He shot back up, holding the key triumphantly.
“Got it.”
Kyle exhaled hard, shifting on his feet. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”
The inside of the cabin smelled of old wood and damp earth, the air thick with dust and time.
Olivia moved toward a shelf lined with gear, running her fingers over the cold metal casings of the flashlights before grabbing a few and checking their batteries. She tossed one to each of them, the dim beams casting eerie, shifting shadows against the walls. Eli stuffed a walkie-talkie into his pocket, gave the other to Kyle, and tucked another flashlight under his arm.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” he said, adjusting his pack. “To get to Devil’s Peak, we follow the trail until we hit the power lines. We follow those the rest of the way.”
“How many miles?” Kyle asked, frowning.
Eli shrugged. “Dunno.”
Austin smirked. “You can handle a few, right?”
Kyle rolled his eyes.
As they turned for the door, the silence shattered.
A violent crash split the room, followed by the sharp clatter of falling metal.
Olivia jolted, her flashlight trembling in her grip. Kyle let out a strangled yelp. Austin snapped his head toward the noise, his whole body tensed. “Something moved back there.”
The corner of the cabin seemed darker than it had a second ago.
From the pile of toppled supplies, something small and furred scrambled out, glaring at them with beady black eyes.
Eli exhaled sharply. “Oh, come on.”
The possum hissed, pale teeth flashing, before scurrying across the floor and disappearing through a gap in the wall.
Kyle groaned, pressing a hand to his chest. “Alright, that’s it,” he said, producing a bottle of strawberry passion Fruitopia from his bag and cracking it open.
Olivia was joined by the others in staring at him.
“What? Everything a growing boy needs.”
“You do know there’s not any real fruit in that, right?” Eli offered cheerfully.
Kyle glared at his cousin, downing a hearty swig, smacking his lips. “Here,” he said, offering the bottle around. Austin shrugged and took a swig.
Olivia, despite the inevitable boy backwash, did the same. She tried to pass it over to Eli, but Kyle snatched it away.
“You’ve had enough sugar already.”
Olivia zipped up her pack and threw it on. “Let’s go. Before the rain gets worse.”
She shouldered open the door, stepping back into the night, the weight of what lay ahead pressing against her ribs.
Outside, the silence stretched wide, broken only by the rustling of brittle leaves and the occasional plunk of rain against the thinning canopy. The cabin shrank into the dark behind them, swallowed whole by the night.
Olivia kept her flashlight trained on the narrow path winding alongside the riverbank. Sparse fat drops splattered against her hood. The wind picked up, whispering through the trees.
Then a sharp crack of underbrush. A low, mocking chuckle.
Olivia whipped around, the beam of her flashlight slicing through the darkness.
Brett Huizinga and his cronies, Kevin and Matt, emerged from the trees, grins curdled with malice. And probably a cocktail of stolen Halloween candy, sugar, and liquor, judging by the pillowcases slung over Kevin’s shoulder and the mostly empty peppermint schnapps bottle Matt juggled playfully.
“What are you doing out here with these freaks, Fischer?” Brett sneered.
Kevin snorted. “Probably looking for that snitch.”
Olivia clenched her fists. They didn’t have time for this.
“None of your beeswax.”
“What she said,” Kyle barked, flipping him off with both hands.
“Just cool it,” Austin muttered, stepping forward.
Brett’s face darkened, a slow flush creeping up his neck. “Someone needs to teach you some respect.”
Behind Olivia, Eli took a deep, wheezing hit from his inhaler. She could feel the younger boy trembling.
“It’s okay,” she muttered under her breath. “They’re all talk.”
Brett wrenched the schnapps bottle from Matt, slammed it against a tree in a shatter of glass, jagged points glinting in his grip now.
Austin swore.
Olivia’s gut lurched.
Brett grinned, raising the crude instrument of pain. “Let’s see about that.”
“Run!” Olivia grabbed Eli’s arm and yanked him back.
The flashlight swung wildly as they bolted into the woods, branches slapping at their arms and legs. Behind them, Brett’s voice erupted in a furious shout, followed by the chaotic thrash of bodies crashing through the brush.
“FREAKING RUN!” Kyle yelped, his voice cracking.
The woods blurred into a twisting maze, the narrow path slick with mud, roots, and stones jutting out.
Austin sprinted ahead, Olivia right behind him, her breath ragged. She stole a glance back. Eli’s pale face shone in the beam of her flashlight, Kyle just behind, his uneven gait jerky with panic.
