Dreams | Dreamer Series Pt. I | Currently on hold

Chapter 1 (Hints to the First)

Hints to the First

     The football game at McQueen High School was cold, and none of us had thought to bring a blanket. October 14th at 8:30 p.m., and it never occured to any of us to bring just one. The only thing keeping us from freezing to death was our own body heat, the four of us huddled together on the freezing metal bleachers in the 30 degree weather, with a few cups of hot chocolate to keep our fingers from falling off.

     As McQueen scores however many points one scores whilst playing football, Violet and Holland cup their hands over their mouths and whoop loudly. Avorie and I aren't very into sports. She and I always tease the other two, "Don't you be turning into cheerleaders on us!" as Violet's cousin Nicole is a cheerleader here and she loves to teach Vi her cheers.

     About half an hour later, a little after nine, the game finishes at a score of 28 to 16, in McQueen's favor. As we gather up our hot chocolate, and pick each other up off the frigid metal slabs, I hear vaguely next to my right a male remark something like, "Watch yourself, Haven," which is my name, Haven Greene, a pun on my older brother's part. I want to disregard it and tell myself, "You're imagining things," or, "It could be another Haven," but it's not like Haven is a common name, so I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I push it to the back of my thoughts, but somehow it tugs at me and I am a little on edge, and feeling like I'm- we're- being watched.

     Me and the other three girls start heading toward Violet's house, which is right across the street from the school. Before we leave the field, I tell them all to watch their surroundings, but they tell me I'm just being paranoid. Just before we get to the parking lot, we cut inside the school through a side door and head to the nearest snack machine because Holland is complaining about being hungry, and so this, of course, makes the rest of us want something as well. We each snatch a bag of assorted something-or-others, mainly candy, chips, and the occasional ChexMix. When we finish our buying, we find our way through the twisting halls of the high school we've spent practically every day in for the last four years. 

     When we head out the front doors and charge down the stairs to the parking lot, we find that the parking lot has almost emptied. The only cars that remain are several black ones, a Mini-Van, a small BMW, a couple of sleek SUV's, and a truck, which seems to be even blacker than black, that none of us seemed to have noticed before.

     "Careful, guys, this doesn't feel right..." I trail off quietly.

     "Oh, come on Haven, not this again! You're just being paranoid. Loosen up!" Holland attempts to reasure me, but something still feels fishy.

     We slowly walk down the dozens of steps leading to the parking lot, chatting nonchalantly, like any group of four 16 and 17 year old girls would. When we reach the ground level, five black doors of five black cars open at once, causing me at least to jump. The open doors reveal five well-dressed men in black suits and sunglasses, even though it has been dark out for quite some time. 

     "Evening, gentlemen. Now if you would excuse us..." I offer and keep walking. The other girls follow in suit. But before we pass the truck, which was the closest to us, the man behind the door steps out and stops us.

     "Ah-ah-ah, where do you think you're going?" says the man who blocks my path. "It's dark, and late, and it's not safe for four young girls to be wandering around at night without an adult. Please, allow us to give you girls a ride home!"

     "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not safe to take rides from strangers?" I retort sarcastically. Now, if I had to guess, I would say that this man- boy?- was only about 19 or 20, only fresh out of high school. But the man from the van was older, maybe his late twenties, early thirties. As for the other two men, they were to far away for me to have judged their ages correctly, but a rough estimate would most likely be, oh, mid-twenties or so.