Ally, her boyfriend, Derek Ellen, her BFF, Roxie Rio, and her little brother, Ricky, all were enjoying a cool summer day during June. Ally was trying to figure out who had flirted with Roxie (since all the boys do) while Ricky was trying to prove to Derek that he had figured out the last digit of Pi.

"It's four! Derek, it's four!" he claimed over and over again.

"Alright, alright, it's four! You win!" he joked. "Well, Ally? Who's Roxie's boyfriend this time?"

"Well there's Jonathan, Anthony, Oswald and Xavier. They've ALL asked me out," Roxie replied. She had long, curly red hair, dark eyes, and a beautiful voice.

"And who are you planning to accept?" Ally asked.

Roxie described each guy. Jonathan was a tall, brunette basketball player. Anthony was a red-haired, grey-eyed, quiet and strange creep. Xavier was a tall, blue-eyed hunk and Oswald was a short nerd with thick, round glasses.

"Well we know who's crossed off the list," Derek remarked.

"Yeah, Oswald sounds like a tosser, and maybe even Anthony," Ally told Roxie.

"Actually, Oswald's really, really smart. I don't just mean in science and math. But he loves philosophy a lot. And he's really wise," Roxie said quickly.

Ally and Derek exchanged surprised looks. Well Roxie does love philosophy, Ally thought.

"Well then Anthony's your last choice. He's creepy," Ally shuddered.

"He's mysterious," Roxie said, gazing into space.

"Well who DON'T you like?" Derek asked.

"Well, I guess Jonathan is sort of a jerk, so not him," Roxie said casually. "But how on earth can I forget Xavier? He's so handsome and charming! He always flirts, but in a good, nice way. I will say he's not very intelligent though."

"Everyone has their flaws," Ally said.

Then Mrs. Grey, Ally's mother called for them.

"Mom," Ally said, annoyed, "We're kind of busy right now."

"Well," she sighed in a strange way, "Someone...someone's at the door for you. It's Theo Strange. Good luck."

Ally groaned. Theo was a neighborhood citizen who lived on Black Eye Street, the street of the weird people. Theo was the weirdest of all of them. He not only believed he could predict the future, he believed in aliens, black magic, zombies, and the strangest of all...his loved one. He always talked to his imaginary love, Erika, and he would explode with anger when someone told him she wasn't real. But the scariest part of Theo, was the way he spoke. He had a dreamy, but low voice. Sad, but serious and it floated through the air like a silvery-blue veil, flying on the breeze.

Ally slowly approached the figure in the doorway.

"Ally!" he called worriedly running up to her, "I have...terrible, terrifying news. I've just discovered that...that someone here is going to...die today."

Ignoring his news, she asked, "Is Erika here?"

Insulted, Theo answered, "No! Do you see her here?"

"I never do," Ally mumbled, rolling her gingerbread brown eyes. "Well, thanks for the update, Theo." She started to close the door.

"I'm not playing around, Ally! Please don't be like everyone else! Listen to me!"

Usually Theo would just say, "Glad to help," and leave, but he was serious this time. More serious than he'd ever been.

Ally began to say, "Well, I-"

"All I know is...slippery," he said.

What does that mean? Ally thought.

"What's going on?" Derek marched up to Theo angrily and said, "Leave, Strange!"

Theo's silver eyes narrowed. He glanced at Ally, before slowly walking away without saying another word.

"What'd he say?" Ricky asked eagerly once they were in the backyard again.

"Yes, what did he say?" Roxie interrupted. "I mean, I guess we could get the truth from him since we know he's basically a pathological liar. We already know the truth he gives to us by lying will be obvious as usual. Last time he claimed that the president was moving into our neighborhood! Geez, what a lunatic!"

"I didn't really get that first part, Roxie, but yes he is a lunatic!" Derek said.

"He's not a lunatic! He's smart!" Ricky claimed, standing on a tree stump. He believed every word Theo spoke, because he was into zombies and aliens, and the way Theo spoke to Ricky made Ricky feel special. You shouldn't be concerned for Ricky. He was still just a child, and could not help but believe in the impossible.

"What did he say, Al? Ally?"

She had spaced out. "What? Sorry, I was just thinking about...what he...said."

"Which was?" Derek asked.

Hesitating, she finally said quietly, "He said one of us here is going to die."

"Well, everyone will die eventually," Roxie pointed out.

"Today. He said today," Ally said, raising her voice.

"Are you okay?" Derek laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Theo. Now that I think about it, he's always been so..." She was going to say "serious" but then she realized how silly she was being. "STUPID!" She made everyone jump up from their seats.

* * * *

Sitting down to lunch, Ally and the others munched on their chicken silently. Even Ricky was silent.

"So..." Mrs. Grey said enthusiastically. "How was school today?"

Puzzled, Ally answered, "Mom, it's June. It's sum-"

"Just kidding! Just kidding!" she said giggling.

Ally sort of snickered. She wasn't sure if her mom was actually kidding or not. She was a bit absent-minded.

Ricky started talking about his new toy train set he had received for his birthday, and soon, everyone was back to their normal selves. The thought of someone dying seemed unthinkable.

"So when are we going up to your cabin?" Ally asked Derek.

"The fourth."

"Of which month?"

"July!" Derek answered, surprised by her question.

"Why the fourth of July?" Ally asked smiling.

Laughing, Derek waved his hands saying, "Because of America!"

Roxie's cell phone beeped.

