Chapter Text
Max didn’t want to move. California was her home. It was where her real Dad was. Now, she was stuck with an annoying stepfather and a stepbrother she didn’t even ask for.
Neil thought it would be a good idea to move them to a better suburban area. What they got was a creepy, old house called ‘Creel House’. It was run-down, ugly, and smelled like somebody died.
The moment they moved in, Max left the house. There was a large wooded area behind the house, and she desired to explore it. She reached into a nearby bush and snapped off a large twig with two branches leading off from it. Max grasped onto the branches, pointing the twig away from her. She closed her eyes, allowing the twig to guide her towards a well.
The ground became stony beneath her feet as she strolled down a man-made path. A crackling sound from above made her stop. She opened her eyes, peering up a small hill. “Hello?” she called out.
There was no response – but she heard another rustle by some rocks.
She frowned, crouching momentarily to retrieve some small stones. “You know, it’s not nice to spy on young girls, asswipe!”
Max threw the stones towards the rocks. They bounced off the rough surface before hitting something. There was an agonising screech from the thing hidden behind it.
Startled, Max made her escape. She sprinted down the path with the twig still in hand, eventually reaching a large opening. As she stopped for breath, something crept up behind her. A loud meow made her scream in terror, making her lose grip of the twig.
She turned around, acknowledging the culprit; a scrawny ginger cat. It proudly sat on an old tree stump. Max narrowed her eyes and hissed. “Seriously?” She picked up her stick, raising her voice. “You scared me to death, you mangy thing!”
Max gulped, regaining her composure.
“I’m looking for an old well. My mom said I’d find one out here.” She mentioned. “You know it?”
The cat only licked its paw and purred at her. Of course, she knew cats didn’t speak. She wasn’t dumb.
“Not talking, huh?” she uttered sarcastically. Max looked down at the twig. “You were supposed to show me the well, stupid magic dowser.”
“Out of the way!” a voice yelled.
She spun around, spotting a dark-skinned boy racing towards her on his bicycle. In an instant, she dove out of the way, landing face-first in the moist mud.
“Sorry!” he cried, jumping off his vehicle. “I tried to warn you. Are you okay?”
The boy tried to help, only for Max to deny his support. She stood back on her feet, brushing some dust off her. “Yeah, no thanks to you.”
“I’m really sorry. I lost control…” his eyes drifted down to her twig. “Is that a dowsing rod?”
“Maybe.” She answered, straightening her posture. “What’s it to you?”
He shrugged, walking past her. “You must have moved here from Texas or Utah then. You know, somewhere dried-out and barren.”
The boy approached the cat, giving it a little stroke. Max folded her arms. “I’m from California. We have water there.”
“You must know all about water-witching then.” He said.
“I’m not a witch!” she threw her rod at him. The boy yelped a little, backing away from the cat. “And I don’t really like being stalked by your weird cat.”
“Oh, she’s not mine.” The boy mentioned. “Her name’s Mews. She belongs to one of my friends, Dustin. She likes to wander around here a lot. Don’t know why.”
She huffed, crossing her arms again. “You know, if I’m a water witch, then where’s the secret well?”
The boy glanced down at her feet. “If you stomp too hard, then you’ll fall in it.”
Max looked down, noticing she was standing in a fairy ring. Below her feet was a wooden lid that looked like it could break at any moment. “Oh!” she jumped away from it.
“See?” he crouched, briefly knocking on the wood. A soft echo resonated from within. “It’s supposed to be so deep, if you fell to the bottom and looked up,” the boy described, “you’d see a sky full of stars in the middle of the day.”
She sneered. “Lovely.”
He straightened up again. “I’m surprised they let you move in here and all.”
“What do you mean?” asked Max.
“There’s a lot of history behind Creel House.” He mentioned. “But I’m not supposed to talk about that.”
“Then why mention it at all?” she wondered.
The boy hesitated for a moment, thinking of a response. He stuck out his gloved hand. “I’m Lucas, by the way. Lucas Sinclair.”
She shook his hand, pursing her lips. “I didn’t ask, but okay.”
“Can I get yours, little witch?” he queried.
“Maxine.” She sighed. “But everyone calls me Max.”
“Maxine what?”
“Max.” She corrected him. “Max Mayfield.”
“Lucas, get your scrawny ass down here now!” a girl’s voice shouted from a good distance away. “You promised we’d get ice cream at Scoops!”
Max smirked, retrieving her twig. “That your girlfriend calling you, stalker?”
“No – no, she’s not-!”
“Lucas!”
“It’s my little sister.”
“And it seems you promised her ice cream?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Lucas!” his sister’s voice called again.
“I’m coming!” he yelled back. Lucas glanced back at Max. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”
Her eyes trailed him as he jogged over to his discarded bike. “Yeah, I figured.”
Lucas picked up his vehicle, swiftly mourning it. “Well, nice to meet a Californian water witch-”
“Yeah, nice to meet a stalker too.”
“- but I’d wear gloves next time.”
Her brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Because that dowsing rod of yours,” he started, “it’s poison oak.”
She yelped, dropping her makeshift dowsing rod. Seeing that she was annoyed, Lucas cycled away in a panic.
Max pursed her lips and raised her middle finger. “Screw you!”
She peered at her hands, noticing her right palm was glowing red. Mews meowed, attracting her attention again. Her tail curled around the stump as it stared at her.
Max snarled. “Don’t know why you’re looking so smug about this.”
***
By the next day, a red rash appeared on her hand, causing an incredibly annoying itch. Max tried running it under cool water, hoping to ease it.
Her stepfather leaned against a kitchen cabinet, sipping his coffee as he read the paper. On the other hand, her mother was busy filing at the table.
“Hey, Mom?” she piped up. “You wanna know what I did yesterday?”
“Mm-hm?” her mother mumbled.
“I almost fell down a well,” she said.
“Uh-huh.”
Max narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder. “I almost died.”
“That's nice.” They were both ignoring her. Great.
She took the chance to ask. “So, can I go out? I wanna test my board on the road.”
“Maxine, it’s pouring out there.” Neil acknowledged.
“Max.” She grumbled.
Her mother nodded. “Neil’s right. It’s hardly the weather for skating.”
“Come on. I’ve used my board in the rain before.” She stated. “And it’s not as crowded as California. So I won’t get into an accident or anything.”
“Max!”
“What, I won’t!”
“Listen to your mother, Maxine.” Neil took another sip of his coffee, barely looking up from his newspaper.
“It’s Max-”
“Why don’t you go talk to Billy?” she suggested. “Maybe you two can play for a bit-”
“We’re not kids.” Max pointed out.
“- or perhaps you could explore the house together.” Her mom finished.
Max sighed, still scratching her palm. “Fine!”
Before she could leave the kitchen, Neil stopped her. “Oh, er, this was left for you on the front porch.”
He handed her an item wrapped in newspaper. There was a damp note tucked in between that she just managed to slip out without ripping it.
Hey, Mad Max.
Found this lying around in my friend’s sister’s room. Look familiar?
Lucas.
"Stalker." She muttered under her breath. He just wouldn’t leave her alone, would he?
Max unwrapped the newspaper packaging, revealing a button-eyed doll inside. However, what surprised her the most was the uncanny resemblance it shared with her. It had strawberry blonde hair that was roughly the same length as hers. The outfit was similar to the one she wore yesterday; the same yellow raincoat and wellies.
“A little me?” she murmured. “That’s kinda weird.”
“Do you know you gave that to you?” he asked.
“Some kid I met yesterday.” Max grasped a hold of the doll, glaring at it. “I don’t like dolls anyway.”
As she stared into its eyes, a part of her felt like something was staring back.