Chapter 27: Ghosts of the Past

The cool morning air carried in it the smell of rain as Emma sat by the window, watching the sleepy town of Eldridge Falls wake. People strolled about the cobblestone street, chatting and smiling, trying to continue moving on from all that had taken place. Still, over this town lay an unnerving feeling in the air, some kind of shadow. Something was not quite right, and Emma knew it. She hadn't slept in days; each night would wake up to nightmares that tormented her. Different these nightmares were, yet they felt even more real. Slight at first, whispers in the dark, ghostly apparitions that she couldn't discern. Last night was different; it was more vivid. She saw Nathaniel standing at the edge of a cliff staring into the abyss. His face was white, his eyes far away. He had only repeated one phrase: "It's coming for us, Emma. We can't escape it." The knock on the door surprised her, jerking her back into reality. "Come in," Emma called softly. Nathaniel came with a warm smile on his face. But she knew better, and the weariness in his eyes let it out. They had not spoken much since the confrontation with Sebastian Gray. It was a life lived on the edge, minds trying to wrap themselves around what this sudden reappearance exactly meant. "How are you?" he asked, walking to sit beside her. I don't know, Nate. Everything just feels. Off. I keep having these dreams and they're getting worse." Nathaniel looked at her, concern flashing across his face. "Dreams?" "Yeah, about you. And something is coming. I mean, I just can't explain it. I just feel like there's more going on here, something bad is going to happen. Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair. A muscle bulge in his jaw. "Emma," he said, "I have been wanting to tell you something. There's word in town-odd things happening." "What kind of things?" "People say they hear voices at night," he said. "Things shift about when no one is there. Some of the oldsters are talking about the old society again. They say the secret organization has returned." Emma's heart was racing. "The secret society? But I thought it was over. We stopped it." "I thought that too, but something's stirring people up. And then, there's Sebastian… I don't trust him. Not for a second." Before Emma could utter a word, the door knocked again. This time, it was Olivia Thornton, her best friend, her eyes wild with urgency. She stepped inside, her eyes darting between Emma and Nathaniel. "We need to talk. Now. Nathaniel nodded and rose to his feet, "I'll give you two a minute." Olivia leaned forward once Nathaniel was gone; her voice low, barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to say this, Em, but I found something." "What is it? It is a diary. I found it amongst one of the old books hidden away in the library. Not just any diary, but one that belonged to one of the founders of the secret society. I haven't read all of it, but the bits that I have. Emma, it's talking about some kind of ancient prophecy." Emma's breath caught in her throat. "A prophecy? Olivia nodded, pulling a small, tattered book from her bag. "It's old, but the writing is still clear. It's about when the past is supposed to return, and a shadow will fall over Eldridge Falls. And here's the weird part: mention your family, Emma. Emma took the diary; her fingers were shaking as she turned over the pages. The writing was extravagantly beautiful but hazardous. The words leapt out at her in darkness, resurgence, and bloodline. Her name, Harper, appeared a couple of times. "This can't be real," whispered Emma. "How could my family be involved with this? I don't know, but you need to read it carefully. It then goes on to say, "And so, something of power, binding the fate of this town with the prophecy itself." Emma's eyes dropped to the page, and all in a moment it struck her dreams, everything that had gone strange in town somehow fitted together, and her family was right in the middle of it. "I don't know if I'm ready for this, Liv. Olivia laid a hand on her shoulder. "We don't have a choice. Whatever's going on, we need to figure it out before it's too late." Later that evening, the rain starting to drizzle against the window, Emma sat on the bed, her mind racing. Nathaniel sat beside her, his hand resting on hers, grounding her. "What do we do?" she asked softly. Nathaniel let out a deep breath, "We find out what's going on. Secrets are done with. We delve deeper into this prophecy and prevent whatever will happen." "But what if we can't?" Emma whispered, her voice hushed with fear. "What if it's already too late?" "We'll find a way," Nathaniel grated, his voice firm. "We always do. At the same moment, a resounding crashing noise echoed from inside, followed by the tinkle of broken glass. Emma and Nathaniel jumped up and ran downstairs. The front window was open, cold gusts of wind blowing through the room. That wasn't even the worst of it, though. In dark, dripping letters, one word had been scrawled on the wall: * "RUN. Her heart stuttered in her chest and she stepped back, legs trembling. "Nate." He trapped her with his arm, wincing at the pain that must emanate through his entire body. "Someone is trying to scare us." "They're doing a pretty good job of it," Emma replied vaguely. Then, in the room was a tall man face wind- and weather-beaten, eyes glowing bright blue peering out from an intent of dark, deep-set shadow. He stood soaked through, water dripping off his coat onto the floor. "Who are you?" Nathaniel demanded, placing himself between Emma and the intruder. The man raised his hands. "I'm not here to hurt you. I am Elias Harper. I'm… family." She stared at him, frozen, her face full of utter disbelief. "Family? But. my father died years ago. Who are you?" "I am your father's brother," Elias replied, his voice low and serious, but laced with hurry. "And I have come to warn the prophecy.it's real. And it is happening now." Emma's head began to spin. Some never-heard-of uncle? Some prophecy that would destroy the town? It was just a bit too much to take in. Nathaniel stepped closer, his tone icy. "Why should we trust you? Now, he stared at Emma with his eyes weighted with sadness from a truth she didn't know. "Because I've spent my life trying to prevent what's coming. And now it's too late. They're coming for you, Emma. For all of us.". Later, with the storm screaming its head off outside, Emma sat at the kitchen table, shaking her hands as she read through the diary. Elias had left, promising to be back soon with more information. But the weight of his words hung heavy in the air. Nathaniel was opposite her, sunk deep in thought. "Do you believe him?" "I don't know," Emma said. "But all that has happened… the dreams, the diary, the message on the wall… everything is connected. And I am scared, Nate. I just don't know if we are going to be able to stop it." Nathaniel leaned across the table and took her hand. "Together, we'll face it. Whatever is coming, we'll fight it. For you, for our family." She had no time to say much before the door groaned open and Olivia burst in, white as a ghost. "Emma… Nathaniel… you have to see this." They followed her outside into the rainy night factory, sheets falling from the sky. Olivia led them to the town square where a small crowd had congregated. Someone had set fire to an old tree that stood in the middle of the town for centuries. And too, seared into the bark, hardly visible through the flames, was the same word that had been found before: "*" RUN." The fire crackled louder and the townspeople whispered in terror as Emma felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Whatever was coming, was there. And there would be no avoiding it. Suddenly, she had her fist clenched on Nathaniel's hand in a spasm of tightness, as her heart went into a rapid acceleration. She whispered more to herself than to all others, "We aren't running. We will fight." Yet, deep inside, she could never shake off that feeling that finally the ghosts of the past were catching up with them. All their secrets kept so desperately would come back with the most disastrous consequences.