The Truth

Chapter one

Staring at the headstone, I held back a sob. A shiver ran down my spine. I wasn't sure of it was the cool, autumn day or the memory of what had happened to my best friend. I set the overflowing bouquet of fresh roses I was holding next to her headstone and stepped back to look at it one more time.

I had been without my best friend, Iris, for eight months now. I still remember the heart-wrenching night that I had lost her so vividly. She shouldn't have died that night; we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That night, we had decided to visit our favorite diner instead of staying in together like we usually did on Friday nights. The night already had an eerie feeling to it as we walked from our apartment that we shared to the diner. It was raining pretty hard but the air smelt fresh and felt nice and cool as it kissed my skin. The moon was casting a light glow over the bright city, illuminating the puddles of rain water collecting in the street and hi-lighting the shadows around us. The diner was bare, except for the few employees who had to work, since not many people wanted to trek out in such heavy rain. We were seated at a booth near the front of the restaurant. We ordered two milkshakes and a warm plate of fries to share. It was Iris' favorite combination. Iris was talking to me about an assignment her sociology teacher had assigned her when I noticed a tall man enter the diner. His stance was sluggish and it seemed as if he was drunk. He was wearing all black with dark shades covering his eyes and his hood was pulled up to cover his face. He trudged with his hands in his pockets and his eyes were looking down at the floor as if he was searching for something. He sat at a booth only a few away from where Iris and I were seated. My stomach dropped and my palms started getting sweaty.

I sat up straight and slid to the edge of my seat so that I could whisper to Iris, "Iris, there's a guy who just walked in and I'm getting a real bad vibe from him. He seems pretty sketchy. I think we should go. This doesn't feel right."

My mother always used to say that I had a sixth sense of some kind. Ever since I was a little girl I used to observe others and would usually getting a feeling telling me if they seemed sketchy or not. I guess I was just able to tell a lot about people based on their actions or their words.

"Kally, chill out. I'm sure he's perfectly normal. I bet he just came in her to escape the rain or something. Relax," Iris reassured me.

Iris was always good at calming me down. She just had an easy way about her that always seemed to bring out the best in me and help me in stressful situations. I sat back in my seat and picked up my drink, still intently watching the man. Iris continued rambling about her class and soon enough the menacing man stood up. I had thought that maybe he was standing to leave, but instead he pulled a gleaming, black handgun out of his pocket and swiftly pointed it in our direction. I dropped my glass and sent a mixture of strawberry milkshake and shards of glass in every direction. In this moment it seemed as if I was staring death right in the face. It felt like time had stopped and I could feel my body go cold and rigid. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. I couldn't think straight. My mind was racing with thousands of thoughts and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't straighten them out.

Iris, however, had a calm and collected countenance. I had always admired her for the way she was always able to quickly analyze situations that I had a tendency to freak out in. Maybe that's why we were best friends. We balanced each other out.

"Come out of the booth now," the man said roughly instructed me.

I shakily watched as Iris stood up from her seat with absolute grace. I was still too shocked to move.

"Kally, you need to get out of your seat and put your hands on your head," Iris said. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, threatening to jump out.

I looked at her like she was crazy. I stared at her face with a look of confusion on mine and she gave me a stern look back. I finally stepped out of my seat and put my cold hands on my head as Iris did.