The Chase

It has been three days since the incident, and I have never been more grateful for my training.  The skills I learned are the only things that kept me alive out here. It’s not easy to survive three days on your own in the jungle, but when you are a trained Marine you have a fighting chance. 

I am heading north along the river.  Its’ waters are crystal clear and a more vibrant blue than the sky.  I can hear the rivers movement as it crashes into rocks and where the fish jump in and out of its cold water.  The jungle around me is buzzing with life.  I can hear a moth’s wing beat as it passes in front of me and there are tree frogs singing in the distance. 

I move slow, what else can be expected of someone who has trudged in the jungle for three days.  I look haggard and sweaty, not healthy at all, but I am alive and that is what matters most. My uniform is torn and dirty, I can see the patches of mud where I tripped the other day during the storm.  When I am not thinking about food, all I can think of is what happened to our camp.

We were here on a humanitarian assignment, some locals were stealing needed food from a village and we were bringing new supplies and adding extra security for the town.  It was a quiet night, before the chaos happened.

 We had been here for two weeks and nothing had happened so the Commander decided to thin out the night guard a little bit so more of the men could get some needed sleep.  We had been on the new rotation for two days and the criminals we were trying to protect the town from noticed and took action.  They snuck into our camp and started a fight with the men on guard duty.  They had slipped past some of the men and were on a rampage in the middle of the camp too.  Tents were burning, people were screaming, and there was ruby red blood everywhere.

I shudder as I think about it.  It was horrible, and in the midst of it all I got separated from my platoon.  We were chasing some of the criminals who were trying to escape and we got ambushed.  That’s how I ended up alone out here.  I don’t even know if anyone else survived.  The pain I am in because of it is almost too horrible to bear.  

It is late afternoon now and I have sat down for a break.  The tree root underneath me is hard and rough but better than the ant infested dirt that is churning beneath my feet.  I relax as I eat a mango I found on a tree earlier, and then I notice it.  There is no sound.  The jungle as gone completely silent.  There hasn’t been silence since the moment I set foot in the jungle, and that can only mean one thing, I’m in danger. 

Without making any sudden movements I look around me.  It must be a big predator or the air would not be as still as it is now.  Now that I am paying attention, I can hear low growling.  A cat of some kind then.  I slowly stand up from my root and take another careful look around.  That is when I see it, and again I am grateful that my training taught me how to see past camouflage. My eyes seem to fix on the creature until I can see myself reflected in its’ eyes.  The cat’s fur is silky and smooth and the brightest orange I have ever seen.  It is so bright that I wonder how it could even hide in the midst of all this green.  The tiger is fixed on me and I can see its’ tail swish past a small cluster of grass behind it.   He is going to pounce on me at any moment, so I do the only thing I can think of, I run.

I take of at unnatural speed and I can hear the tiger’s growling following behind me.  He is dashing through the trees with grace and all I can do is try to not trip on the protruding roots.  If is stop, he will catch up to me, I have to try and evade him somehow.  I start to maneuver in a haphazard way, trying to shake the creature off my tail, and I never stop running. 

I find a low point in the river next to me and I cross over it.  The cold water seeps into my skin, feeling like it is freezing my toes in the process.  I run past so many different things.  The ferns bend as I pass and I can see little insects fleeing from my path.  They fly in my eyes and obscure my vision.  I can feel my strength start to wane and I feel as if I am barely moving anymore.  I try to run faster, but all that does is hurt my progress even more.   My legs feel like lead and I can barely hold my head up anymore due to the exhaustion.  Finally, I collapse on the ground ready for my final moments, but nothing happens. 

I turn onto my back and look around me.  The tiger is nowhere in sight and I can’t hear any more of its’ deep growling.  The dirt underneath my hands is hot and gritty.  My eyes dash about, looking for any sign of my pursuer and find nothing.

I sigh in relief, I lost it.  I am safe again.   Then I hear a branch above me break. I look directly up and see the huge creature before me.  Now that he is not hiding in brush I can see his muscled body.  He is as big around as a tree trunk and it is obvious that he is built for chases like the one I had just given him.  The tiger licks his translucent whiskers and I can see the light shine off of them.  He crouches lower on the branch, and all I can do is watch in terror, transfixed by the terrible beauty of the creature. 

I inhale.  He leaps. 

Something Blue

Charlotte had never been one to pace before. If she ever showed signs of a nervous tick, it came in the form of bouncing in place or twirling her long, golden hair around her finger. But today was different, and Charlotte found herself pacing in circles in the small room where she was getting ready, tripping over her long, lacey train at least four times.

“I found some aspirin downstairs, Lottie” whispered a voice from the doorway. Charlotte whipped her head around to see Piper timidly stepping into the room, her most dedicated and loyal assistant through this entire process. When nobody else was around to taste cakes or debate hair styles, Piper made herself available.

