Friday arrived with more energy than Mayson thought a single town should be capable of producing.
By the time school started, students were already talking about the game.
Hallways were covered with banners.
Teachers spent half their classes reminding everyone to focus.
Most students ignored them.
Naturally.
Mayson made it through the morning without much difficulty.
Mostly because people were too distracted by the game to bother him.
Unfortunately, that didn't last.
"You nervous yet?"
Mayson didn't even look up from his locker.
"No."
Tyler appeared beside him.
"What about now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
Tyler frowned.
"You're making this boring."
Lily walked up at that exact moment.
"Is he asking again?"
"Yes."
"Still no?"
"Still no."
Lily nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, that sounds right."
Tyler looked betrayed.
"I came here looking for support."
"You came to the wrong people," Lily said.
The rest of the day moved quickly.
Classes ended.
Students flooded out of the building.
By sunset, the football field was packed.
The stadium lights illuminated the entire area.
Music blasted from speakers.
Parents filled the stands.
Students crowded together wearing school colors.
For a brief moment, standing near the field, Mayson simply observed everything.
The excitement.
The anticipation.
The noise.
It felt strangely familiar.
Not because he'd experienced this exact situation before.
Because people always looked the same before important moments.
Hopeful.
Confident.
Nervous.
Sometimes all three at once.
Coach gathered the team.
"Listen up."
The locker room immediately quieted.
Coach looked at every player before continuing.
"This isn't complicated."
Nobody spoke.
"You know your jobs."
He pointed toward the field.
"Trust each other."
Several players nodded.
Coach's gaze moved across the room.
Then settled briefly on Mayson.
"Play smart."
Mayson nodded once.
That was enough.
Minutes later the team ran onto the field.
The crowd erupted.
The sound hit like a wave.
Cheering.
Whistles.
Applause.
Mayson remained calm.
Crowds never bothered him.
He simply focused on the game.
The opposing team looked confident.
Good.
Confident opponents made fewer excuses afterward.
The first quarter began fast.
Broken Falls received the ball.
The opening plays were cautious.
Nothing dramatic.
The usual feeling-out process.
Testing strengths.
Searching for weaknesses.
Mayson spent most of the quarter observing.
Learning.
The opposing defense was aggressive.
Athletic.
Predictable.
A dangerous combination.
Halfway through the second quarter, Tyler jogged into the huddle.
Breathing hard.
"Okay."
The quarterback looked around.
Coach signaled from the sideline.
A new play.
Several players exchanged looks.
Then everyone turned toward Mayson.
Interesting.
Apparently this was the moment.
The ball was snapped.
Everything slowed.
Not literally.
Just in the way it always did when action began.
Movement.
Positioning.
Decision-making.
The defense reacted exactly how he expected.
One defender committed too early.
Another hesitated.
A third moved in the wrong direction.
Mistakes.
Tiny ones.
But enough.
Mayson accelerated.
The opening appeared instantly.
Then disappeared just as fast.
Too slow.
For them.
Not for him.
He slipped through.
The crowd's roar intensified.
A defender dove.
Missed.
Another tried to cut him off.
Failed.
The field opened ahead.
Thirty yards.
Twenty.
Ten.
Touchdown.
The stadium exploded.
Players rushed toward him.
Tyler nearly tackled him.
"You made that look ridiculous."
Mayson glanced at him.
"Isn't that the goal?"
"No."
Tyler pointed dramatically.
"The goal is making it look difficult first."
The game continued.
By halftime, Broken Falls led comfortably.
The crowd was louder than ever.
Students were practically vibrating with excitement.
Mayson sat on the bench while teammates celebrated nearby.
For a few minutes he simply enjoyed the relative quiet.
Then someone sat beside him.
Lily.
Somehow she'd made her way down near the team area.
"Nice game."
"It's not over."
"You know exactly what I mean."
He did.
"Thanks."
She smiled.
"There it is again."
"What?"
"The thank you."
"I've always said thank you."
"Not this much."
Mayson immediately suspected she was exaggerating.
Unfortunately, she looked completely serious.
The second half went much like the first.
Broken Falls controlled the game.
The crowd stayed loud.
The opposing team became increasingly frustrated.
Eventually the final whistle blew.
