The group of teenagers called Mr. Everald and Noah for help. They were adults and would be better equipped on what to do. When the two men arrived, the teens explained what happened.
Mr. Everald tried to reassure everyone. "Well, maybe she went back to get help and got lost. Those woods are pretty big. I'm gonna take Zane and Noah and do more searching. The rest of you will all stay here. I don't need more missing teens."
"That girl has bad luck in the woods. She shouldn't be in them," Noah joked as he left.
Two hours went by when the three that left returned. Mr. Everald determined it was time to call in the authorities. The sheriff arrived and took everyone's statements. The teens got lectured about underage drinking and wandering in the woods. A group of deputies went out into the woods to search for any sign of her. Eventually they called it a night and the sheriff left to inform Rhea's parents.
The next came, Paul chose to skip school and his mom let him. He returned the day after even though didn't really want to be there. He figured at the very least school could distract him. The days would become a full week without any update. The sheriff closed the case and wrote off Rhea's disappearance as her running away. They justified it, saying she had done it once before. That didn't sit right with Paul.
Things returned back to normal and the news cycle continued on. Everyone was now freaking out about grades. This was the halfway mark of the first semester and the school sent out reports. Everyone was finding out their weak spots. Fortunately for Paul, he was getting all A’s and B's in all his classes. He was satisfied with that.
Paul had a free period, so he headed to the library and to do some reading. Beatriz was also there. She obviously looked a little stressed out. There were four separate books on the table, all really old.
"Hey, where'd you get the ancient books?" Paul asked as he walked up to join her.
"Oh hi Paul, you know all over. One is a journal from my great-great-great-great-grandfather. I don't think that's the correct amount of greats."
"Cool. And why are we reading all these books?
"It's for Mr. Everald. For...uh...extra credit. I'm not doing so great in his class." Beatriz told him.
Paul picked up one of the books. "Is this like a spell book?"
"Yeah, apparently my ancestors were warlocks who did magic. Crazy, right?" Beatriz said.
A light bulb went off in Paul's brain, "It's your family. The Benoit’s. Your ancestors helped Mr. E's ancestors."
Beatriz looked shocked. "Why do you know that?"
"Well, Mr. Everald explained his family worked with witches. Your ancestors helped found the town. So now with the spell book, it all makes sense."
"That's so trippy." Beatriz said.
"If magic was real, that’d make Tyler magic. Would you be magic or is it just the dudes?" Paul jokingly asked.
"Well, it is a man's world.”
The two went on reading the books and putting pieces together. She even had more books and journals to look through. They ended up skipping the next period to look at them in the library, when Paul came across a note in one of the books. "Hmmm, that's weird."
"What's weird?" Beatriz asked.
"It says here the town had attacks from evil, and the townsfolk began to blame your ancestors. They thought that because they were supernatural, they attracted supernatural things."
"Then why did my family stay here?" Beatriz wondered out loud.
"It goes on. The Everalds were kicked out because they wouldn't follow the no magic supernatural stuff rules. But your ancestors agreed to bind every newborn's magic the day they are born so as to not attract evil." Paul read from the book.
Beatriz joked, "Oh, how easy my life would be if I could magically get an A in my classes.
The bell rang, so the duo decided to go to their classes and continued the school day. Paul went through the day as best he could. The idea of having a magic spell to solve all his problems was appealing to him. He was glad they would have a Thanksgiving break coming up soon.
His friends wanted to get together to have a Thanksgiving potluck, but Paul wanted to skip it and stay home. Paul needed some downtime. Before he could do that, he promised Melissa he'd help with the charity drive.
The charity drive was held at the high school auditorium. Families would bring in things and food to donate. Paul's task , sort stuff into groups. He was happy to do so. It gave him something else to focus on.
He was off to the side loading things into boxes when Melissa walked up with a cart of more things. "Hey, I have another load of stuff for you."
"Thanks, just put it to the side." he replied while pointing.
"So, any thoughts about coming over for a Friendsgiving dessert?"
"I think I'm going to skip this one. My mom is actually home this year. We're gonna hang and watch a couple of movies." Paul answered.
"That's actually really sweet, Paul." Melissa complimented.
"Well, you know me." he joked
"I'm beginning to.”
Slam! A woman walked up and dropped a box next to the teens. "Hello there, I was told to deliver this box to Melissa. Guessing that's you." the woman said.
"Oh, super, you can leave it here for Paul to go through, miss…..?"
"I'm Thalia. I'm visiting friends for the holidays." Thalia explained.
The lady said goodbye and then went on her way. Melissa was about to do the same but stopped and turned around. "Well, if you need a cake or pie delivery, let me know."
Thanksgiving Day was delightful for Paul. His mom and he cooked together. One of his favorite activities to do. Afterward, they settled in for a few movies. They watched a film called They Live, which starred Roddy Piper. Then they watched Die Hard, the Bruce Willis movie that is the pinnacle of action films, in Paul's opinion.
The thought of calling Melissa popped into his head, but he decided against it. He wondered what his friends were doing, but he was glad he stayed home. The next day he made a leftover sandwich and went in for his shift at Firesides.
It was pretty slow at first. There were a few couples at the bar and a large group of teenagers. Paul eventually noticed an interesting pair. It was the sheriff talking with that lady from the charity drive. The sheriff left, so he went up to her to say hi. "Hey, lady from the auditorium."
"It's Thalia. I didn't get your name."
"Oh I'm Paul. Surprised you're still in town. Most visitors escape as soon as possible." The teen joked.
She smiled. "I'm actually from here originally. A decade ago I turned 18 and went off to college and never looked back."