“Piper, I’m so glad you’re here for me!” Charlotte felt her voice shake and her eyes start to water. No, she couldn’t cry. Her cousin spent over an hour on her make up that morning; she couldn’t let anything happen to ruin it. Ruined make up could lead to a ruined day… though it is far from the only thing.

Piper almost wanted to step back out the door as soon as she stuck her head through- the scene that played out before her was shocking. Calm, composed, and refined Charlotte was running to and fro like a madwoman; stumbling like a drunk, shaking with silent cries, and staring out the window all the while. Though they had been best friends since childhood, Piper couldn’t guess what was going on in her mind.

Charlotte choked down the aspirin with the rest of her coffee from breakfast and said wearily “Please tell me you have more good news.”

“Your parents are here, keeping the rest of the guests in line.”

Charlotte sighed and mumbled something that could have been “Oh good!” as easily as “Oh, God!”.

“The caterer also called, and they will be here to set up in another thirty minutes. The girls are all flirting with the boys by the altar, dolled up and ready to go. Everything will be in place right on time, I promise!”

Charlotte resumed her pacing, anxious despite everything going according to plan. The biggest problem was, she finally decided, it wasn’t going according to her plan. This wasn’t what she wanted at all. She never pictured her big day to be in the backyard of her inlaws’ mansion. She never wanted fanfare or poofy dresses or pinchy shoes; she wanted a moonlit ceremony on the beach with a small company of the people dearest to her. But she should have known she would have to give up those dreams the day she agreed to marry a senator’s son.

“Piper, I need to pee.”

“That’s a personal problem, Lottie.”

“Not on my wedding day! I can’t even reach the bottom of this dress, let alone hoist it up!”

After thinking a moment, Piper said “You have to promise not to make it weird.”

Charlotte was grateful for her best friend’s sense of humor to bring her back to her senses and to pull her out of the fog of stress. “Sorry, no promise.” She grabbed Piper’s hand and pulled her to the door.

 

“Where are you going?” Piper screamed, trying to pull her back down the hallway. “There’s a bathroom right down here!”

“People will see me… and want to talk to me! Too risky, we have to find a deserted bathroom. Liam says they have twenty five; we should be able to find at least one.”

With that, they were both tiptoeing away from the entrance where everyone was congregating, sneaking deeper and deeper into a house too big to be allowed. Piper was never the one to lead the way into their marauding, but today she had no choice. Walking behind Charlotte was impossible with her train. She turned a corner and saw three tall men blocking the hallway ahead. Thinking they were some of the ‘help’, she simply turned back toward Lottie giggling.

“Did you see that?” One of the men called.

“What?” Another answered.

“Nobody’s there, you’re just paranoid. Come on.”

Footsteps grew fainter as the help left. Charlotte and Piper counted to thirty to move again, and when they braved the turn again, the men were gone.

Three doors on the left from that corner, there was, at last, a bathroom. After successfully finding a way for Charlotte to 'go' while preserving her dress, the two washed up and snuck back into the hallway, turning away from where they had come to keep exploring.

“This looks familiar… I think Liam’s room is somewhere down this way.”

“When did you become so acquainted with his bedroom?”

Charlotte giggled, but Piper quickly muffled it as she heard viscous whisperings ahead and fear clutched her heart. Most people described her as a worrywart, but she was rarely wrong about her feelings of danger.

Charlotte stopped laughing, but also ripped Piper’s hand away from her mouth. What?  she mouthed, having learned not to mock Piper’s fear.

Run.

Before Charlotte registered the message, Piper was already pulling her into a hidden doorway. The three men they had seen were marching back down the hallway, but with a bundle being dragged behind them. Holding their breath in the tiny closet they had found behind the door, Charlotte and Piper tried not to think of who the men might be or why they all seemed to be clutching something inside their jacket pockets.

The men came closer and closer, whispering about a plan, about a ransom, about violent acts that made the few tiny hairs on Charlotte’s neck that weren’t plastered into her updo stand on end. The voices grew fainter, and they thought they were in the clear.

Until Charlotte let out a sneeze at exactly the wrong moment.

Urgent footsteps came nearer as the girls gripped at the shelves behind them, praying some sort of trapdoor had been set up.

“Alpha said he cleared this hallway! I told you someone was there! Someone saw us!”

The shrill voice shook the girls to the core and they slipped downward until they were huddling in the corner, clutching each other tight.

The door opened, and for a moment their hiding spot worked; a man glanced at eye level around the three small walls before finally looking down and smirking.

“The bride.”

He pulled her up forcibly, then Piper as well. He glanced at them both, sizing them up, before finally speaking.

“I suppose I owe you an introduction, miss. See, the man of this house has wronged me. I simply came to clear a debt and take back something of mine.”

