"We need to move." These were the words of my parents, who decided everything within a second, not caring about my thoughts on all of this. My father was a busy man, not missing a single day of work for twenty years straight. He was being promoted, and this promotion involved being relocated to a city we never heard of. Its name was Selonika.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5eRFGX55f
Selonika, the city of ghosts, is an isolated city in the northeast. It was unknown for the longest time, until an idol named Monika Amare performed there, exposing this beautiful city to the rest of the world. It's not large in size, containing only a few institutional and commercial buildings, a central park, and residential areas.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvutfXCi8T
"That's bizarre." I said, reading the article online about it. "How does a city stay hidden for so long? I never heard of an idol by that name either. Well, it's not like I ever listen to idols in the first place."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgsoh247eA
I personally don't want to move away from here, but I need to, or my curiosity will kill me. It's said to be beautiful, perfect in every way. I guess it would make sense for someone to start gatekeeping it. A whole city though... it must be somewhere far, somewhere unseen to any neighboring cities, possibly surrounded by water.
I close my laptop for the day. "I guess this is the last day I will see them." I muttered under my breath. I watched as my parents packed away things as I left, walking to school.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PmlKbDo7t
The streets were quiet, just like any other day. School always started early in the morning, and I mean really early. The sky was pure black, and the only thing guiding me were the streetlamps. Crows were common around this area, and their cries would scare the life out of you after hearing nothing for so long.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4sYe1EhBq
I took my usual shortcut through the nearby alleyway, climbing through the torn down fence. I crossed the threshold, and bang, a door flew open with a man flying out of it.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzg4ytaO6j
"I told ya already, you don't work here anymore! Not after you stole from my business, you filthy scum!" The old restaurant owner noticed me and chuckled. "Sorry you had to see that, Echo. You're headed off to school again, aren't ya?"
"Yeah, and it'll be my last day as well."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfsa8upJsu
"Oh, right. Your father told me about that yesterday during his lunch break. I will miss you guys, unlike this one who needs to take the hint and leave!" I watched as the man on the ground got up and scurried off.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WCCIHcKHu
"I never saw him work here."
"It was his first day on the job yesterday. I caught him clocking out with a big belly like santy claus. Somehow that nitwit thought I wouldn't notice the weight difference."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOsyQLIfk5
"He must've thought ol' Rusty was rusted."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lJovgrA0D
"Heh heh. Yeah, see you around, kid."
As I reached the school's front doors, Kel was already waiting. Kel's the team leader, in the sense that he formed our friendship circle. "Dude, where were you; everyone else is already headed to class."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZENLQu3nU
"The shortcut I take took longer than expected. Anyways Kel, I need all of us to gather at the usual spot after school."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0xjQTALGX
"Say no more. We can make that happen."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwxc4O8MLI
As the bell rung we rushed to our classes. My day went just as expected. A lot of goodbyes to my teachers and classmates. The only part left was telling Kel and the others, and I wanted to do it at our usual hangout spot.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyViwlpCJ1Z
The sky throughout the day didn't become any clearer. I took a deep breath before going through the entrance. This pier rarely got visitors, mostly forgotten, due to much better spots opening up. It didn't have much, just an arcade and shopping center.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEet5OdvwmQ
My friends and I spend time at both the arcade and shopping center, but neither of these is the hangout spot. Behind the arcade is a broken rail, jumping down leads to a thin piece of land that contains an underground room.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgop2VehWC
None of us know what this room was used for, maybe a storage room or the arcade's basement at one point. Kel found it by accident, trying to sneak into the arcade at night. I remember the club meeting we had at his house, and how excited he was thinking he found an underground lab, boy was he wrong.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7g7ONasXa
Our group came into the place gagging at the smell. I helped him clean the place up, along with his sister, Ellie, who cared more about her friends and family being happy, rather than herself. All we needed to clean was a few dead rodents... and mildew. After a few days, we had our own mini fridge, some beanbag chairs, and board games.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPc2Agbi2u
There were originally eight of us, but now we are only down to six, with two of them being new members. The oldest members consist of Kel, Ellie, Gia, and myself; the two newest ones are Evan and his cousin, Bailey.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKqL3q2Soq
The newest ones joined a few weeks ago, Evan doesn't talk much but helps out with a lot of things, and Bailey, she is really hyperactive, enjoys taking pictures of everything.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpkIw0iBXd
Gia, she only joined because Ellie convinced her. She is always winning at board games, which is why most of us have just stopped playing completely. She's the one buying all of them, to the point where we have three shelves full of them.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmzILlZYsC
I jumped down from the rail and entered the hangout. I was the last one there, as usual, and Evan threw a soda my way. "I heard you called the meeting today. Is something wrong?" I scanned the room, making sure everyone was present. "Yeah, this is my last day here."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ843LuVa7Ov
"W-What do you mean?" 61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iim218j96
Kel acted like he didn't hear me, but I know he did. I said it as clear as possible, and the rest of our group only turned away. "My father got promoted, Kel. I don't have much of a choice here."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp20EfHNR8O
"Y-You're serious."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGiSd0nbfV
"Yeah, I'll come back someday, I wouldn't leave you and Ellie alone forever. It's just... I believe there might be something interesting to explore in this new city."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGCCwSQLA0
"Right." Kel sighed. "It's just the old group is falling apart, one by one. I know everyone is moving on with their lives, but I don't want to be alone in this place."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTbfWyErpc
"Hopefully, I can bring back some new members, until then, just don't let this club fall apart, you're the team leader after all."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFi70jbokO4
With those words, I hurried back home, just in time to pack everything I needed in the morning. It arrived quickly, as the sun shined through my bedroom window, I made my way to the car. 61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgVbNdzznN
"You'll like it in this new town, I promise."61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUcIsRtIUL
My mother must've thought I would find that comforting, I didn't, not in the slightest.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8g6uJrlkfk
