mistakes

Hazel wasted more money than she cared to admit on the fair games, especially when she watched Abi win a stuffed panda. She erupted into a cheer as the can flew off the shelf. Hazel stepped up next, confident there was no way she would miss the cans given she made the baseball team but each time the beanbag flew past the cans barely touching them. The only thing she won was a keyring, which she proudly displayed on her house keys.

She jumped in the car alongside her best friend, “I know! That was awesome. You should totally try out for the baseball team with a throw like that.” She glanced back at the huge panda on the backseat for a second, “You should give him or her a name.” Her eyes lingered for a little longer as she imagined her new brother or sister sitting alongside the panda, all wide-eyed and buzzed on their way home from the carnival. Hazel hoped she’d be able to win fun prizes for her new sibling in the future, but she’d have to work on her aim. There was a spin in her stomach as she was filled with excitement about the fact she was getting a baby sibling.

Carnivals were always fun for Hazel. Fair games, rides and all the cotton candy in the world. From the moment she stepped into the carnival she would be bouncing from stall to stall like a hyperactive kid and that was before the cotton candy. It was a chance for her to be a kid for a few hours whilst inside those walls. “Best time ever! Did you?” Of course Abi did, she had a stuffed panda sitting on the backseat as a trophy for a day filled with carnival fun.

Radios were always tuned in nowadays, Hazel knew that, but it didn’t stop her from looking down at Abi’s radio when she started to hear the faint sound of white noise in the background. It was switched off, but Hazel had the urge to push the on button as if messing the dials was going to tune into the noise she could hear crackling in her ears. Then she heard Hazel’s voice echoing and she quickly snapped back to reality, “Huh?” She then broke into a short chuckle, realising she had been staring at the radio, “I was just wondering if there was anything decent on the radio” Instincts got the better of her as she reached forward and turned the radio on. The car filled with quiet music, but it wasn’t what she was looking for. She fiddled with the dials, flicking through radio station after radio station. Nothing helped.


AUBREY SHEPARD

With each passing channel, she was convinced she was picking up distorted messages, but maybe that was all in her head. Maybe she was convincing herself she could hear something. It was only a few nights ago did she bring herself to turn the lamp off before going to bed, submerging herself in the darkness, telling herself whatever noise she thought she could hear was just the wind whistling outside. This wasn’t wind though, she was certain of that, but still couldn’t fully understand what it was.

She accepted defeat and reached for the CDs in the glove box. “So old school having CDs.” She chuckled as she flicked through the selection before stopping at one, “Harry Styles!” She exclaimed as she quickly opened the case and pushed the CD into the player. Perhaps if she focused on the music playing in the car it would drown out whatever else she thought she could hear.

Hazel didn’t want to go home because if she went home that meant she would have to go to bed then what? She’d be out in the woods screaming again in the early hours of the morning and uncle Kit would be racing to find her. The image of the dead woman in the woods flashed through her mind. Something which had burnt itself into her long term memory. As soon as she got home though she’d tell her parents and they’d make sure she was okay. They wouldn’t let her stroll out into the woods to find another dead body and everything would be okay.

Everything was going to be fine.

She tapped away lightly on the door of the car, singing along to the lyrics whilst glancing over at her best friend with a huge grin on her face despite the fear that was building up inside of her, using her own voice to drown out the whispers that were growing louder. Her dad told her sometimes it was better to give in to them, but Hazel was terrified.

The fear rocketed even further when Abi slammed on the brakes as they hit something solid. Hazel let out a squeal as the person hit the windshield and the car tumbled into a nearby ditch.

