Legends of Windemere

(I sincerely apologize for yesterday’s trick . . . Dawn did it.)

University of the Incarnate Word

The three students nervously sit around the table while Professor Soleman quietly cleans his glasses. All of the other customers have moved to the bar, the drinks and sports channel keeping their interest. Cheers rise from the crowd, but the televisions are out of sight from where the trio anxiously wait to find out if they are in trouble. None of them dare to eat the large sundaes that are melting in front of them, the colorful flavors slowly becoming a soup. Unwilling to talk first, they stare at the large aquarium that is in the center of the dining room. The glass cylinder runs from the floor to the ceiling and is filled with grasses that allow the fish to hide. Light bounces off the scales of numerous piranha that dart through the vegetation, their red bellies making it look like they dipped themselves in blood. Two catfish occasionally come out of hiding to search the stones for food, the pair going relatively unnoticed by their carnivorous neighbors. A larger creature can be seen lurking in a sunken log, but it never strays from the shadows. The only reason the students know that it is there is because of the occasional spray of bubbles that come out of the opening.

“There is some news that I want to share with all of you,” Professor Soleman states while taking a bite of his own meal. Dabbing at his chin with a napkin, he settles back in his leather chair and does his best to smile warmly. “I was going to talk to all of you tomorrow, but Coach Warner said that he saw Mr. Chambers in the lobby. That convenience store’s hot chocolate is certainly worth the late-night trip. It is a pleasant surprise to find Mr. Porter and your sister with you as well. After all, what I have to tell you is difficult to say and I’m glad to only have to do it once. By the way, Charlene has said that none of you have classes tomorrow due to current events.”

“Is there a reason you’re pussyfooting around the subject?” Thomas bluntly asks as he gets some courage. Pushing his food away, the young man does his best to show confidence that he does not feel. “If there’s something we should know then please tell us. We’re tired and would like to get some sleep. If you’re wondering why we’re out here then I’ll give you the truth and we can move on. This was a hot chocolate run was to give us a little more energy to finish our studying. Although, it seems like a moot point since we no longer have class tomorrow.”

“Your friends will no longer be attending this school, so I’m forced to disband the mythology club,” the teacher softly explains. Checking his watch, he licks his lips and lets out a slow breath to reveal his own fatigue. “It has been confirmed that Ms. O’Connor was in the fire and Mr. Garcon had a fatal accident. He fell on the ice and one of the other players accidentally cut his throat with their skate. Mr. Pugh has left for the remaining semester to help both families with the funerals. He has taken both deaths very hard, which isn’t surprising. Mr. Garcon and Ms. O’Connor were the ones helping him get out of his shell. As for Ms. Hall, she has dropped out and checked herself into a mental facility. Her own loss has taken its toll on her and she had a severe breakdown upon hearing about her friends.”

“That was rather sudden,” Apollo points out, his attention more on the piranha. Getting an idea, he pulls out his phone to check for messages. “Nothing from Bryce or Harvey, which is very strange. It isn’t that I don’t believe you, Professor Soleman, but I would have expected them to say good-bye.”

“Doesn’t sound like Bryce was in any condition to do so,” Aurora interjects as she tries a bite of her ice cream. The cold ripples through her mouth and makes her cringe from the unexpected headache. “That only explains her, sir. Harvey may be rather shy and introverted at times, but we’re his friends. He would have said something before leaving. Are you sure he left right away and this isn’t a misunderstanding?”

“I didn’t ask him when he came to me,” the professor replies, his tone changing to one with more of an edge. Looking from one doubtful face to the other, he cracks his knuckles and leans forward. “You have questions and concerns, which I understand. Unfortunately, I’m merely the messenger and I lack the answers. Even Charlene has been left wondering why Mr. Pugh has decided to leave so quickly. That isn’t to say that he won’t contact you later once he’s settled in back home.”

Thomas’s chair scrapes against the floor and he gets up to look at the nearby aquarium. “I think we should drop it. Tests are coming and we need to focus. At least I do since my grades are rather low. Chris and Jennifer are gone, but Bryce and Harvey might come back next semester, so we should make sure we’re here too. Honestly, I just want to get back to the dorm before everything hits me and I start crying. I’m having trouble accepting some of it and I’m probably not the only one. Thank Charlene for giving us tomorrow off and thank you for taking the time to talk with us.”

“Yeah, I guess we should get some sleep,” Apollo agrees, getting the sense that his friend has something else on his mind. Grabbing the cherry off his sundae, he pops it into his mouth and puts a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “You can stay in our room if you want. Not sure any of us will get much sleep.”

