Four //

I stood in the middle of a deserted road, fog clinging to anything and everything. The trees hung over the road and when I looked up, there were branches above me. The black asphalt ran in a straight line until I couldn't see it anymore, and it was then I recognized it as the road into town.

It was dark as midnight and just as cold. That's not why I was shivering.

There were these things that began to appear, seeming to rise out of the white fog surrounding me. They were everywhere, with horns sticking out of their temples. The horns were twisted, like a unicorn's. Elegant, pretty, but dangerous. Deadly, even. I was scared to my core of these creatures, my heart leaping out of my throat.

They swarmed the surrounding fields, looking devilishly beautiful. They walked towards me with a deliberate slowness, and it was only when they got close that I saw their faces. Blank. Expressionless. With never ending black pits for eyes.

RUN! The not-so-little voice in my head screamed at me. I tried, forcing my muscles to move. They wouldn't. I couldn't. I was paralysed.

They were on the road now and my breaths turned to gasps. I screamed but nothing came out, only air as fog in front of me. Not a single sound.

"Ellianna." Someone said my name. The voice was deep, and soothing, and familiar.

"It's okay," it said. I believed it. The white horned creatures started to disappear and in their place stood Hale. Or at least he looked like Hale.

Help! I wanted to scream. My lips curled around the word but nothing came out.

"It's okay." It was his voice but his lips didn't move. It was in my head. As he said this more of the creatures fell, their bodies disintegrating to ash before they hit the ground.

But then he too vanished, leaving me facing the remaining beast. It crept closer, its lips twisting up at the corners. It was going to kill me. This was the end.

It slid down to a crouch, one hand on the pavement with its front teeth barred.

My breathing stopped.

My heart stopped.

The creature lurched.

I jolted awake, my heart racing faster than a cheetah. My eyes frantically scanned my surroundings. I was in my bed. My room. It was dim, but not dark. The sun was starting to rise.

I kept my back glued to my headboard so I could see the whole loft, in fear one of the things from my dreams were here.

They weren't, but Hale was.

He stood in the corner with his hands outstretched to me, fingers curled and stuck in an unnatural way. On his wrist was a bracelet, but it wasn't. A wristband would be a more fitting description. Thick, black and engraved with gray writing in another language. Not a script I'd ever seen.

One side of his mouth lifted into what seemed like a half smirk, and then he was gone.

I closed my eyes and shook the thought away. It wasn't real. It was just my imagination. He wasn't really here.

I was going insane.

I needed sleep but my mind was racing. I had to clear it.

I snatched up my running gear from the desk chair and threw them on, slipping into my sneakers and running out the door. I let my legs carry me wherever they pleased, pushing myself so hard that all I could think about was getting enough oxygen to my lungs. No nonsense.

I ended up in the forest.

For all the years I'd lived in this town, I'd never dared go in. Not with the ghost stories of my childhood. There was a dirt track that led off the concrete footpath and into the trees, disappearing a few metres back.

Today, fog hung low over the dense overgrowth and the birds whistled. I slowed to a walk with the decision to explore, panting until I got my breath back.

It was quite beautiful. The trees were tall and green and covered in moss while the shrubs were superbly overgrown, reaching onto the dirt track.

On some of the trees were carvings, writing that seemed so familiar but I was sure I'd not seen it before. It was a different language. It was beautiful. I wished I could read it.

Then I ran headfirst into something. Too soft for a tree but too tall for a bush.

"I'm sorry." It was a person. Their hands were on my arms to steady me. I regained my balance and took a step back, frowning.

A guy about my age was standing in front of me, hair so blonde it was nearly white with eyes so dark they were nearly black.

"I should have been looking where I was going. You see, I just moved here and thought I'd get a look around, but I didn't expect anyone to be out. I'm truly sorry."

I shrugged, brushing the non-existent dirt off my shorts. "I wasn't looking either."

A flawless smile lit his face on fire as he held out his hand.

