Metanoia *NOT CONTINUING*

One

Metanoia
[ˌmetəˈnoiə]
(n.) the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self, or way of life.

Colby
The drive to this party is already stressing me out and I was about to just turn around. Sam and I were on the road for 45 minutes until I realized I had forgotten my phone. "Should we turn around and go get it?" I questioned, but I knew if I headed back I wasn't going to go through this journey again. "Don't worry about it, man. You can just use mine if you need to." Sam said as he skipped through multiple radio stations.

We reached the one hour mark and we were in the middle of nowhere when my car seemed to struggle until finally, it just shook and died out. I tried starting it back up but the only response I got was screeching and it just wouldn't catch. "Please tell me this is a joke?" Sam's tone was harsh, but it sounded as though it held a smidge of sarcasm.

I checked under the steaming hood as Sam wandered around the empty, bare cornfield. Since I wasn't a mechanic, I had no idea what I was looking for so I just shut the hood and called Sam back over. "We gotta push it into the grass." He huffed at my words, even though I was just as annoyed as him at this point.

"No one is answering my calls and no one is going to drive this far to get us." Sam walked back and forth as he continued making pointless calls. "Maybe there's a gas station or town or something up ahead." We started walking in the same direction as we were previously driving. "This is bullshit." I grumbled as the cold air nipped at my face.

About 15 minutes passed and there was finally something in sight, but it wasn't helpful. It was an old, foreclosed or abandoned house that by the looks of it, one strong wind could sweep it away. "No, Colby!" Sam stood his ground. "Fine, then just wait outside...by yourself." I shrugged walking up the crumbling concrete steps, Sam soon gave in and followed behind me.

As we entered, we noticed the upstairs ceiling caved in, scattered across the floor on which we stood. The inside walls were covered in graffiti and random sayings trying to scare people out. It looked like the art work of drugged up, troubled teens.

A good percentage of the windows were either missing or shattered upon the eroding floor. "Shhh, did you hear that?" I mumbled to Sam who was pleading to leave. We found our way to the flight of slanted stairs that led to what was left of the second floor. I heard a soft creek come from upstairs right as Sam grabbed my arm and quietly yelled at me "Have you ever watched a fucking horror movie? You don't go towards the damn noises, Colby!"

As I turned the corner, so did something else and I screamed so loud that my heart dropped to my stomach. It sounded like 3 girls, their high pitched screams drowned ours. Opening my clenched shut eyes, still screaming, I realized it was two girls and the other obnoxious scream was Sam behind me as he tumbled down the steps scared shitless. After a couple seconds, the two girls and I realized that we weren't necessarily threats to each other, so we stopped destroying our vocal chords. "Why are you here? I thought this place was done for?" I asked them as the one eyed me up and down as though I truly was a serial killer. "I could ask you the same question." The other one crossed her arms raising an eyebrow at me as her beanie flopped to the side. "Our car broke down a couple miles back, my friend and I stumbled across this place so we decided to check it out." They didn't seem to be buying it. "Speaking of your friend, is he okay? 'Cause I'm pretty sure if he didn't have a heart attack, he at least shit his pants." The one in the beanie remained serious even though she was having trouble tryng not to show humor in her own words. "Yeah, he's..." I was cut off by Sam's trembling voice from the floor below us. "Colby, are you dead?"

When the three of us finished making fun of him, the one in the beanie spoke once more. "If you're telling the truth and you're not going to rip our faces off and wear them as your own then I guess we can help you out and drive you into town or something." She offered, still no emotion shown. "We'll take advantage of that offer as long as you promise you won't do that to our faces either." I laughed in return. "We're not making any promises." She smirked pushing past us, as the other girl followed behind her.

Once we found a small, plain town they stopped the car and just waited. "Are you gonna get out or...?" Damn, that attitude I wasn't too fond of it, but I also found it slightly amusing. "We didn't quite get your names." The back door was open, but I still sat inside until they answered. "Lauren." The girl in the passenger seat finally spoke. The one that hasn't introduced herself yet, turned to the girl beside her, grinning. "Lauren, you're an idiot," She then turned to me, "I don't give my name to strangers, Colby." She put extra emphasis on my name, popping her lips before turning back around. "Thanks for the ride." I grinned before stepping out and meeting Sam on the sidewalk. "Mhmm hmm." I heard her mumble before I shut the car door, slightly taken by surprise when her tires squealed against the asphalt.