Wynter felt the repercussions of her dream linger in the back of her mind as she dragged herself out of bed. It was odd like it always was but this time it was scary too. Slight tremors started in her hands lengthening to her bare legs and she placed her hands on them to stop it.
Enough, she reprimanded herself sternly, that's enough.
"It was just a dream," she told herself. But it wasn't... Her heart knew it, her mind knew it. Something was coming, someone was looking for them...and soon they would find them....
"Wynter?" a muffled voice called from behind her old wooden door, "Are you awake?"
Tentatively, the door creaked open to reveal a little girl. Her red-gold curls framed her shrunken gaunt face, her light blue eyes alight with childish innocence. She felt that familiar twist in her gut and gave her a forced smile, "Hey, Mandy."
Mandy grinned excitedly and showed her a plate of steaming food. It was a large serving of tacos.
"Evan's got us some!" she said proudly.
"He's back?" Wynter asked, reaching for a taco and taking a bite, "Hmm, this is good."
"Yeah, he's downstairs. He's got bags full!" she announced and pulled Wynter to her feet, "Come on! Before everyone else eats it all."
"Ok, ok. Let me dress first." Mandy tugged impatiently at her arms as Wynter pulled her pants and knitted sweater on and dragged her out of the room.
Wynter laughed as Mandy screamed at her to hurry as they charged down stairs. They ran down the hall where the girls' dorm was and entered the Mess hall.
Tall windows of either side of the room revealed the pearly white clouds of a winter morning. Four long oak wood tables with long benches ran from the door they entered to the exit door at the opposite end of the hall. Jubilant and peaceful chatter greeted them as they entered. About sixty boys and girls sat at the tables greedily devouring the plates of Mexican cuisine but Wynter's eyes did not linger on the food; it roamed the room for a familiar head of snowy white hair that matched her own.
There. At the very back of the hall, standing in the middle of a gaggle of children eager for another plate of food was her big brother, Evan.
The moment her eyes found him, he lifted his head and met her gaze as if sensing her presence and waved her over. Wynter made her way to him and as she passed the children turned to greet her.
"Hi, Wyn!"
"Good morning!"
"Sup, Wyn!"
"Hello, Wynter!"
It warmed her heart to see the joy on the others' faces...it was too rare.
"Mrs Daiz hooked you up, didn't she?" she asked when she reached him.
Evan nodded, "I tried to talk her out of it but you know her. Won't take no for an answer."
"And a good thing too," she added, taking a taco from his plate, "These are so good!"
Evan gave her a disapproving look.
"Oh, come on. We haven't eaten properly in weeks!" Evan rolled his eyes but said nothing because he knew she was right. You see, what most people from their school didn't know was that she and Evan were orphans. They were barely old enough to remember their parents' faces when they arrived at St. Jerome Haven church.
Ran by the Nuns who were the members of the church, they had lived here their whole lives. It was all they knew and though they had a roof over their heads and clothes on their back, which was more than any homeless person could ask for, that was really the extent of the Nuns' hospitality. Everything from food to basic education, they had to figure out for themselves.
Throwing her gaze over the children, she was reminded that almost half of them could barely read a full sentence. Not to mention that her brother had to work himself bloody to make sure they had enough blankets for winter.
So why did the Nuns take care of them in the first place?
To save face, of course!
What did it matter that the children starved every bloody night while the Nuns ate like royalty from the charity of the community? As long as they dressed nicely and looked well cared for on Sunday then that hardly mattered, now did it?
This place wasn't a home. It was a prison. A place of exploitation that showcased children like animals in cages for money laundering. But did the rest of the children know this? No, of course not. And as the eldest of the orphans in this God-forsaken place, it was their job to ensure they never found out...
After breakfast, Wynter had the other children clean up while Evan went in search of the cat, he was supposed she deserved some breakfast too.
He left the Mess hall for the front yard which from the perspective of the entrance of the church would actually be by the backyard. The gothic cathedral stood grey and grim before the pure white sky, its towering stone walls blocking the view of Crescent Street. The frosted grass crunched under his booted feet as he made his way through the garden to where he left his bike.
The upturned dirt of the garden was already covered with a thin layer of snow. He and Wynter had planted their veggie garden some two years before after one brutal winter and he was proud to see how it thrived since then. There was cauliflower in neat order of three, different scented herbs like basil and rosemary, there was carrots, potatoes and onions. The tomatoes still looked sickly green but were growing all right. He was sure that by spring, they would be good to harvest.
Evan made it to the lopsided wooden shed and opened the door. Inside was his bike and an arsenal of garden tools. Cat was giving herself a bath in his basket and looked up expectantly when he entered.
"Here," he placed the plate of the beef from the taco before her, "Eat up." He left her to it and closed the door. Shoving his hands in his faded jean pockets, he strolled through the garden to the church, lost in thought.
Simon needs new pants, right? So does Keith. And three more blankets for the young ones and a toothbrush for Mary...or was it a comb?
Evan's feet wandered past the church's perimeter to the deserted street as the wind picked up sharply, stinging his face but he ignored it.
Whose birthday is it again? James? No. Luke? nope.
As he tried to remember, an abandoned newspaper blew into his face.
"What the-?" he ripped it off his face and stared at the headlines: A SERIES OF MURDERS SWEEP THE CITY. Intrigued, he read the text below.
