Project cosmos: The Golden Ring

The Day My Life was Turned Upside Down

It was April 6th, 2018. A Friday afternoon. I was in my math class (which I hate with a burning passion) at Grey Stone Academy. I felt like I was about to fall asleep. All of a sudden, the door burst open. A girl was standing there. She looked to be in high school and had a crutch under her right arm. I was too busy studying her to notice her calling my name. I didn't hear her until she was yelling at me. Next thing I know, I was snapped back into reality.
"M... me?" I asked as I pointed to myself. The girl scowled at me.
"YES, YOU! I'VE BEEN YELLING YOUR NAME FOR THE LAST 5 MINUTES!" she yelled.
"You have?" I asked. I felt so stupid...
"Just, get over here..." she said much more calmly. I slowly rose from my desk, wondering 'why me', when I was the most quiet student in my class (but I was happy to get out of math anyway).
I walked out into the hallway, only to see none other than my best friend Latona Amurdad. She raised her hand and waved to me.
"What is going on? That girl made me look stupid in front of the whole class," I complained.
"Hey, at least she was showing the real you," she said. I slapped her arm. Then, the girl grabbed our arms and dragged us down the hallway.
"No time for small talk. We've got places to be," she said.
"Oh look, we're being kidnapped..." I whispered to my friend. She laughed but stopped suddenly as the girl shot a death glare at her.
"Stop laughing. This is serious business," the girl scoffed.
"Can you at least tell us where we're going?" I asked.
"California," was the only word to come out of her mouth.
"And your name?" I asked.
"Saundra,"
"Can I call you Sandy?"
"I don't care,"
"Awesome!"
I never thought I'd be smiling as I was dragged across the road, but I was. Sandy threw us both in a car, got in herself, and sped off. We were going so fast that I couldn't see what was outside the window.
I've never liked car rides. You see, I've got motion sickness. And when you are thrown into a car, that then speeds off faster than the speed of light (I'm exaggerating...) and have to deal with acid doing backflips inside your stomach, it would make you feel like jumping out a window, not caring about what you'd hit.
"So, uh, Sandy, why are you dragging us off to California with you?" I asked. I glanced over to Latona to see if she was confused too, but she looked like she knew exactly what was going on.
"We're meeting up with someone, then we'll make our way to Arizona," Sandy explained.
"How much longer 'till we get there?" I complained. By this point, I've had enough of feeling like dying.
"Stop talking and we'll get there quicker," she growled.
"I'm still confused," I said quietly.
"We're just going to Sacramento to pick up two boys, then we're back in the car again," my friend explained.
"I guess that makes a bit more sense..." I replied.
As we were driving down some old, dusty road, we hear the sounds of what seemed to be growling.
"You two better have your seatbelts on," Sandy said, slammed her foot against the gas pedal. 
Sandy quickly whipped the car around and drove right off the road. As I looked out the window, I saw that we were being chased by an oversized chicken, breathing fire.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!" I screamed.
"That's an Itsumade. It's sensed you and Latona!" Sandy said.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"I'll tell you later. It's too hard to explain on my own,"
And with that, Sandy jumped out of the car. Then I saw the unimaginable.