CHAPTER SIX:
ON REPEAT

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THERE WAS A THUNDERSTORM the day of Maggie's seventeenth birthday. As per usual, Maggie was up way before everyone else was. But instead of nightmares, her sleep was broken by sporadic claps of thunder and flashes of lightning casting an eerie glow through her window. From her spot resting against the headrest of her bed, Maggie thought the flashes looked like fireworks, bright sparks of white that marked the special day she was born. It encouraged her to get a closer look, so she heaved one of her aunt's knitted blankets over her shoulders and stuffed her feet into a pair of Vera's old bunny slippers, padding downstairs to sit in the bay window of her aunt's study.

Here, she had a clear view of her backyard, the dying grass that lead to an aged but sturdy wooden fence, and beyond that, miles upon miles of bushland. Her backyard was alive with shadows, thunderclouds dancing in reckoning, only to be broken apart by momentary sparks of light. Maggie could almost believe they were glimpses of the sun hiding behind the darkness, if it wasn't for the sky's roars and the rain gushing down on their tiny town, threatening to swallow them whole and never let them free.

"Maggie."

There was a sharp tap on the study door, followed by a creak as Dakota stepped inside. Her arrival brought the sounds of her other family members. She could hear Wren arguing with Zeke and Everrett singing along to the radio, Vera telling everyone and no one the new gossip from town. Lost in her thoughts, in the war happening up above, Maggie hadn't heard them wake up.

"Oi, Maggie!" Dakota groaned, snapping her fingers in front of Maggie's face. "I know it's your birthday and everything, but that doesn't give you an excuse to ignore me. I'm not Zeke."

"Sorry," Maggie giggled at her. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Yes, and we're waiting for the guest of honour to bring her head down from the clouds so we can eat," Dakota muttered, just bark and no bite. "Now up you get or I'll eat your pancakes."

"No you won't," Maggie scoffed.

Though she wasn't going to take any chances. With one last glance outside, Maggie followed Dakota out into the kitchen. Her arrival sparked the classic 'happy birthday' tune sung by everyone, Zeke's loud croons echoing over the others.

"Happy birthday, darling girl," Wren said into Maggie's ear as she embraced her youngest in a hug. Then, in a voice too soft for anyone else to hear, she whispered, "Your mama would be so proud of you."

Maggie smiled happily, allowing her aunt to usher into the chair at the head of the table, the one usually reserved for Wren herself. Everyone else soon joined them, Everrett putting together Maggie's plate for her before Zeke could scoff everything down. Most of the meal ended up being a silent affair, aside from the occasional mutters of plans for the day and Everett's radio playing some old country song.

"I'll be just a second," Vera said as she finished up her food, ducking over to the sink to set aside her plate before she disappeared outside. Maggie watched her take a set of keys off the hook by the door but paid no mind to it, taking another bite of her food.

But there was something different to the silence with Vera gone, something even oblivious Maggie had noticed. Gaze darting from Zeke's smirk to the amused glint in Dakota's eyes, she frowned. "What?"

Before either could say anything, Vera came back inside. She wore a bright smile on her usually stoic face as she strode right up to Maggie, dropping the keys onto the table before taking a seat again. It took Maggie a moment, her eyes locking on the keys she'd never seen before. There was a singular car key attached to a Scooby Doo chain glinting bright under the kitchen's lights. Maggie glanced from it to her family, from the smile her aunt and uncle were sharing to Vera and Zeke high-fiving and Dakota rolling her eyes at them.

"I'm confused," she breathed out.

"Jesus, Maggie, have you really not caught on yet?" Dakota sighed. She didn't allow Maggie a moment to defend herself, rising from the table and latching onto her elbow. "Come with me."

The rain had faded into a drizzle and the sky had cleared up, though it was still rather dark outside, the thunder an echo in the distance. Parked in the drive was a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, the car everyone in the Sullivan family knew Maggie loved. Maggie gasped at the sight of it, spinning around to gape at the others.

"No way," she managed to get out, eyes darting down to the key Vera had brought with her. "You didn't..."

