(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter One - Friendly Newcomers

RILEY

THE MAPLE DINER was a quaint little café/restaurant. Brightly lit and with wide windows, it overlooked the rocky mountains in the horizon. I'd never gotten to visit it before, though I heard rumors that it was people's favorite place.

Why was everything in this town named after a tree?

The bell chimed when Adam and I strode in, and some of the waiters greeted us. We found a booth in the corner. A waitress passed by with appetizing burgers and coffee on her platter, leaving an aromatic trail behind.

Adam and I talked until someone came to take our orders, and I decided to have pancakes with hot chocolate. Adam picked the bacon and scrambled eggs.

The last three weeks exceeded my expectations as to what I imagined after moving here. I'd done numerous sleepovers with the girls, gone shopping and hung out after school with Adam. Oakwood had few places for teenagers except for the mediocre amusement park in Huntington, the biggest town nearby, but finally spending time with my friends is what mattered. 

After the traumatic events following my arrival, I now relished even the ability to go jogging at any hour of the day. I was happy to pretend the ground was sand and flush out the day's stress. 

Adam and I had just seen a movie this morning, some family comedy. We had almost all the theater room to ourselves before more streamed in the afternoon. Despite this positive change in my personal life, the same couldn't be said about the rest of the town and it was impossible to avoid conversations about it. 

"My mom will welcome the arrivals with fresh cookies and coffee at the search party," Adam said. "Dad took the afternoon off just to be there."

In daytime, streets and people couldn't be told apart from any other neighboring small-town community. As soon as the sun began to set, however, it became a different story. I couldn't meet a soul outside of their house or car at night. Often, I'd get warned about rushing home if they noticed I was alone. 

A cashier at the drugstore once guessed that I'd seen the attack with my own eyes when he tried to strike up an exchange. It got weird. The young man practically jumped over the counter, doing the armchair detective thing and being incredibly insensitive with a bunch of questions.

In the end, Adam and Jen had strolled in. They'd driven down to pick up a prescription, and they were able to save me from that situation.

"Riley?" He waved a hand across the table. "Anybody in there?"

I lifted my chin off my hand, realizing I'd been gazing out the glass unseeing. "We haven't found any missing body in days. I don't think this search is going to be any different."

"Someone's optimistic. You know, I bet if the private property opened up for the occasion, we could find something." He suddenly studied his fork and lowered it. "We'd find the remaining people. But whoever's that guy, he's being a real asshole."

Having not talked to Luc in a while, I didn't follow closely the public demand to step into the territory and how he was fending for the privacy of his cabin. I heard a name being thrown around as the owner. I figured he had an older guy posing. 

"It's not close enough to the killings," I repeated, then pushed some hair out of my face. "A search party on a conservation site is a big deal, Adam."

I'd said the wrong thing because his face twisted up. "Our friends' bodies waiting to be found is a bigger deal. I hope the cops get a warrant quick."

Aside from fear, most locals felt exactly the same way. Angry. I wasn't any good at navigating that, but at least he wasn't like the other ones resenting Emma for her silence on the matter. She didn't help piece together a description of the animal, and while she was sticking up for Luc's people, it attracted ire from those who used to be friends.