The Present in Splinters on the Ground

 I moved to a new area for school a week ago, a small town across the state from my home town. I was trying to escape the pain of my sister's disappearance, to escape the presence of that demon. And I was successful, for a while; I found the process of getting settled into my new life distracting enough.

It didn't last, however. Earlier today, when I was getting coffee, I had a strange encounter with a dour man. After the barista called my name and I got my drink and stepped outside, I noticed that a guy who had been sitting in a corner in the coffee shop was approaching me.

"Hello, Liz," he said to me; I didn't respond. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new here?"

I didn't know this man, didn't want to talk to him. "Leave me alone. I don't know you, and I don't care to know you." I turned and kept walking.

"Aw, don't be like that. I know how hard it can be to move to a new place, and I just want to make it a little easier for you, is all."

"I'm serious, leave me alone. I'll call the police if you keep following me," I replied, and again turned to keep walking.

"Fine, I'll get right to the point. I know what happened to your sister."

I stopped. I had never seen this guy before, so how did he know, not only that I once had a sister, but also that something happened to her? I turned to face him, and I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't lying. We stood in an uncomfortable silence for a while until he continued.

"I can take you to her, if you'd like."

"I don't know you. I don't trust you. I'm not going anywhere with you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded note card. "I understand. If you want to find her, I can at least show you where to find her. Here's where you should look." He handed me the note card and turned to walk away.

When I got inside the apartment and went into my room, I sat at my desk and unfolded the note card. There was an address written on it, and nothing else. I went on the internet and searched for the address, and found that it was the address of a park in the center of town. Just looking at pictures of it on the internet was enough to fill me with dread, but what was even worse was that the park wasn’t too far from the apartment, which meant that that man could easily find where I live if he ever saw me there.

But I have to know what happened to Hallie. I don’t know what I’ll find there, but I’m going to the park soon.