Trip To The Inferno [OLD VERSION]

Stage 0: Part 1

The breeze was mild while the sun shone brightly, cooking men and women who passed us by. It was mid Summer and the heat hit New York hard. You would think that all these skyscrapers would shield you from the sun, and it did to some extent, but nobody could get rid of the scorching heat. With the city full of crammed people and traffic jams - every living thing was cooked.

I watched as businessmen and women speed walked through crowded streets with their phones glued to their ears, mothers dragged their crying or laughing kids and couples were enjoying each other's embrace.

Me with the crew, which had my three other best friends, were sitting in the shade of the cafe building and sipped our ice teas. They all were discussing something very passionately but my mind was off to the side. I thought about my future.

Just a couple days ago we all finished high school. While others thought about how celebrate it, I thought about my future. It was grim, I can tell you that.

'Lynae, what do you think?' My one of the best friends, Anna, asked me. Her high pitched voice broke my, soon to be, dark thoughts and I looked at her.

Despite the heat, she still had her long blonde hair down that curled nicely to her lower back. Her bright red tank barely covered her B size chest, I am sure she did that on purpose since it was her time to fish some men out of the sea, while she rocked her black shorts that were glued to her butt. I must say, she might not have the bigges top but her butt was fiiine. With her pale flawless skin, perfect make up and sometimes bitchy attitude, she had the school under her feet. Despite many people disliking her for her attitude, she only showed her nasty side when one of her friends were being attacked. She was loyal to this group and that's what matters the most.

I noticed that all three of the crew stared at me and I felt my cheeks begin to warm up.

'Sorry, I wasn't listening' I meekly said that was followed by Anna's not lady like grunt.

'Lynae, please, pay attention to the conversation. We are trying to decide where to go to celebrate the end of hell years and you spacing out does not help' she began scolding me but Allan jumped to my rescue.

'Anna, my twin here is having serious thoughts and you are disturbing her' his voice turned into dramatic Hamlet voice which made me smile.

Allan and I were best friends from our childhood and even though we have different parents, we are creepily similar. We always end each other's thought even if one of us joins on the last second of the conversation, we have similar hobbies and he is like a brother to me. Because of that, people began calling us twins which was always fun to hear. Another great feature about him is that he is rooting for men team which allows me to bring him shopping, even if it's underwear store, and get honest opinion. He was a very romantic, music and poetry lover who had the most softies heart out of everybody I knew. His curly brown hair that reached his shoulders and warm brown eyes always pulled other girls to him but alas, he was a proud gay.

Allan threw a protective arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him, giving others the illusion of the couple in love.

'Stop acting like a father' Anna rolled her eyes and sipped her tea that was most likely already warm.

While they began bickering about either I had to be involved in conversation or stay in my thoughts, I turned my attention to my third best friend Jack. He was a jock who had a family that swam in money. Despite his popularity and charming personality, he always hung with us. Never asked him why but four years of friendship made us close. He was a very stubborn man who always tried his best to get what he wants. Although, he was an ambitious man, he also had anger issues. Not as in mental illness but he was just hot headed with short temperament. Jack also had quite the line of women waiting for his attention. With his dark blonde hair that somehow stayed perfect 24/7 and green eyes that captivated you in seconds, you could never run away from his charms.

Ignoring Anna and Allan I faced Jack.

'What were you all talking about?'

Jack sipped his tea lazily and wrote a message in super speed before looking up at me.

'We decided on two destinations for our "we have escaped hell" trip but can't decide which to pick' he explained and my eyebrows rose on the name they gave to the upcoming trip. But it had somewhere a grain of truth so I ignored it.

'What are the options?'

'Caribbean beach or Alps'

Both choices were inviting but I didn't vote for any of it just yet.

'Which one you all chose?' I already knew the answer but asked nonetheless.

'Anna wants the beach, I want Alps and Allan is fine with both which leaves you to vote on only one'

I hunmed thinking about the options. Anna was a woman who always followed the trend so her having a tan was crucial. Jack, on the other hand, was an active man who went to the gym frequently and any activity that involved strength and stamina was good for him to let some steam off. Unfortunately I was like Allan - I was fine with both.

'So, Lynae, what it's going to be?' Anna asked, finally done with the feud between her and Allan. All of their attention were on me again and I thought about the options again. While it would be nice to visit Caribbeans, it would be awesome to visit Alps. We had a beach not far from the city and we could get tan just by walking to the grocery store but we never had been hiking before. Maybe Jack was but I knew the rest of us didn't.

'I think going to Alps would be better. I'm quite sick of the beach and heat' I finally said and shot an apologetic look to Anna. I knew she liked the sun but I really wanted something new.

She frowned for a moment and then shrugged nonchalantly.

'Whatever, I can get some hot guys there anyway' her priorities were obvious.

'Okay, good. I'll talk to my father tonight about the helicopter and the guide. I'll write you all the date we set out' Jack said already writing to someone.

We simply nod and sipped our teas. It was already known to us that Jack's father gifted us with money for any trip we wanted as a congratulation for ending school.

'I need to go, guys. My mother asked me to be home earlier today' I said as I looked at the watch. It showed 3:42 p.m.

'They haven't given you permission yet?' Anna asked, her face full with annoyance.

Everybody knew that I had very strained relationship with my parents. After my mother divorced my dad three years ago and remarried my stepfather Drake almost instantly, it seemed that it was their mission to control me in any way possible. All three of my friends suggested for me to move out and live with them but I didn't want to be a burden and so decided to stay at home. For others it seemed that they simply were protective of me but I knew they weren't. We are talking about controlling not only where I go but also who I talk to, what I buy and how much time I spend on computer. Those are only few examples.

'I'll handle them tonight' I said and gathered my stuff.

'If they won't let you go then we will kidnap you or bust you out one way or another' Jack smirked and I chuckled.

'That would be lovely' I smiled and left them. They probably already have a plan that I hope won't be put in action.