Wiping a few tears from her eyes, Aurora nods her head and gets to her feet, which nearly give out from fatigue and sorrow. She leans on Apollo to make sure she does not fall, but she swiftly shifts her to a chair since he is checking something on his phone. It takes him a minute to help her stand, the twins yawning at the same time. Her brother gets the sense that she is putting on an act, her breathing and pulse surprisingly steady for someone in her condition. Thomas hurries over to help with Aurora, allowing Apollo to get his keys. The trio seem to have trouble leaving, adding to the idea that they are confused and lost. Once they are sure about what they are doing, they say their goodbyes and leave Professor Soleman to finish his ice cream.

“I hope they sleep well,” the teacher whispers while he watches them leave. Gathering all of the food, he goes about taking random spoonfuls from each one. “I should really do what has to be done. She is becoming a lot less patient and irrational. Not a smart idea to run the risk of getting into trouble. Still, there’s no sense in letting sweets go to waste. I’m sure she would understand.”

(YOU FOUND ME! CLICK HERE TO TIME TRAVEL.)

Girton College in Cambridge

“At least the food is good,” Apollo says with a smirk. He takes another spoonful of pasta, the homemade vodka sauce tastier than when it was fresh. “Thomas definitely knows how to cook and you could have always pushed for the restaurant. Honestly, you gave up far too easily, Aura. Then again, it would have been nice for the warning that eating under the stars meant sitting in a car.”

Thomas hushes his roommate and sips at his beer, the cold drink having warmed up from being placed too close to the heater. Going back to his binoculars, he watches the seven-story building that sits across the street. Having parked on the lower level of a crowded garage, he is fairly certain that they are blending into the scenery. To be safe, Thomas has kept all of the lights off, but the running motor still makes enough noise for him to be nervous. He considers suggesting that Apollo hide under a blanket in the back while Aurora sits up front with him. With a shake of his head, the young man points the idea out of his head since it would come off as a lame excuse to steal a kiss. Focused on solving the mystery of Dawn Addison, he refuses to be distracted by his libido and playful crush.

Feeling a sharp tug on his collar, Thomas looks back to find Aurora silently nodding to their right. There are several cars that have arrived in the parking lot and a flock of gulls are gathered around a dumpster, but none of it seems out of the ordinary. He stares in the direction and leans back enough to see her exact line of sight, but he cannot figure out what has his friend’s attention. Thomas is about to speak when she hits the button to make his seat flip back to its normal position. Head jarred from the unexpected movement, he hands the binoculars over to Apollo and goes back to nursing his beer.

“Professor Soleman is in one of the upper windows,” Aurora finally says after several minutes of silence. She holds up her phone to show that she is using the camera to zoom in on the building. “He has his back to us now, but I happened to see him as he looked outside. There has to be somebody else in there with him since he’s talking. Not that this proves anything since he could be hanging out with friends. Only reason I bring it up is that he has a house on the other side of town.”

“Maybe he has friends or family visiting and they came in late,” Apollo suggests while he opens a box of cookies. Rummaging in the dark, he searches for one that is not broken until he gives up and settles for two halves. “This is ridiculous. First of all, we can’t see anything going on inside. If there was anything strange happening then it wouldn’t be in the parking lot. Second of all, this place looks nothing like the pictures of the original Heaven’s Nest. At best this place could be an homage, but I doubt it. Who would name their hotel after one that mysteriously collapsed and killed hundreds of people?”

“Not to mention the murders and disappearances going on prior to that,” his sister adds while she continues watching the window. Spotting a shadow on the wall, she tries to zoom in, but cannot get a close look. “Well, he isn’t alone, which means nothing. You know, some of us have morning classes. Makes me wonder why I bothered to come along in the first place. I do such idiotic things when I’m hungry.”

“Is that Coach Warner?” Thomas asks, pointing at a man getting out of a battered car. He watches the hooded figure trudge to the entrance, the person moving with a limp and looking to be drinking from a brown-bagged bottle. “Hard to tell since I heard he hates to drink and he looks too short. Then again, that’s his car or at least what’s left of it. That has to be suspicious to you guys.”

The twins shrug and stare at each other until Aurora finally says, “Not really. If that is the coach then he’s got to be depressed. Most of the team is missing or dead, which leaves him calling grieving parents. Then there are people blaming him for the accident because they think he should have known that the ice was weak. Wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’s drinking and trying to hide. The car could be explained by vandalism. A lot of students are angry about what happened. Still, no way to tell for sure and he could be going to the restaurant instead of Professor Soleman’s room.”

