The Story Traveler

Chapter one: Leaving

I wake up gasping. I was drowning! Drowning! I put my head back on the pillow calming myself down.

"It was just a dream. It was only a dream. Don't let it get to you." I mumbled. Too many of these dreams were coming to be. Too many. If only there was a way to stop them. The dreams have been occurring since I was five. I'm thirteen and now, because of the nightmares, I'm terrified to go anywhere near the water. The pool. The beach. Rivers and streams. The only water I will go near is the water I drink. I refuse to take baths and even then my showers will only be two or three minutes long. I avoided the water as much as I could. Here in Spring Valley that was almost impossible. Floods were inevitable after the winter season. A lot of pools were set up around the town and the town was even set in the beach. We lived in a huge area. My mom said we couldn't leave because she worked close to the ocean. My mom was a marine biologist. Funny thing is, I'm never afraid my mom might get hurt. To me she's like superman. My mom is the best. As for my dad, well, I can't say the same about him. He died before I turned one. He got cancer. Memories of my dad came from home movies. He was loud and overly happy. I was a generally happy kid, but my dad! You would never guess. Joy and pride seeped out of his being glowed and shined out from him like a star. My dad would have probably been the best dad ever...If he was still here.

I can hear my brother crying in his room. My mom is single and has three kids. Matt, the one who was crying, Justin, my older brother, who is by the way the most ANNOYING person on the earth. My mom is very stressed at work, she works really hard all the time to make ends meet. When Matt was born, a rule developed. If Justin or I was awake and my mom was sleeping we had to go calm him down so she didn't get a headache. I was usually awake first. Even if I wasn't, I was the closest one to his room. So if I was asleep I would wake up anyway. This was the first time he cried in the morning since he was two. I got out of bed quietly and tiptoed across the room. Justin and I shared a room. Well, kind of. Our rooms are separated by a sheet that hangs from the ceiling. Which means that whenever he snores...I can hear it. And let me tell you, he snores a lot.

Max got his own room solely because he's younger and sleeps in a bed that my mom has put safety precautions on. She's too busy to move the 'baby proofing' so he doesn't fall off the bed. So, he sleeps in the room that I slept in and the one that Justin slept in before me. It has never been moved. Ever. My mom never really found the time. Justin and I slept with the door closed, which was quite a problem when I had to get out without him hearing me. The hinges on our door were old and in need of oil. They screeched when you opened the door and sometimes you had to fight to get out. Kind of like a crowd of 1D fan-girls waiting to see Harry Styles or Niall or whoever it was. 

Although, fighting with the noisy door has become one of my many talents over the years. After a few minutes I successfully get outside of our room without making any noise. Once I closed the door again I didn't have to worry about making noise. Max was bawling his eyes out again. He lay in his bed tears soaking his sheets and pillows. I really had no idea why he cried so much because, after all he was five years old. My mom should've moved him to our room but I guess she never got to it.

His face was red and he made no attempt to stop crying. I leaned over the bed and tickled him. He stopped crying and stared at me, starled. I laughed and tickled him again. He laughed too and I picked him up in my arms, kissing his face. This was my morning routine. I was awakened by his crying and I quickly calmed him down by startling him and making him laugh. In my arms he fell back asleep and I put him back in his bed. My shoulder was wet from his drool. I went into my room and was no longer afraid to make noise since Justin was awake. He was laying in bed trying to get up. I grabbed a pillow from the floor and threw it in his face. He pushed it off and ran out of his bed pushing me on mine. I roll my eyes at his gleeful smirk and laugh. 

Once he left the room I picked out the clothes I chose to wear today. Sweatpants and a t-shirt with a hoodie about three sizes too big. No one could judge me it was -15 degrees outside and a weekend. No one would see me anyway. I carried the clothes into the bathroom and got ready quickly, taking a shower, drying my hair and brushing my teeth. I was never one of those girls who got ready in an hour. I went into Max's room to find him sitting on his bed, awake. For once I didn't have to wake him up and halfway carry him downstairs. I also got the job of watching him. I picked him up out of his bed and started to walk down with him. 

From the top of the stairs I heard an argument. It was Justin and our mother. Oh no. Not again. They always fought. But this time it sounded serious. I walked down the stairs and listened in on them. 

"It's not fair." Justin yelled.

"Do I look like I care?" My mother said sternly.

"Mom, I'm 15, I can stay away for a few nights." 

" Two weeks is not a few nights."

"Stop over reacting, I'm going with friends. And it's just camping."

"No camping is when you have a tent and something to keep you warm. Not a game of survival"

"Liam's bringing food."

"So? What do I care? You're not going and that's that."

"Fine. I won't go with them. I'll go alone. You'll see that I can take care of myself."

"You want to go? Fine. Just come back when you need me to help."

"Oh so I'm aloud to go alone, unprepared, but I'm not aloud going with my friends."

"Exactly. You're friends are a bad influence."

Justin stared at her. He was clearly very angry. Interrupting their staring contest I said, "I'm going too." I walked over to Justin. Maybe I didn't like him all the time, but he was  a good brother. I was always on his side for arguments. The thing is he never stuck to his promises for more than a day. Then he went back to being his old lazy self. 

Max walked over to me and took my hand. He always took the same side as I did. My mother was cranky and stressed she got overly mad for no reason, and sometimes you have to stick up for each other.

"We leave now." Justin said.

"Now?" I asked. That was quick.

"Yup, we're going to the forest on the other side of town."

"The one near the school?"

"hmm" He nodded his head agreeing.

The school was about 15 minutes away from here. Not a long drive, but a good walk. If we were really going to stay out there for a few weeks, luck was not on our side. We had no supplies, no blankets, food, or even water. We had nothing. We were going to die. But surely, Justin wouldn't let us stay out there for that long. Would he?