Hunted (book 1)

Chapter 2

It was almost dark by the time I got to the pier. For something so big, it was really hard to find. I spent a good half an hour walking around town trying to find it. You would expect the pier in Myers Harbour to be small and ordinary like the rest of the town, but the pier was huge. There were so many different things going on that I didn't know where to look.

As I stepped onto the wooden boards, I could see throngs of people out to enjoy their Friday nights. Unfortunately, none of those people seemed to include my classmates. I passed the Ferris wheel and some sort of shark version of whack-a-mole. A wonderful smell greeted my nose. I looked to my left and spotted a row of food vendors, the closest of which being a very busy potato on a stick stand. My mouth watered.

"Charlie! Over here!" A girl with a long blond plait hanging over one shoulder and a flowy skirt reaching just past her knee waved at me from a strength hammer a few stalls away. Sasha laughed as one of the guys in their group tried to lift the hammer with great difficulty.

I crossed the pier and headed in their direction. The group was made up of seven people: Sasha, Bree, Ryan, Garrett, Lachlan, and a girl and guy I recognised from the picnic table at lunch. "Hey, guys." I smiled and gave a small wave.

Sasha weaved between the people to get to me and gave me a hug. She had to be the nicest person on the planet. Sasha turned back to the rest of the group and introduced me. "For those of you I haven't already introduced, this is Charlie. She's new. Charlie, you already know Ryan, Bree, and Lachlan. This is Mandy, Garrett, and Chase."

Mandy, a redhead, smiled brightly at me. "Hi. Nice to meet you." She had a similar energy to Sasha. They must have gotten along great.

Garrett and Chase ignored me. They were too busy trying to beat each other at the strength hammer. Garrett brought the mallet down hard on the machine and came close to ringing the bell. He gave Chase a beat-that look and Chase took the mallet and whacked the machine. He also came close to ringing the bell. The man running the stall came over, took the mallet, and easily managed to hit the bell, then handed the mallet back to Chase and Garrett. Both guys looked at the ground and tried to avoid the eyes of the girls.

Bree looked at the hammer, then at Ryan. "Hey Ryan, why don't you have a go?"

Ryan ran a hand through his dark hair and shook his head. "It's not really my thing."

"Oh, come on. Don't be such a baby." Bree picked up the hammer and swung it around. "I bet I could do better than you."

While Bree was probably stronger than she looked, that was unlikely. Ryan had broad shoulders, large biceps, and he was on the football team. Ryan took the bait and held out his hand for the mallet. Bree handed it over and stood back. Ryan held it above his head and brought it down. The bell dinged, signifying Ryan's victory. The man running the game handed Ryan a giant whale plushie and took the hammer. He clearly didn't want to give away anything more than he had to.

Ryan looked very pleased with himself. "Beat that, Bree." He nudged her.

"Nah. It's not really my thing." Bree replied, snatching the whale, and sauntered off across the pier.

"Hey! Bring that back!" Ryan chased after her, but I could tell he didn't really mind.

I turned to Sasha. "So, what have you guys done so far?"

"Not much." Sasha shrugged. "We pretty much just got here. I arrived first and then Mandy and then Chase. Everyone just sorta kept coming so we waited to start."

I nodded.

"Are you guys hungry?" Mandy came from behind us and put her arms around our shoulders.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Are you?"