"I've been considering that. College applications are due in a couple of months. I'm thinking of applying all over just to see options." Paul went on.
"Well, what's stopping you Paul from Autumnvale?" Thalia questioned.
"I mean, my mom, my friends, plus college is kind of expensive.”
Thalia got up from her chair and gathered her things. "You can always visit, and that's why God invented scholarships." she said before turning and walking away.
The rest of the weekend went by pretty fast. He had a Saturday shift at the tavern but was off that Sunday. That day he decided to go see Quinn; he had been a little bummed lately, for good reasons. Paul himself was still upset about Rhea. He couldn't imagine how his friend must feel.
Paul walked up to the door of Quinn's house and went to knock. Before he could, Mr. Everald walked out. The teacher greeted him and said goodbye all in the same sentence and went on his way. Paul turned to watch him leave.
When Paul turned around, Quinn was in the doorway. It made him jump slightly. His friend's appearance there was unexpected.
"Whoa, dude., give me a heart attack much."
"Sorry, man. Just walking the teacher out. He wanted to check on me and junk." explained Quinn
"Cool, well I'm ready for my Quinn day. What's first?" asked Paul.
"I need a good workout, I've got a lot of pent up energy."
The duo went to the gym. Paul wasn't planning on working out, but some exercise would be refreshing. They warmed up with some cardio and then moved on to weight lifting. Paul was spotting for Quinn when he noticed how much his friend was planning on bench pressing.
"Be careful man, that's a lot of weight," Paul warned.
Quinn continued putting weight on the bar despite the warning. "Don't worry, I got this. I wanna see how much I can push myself."
Paul waited patiently beside his friend in case he required help. Quinn kept asking for more and more weight to be added. The end weight was almost 300 pounds. Paul was flabbergasted. "What kind of secret shake are you drinking? That's like double what you did last time."
"Nothing man, I just have all this energy lately. I need to train and be ready for anything," explained Quinn.
"Ready for what?"There was no response from Quinn. He just went to repack the weights. In Paul's gut he knew what this was about.
"Is this about Rhea?" Paul questioned his friend.
Quinn without any hesitation responded. "Of course it's about Halloween. Someone took Rhea and I couldn't protect her."
"What do you mean took her, did you learn anything about that night?" The confused Paul asked.
The whole Rhea running away story didn't add up to Paul, but kidnapping seemed so out of the picture, especially for Autumnvale.
"No I just...it's a gut feeling is all."
Paul wanted to push his friend about the topic. He had a gut feeling too. He decided it was best to drop it. There was something more about Halloween. Guilt came over him again. He had another terrible thought about Quinn. What was he involved in, and could it have gotten Rhea abducted? He forced himself to change the subject.
All right well I think we pumped enough iron. Let's shower and grab some chow." Paul said.
The pair got clean and went back to Paul's house to grab some food. They decided to do some cooking together. It was nothing to fancy, just spaghetti and meatballs, and some homemade garlic bread. They were eating on the couch watching cartoons when his mother rushed into the room.
"Paul, where are my keys? Have you seen my keys? I thought they were in the kitchen?" his mom exclaimed frantically.
"Chill," Paul said. He got up from the couch and grabbed the keys from the end table. "They are right here.”
His mom stopped in her tracks, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know if I should be telling you guys this yet......but they found Rhea. They just brought her in, and I'm going in early to help."
The boys stopped eating and put their plates in the sink. They followed their mom to the hospital. Word must have gotten out fast because a couple of reporters were out front.
She started her shift and the boys waited in the lobby. Police were in and out of the room. Rhea's mother and father came rushing into the hospital and were escorted into her room. Paul felt a weight lift. He was relieved to know it was all okay. However, to be honest, he was curious to find out what happened.
Paul got text messages from Melissa and Delilah checking in every twenty minutes. It was a little annoying, but it was also nice to see how much they cared. An hour later he got a call, but before he got to answer, a familiar face walked in. It was Thalia.
She saw Paul and went up to him asking. "Is Rhea okay? What did she tell everybody?"
Paul was a little confused by this. "I don't know anything yet, the police and her parents are in there. Wait, how do you know Rhea?"
"Oh. I thought I mentioned, the friends I was visiting were Rhea's family." Thalia said before walking towards the police. Paul observed her for a few minutes. She talked to the police officers and then went off to the nurses’ station to ask some questions.
Paul was still sitting in the lobby. He wanted to be there for his friend. Eventually, Nurse Lisbon came up to take Quinn to the room. Paul had to wait in the lobby though. He was okay with that. He got up to go to the vending machines to grab some snacks. He pushed the button on the machine and a Snickers bar dropped. As he bent down to pick up his snack, Paul recognized Melissa's voice. "Hey Paul, any words yet?"
Paul turned around to see Melissa standing behind him. They hugged. Paul noticed how long the hug lasted. It was nice and comforting. Waiting in the hospital lobby was a little stressful for Paul.
"She seems to be okay. They let Quinn in the room, so that's a good sign," Paul explained.
"And what do you think about all this? I mean how are you doing with it all?"
"I'm fine, I think. I can't imagine what her parents or even Quinn are going through. I'm just hoping to help him, you know," Paul replied.
Melissa went in for another hug. "Everything happening really makes me think. This whole ordeal is just the worst. What I wouldn't give to be a boring teenager again."
Paul was confused, but before he could question it, Melissa kissed him. He thought about stopping her but pulled her in closer instead. Melissa pulled back. He was more confused. "Why did that happen?"
Melissa looked Paul in the eyes, "Life's too short,"