4. Changes

Chapter 4

Alicia gasped, as she regained consciousness on the floor. A janitor, several metres away, watching her, as she wiped his mop over the floors. What the hell was that, she thought. Breathing heavily, Alicia grimaced as she rose up. "Are you alright, dear?" The janitor said, cautiously stepping towards her. "I'm fine, sorry," Alicia muttered. "Just a little tired". The janitor nodded slowly, concerned. Alicia flashed a sheepish smile, hesitant, as she dashed away. Away to her class.

The janitor continued to stare at the girl as Alicia disappeared around the corner. She pondered for a moment. There was a large, isolated splotch of degreaser liquid on the floor, where Alicia had fallen. Wet shoe tracks followed a path that snaked its way through the floors of the hallways. The janitor dropped the mop, as the wooden handle made an audible thud noise as it collided with the ground. She took a deep breath and took out her cell phone. She scanned her surroundings. No one in sight, except behind a window that led to a lounge room, where a few teachers were engrossed in conversation, oblivious to the earlier scene. The janitor glanced around some more. There was a ray of light that shone from above, sets of ceiling windows letting the shine of the bright sun come inside the building. A student, in a hurry, ran past the janitor, and headed for the front doors to let out. The halls were empty now, silent. She turned on the cellphone and dialed a saved number. "Hello, it's Sheila. I believe I found what you're looking for," Sheila whispered into the phone. An inaudible series of voices called out on the other side. "I'll let you know once I find out more". The janitor switched off the phone, and slipped it back into her pocket, unnoticed.

Alarms blared inside Alicia’s head, as she headed through the hallways. She felt an aching sensation growing in the back of her head, wincing as she turned her head to turn the corner. Save him? What’s happening to me? Alicia thought, hopelessly. She began trembling, slowing her pace. Her vision blurred, her surroundings fading as she was overcome with her thoughts. Slowing down even further, walking now, Alicia closed her eyes. She willed herself to ignore the thoughts, humming a tune in her angelic voice. The hums echoed throughout the halls, somewhat eerie in the emptiness. No one in sight. A weight on her shoulders began to lighten. Her heart rate began to steady, her breathing returning to normal. Not looking where she was going, Alicia bumped straight into someone who appeared around the corner, abruptly opening her eyes. “Whoops, sorry,” the man said. Alicia glanced at the man. Mr. Pierce, one of her favorite teachers. “Hey Mr. Pierce, how are you?” Alicia said, stopping. “Hello Alicia, I’m just fine. You were a little out of it, weren’t you?” Alicia smiled, hiding her anxiety. “Yeah, just a little tired, sorry.” Mr. Pierce was holding a laptop in one hand, and a cup of coffee in another, his thoughts elsewhere. “No worries, have fun in your next class!” he said, heading past her in a hurry.

Alicia waved farewell, as she headed back to class. As she walked past a room, Alicia heard a familiar voice. She cautiously moved closer to it. The door was shut, but noise continued to spill out. Mr. Lyn and several other teachers lay seated around an oval table, whispering to each other. Principal Hannigan was at the front of the table, rubbing his right temple. Alicia stood still next to the window, hiding herself from the sight of those within the room.

“We have to keep the students safe,” a teacher piped up, her voice urgent and determined. “Agreed,” said Mr. Lyn, “They are our primary concern, amid the potential crisis.” Mr. Hannigan nodded, noting some things down on a piece of paper. “Like I’ve said, on the strange phenomena happening around the exiled land. What the students call Darkland,” Mr. Hannigan continued, “We’ll be in touch on the details, but I just want all of you to be cautious, on the previous points I’ve mentioned. Things aren’t as clear cut as they should be, and under careful consideration, I believe that we need to monitor our school activities much more securely.” In unison, every head around the table nodded in agreement. Alicia gulped and sped away from the room before any of the teachers could notice her. Her face turned to a frown, confused and afraid.

As soon as Alicia entered the classroom, the school bell rang. Students were crowded near the doors, as Alicia managed to slip through. Melissa caught Alicia’s eye, as she was getting ready to leave the room. “Hey Alicia, you okay?” Alicia paused for a moment, moving aside to let the scrambling students pass by. “Yeah, just a little nauseous for some reason,” Alicia muttered, feigning sickness, holding her stomach. “Huh, you should talk to the nurse,” responded Melissa, expressing a look of concern. Alicia nodded, smiling weakly, as Melissa waved farewell. Alicia travelled to the back of the room to retrieve her things, untouched.

Darkland, she thought, What the hell’s happening there? Alicia suddenly felt a shiver creep down her spine, shuddering. The room cleared out quickly, leaving the room empty except for Alicia. She bolted out the door.

