Death's Promise

By Cheryl Twaddle

Annabelle Roberts is a lonely girl. She has no friends, her father is dead and her little sister and mother are too busy with their own lives to notice that something is terribly wrong. Annabelle is not like other people. You see, when she sleeps, she travels through time, visiting places and people from the past. She doesn't know why or how she does it and it scares her. Now, one of the people she's met in her dreams has just strolled into her English class and she has no idea what he wants. This is just the start of a series of events that will reveal who Annabelle Roberts really is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cheryl Twaddle
• Release date: Jan 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9780987913500

Cheryl Twaddle

I love to write and try to do it whenever I can. My mind is full of stories about life from a different perspective. I love the 'what ifs' of where we come from and if there is anything else out there that we have always been on the edge of discovering. I have three beautiful daughters who are growing into their own independent personalities. Rachel has just finished her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rebekah is pursuing a Bachelor of Psychology and Kayla is becoming an amazing digital artist. My husband, Simon, and I live in the beautiful city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada where the Rocky Mountains can be seen in the distance, offering me all the inspiration I need to write.

Book preview

Death’s Promise

By Cheryl Twaddle

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2012 Cheryl Twaddle

Smashwords Edition

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Chapter 1

She sat at the back of the classroom like she always did and tried to pay attention to what Mr. Adder was saying. She had started the class by sitting up straight, eyes open and focused on the teacher. Her intentions were good; she was going to listen to every word and try not to fall behind. She hated math and her marks showed it. She needed to start pulling her grades up or her mom was going to kill her. She was almost finished grade eleven now and her mediocre marks were never going to get her into a university, or so she'd been told. What did she care? Her mom was the one who wanted her to continue her education. She shifted at her desk as Mr. Adder roamed the classroom while he talked. It was a habit of his to make sure his students were paying attention.

Annabelle Roberts had just turned seventeen the month before. She was a pretty girl; slim, not very tall with straight, light brown hair that fell just below her waist. She never wore makeup or jewellery and was more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts than anything expensive or trendy. She had unblemished pale skin, soft pink lips and big clear blue eyes that peeked out beneath her bangs. She had everything a popular girl should have except for one thing; everyone hated her.

She had been going to school with these kids since kindergarten and had chummed around with most of them at one time or another, that is, until junior high school started. That's when puberty hit and everything changed. The boys started to notice the girls and the girls liked it. Some of her friends started to dress differently and act differently. They wore makeup, did their nails and spent hours on their hair in an effort to make the boys notice them and the other girls jealous. Annabelle was different. She could care less what anyone thought of her. She kept her old jeans and refused to wear makeup, thinking it was all stupid. When her friends went shopping for new clothes at the mall, she stayed at home reading or playing games on her computer.

She liked her time at home where she could be near her mom and little sister. Her father was killed in a car accident when she was in grade six and keeping the rest of her family close was comforting. Being away from the ever-changing social scene at school, however, proved disastrous and she eventually found herself alienated from her friends. They stopped inviting her to their parties or asking her to go anywhere and soon, her solitude was no longer by choice. By the time high school came along, she had no friends left. Not wanting to burden her mother with her problems, she started building walls around herself and no one could get past them even if they wanted to.

Mr. Adder returned to the front of the class and continued explaining quadratic functions. Annabelle looked around and wondered if she should be taking notes. What was the point? She slumped forward and leaned her head on her hand. Maybe she would come in after school for Math Help. She'd done this before but it seemed useless. She just didn't understand math and no matter how hard she tried or studied, she wasn't going to. Math was boring and if she was bored, she couldn't concentrate. She turned to the window and watched the branches of a tree gently sway in the breeze.

Miss Roberts? Mr. Adder was looking at her, waiting for an answer. Some of the kids had turned in their seats to glare at her with smirks on their faces. She hadn't even heard the question.

'When did they start hating me?' she asked herself. 'I can understand they don't want to be my friend but why do they hate me?'

Annabelle? Mr. Adder asked again.

Yes?

Do you know how to enter quadratic equations into your calculator?

No. She kind of knew the answer but it was easier to say no than to stutter through an answer while everyone laughed at her.

