Chapter Text
Dara and Sierra carried their things into what used to be Sara and Nathan’s house. Walking through the front door felt strange. Two siblings replacing two siblings.
Isn't that macabre?, Dara thought.
She couldn't help but wonder what had really happened to Sara. When they first arrived in town, Sara had seemed so nice. Then came the seizure, and suddenly she had just lost her mind, trying to kill Ethan before ending up slaughtering her own brother. The whole thing was a nightmare. Dara had never understood the appeal of horror or mystery stories. Back home, she would have preferred sitting on a couch surrounded by friends, giggling over the cheesy dialogue of a badly written romcom.
What she wouldn’t give to go back. But instead, they were stuck here. A terrible town full of terrible creatures and terrible secrets.
And now, even her own sister was shutting her out. Why would Sierra not just tell her the truth about what Father Khatri had said? To the rest of the town, Sierra probably seemed like a great liar, but Dara knew her sister's tells. The flat, monotone voice. The forced, unblinking eye contact. The way she unconsciously rubbed her right palm. Or worst of all: the deflection.
Dara was just so sick and tired of everyone babying her. She was done being left in the dark, whether it was about family drama or town secrets. At least the people up at Colony House seemed welcoming and transparent. She definitely needed to talk to Julie again.
“Earth to Dara.”
Her eyes snapped to her sister who was sitting on the floor, unpacking the suitcase in Dara’s new bedroom. It was the bigger one of the two. Sierra had insisted. The smaller room had a window wall, whereas the bigger room had a huge closet and a mirror. Dara was happy with the decision.
“You were zoned out for like three minutes,” Sierra said, looking slightly worried.
“I asked if we could split up some of your clothes since we're pretty much the same size. Just tell me which ones you want for yourself. If we need more, Kenny's mom said that there are more clothes in the back of the barn.”
“Oh, yeah sure… no, wait. Not my skirts. Let me take a look.” Dara kneeled down next to her sister, rummaging through the clothes, separating them into two piles.
After a couple of minutes, Dara handed her sister a folded sweater, glancing at her in thought. She bit her lip, “You would tell me if you were hiding something serious, right?”
Sierra looked up. “Where did that come from?”
“I know you lied to me at the diner,” Dara said, her voice tightening. “We're living in a dead girl's house. Her brother was murdered. If there’s something else out there that's going to hurt us, I deserve to know."
Sierra stared at her for a long beat, the air in the room growing heavy. Finally, she let out a quiet breath. “Before Ethan ran, Sara told me that ‘the voices’ wanted her to kill him. She thought it was the only way we'd all get to go home… according to them.”
Dara froze, the sweater slipping from her fingers back into the suitcase. The room suddenly felt suffocatingly quiet. “The voices? And you weren’t going to tell me that?”
“I’m telling you now,” Sierra said, her voice dropping into that calm cadence she used whenever a situation started spinning out of control. She didn't blink, keeping her gaze locked steady on Dara. “I just didn’t want you to worry. For all we know, Sara could just be going crazy and imagining voices telling her to do things.”
Dara rubbed her temples, letting out a frustrated breath. “Stop doing that, Sisi. Stop treating me like a kid who needs to be shielded from reality. We are stuck in a town full of monsters outside, while people are losing their minds inside. If anything’s going on, I need to know. We have to start talking to each other openly. Confide in each other. I can't handle the monsters and you trying to keep me in the dark.”
“I hear you, but we also need to focus on what we can actually handle,” Sierra said smoothly, standing up and brushing off her jeans. “Sara is not here right now, and we don’t know if those voices were real in the first place. We have a roof over our heads, a talisman on the door, friendly neighbors, and a routine. Let's stick to it.”
She walked over to the window, looking at the diner next to them.
“Since we’re talking about routines... I’m going to head over to the barn in a bit,” Sierra continued, her tone shifting back to business. “And I’m going to need you to look after the animals occasionally.”
Dara blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. “The animals? Why me?”
“Because I’m going to be spending my time with Kristi at the clinic every other day starting tomorrow,” Sierra explained. “Nathan was the one managing the livestock, and now that he’s gone, someone needs to feed them. If I’m stuck inside dealing with medical supplies, someone needs to keep an eye on things out there. It’ll give you a reason to get out of the house, anyway.”
Dara sighed, looking at the piles of clothes, suddenly eager for any excuse not to stare at the walls all day. “Fine. I’ll feed them, that’s it… and take your pile of clothes with you. I’m going to talk to Julie.”
“Colony House sucks.”
Dara snorted, kicking her heels slightly, so the cold water splashed against her ankles. “Does it? Some of the people there seem pretty nice. And since you’re all living together, at least there will be fewer secrets… unlike in Town.”
The two of them were sitting at the edge of the Brundles, the sun warming their shoulders, while their feet dipped into the slightly cold water. Dara had needed someone to vent to about her older sister refusing to communicate openly with her, while Julie desperately needed to complain about her family and certain residents of her new home.
