Nightfall

Chapter 1: Possession

A bead of cold sweat rolled down my cheek, dripping onto the faded white tile floor of the gym as I closed the locker room door behind me. I repositioned my string backpack full of dirty clothes and turned as I started slowly down the hall. I had just finished exercising for the better part of two hours, and my legs were so tired that they wobbled at every footfall as I walked through the corridor. Shots of pain ran up from my exhausted thighs, making me look forward to getting home and going to sleep more than I normally did. I wasn't a morning person, but that night I had definitely gone to the gym much later than I would have liked.

"Oh man," I groaned as I turned the corner and came into the gym's entryway, "I might have overdone it tonight."

My body ached as made my way out of the halls, and when I came into view of the gym's big, street-facing front windows I was surprised to find that it was already dark outside.

"Hey, Stone! It took ya' long enough! Come here for a sec."

Jake, one of my friends who worked at the gym with me, waved me down from the front desk. With a grin I walked over to the chest high granite countertop, and leaned against it to take some weight off my wobbling legs.

"What's up-" A loud roll of thunder interrupted me, followed by a brilliant flash of lightning.

"Dang, looks like more rain tonight. Hope you didn't walk." Jake chuckled lightly before looking at me. "Anyway, I'm gonna be throwing a serious party tomorrow at my place, and I wanted to invite you. I completely forgot to ask during our last shift together so I'm glad I caught you on your way out tonight!"

"Yeah me too." I gave him a friendly smile," That sounds awesome, I'll definitely be there."

Then I turned towards the windows and groaned out loud, "I don't know why in the world I decided to walk today. I knew it was going to rain..."

All day clouds had covered the sky above my small town like an enormous grey blanket, but as night had set in, they had become dark and ominous. I'd walked to the gym earlier, confident in getting home before the rain started falling, but my hopes of staying dry were dashed when I looked out the windows to find a storm glaring back at me. The darkness of the clouds above coupled with the previous roll of thunder meant rain was only moments away, and the thought made my heart sink. Since my town was right on the gulf coast of Florida, rain wasn't uncommon during the summer months. We were all used to it, but that didn't mean it was fun to walk in.

I sighed and looked back to Jake, "Well, anyway, I'd love to stay and talk but I should probably head out before the rain starts."

"Yeah man I understand. Good luck!" He laughed once more, "I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you then."

He stretched out his hand, and I shook it as I stood on unsteady legs and made my way to the front doors of the gym with a small grin on my face. It had been awhile since I'd been to a party, and while I was sure that it would be filled with girls and alcohol the thing I was really looking forward to was spending time with Jake. He may have been another one of the rich kids that lived in the many mansions that lined the beachfront but he was a genuine person and always made time for the people he cared about. He was my best friend and had earned my full respect.

He was a little shorter than me and looked like the definition of a Florida teenager with long, shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a well-kept tan. We lifted weights together when we could, but it was more to talk and laugh than anything else. We both enjoyed hanging out, and exercising gave us the perfect excuse to goof around.

And as thoughts of the party ran through my head, I pushed open the big glass doors in front of me. Watching the first drops of rain beginning to fall snapped me back to reality, and I couldn't help but sigh as it picked up rapidly. In a matter of seconds it escalated from a drizzle to a downpour.