Nevengton Valley

1: Phinn

*Trigger Warning, this story contains mentions and depictions of self harm, suicide, murder and extreme gore if you are sensitive to these things please don't read thank you :D*

My parents used to have a rule, one rule that my siblings and I would always have to abide by. That rule was also a law in our city and it read "YOU MUST NEVER LEAVE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD EVER". It was a very strict rule but it did not bother me much at the time since I was very young and grew up with it. The day that it all changed was on my sixteenth birthday. August twelfth 2021. "Sarah Lee awakened!" I heard my brother Taylon shout into my ear. I was already half awake at the time so it wasn't too startling. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach and pulled my green and red pillow over my head. "Shut up Tay you are going to wake up Mother and Father, you don't want that do you?" I scolded and he waddled away leaving my room but not after slamming my door behind his feet. The second Taylon was out of my room I sat up. I stretched my back and it cracked with a slight pop. I sighed heavily and got out of bed. I opened my wardrobe and frowned. It was full of pink dresses, pink pants, pink shirts and pink skirts. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the only pair of clothes that would make me feel like me. A jet black hoodie that went down to my knees, keep in mind I am very short measuring only five foot one, along with the hoodie a shredded pair of black skin tight jeans and a pair of black and white platform boots. After I was dressed and one hundred percent sure that I was not "GIRLY" a smile spread across my face which was covered in freckles. I looked good, my hair was decent length, not too long but also not too short. The top of my hair was reddish blue and the sides were raven black, it came down to my mouth and over my sky blueish purple eyes. I ran my pale white fingers through my hair, then I pulled my black beanie on. "Nice" I said with a tired and raspy voice. My feet thumped on the steps down from my room which strangely was the largest however it doubled as an attic. Not even a millia second after my boot hit the kitchen floor the whole room erupted in cheers of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" It was just too loud for me but because of the house rule I had nowhere to run, So... I just smiled and thanked them. After I was bombarded with presents which were all PINK. My legs started moving towards my room which wasn't very difficult to get to because my 8 brothers were all in one place and all measured easily over six feet, so since I was so short it was decently easy to sneak past them without a second glance. I got to my room and locked my door behind me, after I made sure nobody had followed me up I grabbed my phone and texted my best friend in the whole world who sadly wasn't allowed to come over ever because of my family's law and because my town also had a rule of no leaving the neighborhood you were born in. Her name is Kylee Nevengton and she is the girl I am in love with. I texted her a simple {Hey! I kinda wanna sneak out and come see you, what do you think?} I waited for a few minutes until my phone dinged with her reply {I mean we could try, I had a lot planned for today, for us but this goddamn rule we have to live by is driving me insane...it's risky Sarah, if we get caught we will be shot on spot, but if you want to do this meet me by the entrance to Skinhollowton cemetery at sundown. I love ya} I smiled after reading it all. She was right that it would be extremely dangerous but if we pulled this off, we would be able to see what was outside and finally get to meet in person. At around four PM a few hours before sundown I grabbed my backpack and started packing things I would need, my wallet, cigarettes, phone and charger, a pocket knife and my lighter along with some bandages to flatten my chest and of course my Tarot cards. I zipped up my bag and put it on my shoulders. Before exiting my house I left a note on my bed. "Dear family I have decided to run away from home and don't come after me because you will not find me goodbye." The way I made my escape was simple. I cracked open my window and climbed out. It was only a 3 foot drop so I jumped from my windowsill. I landed on my feet then made my way through the neighborhood. It was after the six o'clock curfew, which was a win for me because that meant no one could snitch on me. When I got to the cemetery Kylee was nowhere to be seen. "shit..." I said under my breath. As I turned to leave a hand wrapped around my mouth and pulled me behind the cemetery gate. It was a boy, because it was dark out I didn't recognize my old friend Hunter Slossfieldon. He looked me up and down "Hey girl what are you doing out here it's past curfew you shouldn't ev-" I cut him off  "Firstly don't ever call me girl again and secondly I could ask you the exact same thing...have you seen Kylee?" Hunter laughed softly "Touche...anyway I saw Kayleen or Kayla being suspicious and in our neighborhood not her own, I heard her scream but she went silent quickly, she disappeared when I looked over at her though may-" I slapped my hand over his mouth and whispered "Shut up... are you insane?!" Thankfully I shut him up just in the nick of time because a black car rolled by... not cops not government no. Our city was patrolled by an unknown group. Hunter pushed me off of him and walked out in front of the car. I tried to stop him but it was too late, the gunshot nearly made me gasp but I was smarter than that so I held it in. Seconds later it was dead silent once again. I did not have time to cry or feel emotions. This town was strange and strict and I would solve that mystery right after I found my friend. The next day I was awakened by a gush of deadly wind. I shivered and rolled over thinking I was in my bedroom and must've forgotten to close the window. But no... I was under a tree in the middle of the cemetery. It came back to me when I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I had passed out after I found a bottle of strong Gin, it took only a few minutes for the alcohol to start surfing in my bloodstream. I drank myself to sleep that night. Ever since the age of twelve I have