Chapter 1
“Krueger, wake up.”
My sister's words combined with her light shaking pried me from the throes of slumber as I felt the entire cab of the truck shake as we hit bumpy terrain. I hadn't meant to fall asleep, but clearly I'd been more worn out from the day of driving. Clearing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to refocus on our new surroundings.
We'd made it to the Phoebe RV Park, or so the sign said as we passed it. A lush display of red and orange and green came into view from the trees, along with the various recreational vehicles and tents and other means of temporary housing. There were a myriad of humans and Orbs mingling together around the designated space.
The creatures that had come out of the hiding spots of society, collectively referred to as Orbs because the first humans to witness them over twenty years ago thought they looked like 'other realm beings', were fully integrated into the world at this point. It was nice to see pockets of the world where no one cared about what species you were and just cohabited together.
I'd always loved learning about and meeting Orbs. Since they'd come out of the shadows over twenty years ago, there'dbeen a lot of progress in making them a part of society. I'd heard about some instances on the east coast that didn't bode well for Orbs, but I loved seeing that at least in Phoebe, North Carolina, at this RV park, everyone could co-mingle and exist with one another.
I looked at my sister with shock visible on my face, noticing the amount of light still left in the sky. “Damn, Myers. I thought you said we wouldn't make it until nightfall?”
Myers shrugged her shoulders with a smirk full of lead. “What can I say? I'm that good. Now hop out of the truck and help me park.”
Abiding by my sister's plea, I fell out of the truck and helped her navigate parking the RV attached to the truck's hitch into the designated spot allotted. It felt nice to help her park, if for nothing else than to get out of the semi-permanent sitting position we'd been in and being able to stretch my legs. I couldn't remember the last time we'd stopped for gas, but I figured I could blame that on the brain fog since I'd just been stirred awake not all that long ago.
As I directed Myers, I took in the surrounding of autumnal trees that littered the RV park. The orange and reds of the trees perfectly reflected the time of year as we settled into the middle of October. When we'd planned this trip around the country, it was all to spend Halloween in Phoebe. They were known for their love of the spooky season, and Myers and I wanted to properly celebrate our favorite holiday. I was looking forward to exploring the town and seeing what other spooky nods they had to offer my tourist heart.
She finished parking the RV into its spot, a vacant lot with another RV on the left side and another vacant lot on the right. No sooner had Myers hopped out of the truck from parking it, a human couple piled out of the RV beside us, presenting us with their friendly smiles as my sister joined my side.
“Hi there!” The middle aged woman said, waving as she offered us her hand. “Welcome to the Phoebe RV Park! I'm Darlene.” Her delightfully southern accent rang through the air, my hand connecting with her aim in a friendly greeting.
“And I'm her husband, Gerald.” The balding man wore a matching Hawaiian shirt with his wife, and they shared a similarly vibrant smile. “I guess we'll be neighbors!”
Their immediate welcome was a little overwhelming to take in, but it was all in good nature. Myers and I were used to meeting new people quickly since our excursion to travel across the country in the RV. We'd pooled our money together in order to purchase it, so we'd grown fairly accustomed to pivoting toward a more cordial and extroverted demeanor.
Gerald and Darlene were opposing mirrors of one another. Darlene was the aging blonde to his receding brunette. He was tall and wiry while she was short and plump. And where she had blue eyes that paired well with her light hair, Gerald's eyes were as dark as what was left of his hair.
Myers and I were brunettes, like Gerald. We even shared the same hazel eyes, but Myers kept her hair long and usually in a ponytail, while I kept mine pretty short. Honestly, Darlene and Gerald could've been relatives of ours if someone saw us from afar.
I smiled back at the couple. “Looks that way, doesn't it? Nice to meet you guys. I'm Krueger, and this is my sister, Myers.”
We took turns shaking their hands, but their smiles wavered at the uttering of our names.
“My, what...interestingnames you two have.” Darlene did her best to put it kindly, but you could still tell that she was put off by our names.
Myers finished shaking Gerald's hand and regarded her comment as their handshake finished. “Our parents are huge horror fans, so they named us after two iconic horror staples.”
“Very interesting.” Gerald was a little bit better at hiding how weird he thought it was, pairing his words with a smile that didn't quite have me convinced.
“Well, we're glad to have you!” Darlene was really trying to save the conversation and adjust the shift in energy. “Are you guys visiting Phoebe for long?”
“We're here for the Halloween festival we've heard so much about,” Myers grinned. “So we'll be here about two weeks or so.”
“Ahh, Hell-O-Ween.” Gerald chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. “The local kids go crazy for that stuff. Phoebe's big on Halloween.”
“We hope so, because that's the whole reason we wanted to visit.” I said back with a smirk.
I really wanted Phoebe to live up to the hype that Myers and I had researched when we were looking for where to spend Halloween. From our search, we were promised we wouldn't be let down if we spent the weeks leading up to Halloween in Phoebe.
“Well, welcome to the park.” Gerald smiled again.
“A bunch of us are having a bonfire in a bit, now that the sun is going down,” Darlene explained. “We're gonna cook some food and enjoy each other's company if you two wanna join!”
“No pressure! We're a bit of a community around here and didn't want to exclude you.”
Myers and I shared a glance, speaking volumes without having to exchange words with one another. I knew we both wanted to settle in first, but neither of us wanted to get on the bad side of any of the locals.
