Afterlife (Afterlife Saga) (7 page)

“Your sister?”

“Yeah she was kinda missing her family and stuff, so I decided to move here and start college in the fall.” This was partly true as she did miss us and had a hard time adjusting to the move in the beginning, but things had become easier for her with time and with her new job she soon found friends. Frank’s family also lived in the next town and they felt the same way about Libby that we did about Frank. They loved her.

“
Wow that
was really good of you, you two must be really close.”

“Yeah, we are, she's not just a sister, she's a friend too.”

“That's cool, I have a sister but she's younger than me and going through her bratty teen years, driving my Mom crazy, and me for that matter!” We both laughed and I couldn't help wondering if they were as different as Libby and I were.

“Yeah I get on better with my brother Jack, he's two years older than me but we hang out quite a lot as we both have the same friends. He's into rock music like me. Hey do you like rock music ’cause there's this great live band playing at this club called Afterlife, I think I mentioned it before in the store, but a bunch of us are going tomorrow night and it would be great if you could come?”

“Club Afterlife? Yeah I know the place; I've actually kinda got a job there.”

“SHUT UP, no way, really?” She had sat bolt upright, spilling frothy coffee over the edge of her cup as she looked so excited by this new discovery.

“Yeah, I start next week for my trial day but I should be fine, I think so anyway, I mean I've worked in a bar before.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe it, you are so lucky. Everyone I know would kill for a job there, how did you manage that?”

“Well my brother-in-law Frank knows the owner or something and well.... he just asked him, I think he must owe him a favour.”

“What, hold on, let me get this straight…. doe
s your brother-in-law know… The
Dravens?” She whispered the name as though it was the town’s biggest secret and had my skin crawling with instant
Goosebumps
that had me shivering. 

“Who?” As soon as the name was said, she had my full interest. It was weird, as if some light just went on in my head. Why did that name suddenly have an effect on me, as though I had heard it before, in a dream or a memory I couldn't remember.

“The Dravens are a family that come here once a year, they are stinking rich, millionaires or even billionaires, who knows. But they own the club and half the town for that matter and like I said, they come here for a couple of weeks every year to this tiny town. But nobody really knows why. They bring in loads of really crazy looking
people, I mean really weird looking!”

“That's strange, I wonder what brings them here?”

“Like I said, no one really gets to the bottom of it but we get a lot of these  ‘visitors’ while they’re here and they all stay at the club.” She said this making “quotation marks” in the air with her hands, for a more dramatic effect. It worked.

“What do you mean... they, like live there?” She could see my confusion and smiled.

“It will make more sense when you see the place, trust me. Which reminds me, so are you up for up it, tomorrow night that is, the band’s called the Acid Criminals, they do quite a heavy set, but it’s worth it just for the dreamy drummer.” She was getting carried away with herself and went on talking about the drummer for fifteen more minutes before we arranged a time to meet. I really wanted to ask her more about the Dravens but chickened out, plus Libby was due to pick me up. RJ's easy going nature and friendliness had made the time fly by and I found myself looking forward to tomorrow night. I had a feeling that we were going to be good friends.

She walked me down to the front entrance of the mall and waited with me until Libby's car was in sight. She continued to tell me about tomorrow night and who I was likely to meet there. One of which included her older brother who apparently was dying to meet me. I couldn't understand why but I figured she had said this to put me at ease about meeting everyone or maybe it was because in a town this small a new girl was probably a talking point. Especially one from England, well hopefully the novelty would soon wear off.

Libby waited while we said our goodbyes.

“Ok, see you tomorrow, oh, and don't forget your ID, they’re really strict. Wait what am I saying?  You will be working there, ha, I forgot that!”

“Ok, see you then,” and with that I made my way to Libby's car and noticed she had the window cranked down despite the weather.

“What's on tomorrow night?” She asked and I smiled as I got in the passenger side and waited for my interrogation.

“She's invited me to see this band tomorrow night.”

“You must have made a good impression then, where's the band playing?”

“Club Afterlife.” Her faced dropped. “What? I'm going to be working there, I think it’s a good idea if I go and check it out before my first shift.”

“Yeah, about that.” Here it was, I knew what was coming, the TALK.

“I was thinking maybe a quieter job would be more…suitable to your situation. I mean you don't want to rush into things, if you’re desperate for a job I could see what I could do, maybe office junior?”

“Oh great, making coffee for thirty people and a whole load of photocopying!” She looked hurt so I quickly added,

“Look, I appreciate your concern but bar and waitress work I have done for years and you know what I'm like around machines, they blow up if I just look at one wrong, I can’t even get my mobile phone to work without calling China!” She laughed and with that the ache I get when I had hurt someone's feelings faded.

“Libby, I will be fine and anyway, what is it about this club you don't like?”

She made a face like she had just smelled some bad cheese and I knew this to be one of those “
things she shouldn't say
” faces. So I pressed harder.

“Come on Libs what are you not telling me?” she hesitated.

“It's just…just you hear some really weird things about what goes on there.”

“Like what?” I looked at her with a sceptic eye, which she refused to acknowledge.