"I'm Arun."

I took his hand and shook it. "Ellie. How old are you?"

"Just turned eighteen last month. I'll be starting at the local high school on Monday," he explained. He seemed like such a bright person, so filled with life. It was almost contagious.

"You'll be seeing more of me then," I laughed, shifting my weight to the other foot. He mimicked my actions.

"I was hoping I would," he admitted with a grin, before holding up his phone. "I've got to get back before my mum wakes up and freaks that I'm not there."

"Okay. It was nice meeting you," I told him honestly. It was rare that I enjoyed meeting people. I wanted to frown at my own behaviour.

"Same to you. I'll see you on Monday."

He walked away, tapping on his phone until he was out of sight. It was rare that I liked people upon meeting them but Arun seemed like too good of a person not to. He was like a male version of Jocelyn. A huge change from his competitor in the new student category. Arun didn't make me reconsider my entire life, morals and beliefs.

I headed home with a cleared head and a newfound excitement for school on Monday morning.

Lynn didn't get home until lunch time but she brought presents from her trip to the city. She loved to spoil me and I was grateful for all she had done, but truth be told I didn't need it. I just didn't need all the stuff she got me.

"My darling," are always the first words to come out of her mouth when she returns home, followed closely by the ever expected "I've missed you", and a kiss on either cheek. She was posh. I guessed that naturally came with money.

"You too," I said as she led the way to the kitchen.

"You must come to the city next time, Ellianna. It's so much fun!"

I restrained from rolling my eyes or responding with a sarcastic comment. I limited myself to the basic "I'm sure it is", said through a fake smile.

Lynn was this sturdy woman who was about my height, taller because she always wore heels. She had graying blonde hair that she always wore in an articulate ballerina bun, and thick makeup that made her look ten years younger.

She handed me a lamp. "For your bedroom," she explained, a hopeful gleam in here eyes. It was black with striking gold leaves painted on it. It was my sort of lamp, much more useful than the statue flamingo she bought me last time that was sitting in the back of my wardrobe gathering dust.

"Thanks Mum," I hid my wince. She wasn't my real mother, nor did I want to pretend she was. I once called her by her name and she got angry, then upset and then started to cry hysterically. Emotions were not my forte, so I worked hard to never do it again.

"You like it?" Her gray eyes were brimming with joy.

"I love it." I hardly had to lie. I didn't love anything. To me, that word was overused and lost it's true meaning when said for things such as a basic lamp. You can't love a lamp. You love people.

"Good, good," she squeezed my shoulder. "Now I'd love to stay and catch up but I'm having lunch with Mildred. I brought you some food and I'll leave it right here." She placed a plastic bag on the bench. "I love you, my dear," she said, and then was gone. The door clicked shut a moment later.

I liked being alone. I was good at it from being left that way for so long and so often. That's why it was weird when Jocelyn came, because she wouldn't let us not be friends. I was still adjusting to it.

Inside the plastic bag was this tofu garbage that Lynn "adored" but didn't understand it wasn't for everyone. Or anyone, that I'd met. I dumped it in the outside rubbish bin and made myself a salad sandwich.

There were five hours until Jo would be here to pick me up for the carnival, so I took my plate up to my room and sat myself down at the desk. I rummaged in the drawers for my charcoal pencils and my thick black sketch book, along with the rag I used to clean my hands.

It's what I wanted to do with my life. Not just sketching, but art in general. My plan was to go to university and do my Bachelor of Arts, then further down the track open up my own art gallery to sell my drawings.

This was my comfort zone.

I tied my hair up in a bun and put music on, opening my sketch book and losing track of time.

"Knock knock," was my alarm, telling me it was time to put the sketch away. I groaned for many reasons, the main one being that I didn't want to stop. I had done the outline of half a face, split vertically down the middle. I was about to start the eye but instead, I locked it back in my drawer.

"It's seven and you're not even dressed yet!" Jocelyn was at the opening to the loft in her usual skirt, jacket and boots. I was still in my running gear from this morning.