"Why don't you see for yourself?" she grinned, dropping the key into her palm.

Maggie rushed down the porch steps, the twins hot on her heels. She stopped by the driver's door, popping the key into the lock and clicking it open. She squealed as the door swung open, revealing the dark leather interior of the car. Her car, their car.

"You did," she cried, launching into the arms of Zeke and Dakota. "Oh my god, is this real? You better not be joking with me."

"Now that you mention it," Zeke smirked, though quickly raised his hands in surrender when Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. "I know we agreed that the Beetle was too expensive for the three of us to save for, but we couldn't resist."

"I chipped in too," Vera added as she stepped up to the car, running a hand along the bonnet. "I know I'm a bit of a hardass with you, so I wanted to show you that I do love you, at least a bit."

"I think I might vomit," Dakota muttered, though her grin disputed her harsh words as she winked at them. "Would you look at that, Vera does has a heart."

Maggie chuckled and drew Vera into their circle, "Thank you guys so much, I have no idea what to say right now."

"You don't have to say anything," Zeke said, reaching around Dakota to squeeze her shoulder. "Just don't crash our car, this beauty really took a hit to our savings."

"Does that mean I can drive today?" Maggie beamed. The youngest Sullivan sibling had gotten her learner's permit on her sixteenth birthday and was planning to go for her test sometime in the following weeks.

"Yes, but you better get a move on," Vera said with a glance down at her watch. "School waits for no one, ducklings."

Maggie rushed back inside to get ready, leaving the already dressed twins to groan at the nickname Vera had given them when they were toddlers. It didn't take Maggie long to get ready, deciding to veto the makeup and just brush her hair and teeth once she'd replaced her sweats with a pair of flared blue denim jeans and a soft beige off-the-shoulder sweater. She was just grabbing her sneakers and book bag when Wren knocked on her door, a dark blue box with a white ribbon tied around it grasped in her hands.

"I know you're eager to take the Beetle for a spin before school, but do you have a minute?"

"Of course," Maggie smiled at her. "What's wrong, Aunty Wren?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to give you this." She passed Maggie the box, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and gesturing for Maggie to join her. "It's your mother's."

Suddenly, the box seemed so much more fragile, a priceless artefact unlike anything Maggie had owned before. The world seemed to fade around her, from Wren's mutterings about the box's contents to Scooby sniffing around their feet, everything just went quiet. Then with a blink of her eyes, her brain caught up with the world.

"I know I said it earlier, but she would've been so proud of the woman you've become," Wren murmured, brushing a strand of Maggie's hair behind her ear. "You remind me so much of her. Sometimes, I look at you and believe my sister is home."

The words were a crushing weight on Maggie's chest. They were supposed to be a good thing, a declaration that Maggie was everything Delilah Sullivan would've wanted from her, but there was more sadness to the melancholic feeling in her heart than happiness.

Bitter acid burning in her throat as she whispered, "I don't think she'd be proud of me."

"Oh, Maggie," Wren sighed. "She would be, I know it. You have a strong heart, just like her. If that's not something to be proud about, I don't know what else would be."

Maggie stayed quiet. Instead, she removed the lid from the box and drew out the two objects inside. The first was an old polaroid camera with a stack of blank and used polaroids. Some showcasing Maggie and her siblings as kids, others of Delilah and Wren. The second was a thin gold chain with a faded heart-shaped locket attached to it. Maggie remembered it as the locket her mother always wore when she was alive. Inside, there was a photo of Delilah and Wren as teenagers on one side and the Sullivan siblings on the other, their tiny smiling faces sending another ache through Maggie's heart. She held the locket to her chest, squeezing the pendant and her eyes shut for a moment.

Wren was watching her when she opened them again. She mustered up a smile, both real and fake, and hugged her close, "Thank you."

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MAGGIE'S BIRTHDAY HAD COME and gone before she knew it. One day, she was celebrating with her loved ones. The next, she was standing in a crowded school corridor with an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Another person had died. Were they murdered? Killed? Maggie didn't know the right word to use anymore.