"Roxanne! No electronics at the table!" Mrs. Grey insisted.

"I'm sorry. I'll take it to the bathroom." she hurried away, keeping her eyes glued to her phone.

In the bathroom, Roxie read her text which said, "When can I see you again?"

"Whenever I can leave the house without my parents or overprotective brother being curious about where I'm going," she texted back. She didn't want anyone to know who she was meeting or where she was going.

"Meet me at the dock of Crescent Lake tonight at midnight," read her next text.

"Why is it always midnight?" she texted.

"Because that's how it is in fairy tales! LOL."

Roxie returned to the table grinning. Derek and Ally exchanged curious looks.

After lunch, the group decided to bike to Oak Tree Park to spend the afternoon there. When they arrived, everyone ran around having fun. Ricky pretended his tiny train was a motorcycle he could ride on. They all played tag, hide and seek, and truth or dare. The scariest dare was when Derek dared Roxie to balance on one foot on the highest part of the playground. But Roxy's "truth" was even scarier, for her at least.

Ally asked her, "Why was your text at lunch so important to leave the table for?" Ally had no idea that Roxie would react how she did.

"That's none of your business!!" she snapped, stomping away.

"You have to tell, Roxy!" Ricky shouted after her, as if she was breaking the law.

"Roxie!" Derek shouted after her. Suddenly, Roxie started sprinting toward the woods at the end of the park. Derek, Ally and hurried after her, into the forest. Derek was the fastest sprinter, so he presumed he could catch up to Roxie easily. But the woods were thick and Roxie could get around the trees quickly while Derek struggled to. When they lost sight of her, they decided to split up, Ricky running with Ally since he could keep up with her. Finally, she saw Roxie trying to leap across a ravine. She won't make the jump. But she was about to try. What if...Theo was right?

"Roxie, stop!" Ally sprinted over to her. Roxie was athletic. But the ravine was huge, and the current of the water strong. She turned around and saw Ally. Ally stopped in her tracks and panted, "Roxie don't jump. You won't make that. I'm sorry for asking you stupid questions. I won't. Let's just go home. Who knows what's in this forest."

Roxie was on the edge of the ravine. But she sighed and said, "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over-"

She slipped on the wet ground, and fell. Because of her reflexes, she managed to grab onto the ledge. Ally ran over to her as Roxie cried for help. Derek followed the sound of her voice, as Ricky started crying. Ally grabbed Roxie's arm and started yanking her onto the ledge. But then Ally started slipping off the ledge. This was what Theo had meant by "slippery." But I can't let Roxie die, thought Ally.

Then she realized something. "But someone has to."

"What?" Roxie said, confused. She started slipping out of Ally's grip. Too much. Ally wasn't strong enough. She knew what she had to do to save Roxie.

"Theo was right," she said to Roxie, as she slipped farther from Ally. "He IS right."

"Ally? What do you mean-" Roxie fell out of Ally's hands. But Ally jumped in after her. As soon as she hit the rushing water, Ally saw darkness. It started raining so heavily, the ravine grew more violent and fierce. She couldn't see anything. She didn't know what would become of her.

Derek and Ricky arrived at the bank of the ravine, just as the girls fell in. Panicking, he found Roxie's phone on the ground and called Mrs. Grey. After telling her what was happening, she called the police and a rescue crew to the woods. All Ricky and Derek could do while they waited, was follow where the ravine led, hoping to find their lost friends.

"We found them, Mrs. Grey," a man on the rescue team told her. Derek, his parents, and Roxie's were at the ravine too. The sky was almost cleared of rain clouds. It was dusk. Ricky stared at his toy train, silent.

"Oh my goodness, are they alright? Are they drowned? Can you help them?" Mrs. Grey and Mrs. Rio asked, worriedly.

"We managed to save Miss Rio," the man informed them, as Roxie's parents sighed with relief. "But your daughter, Mrs. Grey...I'm very sorry...she didn't survive."

Mr. Grey stayed silent, as he turned to see the terrified look on his wife's face. She had nothing to say. Only looked over at Ricky, who didn't seem to be listening to anything. How would she ever tell him?

"What was strange about her death," the man went on, "was that she didn't drown. In fact, there was a trail at the edge of the ravine, that led to Miss Grey and Rio's bodies. We did some investigating, and we found that Miss Grey had managed to swim to shore, carrying Miss Rio. She laid her on the ground, and-"

"And what? How did she die?" Derek asked. "If she didn't drown?"

"There was blood on her forehead," the man stated. "And a large rock...in her hand."

"You mean...she committed suicide?" Derek said, quietly.

Mr. Grey's eyes widened. But Mrs. Grey blurted out, "Not my daughter!"

"Well that's what appears to have happened, Mrs. Grey," the rescue man said.

But my daughter, Mrs. Grey thought, would...never do that.

After tears and mourning, every went home. Roxie couldn't help but feel it was all her fault Ally had died. Derek couldn't bear to think about his girlfriend's death. Mr. Grey was too shocked to say anything. He went months without saying more than a few words. Mrs. Grey, though, managed to stay on track to cheer Ricky up. Spoiling him, by buying him more toy trains, more video games, and whatever he wanted. Roxie didn't text any of the boys that liked her. Except for that one mysterious boy she wouldn't tell anyone about. She hadn't forgotten to meet him at midnight that night.

Everyone eventually got out of their depression of Ally's death. But still, no one understood why she had killed herself.

Except for one strange boy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Theo Strange will return.