Maybe you should come in after school today. Mr. Adder said as he searched for someone else to answer his question. She brushed off the sarcastic remark and leaned back in her seat. She looked straight ahead and caught the eyes of Rhonda Phillips who was still laughing at her with a look of pure hatred on her face. She quickly looked away. A long time ago, Rhonda Phillips used to be her best friend.

They had met the first day of kindergarten and became best friends right away. They did everything together, always in the same classes, even in the same groups when it came to projects and teams. They played at each other's houses everyday, had weekend sleepovers and had their whole lives planned by the time they were seven. They were going to finish school and go to college together, get married and have kids at the same time who would be best friends just like they were. They had shared everything. Rhonda had even held her hand at her father's funeral and made sure she was okay. They were supposed to be best friends forever but something went wrong and Annabelle had never figured out what.

In grade eight, Rhonda changed. She grew two inches almost overnight, her waistline thinned, her hips widened and her breasts grew. This, along with her big brown doe eyes and her wavy brown hair, made her very popular with the boys and she loved it. She had never received that much attention before. She enjoyed flirting shamelessly. Her clothes started to get skimpier and tighter. The teachers had to send her home to change on more than one occasion. She started wearing makeup, smoking, and developed a nasty attitude.

Through all of this, Annabelle kept her mouth shut. This was her best friend, after all. She convinced herself it was only a phase and Rhonda would eventually grow out of it. Then, one day, Rhonda didn't meet her at the corner as usual to walk to school. Thinking that her friend was sick, she continued on alone. When she got there, she went to her locker to put her backpack away and get her binder. Rhonda's locker was next to hers and she glanced at it hoping her friend was okay. To her surprise, Rhonda sauntered up to it with three grade niners, two boys and a girl. Annabelle had seen them before and knew they were bad; in fact, she was pretty sure they had already been suspended twice before.

Rhonda! I thought you were sick, said Annabelle.

Why would you think that? laughed Rhonda.

You weren't at the corner. Rhonda slammed her locker shut and leaned down so she could look Annabelle in the eye.

Little Annabelle, she said. I can't walk you to school forever. She patted her cheek and tried not to laugh but the three grade niners snickered loudly. Annabelle felt her heart sink as tears came to her eyes. Rhonda turned to her friends. Let's go!

You going to the cafeteria? It had been their regular hangout before school every day. She still held out hope that Rhonda was just showing off in front of her new friends.

No, sweetie, she gave a sideways glance to her friends, we're going out back to smoke. Annabelle's eyes went wide. Wanna come?

N-no, she stammered. You know you're not allowed to smoke cigarettes on school property!

Who said anything about cigarettes? Rhonda laughed. Come on, guys, let's go. One of the boys put his arm around her, and nibbled at her neck. She giggled loudly and they started to walk away, her hand in his back pocket.

"You're right, she is pretty dumb!" he laughed as they walked away.

That was that; their friendship was over. There was no fight, no disagreement, no reason or explanation. One day Rhonda was her best friend and the next day she wasn't. She didn't know what she had done to cause Rhonda to hate her so much. She even persuaded others to stay away. Annabelle tried to find out why. She called her, left notes for her; she even went over to her house and was rudely turned away by her big brother, Tom. Finally, she gave up and anger set in. What did she need a best friend for anyway? Rhonda had changed, becoming a person she didn't even like anymore. She was doing drugs, drinking and there were rumours that she had slept with some of the boys at school. It was good that they weren't friends but it wasn't and Annabelle found herself missing their friendship. She silently fell into a depressed solitude.

Rhonda had provided the mortar for the first brick in her wall and now, she had sealed herself completely inside. She was able to disregard the evil glare from her former friend, took a deep breath, and turned her eyes back to the tree outside, praying for the bell to ring. It was Friday and Math was the last class of the day. Although she had nothing to do, she still looked forward to the weekend. She could be alone in her room away from all the laughter and stares.

Finally, the bell rang. She sat still, waiting for everyone else to pick up their stuff and make their way out. She had learned that if you waited an extra five minutes at the end of the day, the hallways cleared out, making it easier to walk. The classroom emptied and she started packing up her backpack.

Annabelle is anything wrong? asked Mr. Adder. Like the other teachers, he pretended to be concerned but she knew that they really didn't care. It was their job to look concerned for their students but, in reality, they were uncomfortable with any real teenage problem. They had lives and families of their own and didn't want to get bogged down by an emotional adolescent girl.

