Chapter II

“Hey, did you guys hear about what happened at Ralph’s last night?”

At the sound of her friend’s hushed voice, Rina Davens looked up from her phone and turned to stare back at Charlotte, an eyebrow cocked as she prepared herself for what was sure to be just another piece of pointless gossip. As much as she loved the girl, Rina knew that she sometimes got a little too into the rumors that often circulated around the school. So, she was genuinely surprised to find Charlotte glancing around the room with concern, as if afraid of being overheard.

Beside Rina, Ashley Anderson took a moment to glance up from her own phone with a look of intrigue. “I mean, I saw some post about it but I didn’t bother to read it,” the blonde girl said. “Why? What happened?”

Charlotte quickly glanced around once more then leaned forward, as if what she had to say was some big secret despite having apparently already been posted about on social media. They were sitting in room 1-15, the clubroom of the drama club, and very few people were still around, having already headed down to the gym to begin their first show of the day. For the duration of the festival, the room was being used as a changing room and as a place for the performers to rest between shows. Since their good friend Lyla was in the club, they were allowed to hang out there as well, and Rina was happy just having a place to avoid the morning crowd. She always enjoyed the festival, but it could become overwhelming very quickly. At the moment, only two boys who she recalled were understudies for the main roles remained in the room. Yet, despite their relative privacy, Charlotte still acted as if the whole school could potentially be listening in.

“Well, apparently…” Charlotte hesitated, as if unsure of how to even begin. “...I heard that somebody just walked in there last night and just…killed everybody.”

What?!

Rina instantly sat up straighter, as did Ashley, as the two girls stared back at their friend, shocked. Part of her insisted that Charlotte must be making it up, but the concerned and almost frightened look in the girl’s eyes was enough to tell her that it wasn’t a lie.

“Killed everybody?” Ashley hissed. “What do you mean? Like, they just walked in and began shooting the place up or something?”

Charlotte shrugged. “I’m not really sure, actually. The cops are keeping a lot of things private until they know more, but the post I saw made it seem like somebody just strolled right in and began attacking the staff. Apparently their bodies were found this morning, but the kid who found them was quickly scooped up by the police to be questioned. It didn’t say how they died though. Just that there were no customers who were there.”

Rina’s body went cold. She had also seen a post about the diner that morning and had just scrolled by. But now, she desperately wanted to go and find it, if only to verify everything Charlotte was saying. She had nothing against Wilham. In fact, it was her home and she loved it dearly, but she couldn’t deny that it was an utterly boring town where very little ever happened. To think that something like that could happen just down the street from her was very unsettling. She quickly pulled up her phone again and began skimming through various posts.

“And…did they catch the killer?” Ashley asked.

At that, Rina stopped and looked up nervously to see Charlotte shaking her head.

“No,” she said. “Whoever did it wasn’t found. I don’t know if the cops have a lead or not though.”

Rina’s eyes went wide. “Wait, so the killer’s still out there? But…what if he does something like this again?!”

“I know,” Charlotte muttered. “It’s really scary, actually. My mom always walks home from work and I’d be horrified if some freak jumped her while she was out.”

Clenching her teeth, Rina went back to scrolling through her phone in search of the post, but much to her relief, it didn’t take very long to find. She quickly pulled it up and began skimming through it.

Oh my god…

It was just as Charlotte had said. In fact, her friend hadn’t exaggerated even a single detail. Last night, a few hours after the festival closed, an unknown assailant went into Ralph’s Diner and slaughtered all of the servers and even the chef, whose bodies were found early that morning. Rina swallowed, feeling her hands starting to shake as she read the post.

This can’t be real! It’s just…too awful!

“And you know what’s even weirder?” Charlotte continued. “That wasn’t even the only thing that happened last night.”

Rina’s head snapped up, shocked that there could possibly be anything else outside of the incident at the diner.

“That’s not all?” Ashley whispered.

Charlotte shook her head, her skin suddenly paler. “It sounded like there was a lot less known about this, but apparently there was a break-in at the hospital last night.”