…

With the passing of time, and the sun lowering itself along the horizon, Alicia left her last period of the school day. With every passing minute in class, her thoughts had drifted farther away from her worry, and had focused on stressing on assignments and tests. For Alicia, her day had gradually turned to a comfortable rhythmic pattern; Chatting with others, taking notes, and anxiously awaiting her marks for a released test she’d completed for a class.

As soon as Alicia stepped out of the building though, she instinctively shielded her face with her arms. The sun seemed to be much, much brighter than it was earlier. Alicia squinted hard. After a moment had passed, her eyes had slowly adjusted to the brightness of the outdoors. For a fleeting moment, she was caught by the beauty of the sky. Lines of birds flitting along the sky, the clear sky with a light cyan hue. Voices perked up around her. Kids, teachers, parents, and older students milled around the school grounds, many forming small groups or getting ready to leave.

Alicia felt a wave of emotions and tension, some strange feeling, surrounding her. The continuous joyful chattering of schoolchildren, their relief and auras of serotonin emanating from the scattered groups within the area. Alicia seemed puzzled, as though a new world had appeared in front of her. Alicia turned around, mildly dazed, as she stumbled and bumped into someone. A girl, with an obnoxious sneer permanently implanted on her face. An expensive purse and fashionable clothing, the girl’s single look gave Alicia a momentary feeling of nausea, an icky vibe. Alicia took in all of this in a fraction of a second, leaving her more exhausted than she already was. “Excuse me?” the girl exclaimed, annoyed. “Sorry,” muttered Alicia, before hastily treading away. Though Alicia had her back turned, she felt those eyes on her, a look of distaste, until Alicia moved away quicker, confused. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. Huh, she thought.

Looking ahead of herself, she spotted Mr. Lyn in the nearby parking lot, getting into his car, a grey Sedan. Alicia suddenly recalled the meeting she’d witnessed earlier in the day. Darkland, Alicia pondered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone while walking simultaneously. Darkland… she thought aloud, typing into a search bar.

It was an abandoned place; one she was somewhat curious about. Whispers about myths and strange things happening, as though it were a magical place. She clicked on an article that spoke of the origin of Darkland, the haunting tales of several people who had gone missing in the depths of the forestry land.

It was several miles away, and until a few years ago, it was known to be one of the most popular tourism retreats, one that placed Kinstone on the map. An incident occurred there one day, several tourists that might’ve been lost, as government officials claimed. Alicia recalled that thought. She was told there were many dangerous, vicious animals that might’ve gotten them. Government voiced concerns, search parties and lookouts released, until they decided to close down the land, due to the increase in disappearances of the land.

Alicia’s anxiety perked back up again, her fingers fidgeting with the phone in her hand. Snuck up behind Alicia, was the voice of a familiar person, one she’d previously attempted to get away from. “Hey Alicia! What’s this?” Melissa asked, popping up beside her, walking at a similar pace. “What? This-it’s nothing,” Alicia quickly stammered, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “Huh,” Melissa questioned, bemused, “I thought I saw you search up Darkland”. Alicia hesitated, pausing for a moment. “Come on Alicia, I smell a mystery,” Melissa exclaimed, smiling mischievously. “Okay, alright fine.” Alicia admitted, holding up her hands in mock defeat. She told Melissa what she’d heard in the meeting.

“I knew it!” Melissa squealed, “I knew they were hiding something”. Alicia glanced at her. Melissa had a growing smile on her face, her cheeks flushed and her dimples showing. “But I still don’t understand, the place has been abandoned for years,” Alicia stated, as they left the school grounds together. Melissa nodded slowly. “Because apparently people died there”. Alicia frowned, glancing again at Melissa, who seemed worried. “You think they covered that up?” Alicia asked. “How-yeah actually,” Melissa admitted, staring equivocally at Alicia, “Kinda strange how they shut it down just because some weird animals were there,” Melissa said.

The same weird feeling just a moment before, appeared again, when Alicia heard her name from behind her. It was Carter. “Hey what’s up guys,” he said, jogging towards the two girls. Melissa and Alicia turned their heads. Alicia frowned for a moment, before covering it with a smile.

“Alicia’s thinking of storming Darkland,” Melissa said, grinning at Alicia. “Whoa, no way that’s crazy,” Alicia exclaimed, wide-eyed. Carter raised an eyebrow. “Count me in, the place sounds awesome,” Carter said. Both Melissa and Alicia stared at him in surprise. “Really?” Melissa questioned, confused. “What?” Carter questioned, his half-smile turning to a frown, “Wait, you guys are serious?” Carter scratched his head.

