Part Four

Chapter One, Part Three

Outside, the cool night air is a welcome relief.

Despite the late hour, the party is still in full swing. Groups of people linger around the yard, some sitting on the hoods of parked cars, others laughing around a fire pit while music poured from the house behind them.

Beyond the property stretched the dense forest surrounding Greyhaven.

Even in the dark, the tree line was impossible to miss.

It was close enough that anyone could wander inside if they wanted to.

Not that anyone sensible would.

Greyhaven Forest was massive, and getting lost in it was easier than finding your way back out. At night, with wild animals roaming between the trees, it became even more dangerous.

Quinn and Esther continue walking until the music becomes little more than a distant thump behind them.

"What was that back there?" Esther suddenly asks.

Quinn glances at her. "What do you mean?"

"The way you looked at Hadley." She frowns. "It was like she'd done something to you."

Quinn lets out a slow sigh.

"It's Hadley Rivers, Etta."

He stops beside the rusted shell of an old car abandoned near the edge of the property and leans against it.

"She has a reputation for getting into trouble."

Esther stops in front of him, confusion written all over her face.

"...Trouble?"

"When Hailey Edens was still around..." Quinn pauses. "Hadley punched her."

Esther blinks.

"...What?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes widen. "Hadley?"

Quinn nods.

"People talked about it for weeks. Hailey showed up to school with a black eye, but nobody knew who'd done it. When the police questioned everyone after Hailey disappeared, Hadley admitted she'd punched her. Other students backed it up, saying they'd seen Hadley act aggressively toward Hailey more than once. It wasn't unusual to spot the two of them arguing in the hallways, and whenever they crossed paths, Hadley always seemed angry with her."

Esther stares at him, trying to process what she's hearing.

"...Why?"

Quinn shakes his head. "I don't know."

He looks back toward the house.

"But because of that fight, the police considered her a suspect for a while." He shrugs. "If you ask me, I don't think she had anything to do with Hailey's disappearance..." Quinn says after a moment. "But I still don't trust her."

Nearby, a burst of laughter erupts from the front yard. A group of boys carries a girl on their shoulders while she tries to take pictures with her phone, laughing and yelling for them to stop moving.

Quinn waits until the commotion dies down before speaking again.

"Just... be careful, Etta." His voice is quieter now. "I know you don't really pay attention to all the drama at school, but that's exactly why you need to be careful about who you trust."

Esther turns to face him.

"I can handle myself, Quinn."

"I know." He raises a hand apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

She stays quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"I know you can take care of yourself." He smiles faintly. "I just worry, that's all. You're... curious. Sometimes a little too curious for your own good." He lets out a quiet chuckle. "I don't want anything to happen to my best friend."

Esther's expression softens.

"I don't even worry that much about you, and you've got half the girls at school following you around like you're some kind of endangered species."

Quinn immediately grimaces.

"Please don't remind me."

Esther laughs. "Oh, come on. You should be flattered."

"I'm terrified."

That earns him another laugh.

They spend a while enjoying the cool night air. Quinn leans against the rusted shell of an old car, absentmindedly watching a group of boys trying to knock a shoe out of a tree with sticks and empty beer cans.

A buzz comes from his pocket.

He pulls out his phone and glances at the screen.

"My mom's asking if you're staying over tonight."

Esther leans over his shoulder to read the message.

"I don't think I can." She sighs. "Granny's expecting me home."

"That's a shame." Quinn smirks over his shoulder. "She's making dumplings tonight."

Esther groans dramatically.

"No! Don't tell me that." She clutches her chest. "Can you bring me some tomorrow? I can't survive another day without Mrs. Summers' dumplings."

"I'll try not to eat them all before I get to your house."

"You better."

Quinn chuckles, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"Think we should head out? It's getting late—"

He stops mid-sentence.

Esther isn't listening.

She's staring toward the tree line, her back to him, completely still.

"...Etta?"

Receiving no response, Quinn walks over beside her.

"What is it?"

He follows her gaze.

Nothing.

Just an open field stretching toward the forest, the trees swaying gently beneath the moonlight.

Esther, however, sees someone standing there.

A girl.

Motionless. Watching her. Another memory, she tells herself.

Nothing unusual. Nothing she hasn't seen before. But then her stomach drops.

She knows that face.

"...Quinn," she whispers. "I think..."

Before she can finish, the figure begins to distort. Its body fractures into drifting specks of dust before disappearing into the night.

Esther runs.

"Etta!"

Quinn sprints after her.

"Esther!"

She nearly trips over the uneven ground, her beanie slipping back as loose strands of blonde hair escape. She stops exactly where the memory vanished, desperately scanning the darkness.

No.

No, no, no...

She reaches for the camera hanging around her neck—

Her hand finds nothing.

"...Huh?"

She looks down. The strap is gone. The bathroom. She left it in the bathroom.

"Shit!"

Quinn finally catches up, slightly out of breath.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"My camera!" Esther blurts out. "I forgot my camera!"

"Forget the camera!" Quinn grabs her shoulder before she can turn back toward the house. "I know you probably saw one of those memories again, but chasing after one? Esther, what were you thinking?"

She doesn't meet his eyes.

"I... I think it was Hailey."

Quinn freezes.

"...What?"

"I think it was Hailey's memory."

The color drains from his face. "...That would mean..."

"There!" Esther pulls away from him. A few yards deeper into the forest, the figure stands once more.

Closer this time.

She walks toward it slowly, unable to look away. Every breath catches painfully in her throat.

It's Hailey.

Her once-light brown hair hangs in tangled, blood-soaked strands. Her skin is gray. Her clothes are ripped and stained. Her empty black eyes stare straight ahead, devoid of life. She stands unnaturally still, her head tilted against one shoulder like a broken doll.

Tears blur Esther's vision before she even realizes she's crying.

Behind her, Quinn watches in growing panic.

He can't see the girl, only Esther's horrified expression.

Then the memory begins to fade. Piece by piece, it dissolves into the night.

Esther rushes to where it had been standing.

She stops. Blood. Fresh blood stains the ground beneath her feet.

Slowly...She lifts her gaze.

A pair of lifeless eyes stare back at her.

For a heartbeat, Esther can't breathe.

Then she stumbles backward.

Quinn catches her before she hits the ground.

"Esther, what is—"

His voice dies in his throat.

His eyes lock onto the body lying among the grass. Every ounce of color drains from his face.

"...Quinn."

His mouth opens, but no words come.

Only silence.

"Hailey..."

"...She's dead."

(End of Chapter One)