VANISHED (#1 in the VANISHED series) #NaNoWriMo2019 ✔

n i n e t e e n ✔

The tiles hit Arielle with such brutality she fell over, dazed, almost knocked out by her shock. Regaining her senses, she crawled to the opposite corner of the room, panicked, panting, perturbed.

With trembling hands and an erratic heartbeat, she fumbled, trying to remember where she'd put her phone. She plucked it from beside her, where it had dropped out of her pocket.

"Fuck." She struggled to get a grip, to handle her shaking if only for a second, so she could locate Stella's number. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Stella Cell came into view, and she pressed the green button. Putting the call on speaker, she set the phone on the floor so she could hunch over and take deep breaths, steady her pulse. She dry-heaved and sweat streaked down her cheekbones as the line rang. And rang. And rang...

Stella never picked up. "Stel, come on! I need you!" She pressed the green button again. "You told me to call you! Please answer!" The line only rang twice before Stella's voicemail buzzed out.

"Hi, you've reached me. Who is me? Shit, shouldn't you know? You're the one calling! Whatever, state your business and I'll return your call if I'm in the mood for it."

Beep.

"Stel..." Arielle gulped. "Penny... she's here. She followed me, or something." She blew out her cheeks and dizziness warped her words. "I did what you asked, the Ouija board and stuff... burned... drowned. But I found the letters, particular letters, in my hotel room... she... threw them at me. What... what do I do?" Another beep signaled she'd ran out of time.

She gathered her wits, ignored her heart as it beat thousands of thumps a second, and got to her feet. Glaring over at the spot where the letters had landed—now immobile, as if they'd never smacked into her—she swallowed. More nausea bubbled in her gut.

A few days ago, she would have believed herself to have imagined it all, to have been temporarily insane. But with all she'd experienced lately, and with her cheeks throbbing from where the wooden pieces had banged, there was no way to deny it. She wouldn't be in such a state if it had only been an illusion.

Another glance at the tiles, having landed far from where she discovered them, convinced her.

"Nope... not touching those... not without gloves." She stumbled to the other bed—the room had doubles, since Stella was supposed to be there—and dropped with a heavy sigh. "Stel... please answer... please help me."

She should have been there. Should have done some ritual to cleanse Arielle, to protect her, to ensure Penny wouldn't somehow come with her on her journey.

Thanks a lot, Stel.

She heaved herself onto the mattress and lay flat on her back, inhaling, exhaling, desperate to relax, to erase what had happened. Groping at the nightstand—for a glass of water, something to fan herself, something to knock herself out—she discovered the TV remote.

"Yeah... yeah, I need noise. Drown out the thoughts." She turned the thing on and found reruns of Supernatural. "One of Jade's favorites." She slipped under the blankets and pulled them up to her chin. "A nap... I need a nap..."

She surprisingly dozed off almost at once, fighting the chills still slurring down her spine.

***

Secrets... secrets... truth... I have it... I can give it...

A raspy, crackling, distorted voice. Tortured, tricky. A curtain of raven hair covered her face, but Arielle recognized her. She had eyes like deep wells of murky water, and blood soaking her cheeks. She had fangs instead of teeth, coated in red and smelling like rot, decay, death.