“That’s what I thought at first,” Julie said, leaning forward on her knees. “My parents are constantly fighting and my mom’s just... not really there. Emotionally, I mean. Fatima, Ellis, and Donna welcomed me with open arms when we first arrived, and I thought it was the best choice for me. I thought I could finally be my own person with my own choices, but it’s so fucking chaotic."
She rubbed her forehead, letting out a sharp breath.
"Living with Fatima and Ellis is cool and all, but it’s also really awkward. I feel like I’m a burden to them because I have no one else here, and they can’t get any alone time because of me. And Trudy pisses me off. She keeps taking my stuff without asking!”
With a frustrated groan, Julie pulled her legs out of the water, letting them trail in the damp grass as she fell backward. She covered her face with both hands to shield her eyes from the glaring sunshine.
Dara watched her for a second before lying down beside her, the grass scratching softly against her neck, curls sprawled out around her head. “That’s annoying. You should steal your stuff back from her. Or lock it up.”
“She’d probably break the lock just to annoy me,” Julie sighed from beneath her palms. A comfortable silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant rustle of the trees and the gentle lapping of the water. Then, Julie peeked through her fingers and chuckled. “Maybe we should just beat her up.”
Dara exhaled a laugh, staring up at the blue sky. “Sure, tell me when and where. Let’s square up.”
Both girls giggled, their problems fading into the background for just a moment. A smile still tugged at Julie’s mouth before she sighed, “You know, I’ve always wanted an older sister.”
“It’s not all that, believe me,” Dara said, though her tone lacked any real bite. “But then again, my sister is way older than me, so I might not be the best judge.”
Julie rolled her head to the side to look at her. “Really? What’s your age difference?”
“I’m eighteen, she’s nine years older. We never truly lived together, or I just can’t remember much of it, since she moved out when I was seven or eight.”
“Oh,” Julie hummed, turning her gaze back to the sky. “That sucks. But you’re still close, right? Despite the age gap. That has to count for something.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” A hint of a smile appeared on Dara’s face, thinking of Sierra's stubborn, protective nature, even if it drove her crazy sometimes. “How’s your relationship with your brother?”
“Regular, I guess,” Julie murmured, her voice dropping slightly. “I feel kinda bad. Like I just abandoned him with our parents just to stay here at Colony House.”
“My sister and I don’t understand the whole Choosing Ceremony ritual thing,” Dara admitted, turning onto her side to prop her head up on her hand. “Why do you have to choose where to live, and then it’s just decided forever? You should be able to live in Town whenever you want. We could be roommates.”
Julie smiled, “I’d like that. Honestly, anyone would be better than Trudy.”
The two girls lay there in the grass in silence for a while, watching the clouds drift by, until Dara broke the quiet. “What do you think about ‘Julip’?”
“What’s that?” Julie asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked over.
“Your nickname. I love giving people nicknames.”
“Julip as in tulip, the flower?”
“Yup. Or what about Juju? Jules? BeetleJules? Judge Julie?”
The girl next to her laughed, shaking her head. “Please don’t call me Judge Julie or BeetleJules. I beg you.”
Dara chuckled. “Did you know that tulips symbolize new beginnings? Or a declaration of love. Well, those are the general meanings. Depending on the color, the interpretation can change.”
“Why do you know so much about flowers?”
“I just love them.”
“Really?” Julie asked, turning more toward her. “What’s your favorite?”
“Dahlias,” Dara said without hesitation. “They represent grace and inner strength since they’re able to withstand really harsh conditions. But they can also have negative connotations, like betrayal. Betrayal is mostly associated with the black dahlia, though, which is actually burgundy and not black.”
Julie listened attentively, the bitterness from earlier completely gone from her face. “What color do you think I am?”
Dara paused, looking at her friend for a moment before a soft smile touched her lips. “I think you’d be orange. It symbolizes friendship and appreciation, Julip.”
After spending most of the day with Julie, Dara felt joyful and optimistic. She was walking back to Town when she saw Father Khatri entering the church across their new home. Her plan of giving Mrs. Lui another visit in the diner completely forgotten as she followed him.
He was opening the door to the back as she called out, “Father, I was hoping to speak with you.”
At the sound of her voice, Father Khatri jumped, pulling the door shut behind him with a heavy thud. He spun around, his hand lingering on the doorknob a fraction of a second too long. For a fleeting moment, a look of pure panic crossed his face before he forced his usual serene mask back into place.
“Dara,” he said, clearing his throat as he stepped away from the door, blocking it with his body. “You startled me. I didn't hear you come in.”
Dara paused in the center of the aisle, her brow furrowing slightly at his intense reaction. Nevertheless, she tilted her head, and let out a small chuckle.
“I’m sorry, Father,” she said, walking down the aisle with a light step. “I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I saw you walk in, and I was actually hoping I could ask you a quick question… if you have a minute?”
