Timothy

Chapter 1 -

NOTE: book will be continued after I finish The Shadows. So hold tight!!! :)

I may not be the trendiest kid. My shoes were the big clown sneakers that I considered the coolest, but I guess not to other people. Everyone had the new converse this year. My backpack was also one of those roller backpacks, which I had thought was super cool when I had seen it at the store. Girls ran past holding hands and squealing. I wondered what it would truly feel like to know that someone else would voluntarily touch me. Not on accident, which might result in screaming and "the touch".

While other kids were being driven up to the door and hugged by their parents, I would walk to school everyday. My dad probably wouldn't be awake until 2 or 3 PM when he would need to get up for his night shift. I knew how to take care of myself, so I guess it didn't matter anyway.

There were only 2 falls and a few whispers but I made it to the door. Heading straight to my homeroom relieved that I would get to see my best friend. Upon arriving there, I realized he was not there. "Where did Fred go?" I asked my teacher. "Died during the summer," he replied with a sigh. Fred was brown with green stripes. He was the only one I had. I took a deep gulp to avoid crying and sat in a seat at the back. I had daydreams of lizards taking over the word and killing each human one at a time.

Almost every night, I dreamed of animals taking over the world. Animals weren't cruel. Animals did not abuse or mock.

Once school was over, I walked home freezing because a cold front had blown through. My dad's truck was gone which was unusual because he had work in a few hours. I tried not to think the worst but I knew what he was out doing.

I made myself dinner which was an omelet and some chips with dip and settled into the couch. Only an hour later I saw headlights dancing over the walls. A deep fear gripped me as it always did when he was near me. The sound of the garage door was the sound I feared most in the world. Every bump in the creaky metal made my heart skip a beat. The sound of the door opening and the keys being thrown on the drier almost gave me a heart attack. These feelings never got better.

I switched off the lights and hid under a table afraid of what he might do if he knew how late I'd stayed up. The minutes felt like hours before I heard his heavy footsteps trudge up and the stairs and the relieving sound of his door closing and locking.
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I crawled out from under the bed and went back to the couch. I hoped his boss wouldn't mind that he had skipped work.

That's where I fell asleep for a few hours before I woke to the sound of childish whispers and happy giggles. "Come with us and you will be happy," a sweet voice whispered out in the dark room. "We will protect you," another voice whispered.

Frozen with fear, I threw my blanket back over my head and cried. I cried for my dad. I cried for all the people without someone to talk to. I cried for the kids who bullied me at school. I cried until my eyelids fell and my tears evaporated and disappeared without a trace.