“You hear some crazy stuff that goes on there, and with the Dravens coming, I'm not sure you should be there.” This instantly sparked my interest.

“What do you know about the Dravens?” I asked and she looked confused.

“More like, what do
you
know about the Dravens?” Well, she had me there, I mean I had only been here a week and I seemed to know about the town’s favourite gossip.

“RJ told me that they’re a rich family that come here once a year and nobody really knows why,” I answered as she just stared ahead and for once concentrated on the road which was unusual.

“Libs!”

“Sorry, look I don't want to sound like some gossip queen but I just don't like the stories I've heard about them. And no I'm not just being dramatic, but it just doesn't fit, why they come here, why not some big city to do their “business,” why this little country town?” she sounded a bit crazy herself as if she believed they were some secret cult.

“You think its drugs?” Although it didn’t seem likely, as that would be more fitting to a big city environment, not little Evergreen falls, New Hampshire.

“No, I mean.... oh I don't know, it just doesn't feel right, I mean they bring all their own staff including bodyguards, which Frank thinks is really strange, I mean why would they need them?”

“They bring their own staff?  I mean that's a little strange but I guess they must entertain really important people and just want things to be right.”

“Yeah I guess,” was all she said but didn't looked convinced and this didn't seem like the only thing that bothered her about the Dravens, but knowing she didn't want to say more, made me all the more determined not to let up!

“Come on, I can see there is more to this story!” I insisted.

“It's just one story I heard and before you ask a million questions I don't know much on the details!” She was getting touchy now as the truth unfolded.

“So what was it?”

“A girl went missing....” She said in a low voice and I couldn't help feel a shiver go down my spine when she said it. I could see I wasn't going to get more than that out of her, so I dropped the subject, not really knowing if I wanted to know more anyway. Not if I was going to start working there.

When we got back to the house there was an urgent sounding message for Libby on the answer phone asking her to call the office. Libby worked as an interior designer for a company in Portland and she lived for it, so as soon as she heard that a potential client had changed his appointment date and that their presentation was nowhere near finished, she went into panic mode.

“Look I have to go but will you be ok on your own?” What, was I five? Of
course I would be fine, did she really think I couldn't cope on my own for an afternoon.

“I'll be fine, look I could do with a wind down, a good book and a cup of tea and I'll be set, don't worry about me Libs.” I finished this with a hug and with that she was out the door and running to her car, I barely had time to shout…

“Not too fast Libby, take it easier on the gas!” she pulled a face and waved as she sped off down the gravel drive.

To be honest I really needed sometime to myself as since I had arrived here Libby had not wanted to leave me alone, well since the “Incident” I hadn't really been allowed much time to myself and considering the circumstances I could see why people were so afraid of leaving me.

I decided to go for a walk instead of the book and tea idea, so I grabbed my new coat and my keys. I decided to try the walk Libby had shown me the other day, the one with the amazing view. The sky was clearer now and it was still early afternoon so I would have plenty of time to make it there and back before anyone got home.

I followed the footpath that had been created through years of exploring feet until the undergrow
th got thicker. I loved walking. I
t’s the only time that I felt free, the only time when you can be yourself with no one judging you. No one to have to act in front of, and most important I could let my emotions flow through my body with ease. To cry when I wanted and to not feel guilty about
whom
it may be affecting.

But today's walk was different, as now that I was finally alone to feel these things and let the overwhelming sadness and depression sweep over me, I found there was none and it had been replaced by a wave of unanswered questions and a sea of curiosity. I kept finding myself thinking about the Dravens. Who were they? Why did they even come to this tiny town? And most importantly, when would I finally get a glimpse of them for myself?

I would have to restrain myself tomorrow night so as not to bombard RJ with loads of questions. I was hoping she would have been more forthcoming on the subject but once she had mentioned the drummer, he had become the main topic of conversation. The one thing she did say, which I found to be very disappointing was that no-one hardly ever saw any of them. As soon as they arrived they spent all of their time upstairs in the VIP lounge, and of course they had their own private party guest list that no-one who lived in the town was ever included on.

I didn't really understand why I was so fascinated, why I was obsessing over them but at heart I knew it wasn't “them” I was dying to find out about, it was
him
. As soon as RJ had mentioned the name Dominic Draven, I had latched onto it like a good murder mystery book you couldn't put down!  By the time my brain had calmed itself down and started to get some real life perspective, I had arrived at the spot I had been looking for or so I thought.

I frowned as I saw a natural looking archway framed by the trees. I didn’t remember this being here the other day and I was sure I had taken the exact same route with Libby. Maybe we came at it from a different angle last time, yes, that must be it. I convinced myself of this long enough to pass through the entwined branch arch but not before looking back over my shoulder one last time.

Once my fears left me they were quickly replaced by awe. The place was amazing, as if it wasn't part of the forest, it was more like a secret garden, which instead of being surrounded by
a stone wall to keep it hidden
and the
stone had been replaced by a wall of life, lush green life. The forest surrounded the open space like a protective barrier, with hundred years old trees standing guard.