The sound of Abi’s voice rattled through her head as she slowly opened her eyes with a low groan. Her gaze darted around the car as it took her a second to realise what happened. “Abi?” She croaked as brushed her hair out of her face, her hand catching on an open wound on her forehead. She looked over at her friend, “Are you okay?” She shuffled slightly in her seat, slowly moving to unclip her seatbelt. Nothing hurt, but there was so much adrenaline rushing through her system. Her eyes widened as she turned to Abi, “We need to check that person is okay!” She exclaimed, with a little more hurry in her movements as she threw the seatbelt off her body. Hazel twisted her body around to open the passenger door that didn’t seem to budge when she pushed it. She shuffled about in the seat again, positioning her feet against the door as she kicked it a few times. Eventually, the door creaked open and she rushed to get out of the car.


AUBREY SHEPARD

In that brief moment as the car veered off the road Hazel was convinced she was going to die. She squeezed her eyes shut with fear as she waited for the impact. She was never going to meet her new sibling and her parents were going to be devastated. Darkness swallowed her, but thankfully not death.

The light flooded her eyes not long after.

It was like that night in the woods when she didn’t feel the branches and twigs digging into the soles of her feet as she sprinted through the trees. It was as if her body had switched off from the pain, which is what probably happened as she dragged herself from the wreck. Even the open wound on her head wasn’t hurting. Her body jammed itself in survival mode. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Nothing felt broken. Her limbs weren’t dangling at weird angles, which was a good sign.

She didn’t care about herself though, she was more concerned with the person lying in the middle of the road, but surely they’d be okay. The girls were okay so that person would be okay. At least that’s how she was trying to rationalise everything in her head as she pulled herself out of the car.

The white noise filled her head once more, but it was growing even louder. She could no longer ignore it as she considered giving in to the whispers, just like her dad said, but she couldn’t leave Abi and sprint off into the darkness. She followed Abi as they approached the person, but Hazel wasn’t even focused on the person. The noise was crushing her mind to the point she didn’t even hear Abi mutter something. “Shh.” Hazel whispered, as she turned away from her friend and the man, resting her fingers lightly on her temples as she closed her eyes.

The person on the floor.

Hazel spun back around, opening her eyes as her hands fell to her side. The urge to let it all out bubbled in her chest as she swallowed harshly, taking another step back from Abi. “I—” Her sentence was cut short by the sound of the piercing scream that left her mouth as she pressed her eyes shut. Her hands curled up in a fist, her nails digging into the palm of her hands as the scream ripped through her throat.

Once she fell silent everything seemed clear. A hazy fog had been lifted from her mind as she opened her eyes, her gaze on Abi. “We need to call an ambulance.” But she knew it was too late for the person.

AUBREY SHEPARD

It felt like a fever dream. Something she was witnessing from outside her body. The smashed car, Abi climbing from the wreck, the person on the road. Somehow she was a lot calmer than she anticipated she would be in a situation like this but it was probably because the voices were guiding her or trying to guide her. She wasn’t actually thinking, she was too busy listening, trying to make sense of what they were trying to tell her. Why wasn’t this easier? Why didn’t the voices speak to her using words? It was as if her abilities were trying to work against her, making it impossible for her to figure out the answer. The answer was lying in front of her. Dead on the road.

She couldn’t hold it back a second longer. The same scream that brought her uncle Kit sprinting through the woods toward her months ago. Hopefully he wouldn’t be the first one to find her this time though because unlike before she was ready to call the cops. This was an accident. Totally different from finding a body in the woods with no sign of the killer. This could be explained and the pair weren’t going to get in trouble for this. She hoped.

“I’ll explain…” Later, but she didn’t get to finish her sentence before Abi let out a scream. It wasn’t the high pitch scream that left Hazel. It was a scream of pain. Hazel rushed over towards Abi, reaching out for her friend's arm. “Are you okay?” But then Abi looked up at her and Hazel stepped back quickly, a look of disbelief on her face. “Abi… your eyes… they’re yellow!” She exclaimed loudly, turning around for a brief second. Was it the reflection from the car in the ditch? No, that was impossible. “Oh my… what is going on?”


AUBREY SHEPARD wanna wrap up with yours?