A Winter During Mid-July

A Story by umm.e

Is it possible for an entire town to change over night?

It was a warm summer evening where the sun was shining bright as if it were planted there by the deities intentionally to make fun of the town's misery. The town, once a supposedly a happy�"and normal�" place, is now openly encountering unintentional changes. It's almost ironic when u look at it from afar. Could such a dull place be filled with peculiar secrets?

Let us go back to where it all began. This unwitting tragedy, as it was called, all began behind Adam Schoner's dilapidated house. His house was that one house on the neighborhood that all the kids egged for enjoyment; the poor man didn't expect all the tricks in return for his negligence to treat the kids. Sure, the house had very suitable Halloween decor; the thing is, Mr. Schoner is in the Halloween spirit all year long.

Schoner is the loner of the town. He just doesn't fit into the happy pneumatic town. So of course, when a teenage girl suddenly disappeared after a jolly 4th of July celebration, all fingers were pointed at Schoner.

Ashly Smith, a high school Junior, disappeared during the annual 4rth of July party that Evan smith throws. Evan smith is an old fruitless college dropout who thinks he's still "rad" enough to hang with the kids of the Axminster town. You see, Ashly and Evan were a thing, meaning their relationship was less than a couple's but more than just a hookup.

Morning of July the fourth:

"You nasty, fu**ing kids will rot in hell just like your wannabe perfect parents! Get off of my property!" Oh yes, it's not a normal Saturday morning without Mr. Schoner shouting out his colorful words.

Ashly Smith humming away inside her pink-barfed room did not acknowledge any disturbances. She was busy texting away about the latest drama and humming to an awfully auto-tuned song which was miraculously on billboard's top-40 chart.

No matter how normal it seemed, the morning was far from normal, it was beginning of a horror Axminster could never have imagined.

It was the beginning of a cold winter during mid-July.