Black Hill High

Chapter 4

Evil is haunting and ruthless. It's inescapable. It evokes fear in its victims, taunting you until the inevitable promise of destruction. Evil gnaws on everyone's mind until you're drowning in paranoia. You cannot trust anyone. Evil masks itself, deceiving you until the very moment it's ready to pounce. You never know who holds inner darkness.

Amelia steps out of Seth's home after two brutal hours of tutoring. She bids him goodbye at the door as he closes it behind her.

Intent on getting across the street as speedily as possible, she picks up her pace but a taunting voice stops her.

"Leaving so soon?" Jake is leaning against a beaten-up Jeep with a cigarette clutched between his fingers.

"It's getting late." She dismissively replied.

"You're the new neighbor, aren't you?" He takes a long drag before dropping the nicotine stick to the ground to snuff it out. "I wasn't in town when you moved in, if I were I would have brought you a muffin basket." His voice is cynically sweet - but Amelia chooses to focus on the cynical aspect.

"I'll survive." He doesn't verbally respond to her bitter reply, instead, he offers her a sly leer.

"It was lovely meeting you, Amelia." He teases her as he brushes past to enter his home.

With a shake of the head, she rushes across the street, her hastened footsteps not halting until she's in the safety of her home. The sound of clattering in the kitchen invades her ears and she firmly grips the pepper spray she keeps in her pocket. She cautiously approaches with trepidation. Ready to strike she stops mid-press as her dad anxiously flutters around in the kitchen. The distinct smell of something burning invades her nostrils and she internally cringes.

"Dad," She breathes. "What are you doing home?"

He glances at her with tense eyebrows.

"Thought we could have dinner together, it's been a while since we've done that." She bites her lip to stop herself from criticizing the burnt meal.

He must have noticed her apprehension and sighed.

"Let's order pizza."

She eagerly agrees and busies herself until the pizza arrives. It's been a while since she and her dad sat at the dinner table together. It's the first time since they've moved to Black Hill they've had time to sit and talk. Amelia itches to question her dad about the murders but knows she must be subtle.

The moment she musters up the courage to question him on the case the doorbell chimes. With a sigh, she gets up knowing it's the pizza guy. She grabs the money on the counter and opens the door to be greeted by the dreary night. No one is there. She steps forward and steps on something. She jumps back and notices a Manila envelope with the words Sheriff Beckett written in black ink. The penmanship is sloppy and almost indistinguishable. She cautiously picks it up and calls out to her father as she approaches him. She places the envelope in front of him.

With furrowed brows, he inspects the file before retrieving the contents inside. A few pieces of paper slide out - one with magazine cutouts capture both their interests.

Stop investigating or else.

The threatening words garner no reaction until the sheriff diverts his gaze to the polaroid images. Amelia gasps as she notices she is in every single one of the pictures. Her in the school parking lot. At the football game. One even of her outside on their front porch with a book in her hands. The target knew which buttons to press. Her dad remains motionless and stoic. Amelia never could get a good read on his emotions. She gazes at the images as her heart slams against her rib cage. This person has been following my every move. She jumps at her father's abrupt movement as he launches out of his chair and marches to his phone. He hastily dials a number and Amelia can only assume he's calling the station. She can barely understand the frantic mumbling as she analyzes the twisted images sprawled around the table.