Victory.
Players celebrated.
Students stormed the field.
Music blasted through the speakers.
Everyone seemed happy.
Everyone except Mayson.
Not because they won.
Because he could feel it.
That same sensation.
Someone watching.
Again.
His eyes scanned the crowd.
Thousands of moving people.
Parents.
Students.
Teachers.
Yet somewhere among them—
A pair of eyes lingered.
Observing.
Waiting.
The feeling disappeared almost immediately.
Like whoever it was had intentionally pulled back.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Mayson!"
He turned.
Lily was weaving through the crowd toward him.
Several teammates followed behind her.
Everyone looked excited.
Tyler especially.
Which was unfortunate.
"You are absolutely not leaving."
Mayson raised an eyebrow.
"Leaving what?"
"The celebration."
"There is a celebration?"
Tyler stared.
"We won."
"So?"
The football team collectively looked horrified.
Lily laughed.
"You really don't understand normal teenage behavior."
"Apparently not."
An hour later he finally escaped.
Not easily.
Tyler had attempted multiple times to drag him toward various activities.
Each attempt had failed.
Eventually the celebrations began moving elsewhere.
The streets remained busy as people left the stadium.
Mayson checked the time.
Almost ten.
The cemetery meeting.
Right.
His expression became thoughtful.
Part of him considered ignoring it.
The intelligent option.
The safer option.
The option his family would probably recommend.
Unfortunately—
He wanted answers.
And whoever sent those messages clearly knew things they shouldn't.
That made them worth investigating.
The old Founders Cemetery sat on the edge of town.
Older than most of Broken Falls.
Far older.
The iron gates stood partially open when he arrived.
Moonlight illuminated weathered gravestones.
Ancient trees surrounded the property.
The place felt quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just quiet.
Like it was listening.
Mayson stepped through the gate.
The hinges creaked softly behind him.
Rows of stone markers stretched across the hill.
Some names had faded completely.
Others remained readable despite their age.
Founders.
Families.
History.
Generations buried beneath the soil.
His eyes narrowed.
Several names were familiar.
Very familiar.
Because he'd seen them before.
In documents.
Records.
Conversations.
Families that still existed.
Families that supposedly mattered.
Interesting.
"You came."
The voice emerged from the darkness ahead.
Mayson stopped.
A figure stood between two large oak trees.
Tall.
Motionless.
Face hidden by shadow.
Not human.
That much was obvious immediately.
The scent alone confirmed it.
Vampire.
Old one.
Older than most.
"You've been texting me."
The figure stepped forward.
Moonlight finally revealed part of his face.
Dark hair.
Pale features.
Calm eyes.
Eyes that studied Mayson carefully.
Like a researcher examining something rare.
"Yes."
"Why?"
The stranger smiled faintly.
"Straight to the important questions."
"I don't like wasting time."
"Neither do I."
Silence settled between them.
The cemetery remained perfectly still.
Even the wind seemed absent.
Finally the stranger spoke again.
"You've been asking questions about Broken Falls."
"I've noticed things."
"You've noticed more than most."
Mayson said nothing.
The stranger's gaze shifted briefly toward several nearby graves.
Then back.
"Do you know why this town exists?"
"No."
"Most people don't."
The vampire slowly walked between the gravestones.
His movements were relaxed.
Unhurried.
Like he wasn't remotely concerned about danger.
Maybe he wasn't.
"Broken Falls wasn't supposed to survive."
Mayson's attention sharpened.
The stranger continued.
"Several times throughout its history, people tried to destroy it."
"Why?"
The vampire smiled slightly.
"Because of what was hidden here."
Mayson watched him carefully.
Every instinct told him the conversation mattered.
That this wasn't random.
That the messages, the watching, the strange behavior of the town—
All of it connected somehow.
The stranger stopped beside one particular grave.
An old stone marker.
Weathered.
Cracked.
Ancient.
Then he looked directly at Mayson.
And for the first time his expression became serious.
Truly serious.
"Tell me something."
Mayson waited.
The vampire's eyes narrowed slightly.
"How much do you know about the Winchester family?"
The question echoed through the silent cemetery.
And suddenly—
Mayson had a feeling this conversation was about to become far more dangerous than he originally expected.