With a sigh, Apollo gets out of the car and puts his jacket hood up to hide his face, the thick lining keep warm. Gesturing for the others to stay, he casually walks to the corner and waits for the light to let him cross the street. Pretending to be in dire need of a bathroom, the young man hurries to the door and rushes inside. Thomas and Aurora wait with baited breath, moving only to enjoy more of the cold pasta and slightly warm beer. It takes a few minutes for Apollo to emerge from Heaven’s Nest and continue walking down the street. He ducks into a convenience store and remains by the windows where he picks out some treats to bring back to the car. To make sure he avoids an argument, he tosses the food in first and hands out hot chocolate with a smile.

“Coach Warner wasn’t in the restaurant, but I swear I heard Charlene and a few other teachers talking as an elevator closed,” Apollo reports as he settles into his seat. Turning on the lights, he pulls out of the spot and heads for the street. “No point in staying since we can’t see into the room. Let’s head home and get some sleep. I’ll agree that something strange is going on, but I doubt it has anything to do with us. After all, we’re a club about mythology and this is more for the future police officer club.”

“To be honest, it isn’t like there are any new gods and goddesses popping up,” Aurora mentions while stretching her arms. Seeing a cop car in the distance, she puts on her seatbelt and kicks whistles for the others to do the same. “Best not to add getting arrested to this night. Drop me off at my dorm and we’ll meet up for breakfast. Maybe lunch if I sleep too late.”

Thomas and Apollo grunt their approval, their energy steadily draining now that the excitement is over. The car is about to turn the corner when somebody walks out in front and slams his hands on the hood. To everyone’s relief, the screeching brakes stop the vehicle before it can run over Professor Soleman. Pushing his glasses up his nose, the teacher waves for Apollo to drive into the parking lot and take a spot near the entrance. Confused and tired, the students can do nothing more than follow directions and pray that they have not stumbled onto something that should have remained a secret.

(Dawn & I are sleepy. CLICK HERE to see what happened yesterday.)

Colorado State Student Services Building

Aurora practically drags herself up the stairs after pulling two all-nighters at the lab, her only escape to get food and a quick shower. Her bag thuds on the ground behind her, the only things inside being her phone and a half-eaten sandwich. Having had no luck finding Bryce to talk with about Jennifer and Chris, she settles for her only option. Stepping out of the stairwell, she can already hear her brother and Thomas talking from their room. The door is wide open, but slams shut to muffle their voices. Aurora considers going back to her room even though it has felt like a meat locker during her last few stops. She is about to return to the stairwell when a door below her is kicked open and a couple begins arguing at the top of their lungs. Not wanting to push through the spat, she resigns herself to dealing with whatever crazy scheme Apollo and Thomas are working on.

Taking off her lab coat, Aurora walks down the hallway, but stops at the sensation of someone watching her. Gradually turning around, she catches a flicker of movement in a cobweb-covered window. Inching closer, she finds a moth trapped in the sticky strands that get tighter around it. With no spider to eat it, the insect continues to thrash until it falls to the floor and flaps its useless wings. Aurora bends down to pick up the tiny creature, but leaps back when a lizard darts between her legs to snatch up the meal. Hearing footsteps behind her, the tense woman gets out of the way of a gasping student, who is desperately trying to recapture his runaway pet.

Muttering about needing to drink less coffee, Aurora heads for the room and prepares to knock on the door. Hearing the argument inside, she sighs and settles for slowly entering instead of announcing herself. Her presence is ignored by the two scowling roommates, who have moved to their beds. Old newspapers are spread on the floor and there are printouts pinned to the walls, which once held amusing and raunchy posters. Aurora notices lengths of yarn running from one clipping to another, but there is no pattern to the connections. Scanning the room, she is disappointed in finding no sign of alcohol, which would help explain the tempers and mess that is before her.

“I take I you didn’t hear that Chris disappeared,” Aurora says as she lets the door close behind her. She freezes when two pairs of bloodshot eyes meet her arrival, neither one blinking for a few seconds. “Then again, I guess you have. Bryce wasn’t around, so I figured I would come here to talk about it. Kind of surprised that Harvey isn’t with you too. Unless you drove him away with whatever this is.”

