[362] YA Paranormal Mystery Opening Scene

First time sharing here. This is the opening scene to my YA Mystery. I am open to any type of feedback, but mostly I want to know if this would compel you to continue the story.

The chapter title would also tell you this is from Libby's POV 'Before'. Alternative chapters are from Ash's POV 'After'.

I have posted the blurb to reddit before; Blurb Post

Previous critique; 420

***

Withermoure is a ghost town. My train carriage is fairly crowded, but when I step out onto the platform I am alone. It’s already dark as I march out of the station and down the street. A lone car drives past, and I pull my coat closed around me to hide my uniform. The old worn wheels of my suitcase scrape along the pavement behind me. It's too heavy to lift and carry.

I must be in the town center, but the few shops along this street are boarded up or already closed for the evening. I follow the directions on my phone to my destination. It’s not a long walk, but my route twists uncertainly. Sometimes I think it’s leading me back to the station, but I press on. I’ve come too far to turn around now.

My phone tells me to take a left, but I freeze as I see it’s trying to lead me through the arching iron gates of a park. There's seldom light that I can see. On my maps, I zoom in to see that the large stretch of green is not a park, but labelled a Vale.

Vale, like a graveyard?

The scar across my chest twinges, like a twist in my gut. The sense that I shouldn’t. I've used up the last of my nerve to travel all this way. Am I about to disappear into the darkness of a field of the dead to reach my destination? Absolutely fucking not.

I storm down the pathway waiting for maps to reroute me. When I switch the settings from walking to driving, it finally complies.

The gates of the house at last come into view. For a moment I worry they’ll be locked, but they open with a creak inviting me in. I make my way up to the front door, rap twice and beat my heels together. I’m not nervous, I'm exhausted. I’ve rehearsed my story all the way here. No more travelling, no more being shifted between places I’m not wanted. I drop the handle of my suitcase and it lands with a definitive thud.

As the door swings open, I know I’m not going anywhere. I’m home.