Creatures of the Night: Awakening (Original Draft)

Chapter 1 - Nicolas (Edited)

"Look, Molly, I'm not going to the park today!" I told my best friend Molly. She could be so stubborn when it came to visiting the annual fall festival. It seemed like she forgot I wasn't allowed to go.

Molly didn't let go of my waist, causing me to have to rip her arms off of me. "Why?" She asked, pouting a bit and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Because, I don't have time to go. I have to get ready for my birthday on Halloween and then go to basketball practice since there's a game this Thursday. Plus, my dad doesn't like me going to the festival for some reason." I said while repositioning my beige purse on my shoulder. I pulled my iPhone out of it to check for any messages from my father. He was supposed to pick me up.

"Fine," she mumbled under her breath, blowing a piece of her curly black hair out of her face. "Am I invited to your party like usual? I don't want to miss out on the fun!" She seemed excited for the event due to her green eyes growing in size, her eyeliner and mascara only made them look bigger.

"Yes, but remember, no picking on my brother this time. My dad is getting tired of it." I looked at her as I spoke, making sure she payed attention to my words. She never got along with Noah. I could understand why, he was loud and annoying. Noah also liked being the center of attention, and that didn't work out since Molly also enjoyed being in the same position at some points.

"Got it." With that she hopped onto her light blue BMX bike and left me in the school courtyard waiting for my father and brother alone. As I waited for them, I opened safari on my phone and started doing research for an upcoming project. I glanced up every once in a while to look for his car, seeing that it was still not in sight, only teenagers rode their bikes and skateboards down the sidewalk and pathways.

I continued looking through websites ran by networks and organizations until a black Honda minivan pulled up in front of me. My 13-year old brother had smashed his face against the window and staring at me as I approached the vehicle. It looked like he had been burned on his face, his usual dark skin had a red welt on his right cheek. I opened the passenger door and threw my bag over the seat and into the empty one behind my dad before returning to my phone as I put on my seatbelt.

"How was school, Nic?" he asked while driving away from the school.

"It was good, I got an A on my history test and got an assignment in Astronomy." I replied.

"So homework then?" His eyes did not leave the road.

"Yeah." I replied as he drove through the neighborhood. The tall, petite trees started to pass us and left us in the scorching sunlight. Sanford was a big city, but living on the outskirts of town meant we'd be living in a nature world instead of a city one.

My curiosity was starting to get the better of me now that we had left the school grounds. I turned in my seat to look at Noah behind me. "Hey, twerp, what happened today? Did something happen in Biology?"

"Don't call me twerp, Nic!" He spat and paused for a moment before continuing his response. "And yes, I got burned on accident by Jacqueline."

"What did she do? Hit you with a hot piece of metal?" I laughed. Sure, it wasn't appropriate of me to laugh with the subject at hand, but he was my brother. I am going to pick on him even in the worst of situations.

"Maybe," he spoke quietly while taking his phone out of his jacket pocket. He didn't speak anymore with his eyes now glued to the screen, his thumbs hitting the phone with quite a bit of force.

I turned back around and looked out the window, locking my phone and putting it in my lap. The land was now covered by farms. The cattle were out in the fields grazing while horses ran about chasing each other. Some sprinklers were on, and in other fields the tractors were harvesting some late crops. Trees came into view again as we entered the suburban area. Little bumps became aware in the roads as we hit potholes and went over tiny hills, Noah making idiotic sounds as we hit a few big ones. Oh how I wanted to get him to shut up sometimes. The sun was soon blocked by the mass coverage of trees and the air became instantly cooler.