Crest

By Jesse Wright

Living in a small town, not much can go wrong. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is kind to each other. So when a murder strikes the small town of Crest, who can be trusted anymore?

May Dee is an average girl in an average small town with not-so-average secrets. She meets a boy who has his own secrets and anger problems to match, and an unlikely friendship occurs. When faced with murders near her home, she has only one option of thinking. Could this boy, Silas Kredible, be the one killing people in his own town, or is her imagination playing a cruel joke on her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524582609

Book preview

Chapter 1

A Stroll with Silas

It was cold, and I still had a bit of a walk left. I decided to walk the trail in the park that cut from my work and went straight toward my house. I got to the opposite side of the park, and I heard the last voice I wanted to hear.

May Dee! Wait up!

I sighed and stopped. Silas. Hey …

Looked like you were avoiding me for a bit. He smiled, now at my side.

No, Silas. I’m just trying to get home.

I’ll join you. It’s very cold out. He took a step to suggest we go on walking.

I joined his long strides. This boy was a year older than me, eighteen. He was at least a foot taller than I was … but then again, I was pretty short. He had medium-cut red hair that sat just over his ears and so many freckles. He was the nicest kid I’d ever known. Why avoid him then?

In eighth grade, he went and got himself arrested. Everyone at school, me included, was so afraid he’d snap again.

So … history … I tried to break the silence.

Reading, too. He looked up at the moon. Hey. We began tourist season Thursday. Do you like Crest Fest?

I’d rather not discuss Crest Fest. That was the holiday that celebrated the founding of the town of Crest. The town held contests and other fun activities for the outside towns to enjoy. It only meant revenue for the locals, but at the expense of Chaos. Today, the store where I worked was robbed and my coworker was at gunpoint. It happened every Crest Fest, though there had only ever been one fatality. It’s never been the same person twice… one year it’s the gas station, the next it’ll be the store, and after that it could be the restaurants. Crime rates just… skyrocket this time of year. Tourists come in, loiter, litter and harass the locals; it’s all around an unpleasant time of year. It’s just an annoying holiday geared for tourists.

Oh, well, off that topic, I suppose. He laughed as we entered the business block. It was the last stretch to my house and Silas’s. There was an old hotel, next to the old liquor shop, where people were talking. There were four of them, with one girl, and their sights were set on us. They were huddled together, sharing one cigarette and talking about something, glancing around pretty often. There were three guys and one girl, and now their sights were set on us. Silas ignored their prying eyes and changes the topic.

. Are you ready for Mr. John’s test tomorrow?

I laughed and shook my head, Not a bit. We passed the people and we smiled at each other. How about you?

Someone grabbed my shoulders, and I stiffened, feeling something stick into my back. Speaking of the crime rate increasing …

Chapter 2

Speaking of the Crime Rate Increasing

The chaos began as they started growling for our money. Hand it over! Come on, We don’t have all night. I turned my pockets out and tried to give them the only money I had, six dollars stuck inside my wallet. They didn’t wait for me to get it out; they just took the wallet and ripped it open. It was the last thing my grandpa had given me before passing away. I tried to reach for it, to save it, but the man behind me hit the back of my neck and then the top of my head. He kneeled down and stuck a knife to my back. Whoa, don’t go after it, May, Silas said. He hadn’t moved since the knife entered my back. The girl and second guy were going through his pockets.

Come on! a man growled at me. A teen has more spending money than this! He ripped away my purse and turned it upside down. Lip balm, my phone, gum, mints, and keys fell out. They hit the ground, and the man fell to the ground to search through it all. Nothing!

The woman pulled a knife from Silas’s pocket. Where’s your cash?

It’s in the knife, actually, Silas said. I’ll get it for you; pass it back.

The man behind Silas walked in front of him, and the man behind me pulled the knife from my back and moved it to my neck. Oh gosh … I felt the tears swell in my eyes. The man took the knife from the woman and pointed it at Silas. We aren’t stupid. Tell us how to open it.

Silas took a deep breath in, tilting his head back as though sucking on a freshly lit cigarette, with his hands stiff at his sides. He sighed and nodded. Open the blade. The man obeyed. Now, turn it toward you and remove the belt clip. The man turned the knife toward himself, and Silas forced his hands forward. The knife stabbed into the man’s stomach. Silas grabbed the knife and leapt back. Come at me! he shouted.

The man behind me moved the knife to my back again. Ross, it’s not worth it anymore. He pointed inside the hotel. I looked and saw the hotel crew stirring inside.

Please, hurry.

The main man, Ross, pulled a gun, and the woman cowered. I’m out. If this ends in murder, I’m out! she said as she ran behind Silas. Silas was unaffected, and it gave me a spark of insane confidence. I watched as the man pulled the hammer back. I couldn’t take it. I shot forward, and as I ran, the knife stabbed into my back. I tackled Ross and knocked him down. The gun hit the ground and fired. Ross started beating me. The two people left standing held Silas back. He had snapped.

Men from the hotel ran out and grabbed everyone except for the man lying on the ground with the knife wound in his stomach. Silas was still in his rage.

His eyes were filled with fearful anger as