"I got distracted," I shrugged and wiped my hands on the rag, shoving the charcoal in the top drawer.

"Well can you focus for the next twenty minutes so that you can get ready? Zeke's going to be there soon and I want to be there before him so he doesn't think I'm stalking him."

"But you are," I pointed out, rummaging around in my wardrobe for my high waisted black jeans.

"I'm not stalking, I'm investigating." She defended herself, her lips jutting out.

I grabbed my white crop and black hoodie and rolled my eyes. "We're going to the carnival for the sole reason of seeing Zeke. Seeing what he's doing. I'm pretty sure that's the definition of stalking."

I left her grumble to herself as I showered, leaving my hair dry so that I didn't have to brush it again. That'd be a pain and not that I cared that much, but it left my hair thick and poofy. Id rather it only be thick.

I laced up my black Doc Martens before we left in the cold winter's evening. Jocelyn's car was sitting in the driveway, looking as depressed as a car possibly can. She called it Eeyore; because it's gray, slow and hardly leaves her garage.

"Eeyore needs to go in for a service," she made small talk, patting her car on the hood before climbing in. The seats were warm with fluffy gray seat covers on them. I'd rather sit in here the night on my phone as Jo stalked Zeke, but I already knew what she would say. No, you have to come for moral support. That's what friends do!

Friends were stupid if that's what they did. I guess I was stupid, otherwise I wouldn't be on the way to a place I hated.

"Does that mean he'll break down and we'll get stuck in the freezing cold all night?" I then smirked. "Or will you use your shithouse car as an excuse to get a lift from Zeke?"

"Hey! I would not do that!"

"Stop lying to yourself," I laughed. If the positions were reversed I'd have been scowling but because they weren't, she was simply smiling.

"Whatever. I wouldn't, though."

"Sure," I mumbled, reaching over to turn up the heater. It rumbled and spluttered and coughed, and then finally started to radiate what could hesitantly be called heat.

We pulled into a car park two blocks over where the traffic was backed up to. The carnival was only open on Friday and Saturday of the last weekend of each month and every weekend in summer. They were the two nights to get out of the house for young people, as it was finally something to do in our small town.

"How long are we planning on staying?" I asked. The wind was biting on my neck, raising goosebumps all down my skin. I cursed myself for not bringing a beanie or gloves and instead pulled my sleeves down to cover my hands.

"I was thinking a couple of hours! The whole school is going to be here so it might be fun to socialize." Might be fun? Socialising? They did not belong in the same sentence.

"Sure," I shrugged, looking both ways before crossing the road. It was almost dark and the full moon was glinting off any and all reflective surfaces. It was pretty. Eerie. Haunting.

Then the carnival came into view, pop music filling the air with a hundred different sounds from games overlaying it. The music from the clowns was the most evident and the one that made me want to crawl under a rock and hide. Jo's mission was to stalk Zeke. Mine was to avoid the clowns at all cost.

"This is so exciting! Come on!" She exclaimed, linking her arm through mine and running towards the place I wanted to run from. What had I gotten myself into?

We went straight for the centre of the carnival where the rotunda stood; old, with peeling white paint and holes in the roof. Vines were curled around the beams, strangling them with little leaves and littler flowers.

"I can't see him anywhere," Jo's voice made me turn. Her lips jutted out and her arms were crossed.

"Of course you can't. The whole town is here. You really think you'd be able to see him? You just have to go searching."

"Oh right. You're coming, yeah?" She started off on the grass, pausing to wait for me. She was determined and I would only slow her down.

"Nah. I think I'll just wonder around. If I see him I'll text you."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, shoving my hands into my pockets. "I am. I'll meet you back here in an hour and we'll figure out what to do."

"Not that we won't see each other in the mean time," she laughed and then turned and walked away, swallowed by the crowd in seconds. I was on my own.

