part 1

"MisteryCity time's: A new victim found on the side of the road, the toll is growing.

After six months of searching, 17-year-old high school student Danielle Poll's was found lifeless on the side of the road this morning, the medical examiner said she had died two days earlier like all the other young girls found on this same roadside, all along theselast ten years.

The police services do not explain why the investigation is not progressing, but they now advise teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 never to go out unaccompanied and not to trust any stranger.

Lieutenant Moonroe hopes to find Pauline Clav, who has been missing for five months already before it's too late...."

I roll the newspaper into a ball and sigh. This news sends shivers down my spine, how can such a small town like MisteryCity have been home to a murderer for ten years? I look at the photo of Danielle and Pauline, they are in my high school, they live on the same street as me.. .It could have been me... I shiver and finish my hot chocolate before going back to my room to get dressed. High school will surely be in mourning again, so I choose a tight black dress at the waist and loose at the bottom that comes a little above my knees, I then put on a pair of black patent pumps and look at myself in the mirror to style my hair in a morning red battle. I end up opting for a ponytail and applying a line of black pencil to emphasize my green eyes. The third day of mourning for high school this year alone, what will happen when all the young girls in town are killed? Maybe someone will finally do a real investigation.

-Aly, here we go! Shouts my brother Eliotte downstairs. I grab my bag and run down the stairs to join him as soon as possible, I know he hates waiting. Eliotte is tall and dark, he took everything from my father, and I took everything from my mother, except our eyes. Our eyes are green but we don't look alike, no one ever believes we're twins.

My brother looks at me with a wistful smile when he sees my outfit.

-Another rotten day in anticipation, he said, pressing my shoulder to encourage me; and him too. I smile back at him and follow him out to our car. My father bought it for us for our anniversary; and we're still fighting over who's going to drive it.

But today there is no argument, because we don't have the heart for it, I let my brother take the wheel and watch the landscape pass by the window. The city seems more and more sad, the houses are emptied as the young girls disappear, the families do not stay in this cursed place. We, we and several families remain attached to the history of this city, but I know that Eliotte will take me away from here when we are of age and I will enroll in a school of letters to become a writer, and him will be the greatest basketball player in history we have everything planned.

In the meantime we live here or rather, we survive here.

My brother parks in the school parking lot, which is monotonous, like the whole city. Students are chatting or sobbing, all dressed in black, all depressed. I'm about to leave but Eliotte holds me back by the arm,

- Alyson I promise you that your first name will not be added to this list of victims, he said softly but surely. He is worried and that is understandable. I lean down to kiss him on the cheek and reassure him, even if I'm not reassured at all. All this could happen to me or to Marie.. .I pray that is not the case.

-Don't worry, I'm on my guard.

He nods but the wrinkle on his forehead indicates he's scared to death...just like all of us here.

We get out of the car and head inside the school to put the flowers I bought for Danielle in front of her locker. The latter is beautifully decorated with candles, photos, letters, and flowers, the school pays him a beautiful tribute. I put the bouquet down giving her best friend a sympathetic look who has been crying in front of the locker for probably a good hour, several people are patting her on the shoulder but they can't understand and I don't even know what what I would do if I lost mine. ..

-Aly!

Marie comes running and throws herself into my arms. She's wearing the same dress as me and she's done her blonde hair in a bun.

"I needed this," she said against my neck. I pat her back gently just before she throws herself on my brother's neck, her boyfriend for 4 years soon. They both make an ideal couple and I'm delighted to have brought them together. Eliotte hugs my best friend and kisses her tenderly on the hair, I look away to give them some privacy, and then I see Fill and Uggo my brother's best friends, they smile at me when they see them coming.

-That works, my love ? Fill asks, hugging me. He is like a second brother to me and I adore him.

- Yes it's fine, I'm just a little upset, but it will pass and you?

He shrugs and Uggo doesn't answer. I see they are not doing well either. Usually they pounce on me and tease me but today it's like the world has stopped spinning for a day.

Once Marie and Eliotte have joined us, we head to the gymnasium for the tribute in honor of Danielle. As I am the student representative, I too have to make a speech that I prepared last night, in a hurry. I leave my friends to sit on the chairs that have been placed on the stage. The director gets up and begins to sell Danielle's school and family qualities, I listen in silence, although not very interested in her speech, which she hasn't even written herself. When she's finished, I get up and take her place behind the microphone as four hundred eyes land on me, but I try not to notice it so as not to lose my nerve.

-I didn't know Danielle well, I just know that she lived in the same street as me, that she took the same path as me to go to high school, but I never spoke to her. And now that she's gone and I have to comfort you by telling you that she was a great person, well I don't know what to say because unfortunately I didn't know her.. .but on the other hand what i do know is that we shouldn't let ourselves be overcome by fear and grief, we have to show this psychopath that we are stronger than him..and that we are not afraid. Danielle is dead but that must be the last person to die in this school. As a delegate I propose to our director to accept that the police patrol around the school for better security. Thus we will show our resistance and we will no longer allow ourselves to be attacked. Thank you, and my deepest condolences to Danielle's family and friends.

Applause rings out and I turn to sit in my chair.

That's when I see him, this man dressed all in black, hiding in the entrance of the gym where no one can see him except me, he points at me smiling. My blood freezes seeing his two red eyes, I rub my eyes but he's gone.

"Aly calm down you were hallucinating, there was no one" I repeat to myself, I'm on edge and I see monsters now...

The bell rings and the students leave the gymnasium a little more cheerfully than this morning. Eliotte grabs me by the shoulders.

-Whoa that speech! You should be President Sister, he said proudly. I smile at him to thank him for his compliment even though I don't see myself as president at all.

-Go to class, I'll join you, I have to get some stuff out of my locker, I tell my friends as the main hallways empty. They nod and head for the stairs as I walk to my locker. I'm about to open it but my phone rings. When I see "dad" I respond immediately. He never calls during the day there must be a problem.

-Hello ?

-Alyson is that right? Said an unknown voice that freezes my blood.

I freeze.

-Yes I..

-If you want to see your father again, you will gently leave the establishment and immediately, continues the voice.

My heart is racing! Oh my god that's it, it's my turn, I'm going to die or my father will die! I rush out of the establishment, tears rolling down my cheeks and fear in my stomach.

-I'm out, don't hurt my father, please! I said, finding my voice and a bit of my courage.

-Oh don't worry honey your dear dad is safe at home, but you are with us now, says the voice behind me. I turn around and the man from the gym throws himself on me, searing pain shoots through my body and I pass out feeling that I'm being picked up to take me away from my family.