Khatri offered her a warmer, more relaxed nod. “Of course. I always have time. Is everything alright? I heard you and Sierra moved into your new place today.”
“We did! It’s really nice to have our own space,” Dara said, smiling. She leaned against the back of one of the wooden pews, twisting her long necklace around her finger out of habit.
“I actually wanted to thank you for the sermon after Nathan passed. It really helped. Back home, going to church was just a normal Sunday routine, but here... it felt different. It made me wonder how you do it? How do you stay so strong and keep preaching with everything that's outside those doors?”
Khatri’s expression softened into genuine warmth. He leaned against the altar rail, looking relieved by the earnest conversation.
“The core of it never changes, Dara. If anything, faith matters more here. People need a reminder that there is still light, even when the nights get dark. It’s not always easy, but seeing all of you show up keeps me going, too.”
“Well, it definitely helps,” Dara said, genuinely comforted. Then, she gave him a playful, knowing look. “Though, speaking of people keeping you busy... my sister talked to you earlier today. She was acting all mysterious about it, so I just wanted to ask what it was about since she’s usually not really big on religion.”
Khatri kept his smile steady, though his posture tightened just a fraction. “Ah, yes. Sierra. We were just discussing town logistics and how she can help out at the clinic.”
“Why would she go to you for that?”
“Well, because Boyd and I help coordinate who goes where, especially when it comes to essential services,” Father Khatri replied smoothly. “Kristi is running that clinic entirely on her own out there, and she desperately needs the help. Your sister came to me to see where her skills would be most useful. This town can be very hard on people who have too much time to sit and think. Sierra just wants to keep her hands busy.”
“Right,” Dara hummed. She nodded slowly, letting her fingers drop from her necklace. It made sense, she supposed. Sierra was always the type who needed a project or a checklist to keep her from spiraling.
“Yeah, that sounds like her,” Dara said with a soft sigh, though a small part of her still felt like they were both leaving something out. She shook it off, not wanting to ruin the good mood she’d built up today. “Anyway, thank you, Father. For the talk. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”
“Anytime, Dara,” Khatri said, offering a parting nod as she turned to walk back down the aisle.
He waited until the heavy front doors of the church clicked shut behind her. The moment she was gone, the smile vanished from his face. He let out a long, tense breath, turning back toward the basement door, his hand reaching for the knob once more.
“What are you doing?”
Sierra didn't look up immediately, her pen scribbling furiously across the lined paper of a notebook. She was sitting at the worn wooden table in their new home.
She finally put her pen aside and looked up. “Making notes. Organizing my thoughts.”
“What do you have so far?” Dara asked, walking over to her and leaning against the kitchen counter. “How was the trip to the barn?”
“Comforting,” Sierra said shortly.
Dara sat down on the chair next to her, pulling her knees up to her chest. She stayed quiet, staring at her sister and visibly waiting for an answer to her other question.
Sierra sighed, sliding the notebook a few inches toward Dara so she could see the neat handwriting filling the page. “I wrote down weird things I have noticed. Like the tree, the crows, the voices… things like that.”
Dara glanced down at the list. Seeing the absolute insanity of this town written out in bullet points was surreal. “And? Did organizing them make them make any more sense?”
“What a sentence. And no,” Sierra admitted, her jaw tightening as she tapped her fingers against the cover of the notebook. “But it beats sitting around waiting for something else to happen. If there’s a pattern to this place, I want to find it.”
“You know, you don't have to figure it all out today, Sisi,” Dara said softly. “Did Kristi specifically ask you to help out in the clinic?”
“No, Kenny did. Why?”
Dara blinked. Kenny. A cold prickle of confusion washed over her. Just thirty minutes ago, Father Khatri had stood in the church aisle and smoothly told her that he and Sierra had been mapping out town logistics and clinic volunteering. But if Kenny was the one who set up the clinic gig, then Khatri’s story was a complete fabrication.
Why would the priest lie about a conversation with her sister? What were they actually talking about?
“Dara?” Sierra prompted, eyeing her closely when she didn't answer. “Why do you ask?”
Dara swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, forcing her expression to stay neutral. She wasn't ready to let Sierra know she’d been digging, and she definitely wasn't ready to admit that the town priest was acting shady.
“Oh, nothing,” Dara said, offering a quick, casual shrug as she stood up. “Just interesting how Freckles is personally assigning you jobs to keep you busy. I would expect that Boyd would do something like that since he’s, you know, the sheriff,” she teased.
Sierra’s expression instantly flattened into her signature deadpan stare. “Freckles?”
“Don’t act like you haven’t noticed.”
“I haven’t, actually.”
“That’s surprising.”
“How so?”
“You usually pick up on things quickly,” Dara smirked.
“Apparently not this time.”
“Mhm, sure,” Dara chuckled, but the sound died in her throat as the first distant ringing of the bell cut through the air. The joke died unfinished, and Sierra didn't snap back. Without a word, their eyes met.
It was almost sundown.