This time, it was the mother of a boy who went to school with them. He was only fifteen. He had younger siblings, a sister who was only six-years-old. That in particular hit way too close to home, and Maggie knew she'd have something else to talk about in her next counselling session. She didn't know the boy or his family, but Hayden did. The girl whispered about the lady, a woman with a name Maggie didn't remember, who helped Hayden's grandmother with their garden. They were neighbours. The new cold case could've just as easily been one of them, and Hayden knew it too.

"This is just so strange," she said. Maggie nodded in agreement. Strange was one word for it. Heartbreaking was another. "Another animal attack. Surely the police should've found it by now."

"I'm sure they're trying," Jacob said. He and his friends had sought the two girls out the moment they arrived at school. "But just when it seems like this animal is gone, another body is found."

"Just doesn't make sense to me," Maggie muttered. She blinked. In the darkness behind her eyelids, there was a flash of red eyes, bloody teeth, conjured creatures of the night. A shudder went down her spine that everyone noticed, but pretended not to for her sake.

Hayden poked at her shoulder and jokingly said, "What are you thinking, Velma Dinkley?"

It was that one moment. That one comment that helped put everything into perspective.

Later that evening, Maggie was at Hayden's house for a movie marathon. The two girls had walked home together after school, neither having their car with them since their siblings had them for the day. They avoided the usual track, taking the long way past where Hayden's grandparents lived. It was there that they spied the house. The boy was sitting on the porch, head in his hands. A police officer was speaking to his father, who wore the same exhausted expression as his son. The two younger siblings were playing in the yard, oblivious to the fact that their mother had been found there, dead and gone. It sent a familiar ache through Maggie's chest, and she and Hayden quickly averted their eyes away.

Something just wasn't adding up. Deep down, Maggie had known it for a while. Known it since her mother, if she was being completely honest with herself. But the clock was beginning to tick, the sand in the hourglass fading into nothing, and something had to be done.

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MAGGIE SENSED THE EYES on her before she saw them. She was back at school, leaning up against Hayden's car as she waited for the girl to join her so they could leave. There were a few others lingering around the parking lot, but none that Maggie knew. So when the feeling of being watched kicked in, she immediately grew tense.

Heart ringing in her ears, her pulse almost sky rocketed when she spotted them. The same two figures from the beach that day with Paul. They stood unmoving, unyielding. Maggie was close enough to see the smirks they wore on their faces, almost like they could hear her pulse spiralling away at the sight of them.

Two odd figures who watched and waited, bodies appearing left and right, ruby red eyes that matched the bloody teeth of a figure looming over her mother. Carson and his wounds that matched Delilah's. It looped over and over in Maggie's head like a broken record stuck on repeat.

There was a shift by her side, causing Maggie to flinch and leap away from whoever had suddenly joined her. Turned out it was Paul, Jared trailing behind him with caution. Neither one looked at her, instead watching the trees with narrowed eyes.

"You two scared the shit out of me," she sighed as she pressed a hand to her chest. She looked back to the trees. The figures were gone. "Okay, what the hell is happening right now?"

Paul clenched his jaw, eyes burning holes into the side of her face, "Nothing."

He turned on his heel and left before she could say anything more. Jared hesitated for an instant, offering up a tense smile, and then he was gone too.

Hayden appeared a moment later, oblivious as she grinned at Maggie and unlocked her car, hopping into the driver's seat and gesturing for Maggie to join her already. "Sorry I took so long, had to see Miss Watkin before I left. You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Maggie took a moment to think of her answer. She buckled her seatbelt, leant back in her chair with a sigh. In the end, she settled on, "I'm fine."

And Hayden accepted it, moving on to something else and leaving Maggie feeling like the biggest liar next to Paul Lahote. But she had a lot going on in her head to sort through before she could even think of letting Hayden in on her thoughts. So she stayed silent as Hayden chattered away, trying to make sense of the puzzle with a few too many missing pieces.

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A/N: Don't have much else to say except I'm sorry it took me so damn long to update. Let me know what you think, though! Thanks for reading!