For Nevermore Season 1

missing woman. Her brain simply filled in the gaps and created an elaborate backstory to flesh out the unknown. She had no way of knowing if Melissa were actually kept in a basement dungeon, and no reason to think she’d seen a glimpse of Tori’s fate.
    Besides, the serial killer hadn’t targeted children, so far as anyone knew.
    Even if she had somehow seen the future, how would she tell Tori and Jen about the dream without Jen thinking she was some kinda lunatic?
    Hey Jen, I get these psychic visions of women being murdered, and I just thought I’d let you know that I saw Tori kidnapped, so you might wanna watch out for serial killers.
    How do I know for certain, you ask?
    Well, I also happen to be able to travel between worlds, and even rode a centaur. So, obviously, I’ve got a firm grip on reality.
    Yeah, that’ll go over well.
    Tori’s closed door swung open and the girl hopped from the Element. “Hi, Noella,” she screamed,waving. “Good morning!”
    Noella waved back. “I’ll see you after school, okay? I have to catch the bus!”
    Jen called, “Wanna ride? It’s no trouble at all.”
    Noella shook her head. “No, thank you! I’m meeting my friend Mako at the bus stop. She’ll kill me if I stood her up!”
    Jen said okay and that she would see Noella later, then everyone waved once more and Noella half-ran the rest of the way toward the bus stop, figuring she would catch Tori up first thing after school since she would be watching her anyway. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Tori or not, because even though Tori was smart for an eight year old, she might not take that kinda news well, which meant Noella would have to tell Jen. Which meant that Noella had between now and this afternoon to figure out what, if anything, she’d say.
    Noella ran into Mako a block from the bus stop. “Don’t you ever leave me like that again!” Mako said, still visibly upset over Noella’s sudden departure yesterday at lunch. “I was worried sick about you!”
    Noella was defensive. “Oh yeah, did you call me to see how I was?”
    “You’re on blackout, remember?” Mako said, pouting.
    “I’m sorry,” Noella put her hand on Mako’s shoulder. “I was just moody and wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and forget the whole day ever happened.”
    Noella had been strongly considering telling Mako the truth about everything since nothing would feel better than to feel a little less alone, but she hadn’t started with word one since she already had enough people thinking she was nuts, and certainly didn’t need her best friend hopping aboard.
    But now that Noella was reasonably certain that she wasn’t crazy, she could see confiding in Mako. But the problem was that she would need enough time to get her full story out. This wasn’t the sort of bomb you dropped on the way to school, “Hey, Mako, I am traveling between worlds. There’s a stranger from my dreams, Dante, who’s like totally real, just like the centaur I rode on when we were running from the airship. And oh yeah, I’m somehow seeing the serial murders from TV, but live in my head. OK, gotta run and get to biology. See ya by the vending machines at break!”
    No, that was a KING-SIZED crazy info dump, and something Noella needed time to explain, time when she could be alone with Mako and make sure she didn’t overreact, which she had a tendency to do with even minor things. This particular conversation would require a solid hour, if not a month’s worth of cool down, and would have to wait for after school, if Mako could manage to get out of her house long enough.
    All in all, Noella wasn’t sure if telling Mako would be beneficial to either of them, and the practical part of her figured it would most likely be a burden to Mako.Best to keep it to herself, she figured.
    Mako looked at Noella and smiled, then hugged her. “I’m sorry, I was just worried.”
    While Mako tended to get dramatic, she never made you beg for forgiveness.
    “You’re awesome,” Noella said. “Thank you for understanding. So what’s new?”
    “Well . . .” Mako started, just as a horn honked from behind.
    Noella turned and saw Sam pulling to the curb in his sister’s VW Beetle.
    “Oh God,” Noella said to Mako. “I’m soooo not ready to talk to him.”
    “Can’t run away from him forever,” Mako said as Sam rolled his window down.
    “We need to talk,” he said to Noella, leaning across the passenger seat and pointing his face out the window.