Savages

Hightide

Scarlet is a small town in upstate Oregon. It was named after a mysterious event that happened back in the early 1500s when the town was first founded. Tom Westbrook, one of Scarlet's founding fathers, was said to be near a wide river stream when it suddenly began to turn red. Nobody knows the cause of this, but everyone in town had to go a few days without fresh drinking water until the river cleared out. That river is now known as The Scarlet River.

Over the years, erosion caused the river to become wider and wider. Soon, it was wide enough for Jeremy Donovan to host his annual River Bash. With his father being the sherif, he was able to get away with most of anything. Although his parties aren't really against the law, it does tend to get crazy to the point where the sheriff's station is called. Jeremy's River Bash, though, is nothing you wanna miss.

That's why my friend Sierra and I are getting ready to attend. We've gone to one of these before, but only with people that made us tag along. But, since this party is mandatory for upperclassmen, and we are Juniors, it's our first time with actual invitations.

"Oh my god, A! This would look so cute on you!" Sierra turned to me holding up a silver dress with sequins stitched in.

I just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "It's a River Bash. Shouldn't we find something more, I don't know, water friendly?"

Sierra groaned and threw the dress aside.

"How about this one?" This time, she held up a really cute t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. It's not too fancy like I'm going to a fiver with celebrities. It's more on the casual side. Plus, it matches my bikini.

"Much better. Thanks, Si." I said, flashing my best friend a smile.

"You helped me find mine, I'll help you find yours."

I took the clothing from her hands and walked into the bathroom to change.

"I'm telling you, A, we are going to be the hottest juniors there. Olivia Bitchface wouldn't even be able to compare." Sierra said from the outside.

I put my bikini and clothes on, taking a minute to look at myself in the mirror. My dark brown hair is tied up in space buns. I winced suddenly when a sharp pain coursed through me making my hand shoot up to the scar behind my neck. I'm not sure how I got it, but my parents told me I had a huge ball in the back of my neck as a baby, so the doctor took it out. But, something tells me in the back of my mind that that isn't the truth.

"Yo, A! You ok in there?"

I shook out of my shock and gave myself a once over before opening the bathroom door. I did a playful little pose to which my bestfriend started to hype me up.

"Ava! Goddamn, girl. Honestly, if I were gay, I'd totally fuck you." Sierra said.

I stopped posing as we both laughed but was cut short by a loud car horn.

"That's Erica. Let's go."

I followed Sierra out to her older sister's car and got into the backseat. The ride from my house to the river isn't really that far if you're going by car. In a few short minutes, we were there.

"Holy shit! Seems like the whole school is here!" Sierra has her face pressed against the window glass as she looked out.

"Shit, lets go bitch! Partyyy!!" I shouted as I jumped out of the car, Sierra following suit.

"I see the bar, you want one?" She shouted due to the music being so fucking loud. I only nodded, not really wanting to risk a sore throat. As Sierra left, I observed the joint. There were people swimming in the river while a bunch of fairy lights and lanterns hung overhead. People were dancing, there were a group of people sat in a circle probably high off of their shit, and there was Jeremy.

Jeremy is the hottest guy in school. Nobody can top him, look-wise. I'm telling you, if I wasn't a lesbian, I'd totally have sex with him.

As I continued to look around, something else caught my eye. Over to the left, behind a few trees, a mysterious figure sat on a small hill near the river stream. They wore a black shirt, their hair was a little past their shoulders. By the shape of their body, it was a girl. Probably one of those goth bitches from school who talks nonstop about death. Fucking weirdo.

I decided not to think anything of it and turned my head to see Sierra in the crowd waving hysterically in my direction and waved my over.

"A, this is Tony. Tony, this is my bestfriend Ava." Sierra introduced me to this tall, muscular guy with a few tattoos on his body. He was shirtless, so it's all just kind of there to see.

We smiled and greeted each other. He seems like a nice guy. I took my cup from Sierra's hand and began to really get into the party.

I was dancing to songs I barely knew, just having an overall good time, when things took a weird turn. About an hour into the party, Jeremy stopped the music for his usual speech. He stepped onto the DJ's stage with a microphone in one hand and his red solo cup in another.

"Hello, you fuckers!" He said causing cheers from the crowd. Jeremy smiled in satisfaction. "As you all know, since school ends in a few months, this is going to be my last party." Boos were heard from the crowd along with other forms of protest. "Now, now. I said it was my last party, not yours. My little brother, here, is taking over the annual festivities!" The crowd cheered again as a younger Jeremy walks onto the stage.

"YO!!" A loud voice was heard from the crowd, making everybody turn to for it. In the middle of the crowd was a young man, dressed in a black-on-black suit. He looked way too formal for this kind of party. What really caught my eye, though was the girl from earlier standing behind him with her chin leveled with the ground; a dominant stance. She's with him. "Party. Is. Over." The man said, causing Jeremy to narrow his eyes.

"And who the fuck are you?" Jeremy jumped of the stage and slowly started to approach the man. Something in my gut tells me that that is a bad idea. "Who even invited you here, man?"

"Well, seeing as this is now private property, I'll say myself." He said.

"You still haven't answered the question: who the hell are you?"

"I'm Finneas O'Connell." The man said. "And the very dirt you and all your buddies are standing on? It's mine." The man now known as Finneas stepped closer to Jeremy, their noses a few inches from touching. "With that being said, the party is over."

"My dad is the Sheriff. He'll hear about this—"

"Who do you think sold us the land, idiot?" This time, it was the girl from earlier that spoke up.

Jeremy's head snapped towards her and he then began to approach her. The girl, though, wasn't fazed. She also wasn't fazed when Jeremy brushed one of his fingers down her cheek.

She just looked at him. "Don't touch me." Was all she said.

Jeremy, that idiot, didn't listen. He proceeded to bring his face closer to hers. "So, what's you're name, hm? Is this your man? You can do better than that, baby." Jeremy made the mistake of brushing the girl's hair from her shoulder and dragging his hand down her arm. "Why don't you leave and come home with m—"

Jeremy was cut off when the girl took his hand and twisted it behind his back, making him groan out in pain. She then proceeded to lean her head close to his ear.

"My name is Billie, and I'm his sister."

She let go of Jeremy's arm and literally kicked his ass to the dirt below. Billie then looked up at the rest of us, her eyes glaring daggers and swords. Then, she said a word— just one. But it had everybody scurrying. "Leave."

It really wasn't what she said, though, it's how she said it. She said it was so much venom that the word was almost poisoning us into leaving. But, what made my goosebumps rise was the fact that after she said it, her eyes locked on mine and she gave me a once over before furrowing her eyebrows and turning to follow her brother that was walking away.

I was jolted by a sharp pain from my scar again. This time, I was more painful.

"Girl, what are you doing? Let's go." Sierra grabbed my arm and dragged me to Erica's car  where I sat in the backseat, silently clutching onto the back of my neck and trying not to scream out.