Cresent

Chapter One

The pavement slips away beneath the old Chevy truck. With my head on John's lap, I sketched beautiful pictures of the over lapping hills that surround us. He smiles as I begin making dozens of flowers. Flowers then turn to skyscrapers, then to a green forest. A forest filled with creatures, bears, deer, rabbits. The green of pine. Trees. All of the sudden, my whole world stops. My surroundings come to a halt as John presses the brakes- or so I think. "Flat tire." John says. Everything I've seen in horror movies flies threw my head. Girls covered in blood from head to toe, little tiny ghost girls carrying knifes, a women, scissors piercing her heart. All of these things come to my mind. I keep my eyes glued on the forest, terrified of what could possibly come out. Suddenly this forest scares me. I begin to crave John's warmth. I curl into a ball on the seat and wait. It's starting to feel like the forest is swallowing the truck. I need some air. I open the truck door and immediately a burst of cold air rushes in. I pull on a sweater, then walk to John. "What's wrong Bonney?" His tone is concerned, and he doesn't look up from his work. This alarms me. John always calls me Bon, unless something is wrong. "It's only a flat tire, isn't it?" I ask, hoping it is only that. "Something slashed it, I need to but on the dummy tire, almost done Bonney, get back in the cab." Not a single hint of kidding was in his voice. "Something, or someone?" I know I'm pushing him now, I just need to know what he thinks. "That's impossible Bonney, now get in the cab." He's talking sternly. "But John-" "Bonney get in the cab!" he cuts me off, "But-" "BONNEY NOW!" I open my mouth to say more, but then quickly close it when I see his face. I go back to the cab and sit silently until John finishes. He's finally done and comes back into the cab of the truck. I know I should feel safer now, but I only sort of do. John starts the truck and I sigh in relief. I had been terrified that the truck wouldn't start. As we drive off, I stare at John's face. He's hiding panic. He's afraid. "John." I whisper. I take his hand. "Yes Bon." The 'Bon' seems forced. I know he's trying to not scare me. "How could someone slash the tire when the truck is moving?" I say. he squeezes my hand. "I don't know," He says with a sigh. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He says. A lump grows in my throat. I let a tear slide down my face, then more, and more. I lay my head down on his lap again. I see a single tear roll down his face and it lands on my cheek. "Why are you crying?" I ask. He's confusing me. "Because I've never yelled at you before." He says. Him saying this breaks my heart. He quickly opens his mouth to speak, but I put my finger on his lips and curl up to his side. I turn on the radio and old rock, filled with static, blares out. We drive along the highway, and I wish I could freeze this moment forever. I sink deeper into his chest, wanting to disappear as I see the town that we're approaching. There are abandoned houses with boarded up windows. Convenience stores with flickering signs. A tall, black church with the word "Satan" spray painted on the side. It looks like something strait out of a movie. A movie that would terrify me. "Can we drive strait through? Please..." I say to John, wanting to close my eyes and shut out everything around us, but stay focused on our surroundings. The forest outside this town seems childish now that I'm here. I notice an older women carrying a sign that says something in a different language that I don't understand. A child, wearing black overalls with a red shirt, and black hair pulled into two braids, skips rope on a sidewalk in front of tarnished white house that makes me shutter. An orange and white, three legged cat with dark grey eyes slips threw the shadows of the town. "We need to stop for the night, I'm sorry, but I'm sure we'll be fine, just don't go anywhere out of my site." John says, snapping me back into reality. "O-ok." I manage to stutter. "There's an inn up here." John says, pointing to a large brick building, glowing with light. It's covered with climbing ivy and white fences. It looks like somewhere that I'd usually avoid. John pulls the truck into the inn's parking lot. He parks close to the front door, and we get out. I wait for him outside my door, he comes around the truck and holds my hand tightly, giving me a reassuring smile. We enter the building. Spider webs are all around the room, that looks like it's from the eighties. Big red chairs are on either side of a large oak desk that looks fairly new, that is, compared to the rest of the room. "Hello, and welcome to the Beverly Inn." a women who looks about in her twenties says from behind the desk. Her brown hair is in a bun, and she's dressed in a jean shirt and a pair of leggings. She relaxes me at once. "How many nights are you looking forward to staying with us?" She looks back and forth between John and I. "Oh I'm sorry, we just haven't had very many visitors in the past while." She says. "One night, we're just passing threw." I say, still clinging to John. I say. "That's awfully weird. Usually people keep driving till they get to the next town, instead of stopping here in Crescent. They think it's a scary town, but the majority of the town are either old folk or young people who need an escape." The girl says now after talking with her, I'm guessing she's about twenty five. "Are you one of the people who needed an escape." I ask. "I'm here because no one else would take over the Inn when my grandfather died. My grandmother would have, but the family thought it would be better if she just helped out here. She's not here right now though." I'm surprised by how much she's telling us about herself. "What's your name?" I ask, wanting something to call her by besides 'the girl'. "Lucy," She says, "I'm named by my grandmother, no surprise there. What's your names?" Lucy asks, looking at John. "John and Bonney" I say. "Here's your key, Bonney and John." She says, a smile on her face. John takes the key and we say our good byes. We go and find the room and unlock the door. I'm not surprised to find an old fashioned room, with flowered wallpaper and lamps with burgundy shades. I throw my stuff down on the queen sized bed. I find John sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. I sit on his knee. Just as he's about to wrap his arms around me, I hear a knock on the door.