It was quiet in Bri's home.

Unnervingly quiet. No ambient noises to be heard anywhere. No wind rustling or birds tweeting through her open window, no faint footsteps of her parents downstairs as they went about their after-work routine, she couldn't even hear her own clock ticking on her wall.

She shook her head and poked at her ear. She kicked the metal trash can under her desk against the wall.

Clang.

Okay, she wasn't going deaf just yet. She picked up her phone from where it was charging next to her notebook. 25%; she'd plugged it in when it was dying at a full 4%. Her brother would have a heart attack at the thought of letting it get below 60.

Her brother that still hadn't messaged her back, no response to her questioning if he needed a ride home. He usually got one from a friend in the drama club, but sometimes asked her to request Austin drive him home. Those days Austin would go all the way to the high school to pick up Colin, and consequently Seek as well since he was there, and they'd both join their family for dinner.

Seek would also help her with her homework, something she desperately needed right now. Bri sighed and locked her phone, twirling her pencil around and scratching at her wooden desk. Concentration wasn't her strong suit when she had to sit still.

Especially when it was so abnormally silent.

She switched on the old radio sitting on the corner of her desk atop a wood shelf dedicated to it. It was indeed old, barely picked up FM signals outside her city, but it was cool looking and worked so it was good for her. She fiddled with the knobs, overlooking the static and sharp but soft shrills when the frequencies contrasted.

At least, that's what Austin said that was. Bri chose to believe him.

"-dispatchers have rang in."

She abruptly stopped her fiddling and grinned. It must have tuned into a news station at the right time. Crime reports would take her mind off Physics and give herself something else to think about while waiting.

"Citizens out on the roads should be cautious and bypass the main highway leading by the high school. An accident has been reported and the highway is in the process of being closed off."

The giddy quickly wore off, worry swiftly sliding in and taking its place. She glanced at the clock. 4:36PM. Thursday after school clubs ended six minutes ago.

"Unfortunately, it seems one of the students has been reported at the heart of the accident."

"Oh no! Do they know what happened?"

Bri's arms locked up and her fingers twitching around the tuning knob. Why did that voice sound like...Seek?

"Apparently a tragic, but accidental, car wreck. The poor boy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to witnesses, he was leaving his drama club when it happened."

"Such a dutiful student then, it seems."

Seek's voice rang in her head, jolting around like a feverish tennis ball. She wanted to jump up, yell for her parents, grab her phone and call someone. Anyone. Austin to go find him, Seek to ask why the heck he was speaking on the radio instead of checking on her brother, the police to ask what was even going on. But she couldn't move.

Her blood ran cold and the feeling in her legs shriveled out. She couldn't feel her fingers, only the pricks of wood jabbing into her palms signaled her gripping the edge of her desk but she made no conscious effort to do so. They haven't said a name, she reminded herself. It could be anyone from school.

"What's that? Reports are coming in with the possible identity of the victim. 17 year old, Colin Prince-Moon, has sadly not survived the accident.

As if to prove her wrong. As if it heard her internal pleas to hear any other name, the radio had turned itself up and forced its broadcast through her jumbled hearing. Everything else was white noise compared to the shattering words echoing in her ears. Colin Prince. Colin Moon. Accident. Not survived.

All of Bri's muscles sprang to life at the same time. She banged every bone on every furniture in her room on her way out her bedroom door, tears starting to flood in her eyes in abundance. With a shaking hand, she threw open the door and rushed into the hall-

-running straight into her brother.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Colin laughed and caught Bri's arms, steadying her. "Where's the freaky cartoon cat? Actually, I'm pretty sure it was outside with Seek-

"Colin!" Bri cut him off, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight. He just barely had time to hug her back before she pulled away to look him over. "Are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

"What do you mean? I'm not hurt." He gazed down at his arms that still held onto hers. "At least I don't think I am."

"I heard on the radio you got in an accident!" Bri exclaimed. "You were at school and you never texted me back about needing a ride home-"

Colin blinked at her. "Uhh, what are you talking about? We're," he said slowly," not at home, Bri."

