The Memory of Grayson Mathews

Chapter 1

Grayson was walking to her car with Khloe in tow. Her younger adopted sister had just started bawling her eyes when she claimed that she had left a special journal that Zayne had given her and her brother, Micah. Zayne was her older, biological brother and had begun camp three days earlier to learn all about being a mentor.
Grayson unlocked her car and Khloe skipped ahead. She pulled open the back door and quickly grabbed the notebook. "Got it!" Khloe held up the journal. It was filled with drawings and stories of a new planet that could sustain life. Khloe and Micah loved space and acting as astronauts was one of their getaways from their troubled previous home life.
It was hard to believe that Khloe had been neglected since she was just a year old. She lived next door with her two brothers and a single mom who was very clever on hiding the secrets that hid behind the front door. The neglect was apparently a summer thing because Zayne's grades had dropped from the normal A+ to a B. It was a punishment for him. But then the neglect turn into abuse and when he attended the first day of fifth grade, he told the truth to his teacher.
Suspicions were raised even more when Micah was completely confused on why the rest of his kindergarten classmates didn't have a black eye. He was rehearsed to say he had run into a door, but that wasn't true. Just two nights ago, he took a blow to the face from his mom.
The social worker was at the house later that afternoon and Khloe was taken out of the home. The mom was arrested and the children were taken to a foster home. We thought we would never see them again, but my best friend in the neighborhood said that Zayne was still coming to school and said he was in a foster home. Of course, I didn't know if this was true or not since I was in sixth grade and not attending Blue Creek Elementary anymore.
A few months later, my parents renewed their foster license and the trio was placed in our home just before Christmas. We fell in love with the Greene Siblings and wanted to adopted them, but their mother was refusing to give up custody of her kids. By Fourth of July, their mom committed suicide in her jail cell. My family was preparing to move to South Carolina due to military orders, so the Greene Siblings were sent to a new foster home. We were crushed to know that all three of them were up for adoption with nobody to battle custody for.
So that led to my mom staying behind with my cousin, Jackson, who we had adopted several years ago. Jackson continued high school in North Carolina and my mom went to court to gain custody of Khloe, Micah, and Zayne. Christmas rolled around again and my mom moved to South Carolina with Jackson, Khloe, Micah, and Zayne. Now a family of eight, we had a very special merry Christmas.
Khloe was now eight years old and attending summer camp for the first time. It was a camp for military families and the Greene Siblings flew all the way from Hawaii to attend. They were special kids with a traumatic past, but they were also the strongest kids that I have ever met. I always wondered how they even made it past their troubles and became the happy children they are now.
The cheerful eight year old grabbed a hold of my hand as she closed the door. As she held my hand, she skipped forward, dragging me along. "I can't believe it, Grayson!"
"Believe what?"
"I'm here at Camp Oydessy! Zayne has told me all about this camp. I can't wait to go to a cave or make a bird house." Khloe began to ramble on about all the things she has ever heard about this camp. Zayne has been coming since he was eleven years old.
Grayson smiled, not even paying attention to her eager sister. Khloe suddenly stopped, pulling Grayson to a halt. "Micah! Zayne!" Khloe waved the leatherbound notebook in the air. "I got it!"
"Yes!" Micah rushed up to Khloe, grabbing the notebook. He flipped through it quickly as if to see if all the stories and drawings were still in the notebook. "Sweet, Khloe."
As the brother and sister looked through the journal, Grayson's attention drifted towards a group of teenage boys talking by the side of a cabin.
"Did you hear the news?" The first boy chewed his gum obnoxiously.
"What news?" The second boy leaned against the cabin.
"There's some secret the government is hiding and they just learned that something from Area 21 went missing." The third boy leaned forward and whispered something that Grayson couldn't hear.
"Dang, that's wild." The second boy replied.
Suddenly, somebody ran into Grayson. Grayson stumbled forward, but Zayne caught her before she fell down. "Hey, watch it!" Zayne let go of my, looking at the clumsy stranger.
"Sorry." The stranger fixed his wide circle glasses. He didn't even look like a camper or a consular. He wore a sweater vest and khakis. A small, purple drawstring bag was tied to his belt. His face was all red and it looked like he had been running for awhile. "I'm looking for something." His eyes darted towards the journal that Micah was holding. "Hey, where did you get that?"
"Umm..." Micah looked up at Zayne.
Zayne shook his head and pushed Micah behind him. "It's none of your business."
"It's mine." The stranger growled.
"No it's not! We've had this for years!" Khloe stepped forward, holding her fists at her side.
"Khloe!" Grayson chuckled nervously, pulling Khloe closer to her. "Umm, they didn't find the journal at camp. It can't be yours."
The stranger grunted and took off running again. "That was weird." Micah admitted, poking his head around Zayne.
"Who was he?" Khloe looked up at Zayne.