had a severe addiction that has not yet shown signs of getting better.. The weather was not too bad, but my head felt like it was being hit repeatedly with a sledge hammer and my stomach felt like it was being shaken by someone who was eager to win a prize. I felt so sick that I threw up and stood with my hand on my forehead. Everything was blurry except for the figure of a man with something very strange upon his head. I blinked and he was gone as fast as he appeared. My vision started to tunnel and I began seeing shapes and hallucinating. My skin started melting off and the bones in my legs and arms started crumbling. It hurt a lot but not as much as it would if this wasn't just a dream. I awoke to a stray dog barking at me. When the dog sensed I was awake it scurried away down the street. I had been drinking, I must have forgot I was very allergic to Gin, even the slightest drop from a bottle would send me into a hellish nightmare state where everything felt real and looked as if it was real, but no it wasn't real, all of this was just in my head a illusion or a dream that my ADHD must've created right? Wrong, I had no idea yet but I was different from other people. How you may ask? I don't know exactly the reason but something in my chemical makeup was very damaged and caused me to see years into the future past or even the present. It scared the shit out of me but I would learn to respect it and live with it. I stood up and looked at the headstone I was standing over. It was blank except for some mud covering the base. I wiped it off by practically clawing it. It took me a while because I'm a clean freak always have been always will be. I looked down at the base and it read the words "DON'T CLOSE-" The rest of it had decayed off but strangely the writing was very fresh, only being a few hours old. I sighed looking at my hands. "What a night..." I grabbed my bag from the ground and made my way out of the cemetery. Out of my Neighborhood...forever. As the sun rose in the sky I heard the birds chirping their morning melodies, I found myself humming along for whatever reason. It was a beautiful day, the summer breeze kissed my nose and I let out a soft giggle. Even though I had a very rough night, little things still make me really happy. I took out my phone and saw a missed call from Kylee. My heart started racing and I dialed her number. My phone made a humming noise as if it were going through but it went to voicemail instead. Kylee had been on my mind so long I started daydreaming about her. She has a beautiful smile, gorgeous hazel eyes, long red hair and a laugh that could bring tears to the eyes of the devil. I gag because of how cheesy my imagination can get. As I strolled along the sidewalk I passed a house that had a bunch of Sunflowers, Daisies and even Roses in the front yard. I walked up to a Sunflower and used the knife that was in my bag to remove it carefully so I would avoid killing it. Before I could even step away an old croaky voice shouted from inside the practically abandoned house "HANDS OFF MY FLOWERS BOY" I jumped from the yelling but also smiled softly because that was the first time anyone had ever called me a boy. I put the flowers back slightly upset that I couldn't snag a Sunflower for Kylee, they are her favorite flower. I apologized to the man and kept on walking. My phone lit up with an emergency alert saying that Kylee Nevengton has returned home safe. I practically sprinted to her house because I just happened to be in her Neighbourhood. I have never met her in person or so I thought at the time. all these brand new thoughts came into my head. Will she recognize me, will she respect me, is it okay that I'm a boy? I sighed and knocked on her front door. I waited and then my heart did a somersault when I saw her open the door. Before I could say anything she tackled me to the ground and we both started sobbing. She looked at me and smiled softly. I had a feeling she already knew the big secret but she surely would want to hear it from me. I looked her in the eyes and she looked back. "Kylee...I have to tell you something" Kylee smiled and pulled me into her house because like she said in her text if we were caught leaving our Neighbourhood we would be shot and people were already giving me dirty looks. "So dork what's up?" she said with a slight eyebrow raise. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath "Kylee... I'm a boy" She looked at me with the most heartwarming expression I have ever seen. "Babe, do you have a preferred name you would like me to call you?" she asked with a bright tone. I felt the blood from my heart start rushing up to my face, I had not thought about a name but something about Seraphin stuck with me. I gave her a nervous smile and stutterd out my name "I-I'm Seraphin or if you want you can call me Phinn for short " she grabbed my hand and dragged me into her room shutting the door behind us. "Oh my God Phinn, do you have a cold, your face is turning hella red?!" she asked, sounding very concerned. It took me a minute to realize what the hell just happened but then it hit me and of course  just made me an even bigger blushing mess. She laughed very quietly but with the most sadistic tone I have ever heard. I let out a small pout of frustration and crossed my arms. She looked at me and winked which sent me spiraling with love. She grabbed my hand and looked at it noticing my nails were painted black. "So you're an emo?' Kylee declared with a grin. I laughed softly. "Yeah I guess but just because I have black nails doesn't mean anything!" Kylee smirked and took a sip of her energy drink. "So Phinn wanna run away with me?" she asked with a slight head tilt. Before I  answered her I took a moment to appreciate her style. She was wearing a blue t-shirt with a flannel on top and gray skinny jeans that were slightly cuffed. She also had a nose and lip piercing. I nodded "Hell yeah I do" My nose started bleeding just a little and I started traveling through the future and suddenly I was looking through Kylee's eyes. Her Dad had hit her Mom and she was trying to break up the fight. She took a punch to her left eye and fell down. Her Mom was calling to her "Kylee Kylee'' her name started to change in my ears ''Kylee, kyphinn, Phinn Hello?!" I woke up to Kylee calling my