Traces, Part Nine

You would probably expect my jaw to drop to the floor at such a declaration. I mean, they did just say they think they know who the murder is, right? Wrong. I don’t believe them at all. Why should I? There are such false claims all the time, I’m not gonna believe every single one …

Traces, Part Eight

I was right. This is definitely not going well. “You mean, a guy in a hat, eye mask, and a cloth around his mouth…attacked both you and Samantha Day?” one of the cops asks, a blonde woman who looks at me as though I’m chewed gum underneath her shoe. The other cop is a guy …

Traces, Part Seven

I think I regain consciousness when everything is shaking and bouncing. The world is really fuzzy though. I hear a lot of people talking and fussing, and the sound of machinery. My eyelids flutter open. There are a lot of faces and flashing lights that are bright enough to make me visibly cringe. An ambulance. …

Traces, Part Six

I yank open the attic door and barely throw down the ladder before I race down. Crap, crap, crap! My heart is pounding and I can’t think. She better not be pulling a bloody joke. If she is, it won’t be an imaginary killer she should be scared of, but me! Sammy, this isn’t a …

Traces, Part 5

Sammy is fuming as we exit the coffee shop. "I can't believe him! I just can't believe him!" Ryan Parker had refused to tell us much, other than Iris had been bullied at school. Sammy had tried to ask him why, but he just said that it was probably because the students didn't like her …

Traces, Part 4

My mother is setting the table when she looks up to me. "Oh, Ella! Glad to see you're home."  I blink. "Mom, I thought you were still at work." She smiles at me. "Oh, my boss let me off a little early. I picked up some takeout for dinner," she says as she scoops out …

Traces, Part 3

The text Sammy sends me only reads: I think I have a link. I can only guess what this means. Me: What are u talking about? Sammy: Between Angela and Jack's deaths. And now Whitney's. I groan and roll my eyes, lifting my phone to my forehead. Ever since Whitney Johnson died (drowning herself in a …

Traces, Part Two

I have only gotten to the mid-way point on my English essay when the unthinkable happens.  The Internet shuts off again. The sixth. Bloody. Day. In a row. And before I saved the document!  I let out a sudden shrieking sentence filled with swear words as I tap violently at the computer uselessly, knowing that …

Traces, Part One

There is just SOME information you could live without, which is something our new landlord, Mr. Black, seemingly can't understand. Half the information he gives me is stuff I will never tell my mother. Never. It'll only stress her out even more.  Like how the electricity goes out maybe once or twice a year and …

Summary For My Short Story Series: Traces

Author's note: As it is October, I have decided to try to write a psychological thriller that can actually be scary. Up until this point, I have mainly been writing things like mysteries. So while I want to make this at least a little scary and suspenseful, please keep in mind that this is my …