Trident

Prologue

11:41 PM. February 3rd, 2012

    "Ow! What was that for, bitch?" Julie Morena was pissed. She came to this stupid frat party to play wingman for her best friend Ellie, yet instead of helping Ellie impress the guy she liked (Trevor or something, she wasn't sure. Either way, El's crushes changed every week, so she couldn't imagine that he was very important anyway.), she had lost her friend in the drunken crowd of mostly underage partygoers and found herself being groped by some nameless jock while he tried to convince her to dance. So, doing what any rational person would do when they've found themselves in her situation, she decked him.

    "I said, I don't want to dance. Now, I'll ask again. Have you seen my friend Ellie Fields?" Julie held her fist up in what she hoped was a threatening manner. Thankfully for her, the guy got the memo.

     "Skinny blonde with high-pitched, squeaky laugh?" She nodded. "Yeah, I saw her about five minutes ago, was it? She was dragging my buddy Travis into one of the rooms on the second floor." He rubbed his fist over his swelling left eye and glared at her from the right. Without another word, she turned and left for the second floor. "What, no thank you?" The boy screamed after her. She didn't acknowledge him. "Fucking Medusa..." she heard him grumble as she ascended the stairs.

 
    Upstairs didn't seem to be much better. There were couples everywhere, grinding and kissing and practically fucking each other against the walls and door. While the part of her that despised parties and seeing couples being intimate in public (She's aro-ace and damn proud of it) wanted nothing more than to turn and flee, the part of her that wanted to find Ellie and make sure she's okay won out. So, she steeled herself and began to move forward through the throng of discarded condom wrappers and thongs. Pausing at each door to knock and shout, "Ellie, are you in there?" She listened and apologized when various voices (mostly male and female, but at one door she swears she heard at least 5 different males) told her to fuck off. At the last door at the end of the hallway, there were two dark-haired girls making out against it. One she vaguely recognized as Brianna from History, and wondered if the other girl had simply dyed her hair, or if Brianna was cheating on her girlfriend. God, Ellie was going to owe her bigtime when this was over. Julie walked over to the busy pair and tapped the other girl on the shoulder. The two girls reluctantly broke their embrace.

     "What do you need?" Asked the dark-haired girl that was decidedly not Brianna's girlfriend Anna somewhat irritably.

     "I'm looking for my friend Ellie, and you both were kinda leaning against the door I think she's behind." The two girls nodded, and thankfully decided to move into one of the empty rooms. Julie breathed a sigh of relief at that, for she wasn't sure what she'd do if they hadn't been willing to leave. Not punch them, that's for sure as her hand was still throbbing from the last one. Going up to the last door, she knocked quickly and loudly.
 
    "Ellie, I swear to god you better be in there!" From the other side of the door came shuffling and soon enough, the door opened to reveal  her friend's beaming smile while she tugged on a sports jersey that definitely wasn't her own.
    
     "Julie, I swear to god this is the best day ever! You'll never believe what- Are you alright?" Blue eyes quickly grew wide with concern as her grin turned into a pensive frown. Julie sighed, cursing her friend's perceptiveness and herself for bringing down her mood.
  
    "I- I'm fine, Ellie. I just hadn't seen you and I got worried. That's all," Julie attempted to reassure her. No need to make Ellie feel bad right now, she can tell her what happened tomorrow after they've both had some rest. "I think I'm gonna call mom and head home. I've never been one for parties, you know." Without warning, Ellie threw herself at Julie and wrapped her arms around her neck.
   
     "Thank you for coming, Jules. I really appreciate it. Are we still on for tomorrow?" Ah yes, tomorrow they're going to the aquarium. She wouldn't miss it for the world. She nodded enthusiastically, feeling her mood lighten just at the thought of spending time with her friend at their favorite place. "Yay!" squealed Ellie as she squeezed precious air out of her friend's lungs. "I'll see you there, and then maybe you can tell me what's bothering you." Julie cursed at being caught out and Ellie laughed and moved to head back in the room.
   
As Julie turned to leave, she heard her dear friend yell out, "Be careful, okay? The last thing I need is to see my best friend of six years' face on Fox News as they report about her brutal murder." Julie rolled her eyes.
   
"Don't worry, El. You're stuck with me. I promise I'm not going anywhere for a long time." Right before she descended the stairs, she heard El's voice softly remark.

    "Thank god for that."

     Outside the doors of the fraternity, she called her mom and asked her to come pick her up. Her mom, being her wonderful mother, said that she and her dad would be there in ten minutes, and told her to stay on the phone. With that, Julie began walking through the quiet campus to the main road where she'd meet up with her parents, mindlessly chattering to them about homework and whatnot. About halfway there, she paused to check the time on her phone. 11:55 PM. She felt grateful that tomorrow was Saturday, and that she had no classes to attend. As she was about to pull the phone back up to her ear, she heard the snapping of a twig behind her. Whipping around, she just barely made out a shadowy figure before it disappeared behind a tree. Feeling panic slowly setting in, she raised the phone to her mouth.
 
   "Mom, I think I'm being followed." Before she could listen to her mother's response, she saw the figure dart out from behind the tree, running full-speed towards her. Screaming, she turned around and took off, sprinting towards the main road and praying that her parents were close by.  While she could hear her parents screaming at her, confused and scared for their eldest daughter, the only words she was able to articulate was the repeated phrase, "Oh god," under her breath. The only things she could register were her own running feet, and her elevated heartbeat keeping pace with the footfalls quickly getting closer. Soon enough, the front gates of the college came into view. Just past that was the road, and if she could make it there, she was sure she'd be free.
    

     As she passed the front gates, she felt herself trip over her shoelaces, and she slammed face-first into the coarse gravel of the roadside. Before she could even attempt to lift herself up, she felt her pursuer sit on her back, and begin to pull down her top.

     With everything she had, Julie writhed and kicked and yelled, anything to get him off. She even tried to throw her phone at them, but that just made whoever it was angry. Once more, she felt her face slam into the ground, as she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. Face full of dirt and rocks, she screamed as she felt her attacker carve something into her back, tears pouring out of her eyes and into the dirt. Once they were finished, they pulled her up by her hair, and she felt something cold and sharp press into her throat. At that action, she realized that she had inadverdently broken her promise to Ellie. Her crying became full sobbing at this thought, and the knife pressing into her made quick work of her throat, slashing the jugular. She felt her soon-to-be murderer let go of her hair to run off, and she grabbed at her neck with both hands, trying in vain to stop the blood from running down the column of her throat onto her chest. She soon fell forward, and as darkness began to consume her, she saw the headlights of her parents car, arriving seconds too late.