The…hospital?

Immediately, an image of Jay flashed through her mind, but she quickly pushed it out, not even wanting to consider the possibility that anything could have happened to that boy. Yet, she couldn’t stop her fears from getting in her head. She knew Jay was still in a coma and so he would still be asleep and defenseless in that hospital.

“Was…anybody hurt?” Rina forced herself to ask, knowing she was allowing herself to jump to conclusions.

Her red-headed friend frowned. “I don’t know. They’re being real tight-lipped about that. All I read was that somebody broke in and that’s all. Everybody’s so focused on what went down at the diner, but what are the chances that two crazy events like that happened in one night? It's just…creepy.”

Rina leaned back in her chair and reached up to tug on a strand of her black hair as she considered everything Charlotte was telling her.

Maybe…I should head home early today. It doesn’t sound like it’s safe to be out at night, especially if they haven’t caught any of the psychopaths behind all this.

“Hey, Ri’?” Ashley suddenly said, her voice shaking slightly.

Rina glanced up once again to see the girl biting her lip nervously, as if not even sure if she should be saying what she wanted to say.

“Yeah?” Rina prompted. “What is it?”

Ashley sighed, seemingly deciding just to speak her mind, then went on. “I know this is a sore subject for you, but I have to ask… Do you know if that Mendez girl was working at Ralph’s last night?”

Rina instantly sat forward, her brow furrowed in confusion at the mention of Alice’s name. What do you mean?” she urged. “Why would Alice be working at Ralph’s? I don’t…?”

Ashley frowned. “Wait? You didn’t know? Mendez has been working there at least since January…or at least that’s when I saw her there the first time. And I’m pretty sure she still works there cause Lyla and I saw her again last Monday.”

A feeling of dread washed over her as she took in everything her friend was saying.

Alice works at Ralph’s? I didn’t know that. But then…

“Sorry,” Ashley murmured. “I just thought I’d ask cause if only the staff were killed then…”

Rina jumped to her feet, feeling her head starting to spin at the implications of her words.

Alice is staff and if only staff was killed then… Could Alice be…?

She quickly grabbed her phone and bag and rushed from the room, quietly excusing herself and then ignoring Ashley and Charlotte's calls of concern behind her. When she arrived out in the hall, she pressed through the crowd and made her way toward the front entrance. Once she was out in the courtyard, she moved off onto the lawn and backed up against the wall as she took deep breaths, wanting to calm her racing heart and pull herself together.

There’s no way…right? I mean, if a student of West Wilham were dead, wouldn’t we know about it? But…then again, this just happened last night so maybe… Rina swallowed and looked down at the phone clutched in her hand. I know Alice and I aren’t really on speaking terms…and I doubt she’d want to hear from me right now after everything I did to her…and especially after her coworkers were all killed…but, I at least have to know if she's okay.

Yet, no matter how long she stared at her phone, she couldn’t convince herself to make the call, and after a few moments, she simply put it into the front pocket of her bag. Just as she was thinking of some other way to check up on her, the faces of those two Magic Club members came to mind.

Eric Reiner and Lilly Harper, she thought, recalling the names of the two who had approached her after the drama in January. Unlike the one who stole her body, a person’s whose identity she still didn’t know to this day, Reiner and Harper had shown her some concern. Maybe…I could ask them about Alice. I just…I need to know if she’s okay.

In that moment, she suddenly found herself thinking back to the old days she spent with Alice, Audrey, and Jay in that run-down little house in the forest. And as she did, her thoughts wandered to the necklace that currently lay on her dresser, with the quarter of the medallion she had bought years ago. Upon it was written the name “Audrey” and it had been given to her by Jay to hold onto until he woke up. She understood why he wanted her to hang onto it. It was his way of telling her that they would all reunite the pieces someday.

But…if Alice is…dead!

Her head suddenly started to spin even more violently, and she felt as if she was about to wretch. Around her, she could hear a few people calling out to her, but their voices sounded so distant.

