A Novel By: Kylie Grant

Prologue

I felt unearthly as I stared at the moon and listened to the crickets chirp. It was chill outside, and I was guessing it was around one fifteen in the morning. I was yanked back to reality after a gun shot, and an eerie scream, from what seemed like a young woman. Even though I wasn't completely lost in my mind, I was just lying there, waiting to see what was next. As I waited, I heard someone jump the fence and scurry across the yard.
I saw flash lights and people in black, rushing to escape the scene. The yellow, white lights danced, and I was getting dizzy. It didn't take long before I was out.


Chapter One



It wasn't long after I was out that the illuminating lights from the sun woke me. Of course, like always, the painful, sudden brightness blinded me for a minute. Walking up to the back door to get inside, I discovered it was locked. Checking the front door I discovered that it too was locked. Thank goodness for the spare key under the door mat.
About five minutes after I got inside, I was walking out of my bedroom in a T-Shirt and sweats. The next room I was headed was the kitchen. "Hmmmm....what am I hungry for?" I asked myself, "Maybe..... OATMEAL! Yes, Oatmeal."
Prepared, the microwaveable bowl of apple Cinnamon oatmeal was placed into the microwave. Three minutes later my breakfast was done. Ring, ring. "Hello?" I asked.
"Hey, Brooke, it's me, Alison." "Oh, hey, what???s up?" "Oh, nothing. Do you want to come hang out with me?" "Sure, why not- where do you wanna meet up at?"
"Meet me at my house in thirty minutes." "Okay, see you there." ???Okay." Well, better get ready, I thought. Perfect, was my next thought.
In my reflection, I was wearing my black skirt with my grey short leggings, black knee-high platform boots, and two black bracelets on each arm. I was also wearing a pinstriped shoulder length tank top and an Alien belt. My fiery red hair was volumed. The only thing that was missing was my lucky red lipstick. But not for long.
Fifteen minutes. Right. Gotta go. I ran out the front door, where I tripped over the stone stairs, face first. I stood up and brushed off my outfit, when I spotted something black in the bushes.
It was shining as I picked it up, it stood out now. It was a gun with ash marks all over it. Probably from the guys dressed in black last night. I paced the stair case and then realized I had somewhere to go. I ran around the block and finally got to my friends house.
She opened the door and stared blanklessly at the gun in my hand. I chucked it into the street as she snuck me in. She whispered solemnly, "My mom has been high, so it's best to stay quiet and away from her." I saw her mom's head bobbing over the couch cushions as she watched those crumby soap operas from the 70's. I closed my eyes and I hoped we got to her room already.
When I opened my eyes, we were close. We weren't in her room, but at her door. I gave a short sigh of relief. "At last." I said quietly, but aloud.
"What?" Alison asked. "Huh? Oh, nothing." She opened the almost solid wood door only for me to find a complete pig-sty.
"Alison! What happened?" I asked in a curious manner yet utterly worried in every way possible. "That's what I want to tell you!" Her response was harsh.
"Okay, why on earth is your room this messy? It's never dirty like this!" "Because, some guy broke into mine and my mom???s house." "Why didn't you tell me earlier over the phone?"
By now, I was panicking and so was Alison. But she was panicking because she didn't want her mother to come in. "Tell me what happened." I continued. "Well," she sounded worried.
"I was out this morning because of my mom. I didn't want to be around her. When I came back home, the front door was wide open and the house looked like some one sent a stampede through it. I couldn't call the police because they would take my mom and I don't want her to go. So I called you."
"Why don't you want her to go?" "well, because she's all I've got, even if she's teaked up on drugs." "It's not that I don't want her to leave, but, you're always welcome at my place. My family loves you. You're like a sister to me!"
After a long pause, she spoke up again. "I know, but can we please talk about something else? Like the break in?" "Sure. So why'd you call me?"
"I don't know, I freaked." "Okay, so, what we need to do is check and see if anything is missing and- what is that?" "What's wha- OH MY GOSH!" I don't know what that is I'm guessing she doesn???t either, I thought. When I studied it closer, I've realized it was a slimy looking rock.
I looked closer and closer. There was a strange picture engraved on it. I picked it up. It was warm all over and it isn't even slimy at all. It was smooth, and when I touched it, it gave me that feeling when you're walking up the stairs and think there???s one more step than there really is.
"What is it?" Alison asked on a higher pitched voice of nervousness. "It's nothing." I replied, hoping I didn't sound too suspicious. "Well, you can have it.
"That thing scares me." I nodded in approval. There was a long pause in-between thoughts. "SO," I started. "do you want to go to the mall?"
She said noting, but the way she said nothing said it all; Heck yeah, let???s get out of here! We gathered our things (rather her than me) and fled out the open, front door. Six blacks is going to take some time. "Brooke?" Alison asked trying to grasp my attention.
"I don't think we should go to the mall. I just have this feeling something bad is going to happen if we do." She seemed a bit worried. "For you, we don't have to go there of you don't want to. Were to you want to go?"
"Lets go to the park. I just want to hang outside." "That's a good idea." Time passed as we talked the talk and walked the walk towards the park. We FINALLY made it, I thought.
"Hey! Let???s hang on the swing. I feel childish." I've suggested loudly with an excited, sarcastic, little kid smile. It seemed like five minutes when the sky was getting abnormally dark.
It was a smoky grey. It looked so much like wild fire smoke, I could practically smell it. The clouds were sunset orange. They were very long and flat instead of round and poofy. "Hey Alison?
"What time is it?" Alison always wears the watch her great-grandmother gave her. "Uh, about teen thirty AM." Strange, I thought. Out of nowhere, about a dozen fire trucks sped by; the fire-fighters shouting "GO GO GO GO GO!"
"What the? What's going on?" Alison and I both said in a scary kind of way at the same time like twins do.