The following is a sneak peek at the second book in The Trescott Series, titled Twists and Turns, scheduled to release on December 19th! To read my first book, Homecoming, click here to purchase.
*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*
“Dude, what are we even doing out here? The party is back that way,” the taller of the two boys said. He placed a hand on the shorter boy’s right shoulder. The short boy shuddered and turned around to his companion with stiff eyes.
“Trust me, this will be worth it,” he said. His friend rolled his eyes and tightened the jacket around his torso. It was only October but the air was chilly. It was supposed to snow any day now. Both the boys weren’t surprised. This was normal for Wisconsin. If it didn’t snow by Thanksgiving, people would worry winter was never going to arrive.
The boys trudged through the dried leaves carefully. They weren’t sure why, but they knew they couldn’t make too much noise. That weird kid from gaming club, Sam, and his little sister were out here. The shorter boy had heard them first, over the sound of the Wombats in his headphones. It sounded like they were injured or something.
There was a small clearing. Leaves left a thin layer over the cold dirt. It was a cloudy night and the moon barely shone through the trees. If either of their parents knew they were out here, especially after all that has been going on, they would be grounded for eternity. Even if their eighteenth birthdays were less than a year away. It didn’t matter.
“Who is it?” The taller boy peeked over the short boy’s head and twisted himself around the side of the tree. Both of them craned their necks, trying their best to see the source of the dancing shadows against the forest floor. Arms twisted in the air and three heads were talking, just short of the police tape that cut off the crime scene from the public.
They knew the Trescott kids. But they didn’t know the tallest boy. He was built like all the football players at their school, and he was nearly naked. The tall boy sighed, nudging his friend in the rib cage.
“Why are we spying on the Trescotts? They are weirdos anyway,” he whispered. He didn’t reply. Instead, he stayed behind the tree and kept on watching. The Trescotts and their friend were chatting, deep in conversation about something serious. Arie stepped towards the tree and took a long sniff.
“Trent,” the short boy said as quietly as he could. “What do you think they are doing?”
Trent stood up a little straighter. The two of them watched as all three of them took a long breath in by the tree, smelling the blood that was splattered against the tree. What narcs! Why are they out here in the middle of the night smelling blood? Someone should call the cops on them.
“I’m not sure, but maybe we shouldn’t be here,” Trent grabbed his friend’s arm. But he pushed the tall jock away and turned to look at him.
“I think we should stay.” Trent scoffed at him, waving a hand to him before walking off without another glance back. Good riddance, he thought. Maybe without Trent acting all uninterested, he would actually see something interesting.
The boy took out his phone, snapping some pictures. These might be good evidence for later. Maybe it could make a funny poster for the school walls: Trescott Kids Trespass In Free Time. That would show them to snoop around places they shouldn’t be! He didn’t know why, but Sam Trescott always irked him for some reason. There was just something about him that irritated the boy.
Sam and his friend kept on talking. Arie stepped away from the boys, looking out to the giant trees, nearly right where he was standing. The boy planted himself against the tree, attempting to hide as best he could. Sam already didn’t like him. It was best he didn’t give him any reason to beat him up, if he even would. One thing was for sure: Sam was a coward. He never did anything violent. The most violence that kid ever associated with was playing video games.
Suddenly, the three of them took off. Sam glanced back one last time to the clearing. His eyes. What was up with his eyes? Maybe it was the moon. Why else would his eyes glow like that? The boy took a quick picture, using his fingers to zoom in. His heartbeat escalated as he did. Sam’s eyes were gold. It wasn’t the moon either. There was barely a sliver of moonlight visible tonight.
The boy pulled up google, typing in “people with glowing gold eyes”. Trent would have laughed at him, doubling over onto the floor if he even saw what he was searching on the internet. But something told the boy that he was onto something big. Something bigger than stupid posters that would produce a laugh for barely two days.
All these years, those Trescott kids were always up to no good. Sam’s younger brother always had anger problems. He had seen Luke punch someone on the soccer field when he was only eight years old. Arie and Sam were always making weird comments in school. They always seemed to know more than everyone else. Actually, they were the only ones who weren’t chill about everything that was happening. Like the man dead in the woods. The funeral service for the guy. They seemed to be more worried than everyone else was. But why?
The cell service finally kicked in and the google webpage loaded up. The boy’s eyes widened as he clicked on the first link. The title of the website made his heartbeat reach his ears, thudding rapidly against his ear canals.
The title of the website was “Werewolves: The Monsters Among Us”. The boy scrolled, looking at the signs that someone is a werewolf listed on the homepage. Each bullet point, his mouth felt drier and drier.
Was this too much of a reach? Trent was going to eat his words. He was going to regret ever humiliating him for thinking something was up with the Trescott kids. Maybe it was the entire family.
The boy rotated on his heels, shoving his phone into his pocket and setting off back towards Willow Estates. The smirk wouldn’t leave his face. He had found his next mission:
He was going to show the world that Sam Trescott wasn’t normal. Not one bit. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knew that Google search had led him to something big. He didn’t care how long, what it took, or where it took him, but he was going to figure out their secret.
