Two Days Later

It was almost night when Sammy got home after work. The people at the station seemed to be unhinged. As a matter of fact, all of Carsden was off their rocker. Sammy was actually getting concerned, and not just about nature.

Several strange things were happening. First off, there had been a weird fight between Latherna and Father what's-his-name at the donut shop. Then the dogs still seemed to be going nuts, even with the stupid mayor's leash policy. The roads that let everyone leave Carsden were getting blocked by the storms, which were as crazy as the people.

Once Sammy got inside and dumped her bike in the kitchen, she ran into her bedroom and grabbed the Wicca ritual items. Sammy proceeded to the attic where her altar was.

Ever since she noticed the brown leaves that had been on the library's oak tree, Sammy kept on trying to communicate to the spirits. She hoped they would send a sign in some way.

Almost all of the trees on her street seemed to have no leaves on them, same as the oak tree at the library. Surprisingly, the trees in the Unlived Forest still had most of theirs.

"Mrow."

Sammy sighed as Marble twined his body around her legs. "In a moment, kit-cat. I'll give you your dinner once I set this down."

Marble seemed to roll his eyes as Sammy untangled herself and grabbed the ceiling ladder. It dropped down, and Sammy climbed the steps to the attic. She set the items down on the attic floor and slid down the ladder to feed her needy cat.

Fifteen minutes later, Sammy had everything set for the ritual. She sat in a meditative position in the middle of the various wooden sticks that made her pentagram.

In Wicca, to do a ritual, one had to have various items that made up four of the five elements: earth, fire, water, and air. The pentagram made of wood represented earth. Sammy lit the candles at the tips of the pentagram, in the directions of north, west, east, and south. The lit candles represented fire.

Sammy closed her eyes and waved her incense around, chanting in Latin. She didn't speak any other language other than English, but there were a few phrases for chanting that Sammy had learned when she was first starting off in Wicca. In the coven that she had once been a part of, they taught her some Latin for rituals.

"I call to the spirits," she finally said in English. "Speak to me for the sake of nature in Casrden."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Sammy opened her eyes abruptly and groaned loudly. "Oh, come on!"

Sammy got up and begrudgingly went to the front door on the first floor. When she opened the door, she blinked, a tad surprised. There was a woman with midnight-blue hair and grey eyes: Kira Kirova.

Sammy had already nicknamed her Rush in her mind, short for Russian. All because she spoke the language. She didn't want to bother remembering this woman's name, even if it was interesting to log away.

Sammy's poker face was already in place. "Well, come on in."

Rush followed her.

Flashback

Before the news of her emotions spread throughout the station entirely, Sammy had been summoned to the station manager's office. Although Mr. Brown's last name was uninteresting, she remembered it only because the man was her boss.

Balding and tall, Mr. Brown motioned for Sammy to come in. She was surprised to see him with a visitor.

"Sammy, this is Miss Kirova," said the manager. "She came here today for some advice that you can give."

Her poker face still in place, Sammy only blinked as she sized the woman up. She could tell that Kirova was at least a year younger than Sammy herself. The last name was familiar, and Sammy had to think for a moment before it came to her.

Kira Katarina Kirova: the owner and CEO of Cambion Enterprise. They did something that had to do with computers, just like Sammy did as the station's social media manager. 

This woman was also crazy rich. How a twenty-five-year-old woman was already one of the world's wealthiest people was a mystery Sammy couldn't figure out.

So why was someone like her in Carsden?

"Hello, Miss Kaplan," said Kira.

Sammy nodded at her. "Hello, Miss Kirova."

Mr. Brown looked back and forth from Sammy to Kira. "I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes. Sammy, head back to work when you've finished."

"Yes, sir," she said. When Mr. Brown left the office, she turned back to Kira. "So, you came to me for advice? What sort?"

"I need to know of any unusual behavior by the cast or staff members," Kira said coldly. She seemed to be analyzing Sammy critically. Maybe she was wary of any sort of news person.

Sammy raised an eyebrow. It took her a moment to refrain from answering with sarcasm. This was a situation that might not be acceptable to be rude. "That's it?" She had half expected the advice to be related to computers, not the weirdness of people working at a small TV station.

Kira pressed her lips as she answered, "For now."

Sammy shrugged. "All right then. You aware of the missing kid, right?"

"Of course," Kira replied curtly with a tilt of her head.

"Well, everyone seems a bit more concerned about throwing the festival than finding her." A flicker of annoyance went across Sammy's face. "Personally, I think that stupid mayor should turn it into a search party, but what can you do about some dumbass like him."

"What should and could be done remains to be seen. Can you tell me anything else?"

As Sammy didn't bother with other people, she didn't bother remembering anything about what they were up to. So she decided to make some stuff up.

"You've got the meteorologist who wants the news anchors to do a piece on the failing crops when he hasn't given a damn about it in the first place. Then the station's gossip hasn't talked to her partner about their cocker spaniel not being on its leash even though it's mandatory now."

"Though entertaining, that's not really what I was looking for." Kira straightened up further. "I was thinking more...dramatic. Like a change in personality, someone who's no longer reliable, someone's who's changed."

"Our only camerawoman used to joke around with everyone until a few days ago. She doesn't even bother talking anymore." Sammy gave a dry laugh. "Thank goodness for that."

That was the only bit that was true. Cadence Morris was as lively as a little kid, and for whatever reason, she no longer was.

Kira looked away from Sammy, pursing her lips, seemingly taking in the office before looking back at her. "Is there anything, девушка, anything useful you can tell me?"

Sammy blinked, unfamiliar with the foreign word. "Just what language is that?"

"Russian," Kira replied in an instant.

Sammy almost smirked. "Really? Sorry, Kirova, but I don't know Russian." There was a hint of sarcasm on the word 'sorry.'

Sammy renamed this woman in front of her as Rush. But she wasn't about to call her that to her face.

"I don't care," Rush said plainly, eyes sparking.

This time the smirk made it to Sammy's face. "You clearly don't understand the concept of sarcasm. My sorry was not sincere. And neither do I care about whatever reason you want to know about the people here. I don't deal with them."

"I know."

Still smirking, Sammy put her hand to the door handle. "Well, if you know all that, then I suggest you ask Brown to have someone else help you. I've got better things to do than squeal on people I care absolutely nothing about. Now, if that's all Miss Kirova, I need to go back to work."

Her smirk disappeared and returned to its neutral position. "Is that all?"

"Have you seen or heard anything strange? Voices? Noises?"

Sammy raised an eyebrow. "Unless you count noises from the Unlived Forest, нет." Then she thought of the figure going into the woods. "And some kid going into that forest, but lots of people have been claiming to see that happening."

"So, you do know Russian," Rush stated with a nod of her head.

"Only with no. Other than that, bupkis."

Rush nodded again. "I believe that's all."

Sammy opened the door, then waved while wriggling her fingers. "Goodbye!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rush turned on her heel, leaving Mr. Brown's office. "Goodbye," she said curtly.

Sammy exited the office, poker face still in place as she watched the annoying Russian-speaking woman turn the corner. When Rush disappeared, Sammy frowned and muttered, "Thanks for wasting my time, you evil witch."

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