"I have no clue." Zayne took a deep breath, placing a hand on Khloe's shoulder. "Well, let's get to your cabin." They all nodded in agreement, heading to Khloe's cabin. On the way to her cabin, Micah and Zayne decided to make a pit stop at the bathhouse as Khloe and Grayson continued on their way.
Grayson was making Khloe's bed when a terrifying siren sound pierced the air. "What's that?" Khloe gripped a hold of Grayson's shirt tightly.
"I don't know." Grayson peeled Khloe off of her. Grayson made her way to the screen door while Khloe remained seated in the bed. Cautiously, she peeked out of the window. Kids were running into the nearest cabins, but Grayson couldn't figure out what was going on.
"What about Micah and Zayne? Where are they?" Khloe leaned against the frame of the bottom bunk.
"I don't know." A gunshot made Grayson jump back. She pressed her back against the wall. Khloe stared at her in fear, wanting to scream out. The eight year old was about to open her mouth but Grayson raised her finger to her mouth. "Shh. Come on." Grayson quietly made her way to Khloe. "Get under the bed and be quiet."
Khloe and Grayson both scrambled to get under the bed and Grayson did her best to cover themselves with a duffel bag. It was a pointless idea but provided some protection.
Grayson looked at Khloe. There was another gun shot and several kids scream. Khloe's face was scrunched up as she clenched her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes shut. Grayson grabbed her hand and kept her eyes on the door.
Another gun shot. Terrified screams. Please let it not be Micah or Zayne. Fear washed over Grayson. A fourth gun shot. More screams. Let us be okay. Please. Khloe squeezed Grayson's hand tighter. A fifth one. No screams. Please don't hurt us.
The door knob began to turn and Grayson swore her heart stopped. She held her breath and only hoped Khloe was doing the same. Please just go away.
Then there was a thud against the wood of the cabin as if Grayson's prayers were being answered. It was the sound of something being thrown at the cabin. More objects were thrown at the cabin. Some came flying through the screen landing just inches away from Grayson and Khloe. It was rocks being thrown.
"Hey! Get them!" There was somebody shouting and then footsteps retreating away from the cabin. Grayson breathed out in relief, hoping nobody else would come to the cabin.
Moments and moments of silence passed. It took a few moments for Grayson to get her enough courage to crawl out from underneath of the bed. She helped Khloe out of their hiding spot. "Come on. They'll come back."
"We can't go out there!" Khloe grabbed a hold of her bunk.
"We need to find your brothers." Grayson tried to pry the terrified girl from the bunk. That's when the door swung open and Grayson jumped back. "Don't hurt us!" Before she could realize who it was, she held up her hands in defense. "Zayne? Micah?"
"Found them." Khloe mumbled, still hugging the bunk.
"Oh, Khloe!" Zayne rushed to hug his younger sister. "We can get out of here." Zayne looked up at me. "Your car isn't too far from here and we can get to a safer place."
"What's going on out there?" Grayson looked at the door, unsure if that was even close to being a good idea.
"There's these soldiers with guns! They're shooting at anybody who disobeys them!" Micah looked at Zayne. "We can't go back out there. We were lucky your friend got us to safety here."
"It will be just like your video game, Micah." Zayne let go of Khloe and went towards Micah.
"I'm not stupid. This isn't a video game. This is real." Micah backed away from Zayne.
Grayson took a deep breath. "Zayne is right. Mom will kill me if you guys were hurt."
Micah frowned, pulling out the journal from his pocket. "They keep saying something about a journal. What if this is the journal?"
"How could we even get a journal from a government facility?" Zayne grabbed a hold of the journal. "I got this at a thrift store with Mom." He flipped through the pages again, wondering if it was at all special.
Grayson shook her head. "Who cares? Let's just get out of here." Zayne nodded in agreement, grabbing a hold of Khloe. The left the cabin, not bothering to collect any belongings except for Grayson's car keys. The four traveled in the shadows of the cabins, their hearts beating quickly in fear of being caught.
On their escape out of camp, they ran into one of Zayne's friends. "Thanks, Brandon."
"No problem. Anything to protect my camping buddy." Brandon patted Zayne on the back. "When you get out, just let me parents know to come get me. I'm assuming Grayson still has all your phones." Brandon smiled at Grayson.
"Uh, at the hotel room."
"But you have yours." Khloe pointed out.
"Yeah, I do. We'll figure it out when we are safe." Grayson smiled back at Brandon.
"You better get going before they come after you."
"You should come." Micah grabbed a hold of Brandon's hand. "You saved us so we can save you."
Brandon shook his head. "I gotta protect Jessie. You guys go ahead. I'll see you on the flip side." Brandon took off running back toward the cabins, meeting up with another group of boys.
"I should go with him." Zayne muttered.
"No! There's no time!" Grayson grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him through the shadows of the cabins. They reached the edge of the parking lot, ducking behind some bushes to keep out of sight as a group of soldiers marched by.
