Chapter 2 I walked into school feeling sort of down. Dad made me kind of angry with him. What was he hiding from me? "And the reason you look like that is because...?" Penelope Cephora asked. "Oh my god. Is that Jeffery over there? " asked Rya Kaspia. "He's staring at us. Act natural. " "She said natural so does that mean eat grass or something? " Pen asked dryly. "No. Just look beautiful and be happy. Have you seen the weather lately?" "Nope. No to all of them. Now spill Mel." "Dad and I had a fight. It's not that huge but what has me dazed is that he shouted at me." "Your dad shouted at you? That's a first. " "Why? " Rya asked. "Because I asked him about CreepyPasta. " I saw them visibly stiffen and then saw Rya momentarily blanch. "It's nothing. Probably your dad was just uhm...scared by the question or something?" Pen answered slowly. "Dad being scared by some internet legends. Please. He watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre and laughed." I answered "Erm...well possibly he was erm...uhhhh..." Rya started but gave up. "Well...you've never heard the effects of these stories have you?" Pen asked slowly. "No. What effects?" "You honestly don't want to know, " Rya said. "And why not?" "Because we love you sweetie and would really love for you to remain sane," Pen said as she placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "Oh please?" "No," they said in unison. "Please." "No." I kept begging for them to tell me until Pen broke and decided to spill everything. "There's one I heard of. There was this girl. She was perfectly normal. She loved books. Loved them so much. She went to the bookshop to buy more of her favorites when she was attacked. They robbed her and in a really mean streak they beat her severely. They tore her books apart and used them as kindling. They burnt her while she was still alive. She was unconscious but the pain woke her up. She dragged herself a few feet but it was too much. She and her books died. But there was an exception. One book survived. They took it as a trophy but later mailed it to her mother. They say she lived in that book for years until it was stolen and sold. She was freed and killed the new owner. Now she roams the Earth far and wide looking for her killers. She can go anywhere there are books or paper because of this." I laughed. It was so far fetched. But Pen hit me with a look that spelled murder. I stopped. She never looked so grim. "You may not believe me but Papercut exists. I've seen her. She's not evil just misunderstood. " "She's your favorite isn't she?" I asked. "No. She's not." she snapped. I winced. What was up with everyone and this CreepyPasta thing? "There are others. Others who have stories that you may deem silly or far fetched but you are wrong. Sadly mistaken. They are victims too." I frowned. She was blowing this out of proportion. "Pen..." but she continued "She was...related to me." A grimace. "She was a distant relative killed for what she loved. Isn't that sick?" The way she said it I felt nauseous. "How old was she?" "Not a few hours over sixteen. Barely an adult and barely a child. For knowledge she lived but death she gained." "I'm sorry. She wasn't much older than you. Than me. Than Ry." A cold breeze blew and chilled me to the bone but Ry and Pen stood unaffected. For a second I swore I saw her eyes glow bright like the beginnings of a fire and then burn down to smoldering embers. A small flicker happened and I saw Ry in a Victorian outfit. Shaking my head to clear my mind I focused on my friends. "So do you think she'll be here today?" I asked. "Yes. She will be here. I can assure you. Standing us up is not in her best interest. I am certain of it." Pen answered. I shuddered. That didn't sound like Pen. "Yo Penny. You okay?" Ry asked worriedly. "Uhm...yeah. I'm cool. No problems people." "Okay... Can we move?" "Yup. Let's go." "Okay." they answered in unison. We walked in silence for a while. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Finding my voice I asked them something that was bugging me. "Pen...what was your relative's name?" Her face drew tight and with a pinched voice she answered "Penelope. Her name was Penelope."