a deadly storm, an unsolved disappearance, and a small town brimming with secrecy;
an outcast girl, a boy who only knows how to hide, and the world against them;
what could go wrong?
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Thirty minutes later, Boo stumbles in through the front doors of the Harrisford Hardware Hub, unsurprised to find it completely empty. Her coworker Luke is slumped over behind the front counter, his cheek squished into the palm of his hand as he absently drums on the desk with a pen. He perks up upon seeing her enter, drenched hair and all.
"Melly Mel!" he sings, sliding over the counter and grabbing her in a crushing hug before she can run away. "I missed you!"
"I told you not to call me that," she grumbles, squirming to get away from him. "It's so childish."
"Yeah, because Boo is such a welcoming name," Luke simpers. He releases her with a playful grin. "You'll scare away our darling customers that way."
"Good," she laughs. "Not like anyone is gonna show up in this weather anyhow. Can you believe he made us come in?"
"Old man's losing it, that's for sure," he hums. He grabs her elbow and tugs her toward the break room. "Come on, Mikey and Tanya are here too."
"Oh, thank God," she sighs in relief.
"I know," Luke laughs. "We make things that much more enjoyable."
"You have no idea."
Michael and Tanya are holed up in the break room, playing paper football with a bag of stale marshmallows. Luke opens the door and they both look over, their smiles igniting when Boo traipses in.
"Aye, look who it is!" Michael cheers.
"Thank the Lord," Tanya sighs with a smile. "Save me from these idiots."
Boo grins as she slides into an open chair next to Tanya. "Least all the cool people got dragged into this."
Luke plops down beside Michael and stuffs a handful of marshmallows into his mouth. "Michael," he says in a muffled voice, smacking him repeatedly on the arm. "Hey, Michael, look."
"What?" Michael gripes, turning around.
"Chubby bunny," Luke grins, right before half of the marshmallows fall out of his mouth and into his lap.
"Gross," Boo whines, wrinkling her nose as a string of slobber hangs from his lips. "I take back what I said."
Michael is cackling with laughter while Luke pops the marshmallows back into his mouth one by one. Tanya throws Boo an exasperated look before reaching up to turn on the old radio sitting on the table. She fiddles futilely with the knobs; the signal is weak from the storm, and the best that comes through is varying levels of static.
"Why can't Frank just pony up and buy us a TV?" Tanya mutters, giving up on finding something to listen to. "Or at least a radio from this century."
"Shh," Michael whispers. "If you say his name, you summon him."
Tanya rolls her eyes. "He's not a ghost, it doesn't work like that."
As if on cue, Frank tromps into the break room only minutes later, looking like he's out for blood. His narrowed eyes land on Boo first.