No, nothing's wrong. I just like to let the hallways calm down before I go out there. It was all she was willing to say.

Oh, he said awkwardly. Well, Math Help starts in ten minutes. You can stay for that if you like.

No, that's okay. Great, she had forgotten about Math Help.

Are you sure? You looked confused in class today.

No, I'll get it, she said. I have to get home. My mom's expecting me.

Okay, but you should consider coming in a couple days next week. Finals will be here before you know it.

Okay. She finished packing her books and stood. It hadn't been her required five minutes but she didn't want to talk anymore and she didn't want to be here when the kids from Math Help started arriving. She said a quick goodbye, headed out the door, and was relieved to see that the hallway wasn't that crowded. She wasn't surprised; it was Friday and there was probably a party that everyone had to get ready for.

She didn't need to go to her locker. She had given up on trying to make her way through the crowded hallways just to retrieve a coat or a book. Instead, she carried everything with her in her backpack and always wore a hoodie or a small jacket, even in the dead of winter. This meant she could wear it to all of her classes. In fact, it had been so long since she had been to her locker, she had forgotten the combination of her lock and was regretting the day she would have to go to the office and ask for the code, knowing how stupid it would make her look. The school was emptying out quickly as she made her way to the nearest exit.

Parkville High wasn't a big high school but it was the only one in town. It held about six hundred students and had almost everything the big city high schools had. It was built in nineteen fifty- six and had been the most modern building in Parkville at the time but things had changed since then. The building, itself, was getting old and could use some major updating. It stood in the south part of town, had two floors, covered five city blocks and the red brick it had been built with had clearly faded over the years.

Inside, the floors were covered with black and white tiles that still gleamed when the sun poured through the windows above the lockers. The walls were painted white and were repainted every two years religiously. The lockers were tall and were the familiar blue that school lockers always seemed to be. The office, gym and cafeteria were on the first floor along with some of the lesser classes. Most of the regular classrooms were on the second floor.

This was where Annabelle came from when she left her Math class. She quickly ran down the stairs and out the door. There was a small group of tenth graders gathered at the bus stop but she ignored them as she put her hands in her pockets, lowered her head and walked past. She didn't have a far walk, maybe a mile; she'd be home in less than twenty minutes. It had been the main reason her parents had bought their house where they did. They were within walking distance of the elementary school, the junior high school and the high school. Their children would never have to suffer the misery of waiting for the school bus, a fact they would be grateful for on the cold winter mornings Parkville experienced.

Parkville was established in eighteen ninety-one when the settlers had come out west. It was nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and was one of the prettiest little towns in western Canada. It had never become a very big town, with a population of just over ten thousand and its small town atmosphere was part of its charm. Everyone knew everyone else and when something went wrong, there were always people to help. One year, in nineteen sixty-one, a fire swept through the north, burning down ten houses. Ten families were left homeless with nowhere to go. The rest of the town chipped in and helped them out, providing food and shelter for all of them and within six months, their houses had all been rebuilt.

It was this small town atmosphere that Annabelle had grown to hate. When her father died, it was nice to have everyone care about her and her family. They had filled the church at his funeral and had made sure her mother didn't have to do anything. When Rhonda turned her back on their friendship, however, the tightness of the town's teenagers made it worse. Word spread fast that it was not the coolest thing to be seen with Annabelle Roberts and it wasn't long before no one would talk to her.

She got past the group of tenth graders and then looked down the street. It was a gorgeous day. Almost all of the snow had melted and the sun was shining high in the sky. Pretty soon, she'd be able to just wear her hoodie and leave her jacket at home. She took in a deep breath and filled her lungs with the crisp air that still held a scent of the winter chill. The trees that lined the streets were still bare of any leaves but she could just imagine what they would look like in the summer. She smiled to herself at the thought. Summer, she couldn't wait. There would be no school, no gossip. It would be just her in her room with no one to answer to or hide from.