"San Francisco Chronicle - December 7, 2025
City Gripped by Fear: Deaths Defy Explanation, No Suspects in Sight
"A chilling wave of inexplicable deaths has washed over the Golden State, leaving residents in a state of palpable fear. Over the past month, a disturbing number of Californians have simply... ceased to be. Witnesses describe victims collapsing in the street, mid-conversation, or even while performing mundane tasks like gardening. The most unsettling aspect? Autopsies reveal absolutely nothing. No internal injuries, no signs of poisoning, no struggle. They are, for all intents and purposes, perfectly healthy bodies rendered suddenly lifeless.
"It's like their life force just... vanished," stated Coroner Elias Thorne, his face etched with exhaustion and bewilderment. "I've been in this profession for twenty years, and I've never seen anything like it."
The victims appear to be unconnected, spanning different ages, professions, and social classes. From the esteemed Governor's aide, found slumped over his desk, to a young fruit vendor who keeled over his cart in the bustling marketplace, the stillness claims indiscriminately.
Captain Mallory, head of the San Francisco constabulary, has issued a statement urging calm, promising the public that every resource is being dedicated to solving this baffling case. However, whispers of dark magic and ancient curses are growing louder, fueled by the lack of tangible evidence.
"Stay vigilant, travel in groups, and report any unusual occurrences," Captain Mallory advised, though the advice feels hollow in the face of an enemy that leaves no trace.
The city is a ghost of its former self. The vibrant streets are eerily quiet, the laughter and music replaced by anxious whispers and furtive glances. People are afraid to walk alone, their eyes constantly scanning the shadows, searching for an invisible threat. The stillness plague, as it is being grimly referred to, has stolen more than lives; it has stolen the city's joy."
Evan's hands shook before he calmed himself. San Francisco is a ways off from here. Nothing to worry about. Though this did nothing to ease his anxiety. The rumours of what the people called "the Stillness plague" had spread like wildfire since the end of the school term. Some of his imaginative classmates have been speculating for weeks on the cause. Some thought its some kind of brain-eating amoeba that's been feeding on their victims thus exhibiting no seen injuries. Some thought it was the whole Covid-19 virus thing all over again. Some think it's all fake and it's just some clever serial killer playing with a new kind of poison or some rubbish.
But Evan thought different. Somehow, he knew it was neither of those things. It was something else, something Other...though he had no idea what. He just knew that his sister thought it too.
Evan looked over the article again and this time his eyes stayed fixed on the date. December the seventh was three days ago meaning it was the tenth. So it was anyone's birthday...it was-
"Holy crap!" Evan turned on his heels and broke into a run. Today was the day, today was the day and he completely forgot!
His boots thundered on the snow as he charged for the dorms. Shoving the doors open, he ran through the now deserted Mess hall for the common room where he knew that the others were. He passed the long halls, past the hall to the girls' dorm towards the boys'. At the centre of the church was the Circular room, the only place with a fireplace.
He shoved the white washed door. The lively chatter died as he entered. Wynter sat with the circle of young girls, Maddy on her lap, before the lit fireplace and looked up a wary expression.
"Evander?"
He forced himself to steady his breath and took a sweeping glance of the children's faces, "They're coming."
Gasps erupted at this and Wynter stood, her expression strained, "Now? Are you sure?"
"Yes," Evan nodded, then unconsciously, he straightened his back and gave everyone one last sweeping glance, this time his gaze was hard as he spotted the varying states of careless dress. Mismatched socks, some with too big clothes and some too small. This would not do.
"You guys know the drill," he said, "Everyone get dressed in your best and meet me in the Mess hall for dorm clean up."
No one moved, they just stared. They all knew what those words meant. They all knew what was coming...what they hoped was still a long way off.
"Are you deaf?!" he snapped, his temper warring with his own nerves, "GO! NOW!" Noise erupted as everyone snapped to attention, they ran for the dorms, their panic evident.
"Have you seen my dress anywhere, Tess?"
"No, have you seen my shoes?"
"Guys, I can't find my white shirt!"
"It's in my closet."
For the next fifteen minutes, chaos ensued and when everyone had finally made it to Mess hall for their duties, Evan was already dressed and ready in his Sunday best which was simple dress pants with a white dress shirt over a grey sweater vest.
The children stood shoulder to shoulder; the boys wearing the same as him, the girls wearing long dresses of summer colours with knitted sweaters. Evan walked down the row, arms crossed as he inspected them.
"Rob, tuck in your shirt. Wendy, you're wearing your shoes on the wrong foot. Mark, dude, please comb your hair."
Evan was worried as he always was at this time of the year. You see, twice every year, the Nuns came by for their routine inspection. If you were wondering, yes, they still saw the Nuns frequently every week but the Nuns preferred that the children never actually took part in the church itself. They stayed in the backyard domes to only come out when the Easter or Christmas season came around. When they were expected to do their part in furthering the Gospel to the community. Meaning, they acted in plays dedicated to those seasons, did fund raising and such for about two months.
Two months, Evan thought, dread forming a knot in his gut. Two months of pain and torture. Great.
Saying the Nuns were strict had to be the understatement of the century. The Nuns had a fetish for the screams of children, they enjoyed the scent of freshly drawn blood...and that was putting it lightly.
After he finished the inspection, he sent them to the rooms of the dorms for a clean-up. The boys cleaned their dorms and the girls theirs. After that it was the bathroom, the common room and the Mess hall.
Evan inspected everything, checked everyone's clothes again, again and again. Until even Wynter had enough of his fussing.
"Evan, stop already! We're fine!"
Evan was looking out the windows of the Mess hall. He turned, his blue eyes dull, "You better hope so." He looked back where three neat rows of women in black were just making their way through the frozen garden, "Because here they come."
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