The Solars

Part One

Chapter One
    Jason was walking with his father on a dirt path, surrounded by high, gray rocks. They passed into an opening, into a clearing Jason knew somehow to be some kind of campsite. He looked at his surroundings as they passed, his father in front of him. There was the kind of half dead grass you see in the wild covering the ground. He passed several men in camp chairs, and in front of each man was a stone circle with ashes in them. A recently put out fire. Jason came upon a last man, and almost immediately, fear flooded his body. The man had the skin of a heavy smoker, scratched, bruised, wrinkly skin, covered in sores. His eyes were milky white, indicating the man's blindness. Yet Jason had a creeping feeling that the man could see him. Jason gave a half smile at the man. Suddenly, the man reached out a yellow nailed hand, and seized Jason's arm. Panic flooded Jason, replacing the fear. He looked up, his dad still walking, heading into a field where tall grass grew. Jason felt immediately safe, knowing he could call out, and his father would turn around and help him. The man let go of Jason, and he ran to catch up with his dad. The whole time, he never saw his father's face, yet knew and felt the safety and comfort of following his father.
    Jason woke up. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked around. He was in his messy room, tangled in the covers of his bed. His dream had seemed so real, so vivid. He stood up, stretched, and began his morning routine, pondering his dream from the night before.
After breakfast, he grabbed his wallet, keys and backpack, and slipped into his car. At the first stoplight he hit, it turned red. Bored, he looked up at the overcast sky. It had been perfectly sunny this morning, he thought. He shrugged and drove forward when the light turned green. When he arrived, he saw his best friend, Nick. Together they went to class, discussing the upcoming districts meet for cross country.
At lunch, they found Jason's girlfriend, Maddie, and drove to a fast food restaurant. "So," Maddie said from the passenger's seat. Jason glanced at her. "So, what?" "The dance." "What about it?" "My dress is a cream. Can you match your tux?" "Yup." Maddie sighed. "The dance is in like two days." "Yeah," Jason nodded. "And you don't have your tux?" "Nope." "Will you have it by the dance?" "Yup." Maddie sat back in her seat.
    On the night of the dance, it was a cold, rainy night. Jason had just finished tying his tie when his phone started to ring. He picked up his smartphone, but it slipped through his fingers. "Oops," he said, picking it up. He glanced down at his phone. It was his mom. He swiped across the screen, answering his phone. "Hello?" Pause. "Seriously?" Pause. "Is he okay?" Another pause. "Okay, I'm on my way. Bye." He unlocked his phone by letting it scan his finger, then dialed Maddie's cell number. It rang. "Hello?" came Maddie's voice. "Jason?"
"Yeah, hey. Listen my mom just called and said she's at the hospital. My dad's been in some kind of car accident," he said quickly. "That's terrible! Is he okay?" "Yeah, He's fine. Just a few broken bones, I think. But I'm going over to the hospital to see him, so I won't be able to go to the dance tonight. You'll be alright, right?" "Yeah, totally! I'll just dance with some other friends." "Okay cool. Call me after the dance." "Yeah. Okay. Well, you better get to your dad." "Yeah," he said, walking out his bedroom door and into the kitchen. "See ya," he said, walking out the garage door. He hung up and slipped into his Mustang.
He drove silently, a million thoughts swimming through his head. Were his parents okay? Would Maddie have fun at the dance without him? How long would his dad be at the hospital? He glanced in the rear view mirror and did a double take. He had accidentally put on the wrong tie on his way out the door, and he wore an ugly patterned tie his friend had given him as a joke. He started to feel self-conscious. People were going to look at him funny. He hated that.

* * * *

Jason sat in the hospital room beside his mother. She had been crying, and now worry lines crossed her face. She had golden hair, deep blue eyes to match Jason's, and a thin frame. She wore a button down sweater over a white shirt and jeans.

The hospital room was bland. The walls were beige, and there was a picture of a field on the wall by the door. Because seriously, who is going to be cheered up by a field? Oh look at that! A field! How interesting. I love how grass looks in the sunlight.