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c h a p t e r  o n e
when the lights go out

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        THE WIND whistled through the air threateningly, and the sound of thunder could be heard overhead. A storm was brewing in Shady River that evening, and if its residents could see the future then maybe they could've stopped the metaphorical storm that came after the literal storm that September day.

Calamity Taylor, a beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair, was exiting the girls' locker room after changing into her cheerleading uniform on that fateful Friday evening. Her friends flocked behind her like a row of ducklings following their mother. She technically was their mother considering that she was their cheer captain. It was close enough.

"Who's riding with who this time?" Calamity asked the girls, lifting the keys to her Mustang in the air to get their attention.

Bentley Forrest, Calamity's best friend, was the first one to take action by stepping up next to their cheer captain. "I'm riding with Tay," she proclaimed, calling Calamity by her nickname.

"You always get to ride in the Mustang, Bentley!" Cara, the youngest girl of the bunch, protested. She was fourteen going on fifteen and was very immature at times. On the other hand, she was a really good flyer, which was why she was on the team in the first place.

Calamity rolled her eyes. "Just chill out, there's two seats in the back."

"I'll ride too!" Emily, the second youngest exclaimed in excitement.

"Great," Bentley commented sarcastically as she opened the door to the passenger's side of Calamity's sleek, black Mustang.

Calamity's car was very special to her. The 2012 Ford Mustang was a gift from her father after business started booming for his trucking company. Before the Mustang, Calamity was driving an old Jeep. Don't get her wrong, she did love the Jeep, but when it started breaking down a lot, the love became strained.

After getting the younger girls into the backseat, Calamity got in the driver's seat and cranked up the car. She made sure the rest of the girls were ready to leave before pulling out of the parking lot, leading the small line of cars to Hearst Field, Shady River High School's football field.

As soon as they pulled into the parking lot near where the football players parked, Chase Parker—the quarterback of the team—was making his way over to Calamity just as she was lifting the seat to let Cara and Emily out of the backseat.

"CP alert. CP alert!" Bentley exclaimed, elbowing her best friend directly in the ribs.

Calamity sent Bentley a glare, rubbing her ribs as she winced painfully. Bentley only stood at 5'2", but she seemed to cause more damage than she seemed capable of.

Chase sent Calamity his award winning smile as he approached her, his helmet hanging loosely from his right hand. "Ready to cheer your heart out for me, Calamity?"

Smiling slightly, Calamity shook her head at him in amusement. "You wish, Chase."

"You're right," he replied cheekily just as the football coach blowed his whistle for the boys. "I do wish." He ran off before she could even comprehend what he said.

As soon as he was out of the picture, Cara and Emily giggled loudly and crowded around Calamity. "How do you do it, Calamity? Get boys to like you so easily?"

Calamity rolled her eyes, ignoring the way her cheeks heated up at the thought of what Chase said to her. "C'mon, we better get to the sidelines before Coach Ellis throws a fit." She headed onto the field, going straight over to the cheerleaders' section of the sidelines.

"You're late, girls," Coach Ellis stated, not even looking up from her clipboard as her team of ten girls walked up to her. "You know the drill, Calamity. I'll be up there." She pointed up to the bleachers where she sat every single game, recording the girls. They were her pride and joy.

As Coach Ellis walked away, Calamity sighed deeply and before turning to face the rest of the girls. "Alright ladies. First game of the season. You know the cheers. We're collaborating with the student section this year. Twenty minutes until the walk-out. Get any drinks and snacks at the concession stand you'll need for the whole game and get back. We don't wanna wait in the long concession line during halftime."

"Yeah, we all know I always have to pee during halftime," Bentley remarked, causing the rest of the girls to laugh as they all ran off towards the concession stand.

As she stood in line with Bentley and Kennedy, Calamity's eyes latched onto the woods nearest to the field, noticing some movement within the thick underbrush. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, squinting to try and make out what was out there.

"What can I get for you, Calamity?" the band mom who was helping to run the concession stand asked, breaking her out of her trance.

Calamity shook her head and sent Mrs. Gordon a small smile. "I'll have some Skittles, a pack of Reese's, one Dr. Pepper, and two waters, please," she requested, handing over a five dollar bill. It was her senior year of cheering, and she had a system down pat. One water for the first half, Dr. Pepper and snacks for halftime, and another water for the second half. After the game, her and a few seniors would meet up at Grandma's Kitchen, the best place to eat out in Shady River. The best part was it was ran and operated by Calamity's grandmother, Scarlett Taylor.

Just as Calamity reached out for the bag of food and drinks Mrs. Gordon handed her, a light rain sprinkled down on her. She glanced up at the now darkened night sky, seeing nothing but dark clouds overhead.

"I hope there isn't any lightning," Mrs. Gordon said worryingly, causing Calamity to nod in agreement before walking back towards the sidelines.

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        BY THE fourth quarter, the Shady River Warriors were up by three touchdowns. Everyone was happy and excited, especially since it was no longer sprinkling. The game would be over in five minutes, and the Shady River football team would have their first win of the season.

"Five minutes on the clock, girls. Time for 'I Know,'" Calamity informed, turning towards the bleachers and grabbing ahold of Nathan—the 'leader' of the student section. "It's time," she told him.

Nathan sent her a nod and yelled into the bullhorn for everyone to pay attention before explaining the cheer to them. After he finished, Calamity started the cheer.

"I!" she shouted along with the rest of the student section.

"I believe!"

"I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe–" Their voice ceased when all of the lights went out, leaving everyone in darkness.

"Must be a power failure," Calamity shouted over all the loud talking going on in the stands. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

A few minutes passed before the lights came back on, and everyone cheered until they saw what was on the center of the field.

Calamity's mouth fell open in horror, as all her vocal cords could get out was a small gasp. Everyone screamed all around her, some rushing onto the field along with first responders and some pushing and shoving in a panic to get out of the gates as fast as they could.

She just stood in her spot, though. Just staring at the horrific scene.

Chase Parker laid on the ground, blood rushing out of the stab marks all across his body. There was no strategy the killer had. It seemed to all be done in a blind rage.

It wasn't just the horror scene right in front of her that caused her to stand there in shock. It was the fact that just a few minutes ago, her crush was alive and breathing about to throw another touchdown pass. A few minutes ago, he had smiled at her with his helmet off as he was put back into the game. A few hours ago, he was flirting with her and asking for her to cheer for him. Now he was dead, and Calamity might have been able to stop it if she hadn't have gotten side-tracked from looking at that mysterious movement in the woods.

She might have been able to stop it, to prevent a life being taken, but she didn't. She hadn't.

Chase Parker was the first, and he wouldn't be the last. Darkness was rising in the town of Shady River.

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REST IN PEACE

Chase Parker
January 23, 2001 - September 1, 2018

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