“No way, Darkland creeps me out” Alicia stammered, crossing her arms. Melissa nodded hesitantly, turning her head away. Her back faced the school grounds. “The forest does get kinda spooky at night”. This time it was Carter and Alicia who stared in surprise. “Uh, how do you know how it looks?” Carter asked, suspiciously, peering at Melissa in scrutiny. “I don’t know, there were some pictures I saw,” Melissa responded quickly. Carter didn’t seem satisfied, though Alicia turned a blind eye.

The trio began to walk out of the school grounds in unison, passing a road that separated the school building from the endless rows of townhouses on the other side. “I mean, it’s completely closed off, not to mention it’s illegal to trespass,” Carter declared, after a short moment of silence. Alicia nodded, distracted, gazing at a group of school children playing a game of tag into the distance. Melissa stayed silent, her eyes focusing straight ahead. Their shadows creeped along behind them. The sun seemed to grow brighter above them with each passing minute.

They continued walking. Carter placed his hands in his pockets, his eyes wandering throughout the environment; The clear blue skies, the birds flying overhead, as well as the warm air that breezed through them.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea, that’s for sure,” Melissa exclaimed, continuing their walk along the guiding sidewalk, which was wide enough for the three of them, walking alongside each other. Melissa on the right, Alicia in the middle, and Carter on the left. “I agree, we don’t know what’ll happen, or how dangerous it is,” Alicia added. Carter nodded. “Oh hey, what happened with you and Mrs. Lynwood in the morning?” He asked, glancing at Alicia. “Ah, nothing much, you know how she is,” Alicia answered, unsure. “Yeah, I guess, she just seemed a little weird today.”

“What do you mean?” Alicia asked, taken aback. “You couldn’t tell? One minute I thought she was about to yell at you, and the next, she looked different. Almost nervous.” He remarked. “Huh, I don’t know about that,” Alicia hesitated, thinking back to the encounter. “Lynwood's all sorts of crazy,” Melissa added, “She’s always yelling at us for something.”

“That I know,” Alicia accepted. “Well, still I think there’s something going on with her,” Carter muttered, his mind fixated. “I don’t think so,” Alicia replied, “I think she just felt bad about what she said when I first walked in.” A short distance away, a lone car sped along the road, emitted a loud backfiring noise that echoed throughout the streets, startling Alicia. She grimaced in pain, the noise seemed to stir a nauseating headache, as though the backfire popped right next to her. “Actually, I side with Carter on this,” Melissa declared, “She’d never apologize or anything after taking it out on us, maybe she just had something else on her mind.”

Alicia pondered for a moment. “All she did was apologize and ask how I was doing, nothing serious, I doubt there’s anything else there,” Alicia retorted. “I dunno, Alicia,” Melissa continued, “it reminds me of that time with you and Damie-”. Alicia froze. Carter, wide-eyed, shook his head deliberately at Melissa, who stopped abruptly.

Alicia’s breathing suddenly turned uneven, grimacing as the world suddenly turned a dark corner. “I’m sorry Alicia, I didn’t mean to bring that up,” Melissa stated, apologetically, turning to glance at Alicia. Alicia was lost in thought, she had stopped walking, and her head pointed slightly downwards. “It’s fine, I’m alright.” Alicia answered, gritting her teeth. Carter sighed, staring at her in concern. Alicia regained her posture and began walking again. “I’ll see you guys’ tomorrow.” Alicia said, emotionless, as she turned a corner to head to her house. Both Carter and Melissa stood, motionless. Melissa opened her mouth to speak but remained speechless. Carter also stayed silent, looking downwards at the ground.

Only a few blocks away from her home, Alicia trudged through, gripping the straps of her backpack. Damien, she thought. Her vision turned blurry; a single tear began to form just under her left eye. Her knees seemed to buckle, as though she had been running for hours. Her arms weak, seeming to dangle from the sockets. She pushed the dark thoughts out of her mind. But they continued to fester within. The heartbreaks, the butterflies, her insecurities. It all seemed to eat her alive. The skies and the streets didn’t seem appealing anymore. Alicia continued to grit her teeth, but nothing could’ve prevented the oncoming waves of emotions, ones that felt more powerful than before. As though her sensitivity to emotion had become stronger.

As Alicia continued to fight through her thoughts, a voice pierced through the thick veil. “Alicia, you’re home!” her brother yelled out in joy, a block away. Adam began running, bounding towards her, racing into her arms. Alicia was momentarily stunned. Her fleeting thoughts vanished, leaving her skyrocketing onto reality in a sudden moment. Then she lowered herself, and wrapped her arms around her little brother, the pain she’d remembered earlier, fading away.

“Come on, Adam let’s go,” she said, a warm, authentic smile appearing on her face.

Continued on: Where the Darkness Lurks

More chapters coming soon, stay tuned to my Instagram for details