The problem with being alone is that I had nothing to do. The music was blaring from the rotunda so I couldn't hear much else, which made it a good place to sit and think. It was exactly what I didn't want to do.

Thinking meant thoughts and thoughts meant creepy weird shit that's been going on since Thursday. I'd probably have brought the nightmare from last night into my consciousness and that wasn't something I'd want to relive. Horned creatures trying to kill me, deserted road, midnight. No thank you.

I ventured out into the sea of people, feeling like a grain of sand on the ocean floor. The other grains were ninety percent from school and ten percent from families of the kids at school. I knew almost everyone. No. Almost everyone knew me.

"Hey Ellie!"

"How's it going Ellie?"

"What's up Ellie?"

"Having fun Ellie?"

Small talk upon more small talk. Who cared? My tolerance for it grew wore so thin as the hour continued and I ended up in front of the Veggies for Vegans van, looking at the menu because a) I didn't have to wait in line because b) there wasn't one. It was like the vegan van had a repulsion radius that ventured five feet. No one dared enter it. Except me, and this other dude that was lurking just on the outside of the hazardous circle. He was chatting with a friend on the other side so I didn't pay attention.

I turned my attention back to the menu board and sighed. A cup of peas, a cup of corn, a salad with lettuce and tomato, soy icecream (with new vegan nutella flavouring!). These were my options. There was a reason I wasn't vegan.

"How can I help you, ma'am?" I craned my neck to see the middle-aged hippy-looking guy serving me. Tie-dyed shirt. Dreadlocks to his ribs.

"Uh." I tried not to grimace. "Can I please have a cup of corn?"

"Yes ma'am, you can. Small, medium or large?" He held up two plastic cups of different sizes, one with an L on it and one with an S.

"Small please," I said, then dug money out of my wallet.

The dreadlock dude came back with my cup of corn that was a smidge bigger than a shot glass. "That'll be five dollars thanks, ma'am."

I was paying five dollars for a cup of corn. I didn't even like corn that much. I handed the money over and he exchanged my ten dollar note.

"Have a good evening!" He called as I was walking away. I took a spoonful of corn and smiled at him, sinking back into the crowd. I nodded to people I knew as I chewed on the cold corn kernels. This sucked.

I forgot why I was here until I got a text.

Jocelyn: I didn't find him, he found me! tlk deets on way home but meet up at 9:30 instead. That ok?

Ellie: Yeh, ok. Have fun.

I should have brought my own car.

Something grabbed my arm and pulled, just as I had scooped up a spoonful of corn. It fell to the ground and I scowled, about to cuss out whoever had made me drop my shitty food.

"I'm so sorry!" The voice rang a bell and my eyes flicked up, seeing the guy I'd met on my run this morning. The blonde/white haired guy. What was his name? "I only meant to get your attention, I didn't realize you were holding something! I'll buy you another."

His almost black eyes seemed almost apologetic so I just shrugged, brushing a kernel off my jeans. "Don't worry about it."

"No, really. Let me buy you another," he insisted, a smile on his lips. He had the posture of an old man - a noticeable arch in his back - but he carried himself like a professional businessman.

"It's okay. Really. I didn't like it that much in the first place. You've just given me an excuse to throw it out without having the guilty conscience of starving kids in Africa. I should be thanking you."

He laughed, holding his arm in the direction of the rotunda. There was a bin at the corner and it would be empty, so if the guy wanted to talk it'd probably work. Apart from the music.

Did his name start with M? Or was it A? I think it was A.

I led the way, pushing through the people until I got to the entry way. The bin was overflowing but I added to it anyway, making sure it wouldn't fall out or blow away in the wind.

He took a seat on the bench and I sat on the one opposite him, crossing my legs.

"I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?" He asked. It definitely started with A. Alistair? Andrew? Ari?

"No. My best friend is here somewhere but she's busy. What are you doing here?" The wind picked up a notch and it whistled through the rotunda. I shivered.