name. "I'll try to explain in a second Kylee but we need to leave right now, grab your stuff" I said with a confused but serious tone. She nodded and grabbed her things which for some reason had already been packed. We snuck out the back door and booked it to the Woods behind her house which was a strictly off limits zone. Kylee looked at me and then realized what had just happened. "It happens to you too?" she asked me. I nodded and sat down on the log just beside us. She sat beside me and grabbed my hand. "Phinn can I tell you a story about this town and about my family?" She looked at me and I nodded, laying my head on her shoulder. "About a hundred years ago in nineteen twenty one there was a group of people called The Watching Ones or TWO for short. They were known for some of the most vicious killings like the assassnation of some very important idols of mine, anyway this group's leader was my great great Grandfather Henry Silverton Nevengton the Second. Now he started this group to try and abolish hate, fear, anger and war, but he did it the wrong way. By forcing people to their knees and making them pray to him. He was mad with power and eventually managed to create his own little town which became the city we now stand outside of, this town however had a curse upon it that had been set in 1570 by an unknown evil force that was very powerful and still exists to this day. Now after my great great Grandfather accomplished this he vanished out of nowhere but only a day after his son Henry Silverton Nevengton the Third became mayor of this town. Now Grandpa is still alive today but he is very senile and can't make sense of this world he lives in. My father locked him in our basement so that he wouldn't quote on my Mother and I's intelligence. My Grandpa just before this incident made an insane remark of "Ye who leave will be killed, Ye who stay will be spared" he made this remark because of an incident that happened in these very woods. He was walking down from town hall through a small pathway in the trees, he saw hanging doll heads and what looked like a summoning circle of sorts, he saw a note that said the very remark he turned into a rule which my dad spun into a web of insane laws. This story makes no sense. I know Phinn but that's because it is littered with plot holes...Phinn?" I had fallen asleep in her arms because at one point I got a little scared and wrapped my arms around her, eventually drifting off. She smiled and took the blanket out of her bag and wrapped it around us. That night I had another nightmare. I woke up in the middle of a highway next to a barn, and this man led me inside it. As we walked he pointed up to the scaffolding where I saw Kylee's dead body hanging from a rope around her neck. I screamed myself awake and then started crying. Kylee hugged me and told me everything was okay. She held me and I fell back asleep in her arms. In the morning she was ruffling my kitten-like hair and humming to herself. I grunted tiredly and she chuckled "Morning sleepyhead" I groaned as I sat myself up and saw that in the middle of the night I had taken my hoodie off, which I grabbed and put back on. "So what's the plan for today Kylee?" I turned around and she was not there "Kylee?" I looked around everywhere but she wasn't anywhere. She jumped out in front of me "BOO!" I screamed and hid behind a tree. She walked over to me. "Hey what's wrong?" I frowned. "You scared the shit out of me asshole" she hugged me "I'm sorry I won't do it again I promise" I looked at her "Want me to continue the story?" she asked. I nodded and sat between her legs while she played with my hair. "So before the rule we lived by was a thing there was a great friendship between the Nevengton and Lee families, the Lee family is a big family with over 100 members to this day, not only was it large but was and still is the second richest family in the town. My family and the Lee family got along so much that every Wedding, funeral and even Family dinner there was a Lee in attendance." I interrupted and said "Before you continue it's our families' ' Kylee didn't fathom the fact that she was in love with someone who had the last name Lee. She continued "The families mysteriously fell apart and no one knows why to this day, but the Nevengton family split the town in two, one side to themselves and the other to the Lee family. As she spoke my hands began to sting, it felt as if something was slicing into my palms. I looked at my hands and saw that I had left crescent moons in them. They were starting to bleed just a little so I pulled my sleeves over my hands. The feeling of dread had started to inflame my head. The thought of angering my Father started pounding into my brain. He had always been a drinker just like me, but when he drinks he gets very aggressive and starts using his fists instead of his words. I covered my ears with my hands and started rocking back and forth because the memories started to trigger me into a panic attack. "STOP, PLEASE JUST STOP" I shouted as the tears pricked my eyelids. Kylee had gotten very worried, to the point of her backing away. I tried reaching out for her but she had already left. Or so I thought. My vision started to get all wonky and I heard laughter and saw the man but this time he was much closer than he was previously. I blinked and he was gone the same way it happened last time. Except for the fact that I saw his face...it was paler than my skin white as the moon... his face well all that was there was a smile and two holes for eyes. He was wearing a tuxedo with white pockets and a pair of dress pants that must've been at least a century old. His hands were saggy  and melted off,  his fingers were very thin and long, he had basically no meat on his body so his brittle bones were noticeable. He spoke in tongues mostly not making any sense. I came back to reality in a fit of sweat and heavy breathing. Kylee had disappeared once again, however  I had a strong feeling that she wasn't fucking around this time and was actually gone. The essence of her existence was no longer relevant. Knowing me, she probably got frightened from all the shouting I did. I shrugged it off though because right now I need to focus on this dream or vision I've been having and find out why the hell it's appeared in my head twice.