No! She can’t be! I won’t let it be that way! I’ve already lost Audrey! If Alice is dead then…what am I going to do! But as she shrieked those words in her mind, something deeper inside rose to the surface to question her. Do I even have the right to worry about her after what I did? I bullied her. I helped Evan hurt her and I didn’t even consider the possibility of what that might do to her?

But…it’s Alice. I…!

She felt herself collapse into the damp grass below her, followed by shouts of concern from those around her. But she didn’t care. She just felt so sick that she couldn’t take it and, moments later, she felt her consciousness slip away as panic overtook her.

***

It was around twenty minutes after the bell rang, signifying the start of the festival, that Eric finally returned to the clubroom. However, when he did, there wasn’t any sign of his usual flair or performance. He didn’t burst through the door declaring that the day would be successful or that it was time for them to have a meeting about how to gather more customers for their fortune. Instead, he didn’t even say a word. He simply opened the door, glanced around with a dazed look in his eyes, then walked toward one of the desks and sat down. Normally, Damien rolled his eyes at Eric’s grand entrances, but this time, he wished more than anything that his friend would just jump to his feet and make some absurd declaration.

Damien glanced both at Lilly and Liz, but both girls were just staring at Eric in stunned silence, just as speechless as Damien felt.

What the hell am I supposed to do? As one of Eric’s closest friends, it’s my job to make sure he’s okay, but how am I supposed to do that when I can’t even wrap my head around the issue that’s bothering him. I mean…am I really supposed to believe that there’s some fifth club member that I forgot about. Damien clenched his teeth. I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense! Even considering the existence of magic, how could I ever forget somebody that supposedly had such a huge impact in my life?!

Yet, even as he asked himself that question, he knew he was just trying to avoid the possibility that something supernatural had either happened to their memories or to Eric’s. The truth of the matter was that they couldn’t even begin to guess what magic could do. All they knew was that it was possible to swap bodies with another person. That was it. For all he knew, there was such a way to completely wipe somebody from existence.

But if that’s the case…then how did this Vinny Mickelson get wiped? What happened to cause this? And if it was Eric’s memories that are being tampered with, then who tampered with them and how? Just trying to fathom it all was making his head hurt, and Damien couldn’t help but scowl. Oh, whatever! Let’s just get through this day and figure everything out once the festival is over. The only issue is… He looked across the room to see Eric staring into space. He’s clearly not in any condition to tell fortunes right now, so I guess I’ll have to pray that he either pulls himself together, or that nobody bothers with our stupid booth.

With his plan formulated for the time being, Damien leaned back in his seat and removed his laptop from his backpack. Since it was unlikely they would get any visitors outside of maybe some curious parents, he decided just to get some homework done while they waited. He considered it best to give Eric space for the time being and, seeing as Liz and Lily stayed silent as well, they had come to similar conclusions. So, Damien booted up his laptop and began clicking away at his keys.

Time began to pass and, unsurprisingly, nobody was showing up. It was the same as the previous day, but unlike then, there was no sense of fun circulating around the room. Everybody was silent and there was a tension that was almost overwhelming. The clubroom hadn’t ever been so uncomfortable. Even back during their debate on how to help Alice, it never got to be like this.

But it’s no wonder, Damien thought. Eric’s always been the one to keep everybody’s spirits up, no matter the circumstances. With him so out of it, there’s nobody to step in and do something. He sighed. I would if I could, but I just don’t have that ability to cheer everybody up that he does.

There were a few times that Lilly attempted to make a call, only to put her phone down soon after. Damien assumed she was still trying to call Alice and if it were still failing, he feared what that might mean. At one point, as the hours continued to drone on, Lilly excused herself to go pick up lunch for everybody. When she left, Liz moved up beside Damien and rested her head against his shoulder. Just that small action was enough to calm him down a bit as he leaned his head against hers. Twenty minutes later, Lilly returned with some sandwiches that she probably got from one of the vendors down in the courtyard. She passed them around and even gave one to Eric, but he merely muttered a thanks and left it sitting untouched on the desk in front of him. Once they’d finished eating in a painful silence, Damien went back to his homework.

