Welcome To Strangervill

the beginning

Chapter 1: The New Girl in Strangeville

Strangeville, Texas – 1973

The desert sun beat down on the cracked asphalt as Ryder Monroe pedaled his bike to the old schoolyard fence. Dust clung to his boots, his favorite pair of worn, beaten-down leather ones. Ryder squinted against the sun, feeling a tug in his gut, half-excitement, half-nerves. Today he and his friends were meeting up before school to talk about what everyone in town was murmuring about: the new lab being built on the edge of Strangeville, guarded and barbed-wired, with military jeeps parked out front.

Ahead, by the broken fence under the scraggly shade of a mesquite tree, he spotted Alex. Alex, with his dark, loose shirt, black jeans, and hair that fell in soft, straight lines around his face, looked as goth as anyone in middle school could manage out in the dusty desert.

Alex glanced up, his expression lighting up at the sight of Ryder. “Hey,” he said, a small smile breaking through his usual cool, guarded look.

Ryder dismounted his bike, giving a confident grin as he walked up. “Hey yourself.” His eyes drifted over Alex, instinctively scanning to make sure no one was bothering him. Ryder had seen his share of kids giving Alex a hard time for the way he looked, but he wasn’t going to let anyone mess with him. Not while he was around.

“Let me guess,” Ryder said, crossing his arms with a mock-serious look. “You found out something new about the lab?”

Alex shrugged. “Just rumors for now, but… yeah.” He looked around, as if to make sure they were alone. “They’re saying it’s some government project. Dad thinks it has to do with the Cold War, something to do with ‘special’ research. There’s even some people saying it’s radioactive.” He lifted his eyebrow, his voice low and conspiratorial.

Ryder let out a low whistle. “Radioactive, huh? Well, if we grow third eyes and glow in the dark, I guess that’d at least make school interesting.” He nudged Alex, a crooked grin forming. “But don’t go eating any glowing rocks if you find them.”

Alex smirked, shaking his head. “Only if you do first, cowboy.”

Just then, Finn’s voice rang out from behind them. “There you two are! Been waiting all morning!” He skidded to a halt on his bike, with Leo trailing behind him on foot, both of them already buzzing with excitement.

Finn flipped up the brim of his cap, grinning. “So, are we finally going to figure out what’s going on at the lab?”

Ryder gave a dramatic shrug. “Well, Alex here thinks it’s some secret military project.” He lowered his voice. “You know, radiation and stuff. Might be aliens, for all we know.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Aliens? You think so?” he asked, barely able to contain his excitement. Leo was known for his wild theories, everything from alien abductions to lizard people in the government. If something strange was happening, Leo was bound to have a theory for it.

“Hey,” Ryder said with a laugh, “no one said it wasn’t aliens, right?”

Just as the four of them started trading ideas, the crunch of wheels on gravel made them turn. A long, glossy black car, a Cadillac by the looks of it, pulled up along the curb. Its polished surface shone in the sunlight, out of place against the dusty landscape.

A girl stepped out, her blonde hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, her white blouse and plaid skirt crisply pressed. She took a single glance at the group, her eyes passing over them with a mixture of disinterest and slight disdain. Ryder had never seen her before, but her whole look screamed, I don’t belong here.

She looked back at the car, where her father was unloading a backpack, far too new and sleek compared to the beaten-up canvas ones the rest of them used. “Thanks, Daddy,” she said in a bright, clear voice. Her dad gave her a quick nod and got back into the car, speeding off without a second glance.