Chapter 1: "Crystal Clear"

Ella Towers

Mark Towers

"Crystal Clear" will be the first chapter written for "Turtle Island". It is currently still in development: you may read what is currently available below before it is finalized. The chapter will be finished on an unknown date. The chapter is written by LiveOnSUPERT and edited by LiveOnSUPERT and MiceRNice.

## Story

A loud knock on the door interrupted Evan Cameron's Sunday morning, when he usually spends hours on the couch in his PJs binge watching his favorite show. Evan groaned as he paused the show and rose up from the comfort of his couch, to answer what was most likely a salesman or an annoyed neighbor complaining about the dog, Andy. Andy rushed eagerly to door. Evan calmed him down and opened the door to two teenagers, one girl and one boy. It took him a few seconds to realize they were his cousins, Ella and Marcus Towers.

"Ella? Mark?" He said, shocked. "What are you doing here? In Turtle Island? It's not a school vacation, is it?"

"No, we're staying with you!" Ella replied, happily.

"Really? Why? What happened?" Evan asked, bewildered.

"You don't know? Didn't your mom tell you we were coming?" Mark asked, confused.

"Uh...well you see, our family doesn't really "wake up" early on weekends..." Evan mumbled, embarrassed. "Why are you staying anyways?"

"Well..." Ella started, glancing angrily at Mark.

"I kinda might of accidentally burned our house down while playing with Henry..." Mark muttered.

"Really? That must suck." Evan said. "Come in!" They walked in a sat on the couch.

"Is that Riverdale?" Ella said, looking at the paused television screen.

"Yeah! It's great!" Evan replied. "So, how long are you guys staying?"

"About a year. Until my parents figure out how to deal with a mess HE started." Ella answered, pointing towards Mark.

"Does that mean-" Evan started.

"Yep! We're going to Turtle Island High School with you guys!" Ella exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

"Great." Evan said, rolling his eyes. Suddenly, from far away called a voice.

"Who's here? Evan, I swear if you have Sid and Matt over this early-" the voice stopped. The person stepped into the light, revealing herself as Samantha Cameron, Evan's younger sister.

"Ella? Mark? What are you guys doing here?" she asked. The others slowly filled her in on the info.

"Wow. That must be tough. Did you guys manage to save anything?" Sammy asked.

"Just my best stuffed animal, Super Chimp!" Mark exclaimed, pulling the monkey out of his bag. Ella rolled her eyes. The rest of day passed as normal: catching up, settling in, Sammy asking tons of questions, etc. The night passed and Evan woke up to a blaring alarm in the morning. He groggily turned the alarm off. He dragged his feet down the stairs and poured himself cereal. To his surprise, Ella was there waiting for him, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Um...why are you ready to go this early?" Evan asked.

"The first day of school is the BEST day of school!" Ella claimed.

"Okay?" Evan said, tired and not ready to argue. He sat down and watched as Ella, all alone, left the house to walk to school.

As the hours passed, a violent storm erupted. Rain was pelting the houses and wind was swaying the tall evergreens. Loud, monstrous booms were heard in the distance as signs of an even larger storm to come. Sammy looked out the windows. She saw the wind swaying everything on her streets and she saw people running home to escape the harsh rain. Sammy covered the windows with a curtain and sighed.

"There's never been a storm this hard for a while." she said. "You think we have school?"

"Nope. Just got an e-mail." Evan replied. He read it out loud. "Due to todays harsh weather, school has been temporarily cancelled for the day. Enjoy your day off. School starts again tomorrow if the storm ceases to continue."

"Nice! No school!" Mark cheered. "Wait, where's Ella? She has to here this!"

"Oh no..." Evan groaned.

"What? What happened? Is she okay?" Mark asked, concerned.

"She's out there. In the storm. She left for school a few hours ago. Said something about being the best day or whatever." Evan said. "She might be in trouble."

"We should go get her!" Samantha exclaimed. "C'mon!" She dashed out the door. Mark followed and Evan reluctantly walked out the door.

Meanwhile, Ella peeked out of her hiding place under the bleachers of the Turtle Island High football field to try and find help. There was no one there, just rain and the wind. She sat down and sobbed.

"*Is this how it'll end? Death by a storm? Why?"* she thought to herself, her head in her knees. She looked up and grabbed her phone. No service. "*Great. Now it's really hopeless."* she thought again. And then, quietly in the back of her ears, she heard a twinkle. It wasn't loud or dominating, but more of a soft noise only heard by the most delicate of ears. She stopped and looked around, checking if it was real or just her. Then, she looked back out towards the field and spotted a small rock buried in the dirt.

Curious, Ella stepped out of the bleachers and onto the field. She shielded her face with her hands and tried to keep her eyes open as she slowly walked towards to object.