It wasn’t until nearly another hour had passed that the door to the clubroom opened.

“Lilly!”

At the call of a young girl’s voice, Damien looked up to see a kid no older than eleven with dark brown hair walk into the room and, right behind her, was an older woman that was almost certainly her mom. He didn’t recognize the girl, but judging both by the white cane in her hand and both Lilly and Liz’s reactions, he could only assume that this was Natalie Hill, the blind girl he’d heard all about.

“Natalie,” Lilly said, clearly forcing cheer into her voice as she got to her feet. “I didn’t know you guys were coming to the festival.”

“We normally don’t,” the mother replied, “but she really wanted to see you guys and so I figured it couldn’t hurt to stop by today.”

“Are Liz and Eric here?” Natalie asked excitedly, turning her head as if trying to hear the other people in the room.

Liz, too, forced a smile to her face as she got to her feet. “Of course I’m here, my little friend,” she said, moving over to give the little girl a hug. “And of course, you said my name first which would imply that you were more excited to see me than Eric, yeah?”

Natalie giggled as Liz glanced over her shoulder toward Eric, clearly trying to kick him back into their typical teasing banter, but the boy didn’t even react. It almost felt like he hadn’t even registered Natalie’s presence.

“I love you both equally, Liz,” Natalie chirped. “But, is Eric here or…?”

Just as Damien was considering getting up and dragging Eric out of his chair, his old friend finally reacted as he got to his feet, though there was no attempt by him to force a smile.

“Yes, I’m here, dear Natalie,” he called over softly. “It’s good to see you again. I take it your birthday was fun?”

The little girl nodded. “Yup! It was really cool! And thank you again for helping me win the big bunny!”

“Of course,” Eric muttered. “I’m glad I was able to help.”

“A-anyway!” Liz quickly cut in, clearly not wanting Natalie to realize that there was anything wrong with Eric. “I’m guessing you both came in for a fortune today?”

Natalie nodded firmly. “Yup! I wanna know what my future is gonna be like!”

“Alrighty then! That’ll be two tickets, please!” the bespectacled girl said.

Natalie’s mother smiled and began reaching into her purse to retrieve two of the yellow tickets used for buying things at the spring festival. As she did so, she seemed to remember something and she glanced back up at them.

“I’m Renee, by the way. It’s nice to meet you all,” she greeted. “I was really thankful for all you did for my daughter last weekend. I’m happy she was able to go to the pier for her birthday. She’s always wanted to go.”

“Of course,” Liz replied. “It was our pleasure! And I’m Liz! That’s Eric! And that’s Damien!”

She introduced each of them in turn, and Damien raised a hand in greeting while Eric merely nodded. However, Natalie furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Damien? Who’s Damien?” she asked.

Realizing that he probably should have introduced himself, he pushed back his chair and got to his feet. “I am,” he called over to her. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Natalie.”

Her confusion lasted only a moment as she turned in the direction of his voice, before her excited smile returned. “It’s nice to meet you, too! I forgot there was another club member!”

He returned the smile, finding himself grateful for Natalie and Renee’s arrival. The little girl’s cheerful energy was just what he’d needed since the tension from before had really been starting to overwhelm him. The only issue was that Eric was clearly not in the headspace to give the girl her fortune.

“Here you go,” Renee said, handing two tickets to Liz. “Two fortunes please.”

Liz took the tickets and glanced back at Eric, silently urging him to get started, but the boy had already gone back to staring blankly into space. When it became clear that Eric wasn’t going to do it, Damien was about to step forward himself and see what he could come up with but, thankfully for him, Lilly beat him to it.

“Alright, step right this way,” she said, placing a hand on Natalie’s shoulder and leading her toward the table with the crystal ball. Once Lilly had taken her seat, she continued. “Alright, now, I’m going to stare into this mystical crystal ball and it’s going to allow me to see into your future so I can tell you what you have in store.”