She didn’t hear Brett anymore. Didn’t mean he wasn’t there.
“I think we lost them!” she gasped, slowing, her pulse thundering.
The shadows thickened, trees closing in, swallowing what little moonlight filtered through the cloud-scattered sky. Olivia’s flashlight flickered, the bulb buzzing, and steadied.
A deep, sour feeling twisted in her stomach.
Eli skidded to a halt, gripping her arm. “Wait!” He doubled over, gulping for breath, his fingers clenched tight around his compass.
Austin bent over, hands on his knees. “What?”
Eli’s head snapped up, his glasses slipping down his nose. “We’re off the trail.”
A cold fist closed around Olivia’s ribs.
“We’re fine,” Austin said, though his voice wasn’t nearly as confident as he wanted it to be. “Just have to… find our way back.”
“Right,” Olivia said. “Could be worse.”
Kyle straightened. “It so happens that this astronomy badge of mine allows me to navigate by starlight. Just need the clouds to clear out a little and…”
And then, because fate had a cruel sense of humor, the sky cracked open. Rain pelted them in sheets, cold and needling.
“Son of a…” Kyle kicked at the ground.
The trail pitched upward, winding into steep switchbacks, leading toward the ridge overlooking Westville. Every step was a fight. Boots slipping, hands scraping against wet bark.
Olivia checked over her shoulder, making sure they were together. Eli, soaked and shivering but focused on his compass. Austin, steady but tense, his eyes darting through the dark. Kyle, muttering curses under his breath, tripping over roots.
The rain roared, drowning out everything. Until somewhere behind them, the trees shifted. Something moved. Olivia wasn’t sure if it was just the wind and wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Stay together,” Olivia reminded them, her voice barely carrying over the steady patter of rain and the low murmur of the river. Her grip tightened on the flashlight, her knuckles white.
The ground was turning slick beneath their feet, mud sucking at their boots, the path ahead vanishing into the shifting darkness.
The climb grew steeper. Roots shot up, broken bones through the earth, and slick rocks waited for a careless footfall. The trees pressed in around them, their jutting limbs tangling into a dense canopy that swallowed what little moonlight managed to slip through the storm. The deeper they went, the more Westville and its streetlights and houses felt like something imagined, a place that had never really existed.
Austin pulled up beside her, his breathing a little heavier now. “Not gonna lie, the trails are just a little creepier at night. In the rain. On Halloween,” he muttered, casting his flashlight toward the trees, his beam catching nothing but black trunks and restless shadows.
She couldn’t help but agree, times a novemdecillion. The weird, useless number sailed into her head from nowhere, from a time she’d jabbed at Millie for knowing more about numbers than she would ever need to. All as Millie helped her, for the novemdecillionth time, to not completely flunk math class.
A warm plume of regret flared in her throat. But at least it reminded her why they were out here.
They pressed on, the river fading behind them as the trail wound into the thicker woods, the switchbacks climbing higher. Olivia’s legs burned, but she didn’t slow down. She kept the flashlight trained ahead, trying not to focus on the way the darkness seemed to shift at the edges of its glow.
Austin’s light bobbed beside her. “Think we’re almost there?”
She nodded. “Almost.”
Ahead, the trees thinned, revealing a break in the canopy where the ridge opened onto a clearing. Relief flickered through her. They were close now.
Then Austin stopped short. “Wait.”
“What?” Olivia turned toward him. She froze.
The silence pressed in all at once.
Not the usual quiet of the woods, full of hidden rustlings and distant night sounds. This was something else. Something wrong. The wind had stopped. The trees no longer swayed. The rain too, seemed muffled.
She heard Eli take another hit from his inhaler. “Didn’t think Devil’s Peak went that high… anyone else having trouble breathing?”
“No, because no one else is asthmatic,” Kyle snapped.
Olivia slapped Kyle’s arm. “No,” she said, drawing in a slow breath that ended up not enough of one. “He’s right.”
The air felt thin.
Olivia’s stomach clenched. Her flashlight beam trembled as she swept it over the trees.
Then she saw it.
A red glow, faint at first, pulsing through the black. Hovering. Watching.
“What is that?” Kyle whispered.
