Stargazer (Write Awards 2013)

Chapter 9 (Write Awards 2013)

I'd just like to say that I have managed to get into round 3 of the Write Awards :D Thanks to everyone who's voted and commented on Stargazer and I hope I can pack as much action into the following chapters as I can.

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Dumbfounded, both me and Brenda stared at Aaron in silence. Then, the shovel was blurred through the air and in an instant Brenda was slumped on the bench, her eyes closed. The sound was like hitting the side of a van with the back of your hand.

"June." Aaron was reaching into the van towards me, holding out his palm. Realizing I was cowering in the corner, I slid forwards until Aaron took a hold of my arm.

"Jesus I'm so sorry June," he quickly unlocked the metal hoops from around my wrist with a set of keys he had in his back pocket. Around me I could hear the sounds of cars honking and yelps of distressed people. Before we could leave, I reached over Brenda, grabbed the phone and shoved it into my pocket.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as Aaron dragged me away. Suddenly, a boy with red hair jumped in front of us. Around his waist was a belt and hanging from those belts were large coloured balls. He yanked one off and with a smile, threw it into the van with Brenda. The ball exploded into a shower of yellow liquid, sending Brenda's clothing a wet shade of yellow.

"Good shot, Stephen," Aaron complemented the thrower. Stephen grinned before dashing off into the swarm of cars and only now did I notice the splashes of colour along the ground and dripping from the cars.

"Why are you here, Aaron?" I asked again, fear setting in. For all I know, Aaron could be a part of the same people who were trying to get whatever information they thought I had. Aaron didn't answer so with a hard yank I released my hand from his grip and stopped running.

"I'm sorry, ok?" he said running a hand through his hair. "I thought you were playing some kind of joke on me. Now can we please go before someone finds us?" He held out his hand again, and the look in his eyes made my stomach churn. He looks so much like Storm, I thought with a violent tug in my gut. Without thinking I had placed my hand back into his and we were running again.

Aaron left the street and started winding through thick patches of trees that were growing from the damp soil. I so badly wanted to reach out and touch them, but just from one glance at the texture on the surface, I kept my arms to myself. Up ahead I could see a thick black shape loom up in the trees.

Aaron kept heading towards it and before long I could make out a house nestled between the branches. And this wasn't a small house either. From a distance you'd think it was a clump in the trees but up close I could see the different levels of the house so it'd fit in-between the branches.

A ladder was hanging from a branch and Aaron started climbing up. Once he was at the top, he motioned for me to join him. Gathering my courage, I tightly gripped the wooden ladder and started climbing. The ladder wobbled and jerked as I shifted my balance and for one terrifying moment, I thought I'd fall until I glanced up to see Aaron leaning over the edge.

With one last effort I had dragged myself up with help from Aaron.

"Come on, little more to go," Aaron coxed me further into the house. A small door opened up into a huge multi-storied house. Chairs of all sizes were thrown in different places and sitting in most were people. Teenagers to be exact, all wearing strange clothing and more of those paint balls around their waists.

"Aaron!" they all cheered in union as he walked through the door. Some got up and began patting him on the back while other cheered from their places in the chairs.