Natalie was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she nodded. “Okay! Awesome!”

To Lilly’s credit, she actually wasn’t all that bad at playing the role of the fortune teller as she carefully hovered her hands over the ball’s glass surface. The girl started straight into it and actually appeared as if she were attempting to read whatever magical information was being given to her.

“Yes, I see, she murmured.

Natalie continued to bounce. “What? What is it, Lilly?”

“Well, it would seem your futures are quite bright,” she replied. “What I see is you and your mother gathered happily around a Christmas tree, opening presents and just having a good time. In fact, it seems like you’re looking back on this year with joy and love, reminiscing on all the fun you had. It was a good year…and you’re looking into the next one with hope and excitement for what’s to come. That’s…what I see in your future.”

Damien saw Renee mutter a soft “aw” and he couldn’t help but agree. Lilly’s fortune was really sweet, and he hoped that it would actually come true.

“Yay!” Natalie chirped. “I really like Christmas and so far, this year has been really fun! Thanks, Lilly!”

Lilly smiled and moved around the table to give the girl a hug. “Of course. I’m glad you liked it.”

Damien watched them with a smile before turning his attention back toward Eric, who was sitting silently in the corner again.

Come on, man. You’re supposed to be doing this, he thought. In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never been like this. Please, Eric… Come back to us.

***

“Bye, guys! Thanks for the fortune!” Natalie called over her shoulder as Renee helped lead her through the door of the clubroom.

The moment the door closed and the mother-daughter duo had vanished, Lilly instantly rounded on Eric, a mix of anger and worry swirling around in her head. “Alright, what was that?” she demanded. “I thought you were supposed to be in charge of the fortune telling so why were you just standing around, staring into space?”

Eric slowly raised his head and looked back at her. “I’m sorry, Lilly. I know that, but…I just…couldn’t think straight. My head’s…all fuzzy and I just…don’t know what to do. I’m sorry. You did a really good job, though,” he added almost as an afterthought.

Seeing how down he was, she couldn’t help but feel some of her irritation fading away. “Look…it’s fine,” she muttered. “I just…I want to help you, Eric! Please, tell me what I can do for you!”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know, Lilly. All day…I’ve been trying to figure out what to do—to somehow prove that Vinny existed, but I can’t think of anything. It feels like everything’s been overwritten to make it so that he never existed. The only thing I can think of is…maybe visiting his family and seeing what I can find.”

Lilly frowned. She knew what must have been on his mind, but she couldn’t even fathom what he might say to the family of this Mickelson guy. However, wanting to at least be by his side if nothing else, she spoke in as warm of a voice as she could.

“Then I’ll go with you,” she told him. “If you want to talk to Mickelson’s family then I’ll go. Can’t say I’m not curious to see what would happen.”

He looked up in surprise, but that expression quickly softened into one of gratitude. “Okay. Thanks, Lilly. And I appreciate how much you want to help me. I wish there was something more I could do to help you understand, but I’m honestly stuck.” Eric then got to his feet. “I’m gonna go get some fresh air. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Alright then,” she murmured, watching for the second time that day as he moved from the clubroom door. Once he had left, she turned toward the still silent Damien and Liz, both of whom were staring after Eric as well. “So? Either of you curious enough to come with?”

Damien glanced up at her and slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I think it’s best if only you go with him. Just…let us know what happens afterwards, alright?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I'll let you guys know later.”

“And Alice?” Liz asked nervously. “Still nothing from her?”

Lilly shook her head. “Nothing.”

Now, even Damien and Liz looked totally defeated and Lilly wasn’t sure what she could do to help anybody. And to make matters worse, she still hadn’t been able to get ahold of Alice. She’d tried calling numerous times that day, but still was unable to talk to her.

God damn it! Between Eric’s sudden freakout and Alice’s failure to answer the phone, I can’t even imagine what I should be doing to help. I mean…there’s no way this is a coincidence, right? The attack on the diner, Alice’s weird disappearance, and Eric’s behavior…could they all be related?

But if so, how?