Olivia’s breath hitched as it seared through the trees, moving closer. The temperature dropped so quickly she could see her next breath come out in a cloud, misting the beam of her flashlight. The red light flickered and danced, its edges rippling as it took on the shape of an orb, the air around it blurring in iridescent swirls.
The glow shifted. Moved.
It shunted forward so fast she barely had time to register it, a flickering red streak tearing through the trees. A deep thrumming filled the air, vibrating through her chest.
Then came the hissing.
It sliced through the silence, sharp and menacing. A shadow began to take form within the orb, its jagged, spindly limbs flickering out. Two glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness, locking onto them.
“Come on!” Olivia’s voice cracked as she yanked Eli’s arm, her grip iron-tight.
They bolted, her flashlight beam slicing wildly through the rain-streaked dark.
The orb followed, its crimson light warping the forest, casting shadows that bent and twisted in ways that shouldn’t be possible. They moved. Elongating, retreating, snapping forward like grasping hands.
The hiss rose, folding in on itself, layering with whispers that clawed at the edges of Olivia’s mind. The words weren’t spoken so much as imprinted in her mind:
You… are the guilty ones…
Olivia’s pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out the rain. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, but she pushed forward.
A scream to her right.
Olivia skidded to a halt, her flashlight swinging wildly as she scanned the slope. Her heart dropped as she spotted him, crumpled on the ground, holding his leg. “Eli!”
Panic ignited in Olivia’s chest. She barely registered her own movements as she slid down the slick hillside, catching only flashes of wet leaves and jagged rock before she hit the ground beside him.
“Can you stand?” she asked breathlessly, her words barely audible over the pounding rain.
His ankle was bent wrong.
“I think it’s broken or… ah… dislocated,” he choked out, his breath shuddering. “I can’t…”
Olivia felt it before she saw it. A weight pressing down, like the world had folded in on itself. The red light pulsed, stretching into something more. Something solid.
A shape bled out of the darkness.
Limbs, too long and jagged, shattered antlers and twisted roots and broken bones fused into one. Claws curling, trembling, flexing. A head, featureless save for the two burning pits of red boring into her skull. A blurry and wrong shadow.
The hiss coiled around her bones.
You are the guilty ones… You are the guilty ones…
Something in Olivia fractured.
Her mind split between now and then, between Millie’s last look of frustration before storming off and her father’s fading laughter, a life that had slipped through her fingers, leaving only ghosts in its wake.
Her foot slid back. Her hand brushed something solid.
A flashlight. Eli’s.
Her fingers closed around it. Without thinking, without knowing why, maybe because it was the only thing she could do, she flicked it on.
The air shattered with a sound like splintering glass. Static and whispers in reverse. Rippling shards creased the air as the shadow recoiled, its form stuttering, flickering, distorting.
Smoke rose. Iridescent colors, shifting in unnatural patterns.
The shadows jerked back. The red glow fractured.
Olivia didn’t wait to understand what she was seeing.
“Come on,” she gasped, ducking down, pulling Eli’s arm over her shoulders.
Every muscle in her body screamed as she forced them both forward, the weight of him nearly taking them both down.
“Olivia! Eli!”
Kyle and Austin’s voices cut through the rain, distant but closing in.
She stumbled forward, heart hammering, her flashlight swinging wildly.
Every few steps, she dared a glance behind.
It was gone, but the feeling wasn’t.
By the time they reached the field behind the Scout cabin, Austin’s flashlight bobbed toward them. Relief was instant and crippling. Her limbs were a mushed blob of jello fallen to the floor.
Kyle’s face was twisted into something between horror and exhaustion.
“Your dad is gonna kill me,” he muttered, eyes locked on Eli’s ankle.
“If he does…” Eli muttered, “can I have your Playstation?”
“How about we focus on the fact that we’re alive after being chased by…”
Olivia stopped, breath hitching.
By what?
She didn’t know. Didn’t want to. But she knew, then and there, she had to.
Blue and red lights flashed, accompanied by the quick alarming wail of a police siren. A door opened and shut as a flashlight speared toward them.
Kyle gulped. “Or the fact that we’re royally screwed.”
Broken curfew. A broken ankle. Teenagers wandering the woods the week after a girl went missing.
But it didn’t matter. Not after what they’d seen.
Olivia’s hands shook. She swallowed, looked at Kyle and Austin in turn, her own breath still ragged.
Whatever that thing was, she could still feel it. She could still hear the whispers.
And the worst part was…
She knew somewhere deep down:
It had Millie.