A horde of students poured out Toliver Cathedral and in the midst of that chatty crowd was Isabeth. Her boisterous ponytail danced in the rare humid breeze and her spaghetti-strapped shoulders were sunken. Kevin's memorial was supposed to lift spirits but all it did was depress her more. She couldn't wait to leave, board the plane and get home.

   Yes, she was going home to attend Kevin's funeral but she would be away from campus, out of Kyren and maybe...just maybe her nightmares of John Fulton wouldn't follow her. In her bedroom, with her parents' room downstairs maybe she would get a good night's sleep. She desperately needed another one. The last time she had a full eight hours of terror-free rest was in Benny's hospital room and going back there was out of the question.

    "Look." Fiona swatted Isabeth's arm then pointed. "What is she doing?"

     Fiona broke into a run and Isabeth chased her. They weaved through huddles of students and classmates on the sidewalk then zipped around cars rolling through the parking lot. Their feet stopped in front of the all-black Escalade.

     "What's going on?" Fiona asked while Isabeth caught her breath.

Harper unfolded her arms as she weakly pushed herself off the SUV, "My mom and Astrid think this campus is too dangerous." She air quoted then pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head.

    Isabeth could tell her rosy-eyed friend had been crying. "Are you okay?" She stroked Harper's shoulder while they watched Dunphy load Harper's belonging in the back of the SUV.

     "I don't want to go back to Switzerland," Harper whined. "I like America." She dropped her head.

    "Come on...it won't be that bad." Isabeth squeezed Harper's shoulder. She looked to Fiona for a little help.

    "You'll get to go to Zurich on the weekend." Fiona offered with a shrugged.

    "And what can I do in Zurich," Harper asked with narrowed eyes.

    "I don't know." Fiona shrugged her shoulders again. "Never been."

   Isabeth frowned at Fiona then rolled her eyes at the girl. Dunphy slammed the rear door closed and Harper groaned like a wounded puppy.

     "Sven's there." Isabeth ignored the bitter taste in her mouth that arose every time she spoke his name. "He's your favorite cousin."

     "Not really." Harper pouted. "Dagny is."

    "Dagny's there!" Isabeth concurred. "And so is Preston! You love Preston."

     The utterance of the boy's name brought a smile to Harper's face.

     "We all love Preston." Fiona smiled a little bigger than her friend. "Can I come with you?"

     "Simmer down girl," Harper said. "My homie only has eyes for one girl." She wiggled her eyebrows at Isabeth.

      Isabeth shook her head, "No, thank-you. You will not play matchmaker with me again."

     "You said Sven was hot." Harper pointed her finger in Isabeth's face.

    Fiona nodded with a cheeky grin on her mug, "You did."

    "Well.... sometimes awful gifts are beautifully wrapped." Isabeth professed as she waved back at Tinsley cruising by in a convertible.

      Dunphy cranked up the SUV and Harper looked back at him being forbidden a view since the windows were heavily tinted.

    "Well, that's my cue girls." Harper smiled warily before giving them each their very own hug.

    Isabeth watched Harper rolled away en route to Europe wondering how things were going to change since the whimsical girl would be there when she got back. A minute later, Isabeth hugged Fiona bye and promised to call when her plane landed so they could grab a coffee at Battery Acid.

    A couple of hours later the Ovien plane landed and a smile formed effortlessly on Isabeth's face. She loved Los Angeles. It was her birthplace but Evening occupied a special corner in her heart. The sleepy town was just a stone's throw from Boston with curved roads and woods of orange and red trees in autumn. It was the home of millionaires and billionaires along with the affluent middle class that tried to keep up. It was mostly known by those able to throw away thousands on a mortgage with sailboats floating in Longfell Harbor. The media and social climbers described it as the town where Ferraris and Rolls Royces were parked outside of your local Prada but to Isabeth is was peace and happiness rolled up and labeled Heaven on Earth.

    The limo eased to a stop in front of a Gilded Age, shingle-style estate. The limo door opened and Isabeth placed her ballet flats onto the graveled courtyard.

    "Ms. Ovien, welcome home!" A beautiful copper tone middle-age woman orated with a slight Haitian accent.

     "Glad to be home, Odette." Isabeth beamed. She wanted to go in for a hug, wrap her arms around the lady's waist but she could hear her grandmother saying don't fraternize with the help. 

Fortunately, Isabeth didn't view Odette as the help. She'd knew the graying woman since she wore petticoats and ruffled socks. Isabeth hooked her arm around Odette's as the woman led them through the double doors felling instantly comfortable and at ease. 

    Home, Isabeth thought to herself as she stepped in the entryway. Even though no one but the staff had been there since December, the place still looked lived in. The checkered floor was polished so thoroughly, Isabeth could see her reflection. Soft jazz wafted through the sun-soaked rooms and peonies floated in vases throughout the common areas visible to Isabeth's tired eyes.

    "Your parents aren't home, yet. Their flight was delayed and they won't arrive until tomorrow morning." Odette ordered a young man, Isabeth hadn't seen before to take her bags to her room with one shift hand gesture. "Therefore, you're Uncle Baldwin and Aunt Jade invited you to dinner and made the guestroom up for you." Isabeth scratched her temple with a light sigh and Odette knew the meaning of the subtle gesture. "Or you could take the jet to Manhattan, you're Aunt Tamika finished renovated the penthouse."

    Isabeth let Odette's arm go, "No. I'll stay with Aunt Jade." She knew it was her Aunt who invited her. There was no way her Uncle was home by suppertime during a workday. "I haven't seen little Logan since December. I'm due for a visit." She told while climbing the stairs.

    "I'll let the driver know," was the last thing Isabeth heard as she reached the top step.

     Isabeth's room was in the right-wing of the house and it was just like she left it, only the flowers resting atop of the dresser had been changed. No more were they white freesias but calla lilies.

     She could feel her bundled neck muscles untangle as she kicked off her flats and felt the chill of the wood floor. Sunlight leaked through the cracks of her bay windows bouncing off the wardrobe mirror in the corner. She strode across the room that was the size of a small apartment and collapsed on the bed. She fanned her arms out on the bed fit for a queen and her hand hit something stiff resting on her pillow. She held it in front of her face viewing her name in elegant calligraphy. It was an envelope. She flipped it over and tore it open. She pulled a single piece of paper and undid the trifold. The same calligraphy on the envelope was on the page. It was short but it wasn't sweet:

Fear and Terror

Chaos and Strife

We bring you thee

Dread and Disdain

Death and Despair
                                                                                                                          
You have been summoned to Poe Woods

I know you know what lies there

Be there on the first hour of Saturday

     Isabeth's heartbeat quickened and her throat went dry. Was this some joke? It had to be. She tried to psych herself out but the little voice in her mind told her this was no laughing matter.

Should Isabeth be worry or is this just a prank?

Or has the fun begun?