These thoughts made her walk home pass quicker than usual and, before she knew it, she was walking up her driveway. She lived on a cul de sac with her house set right in the middle. It was two stories high and the original wood siding had long ago been replaced by grey aluminum. The front yard had flowerbeds beneath the windows, a small lawn and a huge willow tree took up the rest of it. There was a long driveway leading up the side of the house where the only thing that ever parked there was a small travel trailer sitting up on blocks. They used to go camping a lot when her father was still alive but they hadn't been out since his death. Her mother's silver Jeep Cherokee was always parked in the single car garage at the back of the house. Soon, she hoped to have her own car but the odd jobs she had worked at over the last couple of years had not provided her with enough money to buy one.

She reached in her pocket for her keys, knowing that no one would be home for a while. Her sister, Lily, was going to a friend's after school and her mother wouldn't be picking her up until she was off at five from her job at the real estate company. It was Annabelle's job to have supper ready by the time they got home. She looked in the mailbox before unlocking the front door and pulled out the usual pile of bills. The house was quiet and she smiled at the peacefulness of it as she walked in.

The living room was off to the right and it was full of the afternoon sun. She was glad she had remembered to leave the curtains open this morning; the hardwood floors were so beautiful when exposed to the light. She took off her shoes, just like when she was little, and skated in her sock feet over to the coffee table to set down the mail for her mom to see when she got home. There was a pale green Victorian sofa facing the window and a china cupboard in the corner full of little knick-knacks collected and handed down over the years. Her mom always got good deals on the furniture left over from the newly built homes' open houses. There were a few plants hanging here and there but this room was very formal looking and as such, no one spent a lot time in here.

She passed through the room and headed for the kitchen. She was hungry and started a futile search for food. It's not that she was a fussy eater; she just never seemed to be able to find anything good to eat. Time and time again, she would go into the kitchen, open the refrigerator door and stare; unable to spot anything that she really wanted. Then she would shut the fridge, start investigating the cupboards and pantry always coming up empty handed then return to the fridge, open the door, look again, and settle for something she didn't really want or need.

Today, though, she knew exactly what she wanted. She had been thinking about it all afternoon; a toasted baloney sandwich with pickles and mustard and a big glass of chocolate milk to wash it down. She never ate at school. Going to the cafeteria was pure torture with all the whispering and staring behind her back. Bringing a lunch to school was out of the question as well. Since she refused to go to the cafeteria, she went to the library and there was no food allowed in there. She would usually go all day without eating anything except, maybe, the occasional chocolate bar from the vending machine. This made her very hungry by the time she got home. She made her sandwich and put the plate on the counter where they all sat to eat breakfast.

The kitchen opened up onto a large family room that was more casual than the living room at the front of the house. There was no hardwood in here. Instead, a soft grey carpet covered the floor. There was a huge black couch facing a warm brick fireplace with a flat screen TV hanging on the wall above it. On either side of the couch were recliners that provided Annabelle and her sister a cozy place to sleep on 'movie nights' in the summer. There were bookshelves full of books lining one wall and sliding glass doors that led out to their deck and backyard on the other.

She went to get her milk and then sat down at the counter and started inhaling her sandwich. She looked over at the table in the kitchen nook and sighed. The flowers her mother had put there the other day had died and she made a mental note to replace them tomorrow. She could get up early, take her mother's car to the grocery store, and pick some up. They were cheap there.

After eating, she put her dishes in the sink and opened the meat drawer in the fridge to see what her mother had taken out for supper. Three small steaks sat in a plastic package. Annabelle looked out the window and decided it was probably nice enough outside to barbecue. That gave her enough time to go up to her room, listen to some music, and maybe read a few chapters of a book she had taken out of the library. It was only three thirty so she had about an hour before she had to start anything. She grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs.

Chapter 2

The first thing she noticed as she walked down the deserted street was the smell of horse manure. It was so strong that it made her wrinkle up her nose in protest. The smell wasn't the only thing that grabbed her attention. She looked down and realized she was wearing a long dress that was dark and heavy with something bulky weighing her down. When she tried to turn to see what it was, a sudden tightness wrapped around her entire upper body.

What the...? She stood up straight and felt her waist and sides. A corset? Okay then.

