Breathe In, Breathe Out

Chapter One

"

"Can you please not fall?" I hear my friend, Jayden call from down below. I laugh and continue to scale the oak tree. I firmly place my foot on the branch and reach up for the next one.

"Reid, I'm not kidding!" I look down and see him looking up at me anxiously. That boy worries too much.

"Eyes front, soldier." I direct my attention back to the branch. I caught hold of the wood and hoisted myself into the leaves. I sat on the branch, feeling accomplished for scaling the old oak. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze ruffle my hair. After a moment, I opened my eyes and began my descent. About four feet from the ground, I jumped next to a napping Jayden.

"Reid!" He jumped to his feet, clutching his heart. I rolled in the moss, laughing.

~*~

We got to the lake in the center of the forest, about a mile from my house. I began to unlace my shoes. I nudged a apprehensive Jayden, who began to do so as well. Once I was wearing nothing but my underclothes, I jumped into the freezing lake. I popped out of the water like a cork on a champagne bottle and watched my friend come after me, wading in slowly. Inch by inch he made his way to me.

"Jayden," I said. "Why are you so bloody slow?" He glared at me and I rolled my eyes. I floated on my back and Jayden copied me. I stared up at the cloudy sky and wondered if we would get struck by lightning if there was a storm.

"What are the chances of us getting struck by lightning?" I asked. Jayden always knew these things. He was a biggy on precaution, planning ahead, all those kinds of things. He was the reason I hadn't died yet.

"Hmm..." He scrunched up his face in thought. "I'm pretty sure it's about a forty percent chance, but it's less than our chances of getting hypothermia." I sat up in the water.

"Good enough for me, my arms are numb." I dove under water and swam towards shore. I reached the rocky shore and ducked behind a tree to change. I pulled off the soggy underclothes and put on my sandy jeans and t-shirt.

I sat next to a dripping Jayden and looked at his face. I punched his arm playfully.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He was a little dazed and I wondered if he had gotten sick or something.

"Nothing it's just..." He struggled for words. I raised an eyebrow as he opened and closed his mouth, like a fish gasping for air. I looked towards the water and studied the treetops. Suddenly, I saw a cuboid figure heading towards this side of the woods. I shot up and looked towards the sky.

"What is it?" Jayden asked, frowning at me as I grabbed my shoes. I pointed to the box, which was coming dangerously close to us. The object zoomed over our heads and I heard a crash somewhere in the woods.

I began to lace up my sneakers and tuck my clothes into my pocket, feeling a little excited. Maybe it was aliens.

"Reid..." Jayden said suspiciously. "You're not going to...follow it are you?" I laughed and stood up straight.

"Of course not." Jayden looked relieved. I began to run. "I'm going to...investigate."