Celestial Sisters

Chapter 1: Girl In The Attic

"Are you sure this is legal?" Laurel yelled over the roaring thunder. Her sopping brown curls whipped across her face as the violent wind raged on.

Twyla and Alix groaned and flashed their friend a murderous look. That was the fifth time she had asked that question and their answer was still the same. No, Laurel, it's not illegal. They said that while conveniently leaving out the- as long as you don't get caught- part. For the past five years it had became a sort of tradition for Laurel and Twyla to wander outside of the town's perimeters, on the last day of summer, and find something mildly dangerous to do. Laurel, being the perfect honors student, and president of student council always inadvertently acted like a wet blanket. She had her reputation at the nursing home to uphold, after all. Twyla had a reputation to uphold as well- at the county jail- and she couldn't disappoint those poor officers who were waiting for a worried phone call from some innocent standbyer. Alix, didn't have a reputation like her friends, she was new to the group. She had been exiled from her lavish New York City parties and swanky penthouse to dreary Covington, Louisiana. It was just one of many things Twyla and Alix shared in common- being exiled.

"It's just that, that doesn't look very safe," Laurel mumbled, pointing at the monstrous building that loomed in front of them.

The girls had climbed through the town's expansive forest, tripping over tree stumps and slipping through mud all the while carrying heavy backpacks filled with Jack Daniels. Neither Alix or Laurel knew where Twyla was leading them. They followed her blindly into the deepest part of the forest, where all light had been concealed by the thick green canopy above their heads. Laurel remembered in vivid detail how terrified she had been when Twyla first led them into the forest. Out of the three girls, she was the only one who had lived in Covington her whole life, she had grown up perched on the lap of her grandfather, listening to the local stories of monsters hiding in the forest. She didn't believe the stories, they were just a bunch of superstitious mumbo jumbo. But as the girls continued weave in between trees, images of bloodsucking demons and rabid wolves ran through her head.

When they reached the treeline Laurel couldn't tell if she was relieved or devastated. Sure, they had escaped the woods without hearing a snarling beast or seeing two blood red eyes but the place they stumbled upon was way more terrifying. Covington Manor had once been a proud establishment of Louisiana, but that was before termites and two hundred years worth of decay settled in. What once had been a glamorous manor, owned by the social of elites of a new world, was now a worthy destination for a new horror movie. Alix and Twyla weren't phased by the fact that the ceiling might cave in on their heads or that they could die from breathing in all that asbestos, that's what they liked about it. Danger compelled them like a moth to a flame.

"It'll be fine," Alix rolled her eyes, "But if we die, I'll let you kick my ass in heaven."

"As if you'd go to heaven," Laurel muttered under her breath.

Alix didn't say anything.

"Come on Laurel, don't tell me your scared? Remember last year, at the Barrywood swamp, when we found an actual corpse. Now that was scary," Twyla taunted, a wicked smile toyed on her ebony painted lips.

"I distinctly remember telling you that I was never going on one of these trips again, after that. You should be glad I even came," Laurel retorted.

Neither Twyla, Laurel or the entire population of Covington knew exactly why the two girls were friends or how it had even happened. One second, Laurel was being coerced into showing the new punk kid around school and the next they were skipping classes and planning great escapades together. Life worked in strange ways. Mrs. Jameson, Laurel's mother, was still in denial about their friendship. She just couldn't see why her perfect child would spend time with Twyla and nobody could honestly blame her. Twyla looked like one of Hell's Angels, in her studded leather jacket and knee-high combat boots. And Laurel was the princess of pep in her pastel dresses and pearls. For this one special occasion, Laurel managed to ditch the pearls and dresses for a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt and pair of jeans. None of the girls, except for Alix, anticipated the storm, so they were all trying to squeeze underneath Alix's small umbrella.