Death at Dawn
“Sure you don’t need a ride, Cassie?”
Cassandra Starkweather turned back towards the car her best friends were occupying. “No, I’ll be ok, it won’t take that long, and I’ll need the walk to sober me up before I get home. If I walk through the door like this, dad’ll pop a vein,” she said, giggling in her slightly altered state.
Even though she was already moved in the dorms and ready for the beginning of another year at the Watchers Academy, her father had insisted that Cassie spend her last night at home, even if she did go out for part of it. Which of course, she had. Not for part, but for the majority of the night. Like she was going to miss the final end of summer bash.
“Alright, try not to let the boogeyman get you,” one of the car’s occupants said, waving his fingers in her direction in a mockingly spooky manner.
“Yeah, yeah, funny,” she responded, giving the car tire a slight kick before it drove off. Shaking her head, she took off in the direction of her father’s house, being sure to give any random shady people as wide a berth as possible.
Two blocks later, Cassie pulled her jacket a bit tighter around herself in the coolish night air. A whoosh of wind behind her made Cassie stop and gasp, whirling around to look. There was nothing. And noone. “Ok, I know I’m not that paranoid,” she muttered, thinking out loud. /Who am I kidding? Of course I am, and it gets even worse when I party./ “Man, I gotta lay off the e.”
She resumed walking, her pace a bit quicker, looking behind her every now and then. Cassie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Nothing she could put her finger on but just…….not right.”
Turning a corner, Cassie ran smack into another pedestrian in her paranoid glancing backwards. “Ow!” Cassie cried out as her shoulder made contact with the brick of the nearest building. “The coordination’s kicking there, creep. Thanks for-” the sentence abruptly needed when she looked up to see who had run into her and again, there was once again no one there.
/Not funny. At all./ Cassie resumed walking. A few steps later, there was another whoosh of air behind her. It was like someone was behind her. Close behind her, and moving out of sight faster than she could see. She whipped around again, finding no one in sight, her breath now coming what was meant to be calming deep breaths.
/Oh no. It is so time to get home./ Cassie turned and broke into a full run.
Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to register what was happening before unseen hands pulled her into the nearest alley, and barely had time to scream before a knife was plunged into her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dawn rose on the grounds of the Watchers Academy a few hours later. In the center of the quad stood an ornate fountain. Identical to the one that had stood on the grounds of the previous Watchers Academy, the fountain hadn’t been part of the original plans for the new facilities. It was added partly for nostalgic value, and mostly as a memorial to the council in its previous incarnation and the people who were in it.
This morning, the body of Cassandra Starkweather lay on the edge of the fountain, the water in the shallowest pool tinted pink from her blood. Her forehead is emblazoned with a symbol so rarely seen it is often thought to by mythical, and a small note written in elegant script is attached to her shirt. It reads: “The time has come.”
Cassandra Starkweather turned back towards the car her best friends were occupying. “No, I’ll be ok, it won’t take that long, and I’ll need the walk to sober me up before I get home. If I walk through the door like this, dad’ll pop a vein,” she said, giggling in her slightly altered state.
Even though she was already moved in the dorms and ready for the beginning of another year at the Watchers Academy, her father had insisted that Cassie spend her last night at home, even if she did go out for part of it. Which of course, she had. Not for part, but for the majority of the night. Like she was going to miss the final end of summer bash.
“Alright, try not to let the boogeyman get you,” one of the car’s occupants said, waving his fingers in her direction in a mockingly spooky manner.
“Yeah, yeah, funny,” she responded, giving the car tire a slight kick before it drove off. Shaking her head, she took off in the direction of her father’s house, being sure to give any random shady people as wide a berth as possible.
Two blocks later, Cassie pulled her jacket a bit tighter around herself in the coolish night air. A whoosh of wind behind her made Cassie stop and gasp, whirling around to look. There was nothing. And noone. “Ok, I know I’m not that paranoid,” she muttered, thinking out loud. /Who am I kidding? Of course I am, and it gets even worse when I party./ “Man, I gotta lay off the e.”
She resumed walking, her pace a bit quicker, looking behind her every now and then. Cassie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Nothing she could put her finger on but just…….not right.”
Turning a corner, Cassie ran smack into another pedestrian in her paranoid glancing backwards. “Ow!” Cassie cried out as her shoulder made contact with the brick of the nearest building. “The coordination’s kicking there, creep. Thanks for-” the sentence abruptly needed when she looked up to see who had run into her and again, there was once again no one there.
/Not funny. At all./ Cassie resumed walking. A few steps later, there was another whoosh of air behind her. It was like someone was behind her. Close behind her, and moving out of sight faster than she could see. She whipped around again, finding no one in sight, her breath now coming what was meant to be calming deep breaths.
/Oh no. It is so time to get home./ Cassie turned and broke into a full run.
Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to register what was happening before unseen hands pulled her into the nearest alley, and barely had time to scream before a knife was plunged into her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dawn rose on the grounds of the Watchers Academy a few hours later. In the center of the quad stood an ornate fountain. Identical to the one that had stood on the grounds of the previous Watchers Academy, the fountain hadn’t been part of the original plans for the new facilities. It was added partly for nostalgic value, and mostly as a memorial to the council in its previous incarnation and the people who were in it.
This morning, the body of Cassandra Starkweather lay on the edge of the fountain, the water in the shallowest pool tinted pink from her blood. Her forehead is emblazoned with a symbol so rarely seen it is often thought to by mythical, and a small note written in elegant script is attached to her shirt. It reads: “The time has come.”