“Let me explain it before you sabotage my argument,” Thomas snaps, throwing his pillow at Apollo. Hopping to his feet, he wavers until the sudden lightheadedness passes and he is no longer afraid of falling. “To be fair, we agree that there is something here. Not so much on what to do. Oh, this has nothing to do with Jennifer or Chris. Really confused on how the rink could have melted so quickly. Anyway, this is about your shared dream. Apollo finally told me a detail that got me thinking. Specifically, about who this mysterious Mrs. Addison is. To keep things to the point, it was a year after we were born, but there was a Dawn Addison who lived in New York City and had a golden eye. I showed your brother a picture and he says that this woman is exactly who is showing up in his dreams. Only she ran a hotel and had nothing to do with a school.”

Apollo holds up a picture and hands it to his sister before grabbing another article. “I’m arguing that we might have heard the name or seen something about her. The woman became an urban legend after her hotel called Heaven’s Nest collapsed. She was inside and wasn’t one of the few survivors. The place wasn’t very far from where we grew up, Aura, so it isn’t a stretch to think we’ve had more exposure to her than others. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but I can’t deny that this woman is in our dream. The resemblance is perfect and even the behavior matches the stories that tell of her being eccentric. After the accident, an office who was trying to arrest her for murder said Dawn Addison was like a living dream that had a flimsy relationship with reality.”

“That has to mean that she jumps into people’s heads!” Thomas blurts out as he picks up a pile of papers. He thumbs through them until he reaches an article that has a picture of Gemma Cooke in her uniform. “There’s too much weirdness here for it to normal. Dawn’s body was supposedly cremated, but nobody knows for sure. This woman vanished a few months after the accident if you can even call it that. Every explanation for the hotel collapsing has holes in it like no damage to the underground gas pipes and proof that the building was constructed to code. The materials were fine until the moment they abruptly broke with no warning whatsoever. Survivors even said that nothing was out of the ordinary until the floor went out from underneath them. It has to mean something.”

“Maybe that you’re either drinking too much or should consider writing a book,” Aurora replies while she takes a seat. Looking at the picture, she cannot avoid the fact that the woman is the same one from her dreams. “Say you’re right about Dawn Addison being in our heads. Why stay there for eighteen years? She hasn’t driven us to do anything other than jolt out of bed sweating. More than likely, our parents talked a lot about her and read about her, which we overheard. They were into spooky stories before we were old enough to speak, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they talked us about Heaven’s Nest around us.”

Refusing to admit defeat, Thomas goes to his wall and tries to find the article that he is sure will convince Aurora that he might be right. Unable to locate the page, he moves to the floor and checks to see if Apollo has moved his research around. Pausing to take a sip from his flask, the determined young man moves on to his computer and goes about printing out what he needs. His tongue sticks out as he searches for more information, each page falling to the floor until he remembers the tray. Grabbing the small pile, Thomas hands half of it to Aurora and the other to Apollo, both of them dropping the pages into a trashcan.

“Now, you two are just being mean,” he replies while reclaiming the printouts. Wiping some pencil shavings off the top page, he holds it out without getting too close. “There have been Dawn Addison sightings all over the place for the last eighteen years. Most of them take place in New York City, but there are others scattered about the state. Not to mention a few in Oregon, one in Alaska, and a handful on cruise ships around the world. They all talk about a woman with a golden eye that is there one second and gone the next. Even though it is so quick, people swear they’ve seen her. How are we to know that Dawn isn’t a ghost?”

“Because we’re sane and at least two of us believe in science,” Apollo calmly replies, his patience for the haunting story running out. Picking up his own research, he hands the thin stack of papers to his sister. “I’m thinking what you are. We might have heard about this woman when younger and she became our boogeyman. There’s nothing more to it than that because the supernatural doesn’t exist. Doesn’t matter if there’s a local place with the same name as the hotel.”

“Oh yeah, there’s that hotel and restaurant called Heaven’s Nest just off campus,” Aurora mentions with a chuckle. Her empty stomach rumbles at the thought of food, which causes her to blush. “Let me guess. Thomas wants to check it out to see if there’s a connection. Sounds pretty ridiculous, but I’ll agree to go along.”

“Great-” Thomas begins to say before he is silenced by a finger to his lips.

“Only because I’m hungry and you’ll be paying for the food.”

“Well, it’s kind of pricey.”

“Then, I’m not going.”

“Wait! What about a compromise?”

Ignoring Apollo waving his hands, Aurora grins and replies, “Very well. I’m willing to negotiate. Let’s hear your offer.”