"I saw the lights as I was driving home and figured I'd come check it out. Thought I might meet some new people and all before school."

"Good idea," I nodded, trying to figure him out. He was charming, good looking, and normal, it seemed. "Wha-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just realized I left my friend waiting. I'll see you on Monday." He was gone within seconds. He seemed in a rush to get somewhere, or to get away from here. The reason was a mystery to me.

"Fancy seeing you here." The only response I had to that voice was a shiver. I slowly turned to the doorway of the rotunda, seeing a lean, tall black-haired boy stand, hand curling around the beam. His fingers were rigid, taking me right back to this morning when I dreamt I saw him in my room.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"You seem surprised." It didn't seem like his scene, of course I was surprised.

"You keep popping up everywhere," was all I said, not wanting to go back to my dream. I shivered again.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for a friend."

"Want to play a game?"

"Where are you going with this?"

He grinned, holding a hand out to me. His fingers were smooth now, no jarred joints. I still didn't take it.

"Just come with me."

I didn't have anything to lose. I pushed myself up and followed Hale through the people lining up for games.

Then I heard the song. The clowns. The game. Hale's smirk, as if he somehow knew. "Let's play."

I was frozen in my tracks as I locked eyes with one of them. It's head was rotating from left to right, slowly as part of the game. It's mouth was wide open, but still grinning like a maniac. Pale. Made up. Terrifying.

"Two shots on the clowns. One for me, one for her." He laughed, sliding the white ping pong balls into my hand, curling my fingers over them.

I found my voice and unfroze, shoving the ping pong balls back at him. "No way. You do it."

"Scared?" It was the same tone as in English when he asked the same question. This time, my answer was different.

"Shut up and take them." He happily obliged, turning to the clowns. I wanted to look away but didn't want to have my back to them, so instead I faced towards Hale, keeping my eyes on his body. He rolled his sleeve up to his elbow and I frowned. On his wrist was the same black wristband I'd seen in my dream. Same writing. Same texture. Same thickness. It was the same.

I didn't understand. According to studies you can only dream of something you have seen before, whether you recall seeing it or not. I distinctly remembered Hale only having his sleeves down, so if he had always been wearing it I couldn't have seen.

It didn't make sense.

"For you." Hale's voice brought me out of my thinking cloud, back down to one of those little carnival prizes you win that break within a day of getting them in his hand. The same one with the band.

"Um, thanks?" It was a watergun, the type that would join the statue flamingo in the back of my cupboard. I pocketed it and then started to walk away, not from him but from the clowns. He didn't stop me but fell into step beside me.

"Where's your friend?" He asked, tapping his hand against his jeans.

"With a guy," I grumbled, reminded that I had nothing to do and no way of getting home until she decided she'd had enough.

"You don't seem like you want to be here."

"I don't."

"Shall we?" He motioned to the parking lot, his eyes gleaming under the moon.

I shook my head. "I can't. I have to wait for Jocelyn."

He stopped walking, looking down into my eyes with a slight frown. I shivered at the proximity.

"You can. Why won't you?"

He could see right through me. I took a step back, biting my lip. "I don't know you. You could be an axe murderer and offering me a ride could be your elaborate scheme to get me alone and kill me."

Hale's lips spread into a grin that encompassed his entire face. He slightly resembled the Joker. "That's hardly an elaborate scheme. Besides, if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't be as stupid to have so many witnesses. Look around." He gestured with his head to the crowd we were on the edge of. "So many people. So many who could notice that I was the one you left with. Also, Jocelyn would know, because you're going to text her."

"Am I?" I felt like it should have worried me that he had thought so much about how to get someone alone without witnesses. It didn't. I wasn't worried, or scared in the slightest. Maybe something was wrong with me, not Hale.

"You are. And then I'm going to take you home."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Jo.

Ellie: hey. sorry can't be bothered waiting. not about u, just getting a lift home with my eng. partner. talk tomorrow. hope it goes well x

The response came before I walked five steps into the car park.

