Junkyard of Heroes

Chapter 1

The silver bell above the door rang as the last customer of the day left, filling the small cafe with a warm melodic sound. Brynn whipped the cloth off of her shoulder and walked over to clean the only unclear table, allowing her face to relax from smiling all day. When her boss said "Service with a Smile!" he wasn't kidding around.

      Her boss, Mr. Shackleton, turned on the television in his small office. The short tune played before the 9 o'clock local news sang out to reach the ears of the workers. Emily and Grace grabbed their bags from the locker room in the back, popping their heads into the office to say bye to their boss. He distractedly nodded them a goodbye and they left the cafe full of chatter. They passed by Brynn without saying a word to her.

      Brynn just sighed and brought a tray of cups and saucers into the kitchen. She walked past the large rusting oven, the crystal clean counters on which many coffee machines and hot chocolate machines sat, the giant fridge where she secretly kept a bottle of orange juice on warm summer days.

      She placed her tray in front of the sink where Jake was busy cleaning other dishes. Removing her no longer needed apron, she watched as he rolled his eyes.

      "Yeah sure, leave all the dishes to me," he said sarcastically. "You could at least dry the already cleaned ones." She hopped up and sat on the counter beside him and grinned. "I could, but we both know I won't..."

      "Remind me again why I'm friends with you?" Jake smirked, earning a whack on the arm from Brynn. He splashed some foamy water at her and she squealed, shielding her blonde locks with her arms. Mr Shackleton suddenly appeared in the doorway. Brynn's eyes widened slightly and she quickly jumped off the counter, while Jake, with his back to the door, teased her, asking if she was "scared of a few bubbles?"

      Mr Shackleton cleared his throat loudly. "I am most certainly not afraid of bubbles, Mr Crutchfield." Jake practically jumped out of his skin, not expecting to hear the guy in charge of his job there. Brynn struggled to hold back the giggles on seeing his pale, startled face. "I came out here to ask you two to be quiet. I'm trying to listen to the news in there and all I'm hearing is girly squeals and loud laughter. Keep it down for a minute, would you please?"

      He returned to his office while the two teenagers laughed silently to each other. Still grinning, the girl straightened her uncomfortable black skirt and started drying the dishes for Jake. They heard the television volume being turned up until every sound reached their ears. Mr Shackleton was a bald little old man, and his hearing wasn't the best. Both of the workers remained silent as the newsreader gave the headlines.

      "And once again a teenager has gone missing, this time a 16 year old by name of Darcy Becker. We'll talk about that right now."

      Brynn and Jake shared a worried glance. Darcy Becker. Brynn had recognised the name immediately. She felt a shiver run down her back. That girl was in her art class. Brynn abandoned the dishes to run in and see the television, feeling sick when she saw her classmate's face up on the screen.

      "That's the third 'missing teenager' this month," mumbled Mr Shackleton from behind his desk. Brynn sank into a chair by the wall. "I knew her," she whispered, barely audible over the news. Jake ran in, hurriedly untying the apron around his waist. He draped it on the back of Brynn's chair, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. Being in Brynn's school he had heard of Darcy before, though he didn't know her as well as Brynn.

      She gave him a grateful smile. "It's just weirder, scarier when it's someone you know, you know?" Jake nodded solemnly while Mr Shackleton shushed her. She spoke in a whisper to say, "It makes it more real, it's not just another face on TV, it's a classmate."