Getting across the parking lot was a lot more trickier. It was a wide open space with the sun shining bright on it. They would be right out in the open and easy to be picked out by the predators that were currently hunting them.
"We gotta move fast. I'll go first. Then the kids. Then you Zayne." Grayson jumped up to her feet and took off running only hoping that the other three were following. By the sound of footsteps following, she knew they were right behind her.
"Hey! Get them!" Somebody called out to them. "Stop! We only want to protect you."
"Don't trust them!" Zayne screamed. Grayson was surprised when there was no gunshots. She reached her car and pulled open the car door. The other three climbed into their seats and Grayson quickly started the car. She was pulling out of the parking spot as the white dressed soldiers reached her car. They tried to pull open the doors, but the doors had automatically locked the moment Grayson started driving.
Grayson pressed her foot against the gas pedal and her car rocketed forward, heading down the road that led out of the camp property. "They're coming!" Micah screamed. Grayson looked in the rear view mirror, spotting a white van following them.
Grayson ran a stop sign without thinking. She was more concerned about getting to safety. "What the hell do they want?" Zayne held onto the door as Grayson sped down the road.
"I have no clue." Grayson screamed as a white car darted across the road. She slammed on the brakes, losing control of the car. The car spun around before flipping into a ditch on the side of the road. Grayson's hands flew off the steering wheel the moment she felt the air bag crushing her chest. Her head slammed backwards into the driver's seat and she could hear Khloe's terrified screams. She had lost all sense of direction when the car flipped, the windows shattering. Glass scraped her skin as she tried to pull myself out of the foggy state, but it just kept growing foggier and foggier.
Khloe please stop screaming.
A hand scratched against her arm. She tried to move her head, but couldn't. She only knew it was Zayne because of his thick hands. She tried to breath in and out, but it felt like it was getting harder and harder to accomplish.
An alarming thought entered her mind. Micah...where are you? She couldn't hear her adopted brother over Khloe's screaming. Deep down she knew her mom was going to kill her if she made it out of this alive. Out of the corner of her eye, She spotted somebody coming to her rescue. It was the mysterious stranger from Camp Odyssey.
"This is bad." The stranger bent down next to the driver's side, looking at Grayson. "They are for sure going to kill you since you have the journal. How did you get it?"
"What?" Grayson felt dizzy and was having a hard time focusing.
"The journal. How'd you guys end up with it?"Grayson gave the stranger a confused look, trying to focus on whatever he was talking about.
"I can't believe it was you guys the whole time. I need to get your memories out of here." He mumbled, shaking his head. He crawled away from my window. "Need to shut you up first. Then, I'll take care your brother."
"Leave me alone!" Khloe screamed louder this time.
"It won't hurt a bit." The stranger whispered. Through the rear view mirror, Grayson watched as the stranger placed his hand on Khloe's forehead. A purple marble appeared and Khloe's body went limp.
"What did you do?" Grayson struggled to get out of the car, but she couldn't move her legs. She watched helplessly as the stranger rushed to the other side to see Micah.
"Huh?" Zayne squeezed my hand tightly, unaware of what was going on.
"He's pretty cold. Death is coming for him, but I can save him." The stranger took a deep breath and mumbled something unclear to Grayson. He placed his hand on Micah's forehead and Grayson struggled even more. She could feel blood drip down from her forehead the more she moved. But it was useless, Micah's body went limp just like Khloe's.
"Stop! Leave them alone!"
"Quiet!" The stranger waved his hand towards Grayson and like magic, silence washed over her. No matter how loud she tried to be, no peep escaped from her lips.
Zayne started screaming the moment the stranger came to his face. "It will be quick and painless." Zayne's screaming went silent after a few seconds and I felt his hand go limp in mine.
The magical stranger appeared next to Grayson again. Fear washed over her and she found herself being able to speak again as the stranger gave her a wicked smile.
"No...no. No. No. No!" Grayson shook her head back and forth, trying to pull away from whatever the stranger was. That didn't stop the mysterious person from placing his cold, clammy hands on her forehead.
"This won't hurt a bit. Promise." Grayson's eyes slid shut and she was out quicker than her adoptive siblings.

Grayson woke up in a chair, blinking several times to adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. There was a small red blinking light giving off just enough light to allow her to see the tall, gray chair she sat in.
In front of her was some kind of control panel and two blacked out windows. The bright red light continued to flash every five seconds. Grayson took a deep breath, contemplating on what to do. Her eyes focused on the red flashing light next to a lever.
Grayson slowly stood up and looked down at the control panel. There were two words by the lever, one in front of the lever and one behind the lever. The lever was leaning toward the side that said "Sleep." On the other side of the lever was the word "Awake."
Confusion washed over Grayson, but curiosity also reached the better of her and she reached forward, wrapping her fingers around the top of the lever. She took a deep breath and pulled it. Light flooded the space that she was standing in.