The first thing I felt was the gravel under my feet. It dug into the bare skin of my soles, cold and sharp, a wicked awakening. The darkness and the chill October air bled together into a thick blanket of ice. My back arched uncomfortably against the cold.
Looking around, I realized with a jolt that I was standing in the middle of the street. My pajama pants hung loose around my legs and the front door swung lifelessly on its hinges a few yards behind me. Yellow puddles of light pooled under the street lamps, casting a weak glow over the night. A breeze blew down the tunnel of street to my back, weaving between mismatched bungalows and heavy oaks. It chased itself over the hill before me, disappearing on its path to the beach.
Biting back my fear, I prepared to turn around and go back inside. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten out here in the first place, I just knew I'd be in so much trouble if I got caught.
I turned back to the slumbering house, sucking in my breath with a sharp laugh. So I was losing my mind. Two in the morning, and here I was waking up in the middle of the neighborhood. God knows what I'd done to end up like this. Reluctantly, my mind began to conjure up images of midnight murder sprees and sleep-driving lunatics running people off of the road.
I looked down at my clothes. I wasn't covered in blood and my parents' cars seemed to be in the right place, so either I'm a damn fine assassin with a knack for sleep driving, or I don't have anything to worry about.
The thought was enough to console me just a little. It was enough that I decided I'd go inside and talk to mom about it in the morning.
When a twig snapped behind me, my heart leapt into my throat. I spun on the ball of my foot, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of asphalt meeting shoeless feet. It was one of those instinctive moments of fight-or-flight reaction, and right now I was really leaning towards flight
"Hello?" My shaking voice was met by a stream of hushed curses from the bushes across the way. I heard a feminine voice accost the source of the profanities.
"You woke her up, you idiot!" The voice hissed through the leaves. I froze, my fists clenching. An extremely out-of-character sense of curiosity kept me glued to my spot.
"I know! Now what?"
"Ugh! Father was right, I am the smart one!"
"Are not!"
The pair of voices tumbled out of the bushes, taking on vaguely human-like shapes in the dark. I squinted, trying to size up the arguing shadows. My fear receded and I cleared my throat. Typically, horror movie monsters don't argue with each other before a kill.
"Ahem."
The figures froze, and I knew they were looking at me, even though I couldn't see their faces.
"Er," the boy whispered to Daddy's little genius, "so we go back?"
"And give up on this after months of training? If you want to deal with him when he's angry."
"Hey, uh, guys? Hate to break up the lovefest over here, but what in God's name are you talking about?"
There was an awkward silence, suddenly broken by the sound of the boy's uproarious laughter.
"Maddy, I thought she was talking to us!" He doubled over, holding his gut through the side-splitting hysteria. Maddy didn't find it nearly as amusing.
"I am talking to you."
The laughter ceased and he straightened immediately.
"What? Maddy, why is she lying?"
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Teen FictionImagine every fantasy cliché since Narnia. A portal to another world, a prophesied leader from a strange land, a kingdom on the brink of war, a prince charming with a less than charming attitude... Now imagine dropping an ordinary teenage girl with...