"Huh?" Bri looked over Colin's shoulder and everything behind him expanded, the large room opened up her eyes and she blinked. She saw the high ceiling, the open kitchen and living room filled with oddities. The hallway they were in wasn't even a hallway, the bedroom door opened right into the dining room."Oh, right."

"Are-are you okay? Guys there's something wrong with Bri!"

"No, no, I'm fine Colin-"

Austin ran up the basement stairs, face contorted into panic. "What's wrong with Bri?"

"Nothing!"

"She said she heard me dying!"

"I didn't hear you dying, I heard-"

"Colin's dying?!" Seek came screeching into the kitchen.

Bri's heart leapt into her throat at his voice. Such a dutiful student. She shook her head, feebly attempting to eradicate the audio memory racking her brain. "It's-it's nothing. It was just a nightmare." She patted her brother's arms in what she hoped was seen as a joking manner and forced a smile on her face.

Colin furrowed his eyebrows, looking on the verge of freaking out even more. "Are you sure? Your face is completely pale. Do you need some makeup or something?"

It was a ridiculous suggestion. But her brother was scared and she wasn't about to admit she was too. It had felt too...real to be just a dream, but what else could it have been? She could still hear the broadcast in her head, the cut up wood of her desk under her hands, the scrunched up atmosphere her room gave off.

Bri laughed and lightly punched Colin's shoulder. "I'm fine! All the excitement lately has just made me more tired than usual."

Seek snorted from his new seat atop the kitchen island. "I'd say, you slept right through breakfast!"

"Do you want me to fix you something?" Austin eagerly asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Truthfully, Bri didn't feel like she could eat anything. But Colin was still visibly shaking and she couldn't have that. "Sure! You choose." Might as well throw him a bone to get him off the scent of her deteriorating mindset.

"Breakfast burger it is." Austin grinned widely at her and went out onto the back porch, grabbing a bag from Seek's helped out hand as he walked past.

Seek hopped off the island and stretched his arms up over his head. "I guess someone should stay out there with him, just in case." Any explanation went unneeded.

"Wait, Seek!" Bri said, stopping her friend in his tracks. "Before you go out, quick question... Were you ever part of the school's radio club or anything like that?"

"Ahh," he drew out thoughtfully, "I don't think our school has that. I mean we have an A/V club but that's more Austin's thing. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Seek gave her a wierd look but merely shrugged and left out the open door.

Colin had already dropped his arms back to his sides but still hovered close by. "You sure you're okay, Bri? I don't think I've seen you that freaked out since we were kids."

And that's how it was going to stay. Bri waved him off. "I told you I'm fine. I'm probably just hungry, so Austin better be fast with that burger."

Colin's face soothed over with relief and Bri was glad she and brother had one thing in common: lying convincingly through their teeth. For him, it was pushed into acting; for her, it was used to trick her overly anxious sibling and friends. It was just her luck that the people closest to her were all scaredy cats.

Scratch scratch. Rrreoooow!

The noise screamed from the front door, muffled through the oak but still prominent enough to clearly fill up the room. Colin yelped and hid behind Bri, peeking his head over her shoulder and cowering. "What was that?"

Bri rolled her eyes and stepped away. "It's just Cartoon."

He laughed nervously. "I-I knew that."

Bri wandered over to the island and leaned over it to look through the porch doors, her brother joining her on the other side. "Seek! Bring your cat inside if you're going to keep it!" Bri called out.

Seek poked his head back inside. "What are you talking about? He's out here with me and Austin."

"And sitting on the grill!" Austin yelled. They heard something clatter onto metal and Austin hissed. "You're going to get cooked if you don't move out of the way."

Colin froze and slowly ducked down behind the kitchen island. He gazed up at her, eyes wide. "Bri?"

"Leeet's not think about it too hard."

"Heh heh, right..."

(AN: I'm trying a different writing style with this book, one that I find fitting for the tone of the series. Let me know how you feel about it!)