Rain had a way of making Eastbridge feel alive, even when it was dead quiet. Streets slick with water, reflecting the amber glow of streetlights, shadows twisting and hiding in corners, like the town itself was watching. I tugged my hoodie tighter over my head and tried to ignore the chill crawling up my neck. Typical Wednesday night. Nothing exciting ever happened… until it did.
I was cutting through the alley behind the off-licence, hoping to avoid the roadworks on Queen Street, when I saw the smoke. Thick, black, curling into the night sky like someone had lit the entire world on fire. The smell hit me first — acrid, sharp, and wrong. A couple of blokes were gathered nearby, phones out, faces pale in the glow. Their whispers floated to me on the wind, useless and panicked. Then came the sirens. One, two, echoing down the alley like a warning.
I didn't stick around. Eastbridge isn't the kind of place you stop to stare. You see fire, you walk faster. But just as I was about to turn, my phone buzzed.
Ben: "Meet me. Urgent. Don't tell anyone."
I froze. Ben Harper. My best mate since Year Seven. The lad who could piss me off more than anyone else but would still have my back when it mattered. If he said it was urgent, it was serious.
I didn't answer. I couldn't. I shoved my phone into my pocket and jogged down the wet pavement toward the canal. The closer I got, the worse the smell became — burnt plastic and metal, something sharp and metallic underneath. My gut tightened. Something was wrong.
By the canal, the scene was… well, nothing like I expected. Police tape flapped in the wind. Flashing lights painted the walls and the water in red and blue stripes. Shadows moved behind the tape, figures too far away to make out clearly. And Ben? Nowhere to be seen.
I pulled my hood lower, trying to stay unnoticed. The police weren't interested in teenagers wandering around at night. But someone was watching. I felt it in my gut.
Meanwhile, Ella Gray walked home the long way, avoiding the alleys. She didn't like the rain much — or maybe the danger that seemed to lurk behind every corner. But she had a way of noticing things, always a step ahead, and tonight that sharp instinct made her pause near the canal bridge. From there, she could see the flicker of lights, the thin curl of smoke rising into the dark sky. Something told her this wasn't just another fire, not in Eastbridge.
Back in the alley, I found Ben's rucksack dumped near the skate park. I almost tripped over it, heart hammering. My hands shook as I picked it up. Inside was his cracked phone — dead battery — and a folded map of Eastbridge with several spots circled in red. Something was written on the edge of the paper: "Don't trust anyone."
I blinked. What the hell was going on?
And then I saw the photo. A small, crumpled image of Ella Gray, with a red cross drawn over her face. My chest tightened. Why would Ben have this? Why would anyone? My head spun with questions. Someone was trying to send a message. And I had no idea who it was for.
I stuffed everything back in the bag and glanced around. Footsteps echoed in the distance. Someone was moving, slow and careful, making no sound beyond the gravel crunching under their shoes. My heartbeat spiked. I spun around — nothing. Just the shadows stretching along the wall, mocking me.
I ran. Not far, just enough to get my breath and think. Rain pelted my face, soaked my hoodie, but I didn't care. Eastbridge could be brutal at night, but I wasn't about to let fear stop me. Not when Ben was out there somewhere, and Ella… well, I didn't even know what to feel about her anymore.
She was careful, always careful, but tonight her instincts would be needed. She didn't know it yet, but danger was closer than she thought. Someone was already watching her. And maybe, just maybe, they were the same ones who had Ben.
I ducked into a side street, crouched against a brick wall, trying to calm my racing heart. Rain ran down my face in cold streams. I thought about texting Ella, warning her. Then I shook my head. That was stupid. She'd know something, and she didn't need me making it worse. Not yet.
And that's when I knew: nothing in Eastbridge was normal anymore. Not the alleys, not the fire, not the missing mate, and certainly not the girl who had been in my head since Year Nine. Everything had changed.
Tonight, I wasn't just Jamie Carter, sixteen, trying to survive school. Tonight, I was someone who had to dig into secrets, lies, and shadows… or risk losing more than my best mate.
And somewhere in the rain and smoke, I knew Ella Gray would be part of it — whether she wanted to be or not.