Annabelle was back in the world of ghosts, at least that's what she called the strange places she encountered when she went to sleep. They weren't dreams; dreams were fairytale-like with rainbows and flowers and blue flying horses, and they weren't nightmares, either. Nightmares were scary and full of monsters; neither of which ever showed up while she slept. These places were real. She could smell things and taste things here. When the sun was out, she could feel the warmth on her face and when it rained, she felt the wet drops touch her skin. It was like another world existed when she closed her eyes. A world that was like earth and yet not; a memory of what the world used to be.

She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until the horrible smell had reached her nostrils. The last thing she remembered was lying on her bed, head propped up on her pillows, and reading a very boring book. Her music had been playing softly into her ears from her i-pod and now, she couldn't even hear it.

None of this surprised her anymore. She'd been having these 'dreams' for a while now and she had gotten used to the 'rules'. The first time had happened five years ago, about a week after her father had died. She had been in a fog then, not sure of whether she was coming or going. She and her dad had been close, doing almost everything together. She had been his little girl and did everything she could to make him happy. He, in turn, would take the time to sit with her everyday and talk. She had been young, then, but she remembered the conversations they had being serious and full of questions and wonder. He understood her and she felt safe and protected just knowing he was there.

He used to take them camping every weekend in the summer and he and Annabelle were fearless in the woods. Lily was so small then; only five, unable to do too much. She would stay at the campsite with her mom while Annabelle and her dad went off exploring. They hiked, fished, and swam in the river, enjoying everything nature had to offer. It was so much fun and whenever she thought of those times, she smiled. They hadn't been out in the woods since his death; not even for a hike or a picnic and she missed those days a lot.

His death had hit her hard and she felt lost without him. Even Rhonda, her best friend back then, couldn't console her. She went to bed every night because she was told to but she couldn't sleep and she couldn't cry; all her tears had been shed the first day. She had felt so empty and heavy at the time. It was hard for her to lift her arms or her head and she walked around like a zombie. Her mom had felt that she should go back to school after that first week but Annabelle didn't want to go back then or ever. She wanted to crawl up into a ball and wait to die so she could join her dad. She wanted to camp with him again and sit on his knee listening to his stories one more time.

Eventually, between her friend and her mom, they convinced her to go back to school. The night before her return, she went to bed knowing she needed to get a good night's sleep and convinced it wasn't going to happen. She was wrong. Maybe it was from exhaustion or maybe she secretly wanted to but, whatever the reason, Annabelle had fallen asleep almost immediately after her head hit the pillow. It wasn't just a light, ordinary sleep either. No, this sleep was intense and her whole body shut down. If anyone had tried to nudge her awake that night, she never would have felt it. It was the rest she had needed and when her mother looked in on her, she was relieved to see her oldest daughter looking so peaceful. What she didn't know was that Annabelle was far from 'peaceful'.

She had been so sure of her inability to sleep that when she woke up, she thought she was safe in her bed in her room. She opened her eyes and saw only darkness. Typical, she didn't even make it until the early morning. She went to roll over to check out the time on her bedside digital clock and realized that something was different. First of all, she was not lying down. Instead, she was standing in the middle of a road somewhere. It was dark outside but not the darkness that comes with nightfall. This darkness came from bad weather and a gloomy atmosphere. It was cold and wet and she tried to wrap her arms around herself. That's when she realized she was dressed oddly. She had on a black dress that came just above her ankles. There was no corset then, being only twelve allowed the garment to be much less restricting. Around her shoulders was a grey woollen shawl full of holes and a bonnet of some kind sat upon her head. She was standing in black mud that seemed to be sucking her boots away from her feet. She raised her head and tried to figure out where she was.

Get out of the way bairn! Ye shall get killed if ye stand there like that! A man from a carriage yelled at her as he steered his horse around her, splashing her dress with wet mud.

She gave out a startled scream and ran to what looked like the sidewalk. She didn't understand what was happening. The last she remembered was being in her bed in Parkville and trying to go to

Reviews for Death's Promise

[ljldml · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What an original story. Imagine being able to travel through time while dreaming. Annabelle can. She doesn't know nor can she control her travels. The problem with this story is Annabelle herself. She's a good character, but too passive. I kept wanting her to fight back against the people around her. They bullied her and she did nothing to defend herself. She did grow and become stronger as a person.This is a good book. Definitely worth reading because it is so different and original. Would I read more by this author? Probably not. It wasn't as good as I expected it to be.