Jocelyn: ok. sry 4 dragging u w me. we'll tlk bout Zeke later.and ur mysterious ride w hale. gnight x

"Ready?" Hale asked. He was a few steps in front of me, standing beside a slick black motorcycle. I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Yeah. Let's go."

I hopped on behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle, knowing that that was the only way I'd be able to stay on. He chuckled, kicking up the stand.

"You're going to need to hold on tighter."

I did, and then we were off.

He drove fast, weaving in and out of parked cars and moving trucks and everything in between. The wind was harsh and cold but it didn't matter. It was exhilarating.

He stopped in the main street of town, pulling over to the side of the road. "Am I just heading to Dumont drive?"

If Lynn was home, which was both probable and highly improbable, she would shoot me dead for riding on a motorcycle. I didn't want to take that risk.

"Just go to Olympia street. I'll walk from there."

"It's the bike, isn't it?" He asked, amusement in his tone.

I didn't answer, so he pulled away from the curb and drove the short drive to Olympia street. He parked in front of the old playground, the swings hanging dormant in the black night.

I climbed off the bike, raking my hair through with my fingers. It wouldn't help. It would still have been a matted mess.

"I enjoyed that ride more than I usually do," Hale grinned, slowly getting of his bike and onto the footpath.

I didn't ask what he meant by that. "Well, thank you. I should go."

"Yes. Let's get you home."

"What?" My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up at the boy who had come to stand by my side.

"I'm not letting you walk home by yourself. It's dark and it's late."

A small chuckle escaped my lips as we started to walk. "I can take care of myself. It'll only take a few minutes."

"A lot can happen in a few minutes," was all he said, his voice humorless. We fell into silence, trudging down the deserted street with the courteous few feet distance between us. Not that Hale was at all courteous.

"Can I ask you something?" We'd just turned the corner onto the street before my own and he had slightly turned towards me. A sense of relief washed over me when I realized he was almost smirking.

"Depends what it is."

"Clever," he allowed, resuming tapping on his jeans. It was a rhythm I was unfamiliar with. I would have guessed he was a drummer only he wasn't. "Why are you scared of clowns?"

"That's not something I'm willing to answer," I grumbled, crossing my arms. He knew I was scared of clowns before he took me to them. It felt like he was testing me for something I didn't know I'd applied to. I wanted to damn him to hell for purposefully putting me through that torture. It's like he was a masochistic, and a sneaky one at that.

That circled me back to his wristband, and the confusion it brought with it. How could I have distinctly remembered the colour, texture and detailing if I hadn't seen it before? If it weren't real? But it couldn't have been. Hale wasn't in my room. It was impossible.

I was starting to doubt anything was impossible.

I must have zoned out again, because Hale was staring at me with laughing blue eyes, his mouth quipped up at the side.

"Sorry, what?"

"Do I need to point out that you lose concentration very easily?"

"No you do not."

"Okay. Why were you at the carnival if you didn't want to be there?"

We turned onto Dumont drive, the street sign roughly illuminated by the lamp a few metres down.

I shrugged, kicking a rock with my toe. It clanged against the metal grate and fell through a gap. "Jocelyn had something to do there and asked if I would go to support her. So I did."

He quieted for a minute, the only sound was our feet scraping the concrete. Then he sighed, as if he were relenting to something. "So you are a good person."

"It depends where you're standing."

He rolled his eyes and stopped in front of my house. "You made it home. See? I didn't kill you. You're still very much in one piece."

"Congratulations to me," I said with sarcasm, rocking back on my heels. "I'm going to head inside. Thanks for not killing me."

"You might want to wait a bit before you thank me." He raised his eyebrows quickly before turning to walk away. "Have a good night, Ellie. Don't dream about me too much."

And then he was gone.

***

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying this story. I'm taking this one kind of seriously which means updates are further apart. Besides, I have a busy school/sport life at the moment so writing is unfortunately becoming a lower priority. Happy reading!