“You’re a thief!” Charlotte was just as surprised as anyone to hear herself speak against the man.

“This is no business of yours, girl!” 

“Whatever is my husband’s business is my own.”

“You’re not married… yet.”

“I’ll still defend his family and their honor.” She stood proudly in her ball gown, looking braver than she felt. The man faced her haughtily, then drew back his fist and punched her, making her fall to the ground.

Piper screamed and scrambled to help Charlotte. The man whispered “So you shall.” Then he turned and walked away, leaving the girls crying and shocked. Charlotte’s eye started to bruise under the make-up and her nose was throbbing. There goes all hope of getting a pretty wedding picture, she bitterly thought. She stood suddenly and started walking toward the room the men had left, wondering aloud what they had taken. The room was cluttered like the rest of the house, and Charlotte realized she would never be able to pinpoint something missing from the house.

Shocked and angry, she allowed Piper to lead her back to her room. Piper said something about going to find some ice and more aspirin, and then she left. Charlotte looked out the window and finally let herself cry, no longer caring if her mascara ran down her cheeks or even onto her dress.

Everything ruined.

Everything wrong.

Piper returned with all the bridesmaids and her cousin who had done the make-up, and slowly they helped her pull back together. By the time they had to line up, only a small greenish blue sliver was visible under her eye, and she was almost able to smile and look like she wasn’t faking it. 

She thought of Liam waiting for her in his pale grey suit, and she genuinely beamed for the first time in weeks. After all the plans gone wrong, after enduring everything she hated about weddings, at least at the end of it all, she would be married. She would finally be with Liam.

Maybe everything wasn’t so bad after all.

But then a whisper started to ring all around the rows of guests, all the way up the aisle and into the house where groomsmen and bridesmaids were lined up, and where Charlotte stood holding her father’s arm. Whispers grew to mumbles, which turned to speaking outright until finally someone shouted it, the question on everyone’s minds as the ceremony further and further delayed.

“Where’s the groom?!”

Round Up: Week Fifteen

Last week’s prompt:

We all have ideas for novels.  This week create something from the realm of your novel.  This could be a chapter of the book, a character sketch, a short story outside of the stories plot, maybe just a random character in the world that has nothing to do with the story doing stupid things, anything.

Readers, please note that this will be rough draft writing and will probably be nothing like any published works we may or may not have in the future.  

Amanda

A few months ago, on a windy day after classes were done at my University, I stepped onto a train to ride home and ended up spending the entire time writing a story bursting into my head about a girl who meets a boy on a train on a windy day, much like that one, and like happens in every boy meets girl story, he mistakes her for a terrorist spy and hands her important documents detailing the group’s next move.

The story I wrote this week shows a different story- the man is from the so called ‘terrorist’ group and is finding a target; a scapegoat. Wow, I never thought I’d get a chance to use that word- thanks tenth grade English! Someone so kind yet quiet that they would fall for the trap of a boy handing them important documents who would surely take them to the police and accept the blame involved so the group could go on with their actual plan while the authorities were distracted.

Stay tuned for the rest of that gripping story, if I can ever get myself to write it all down.

MY VOTE: Korrin

Korrin

My story is the first chapter of a book idea I had in Jr. High that I recently decided to re-write now that I actually know how to write well.  It is a very rough draft and looking at it I know that I will need to add more to it, namely character description.  I also need to figure out how to skip boring things that don’t really matter.

The chapter is meant to be a simple introduction to the character of Kara Williams and a few others and to set the stage for the story.  By going through this chapter, you would have no idea that the book is really about werewolves and a civil war, so maybe some foreshadowing is in order, or perhaps a preface.   

As I was rereading what I had written I realized that I am in fact pretty funny, at least in my own mind. I am glad that my humor is in my writing because books can be really boring if they are too serious all the time.

MY VOTE: Amanda

Kylie

I keep my novel ideas close to my heart, so suffice it to say that this story is sort of like if you mixed X-Men with Edge of Tomorrow.

This scene is pivotal in my novel because it’s the first time that the girl opens up to her partner. It’s the moment where things start to work and where they start to fall apart. It’s a moment of understanding, for better or for worse.

MY VOTE: Amanda

Next week’s prompt:

Write a story that will build up drama and suspense, but does not give the reader a conclusion to the story.

Lunch Break

“I ran away.”

                He looked up from whatever he was eating in the can—he couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it looked like it had passed its expiration date far longer than he cared to know—and frowned at her from his seat on the barstool at the opposite end of the island. She wasn’t looking at him, despite her sudden declaration. Instead, she was stirring the contents of her can, looking as though she hadn’t said anything at all.

“What?” he finally managed to blurt out through his confusion. She raised her eyebrows slightly, but didn’t look towards him.

“Every time we’re alone together like this, you start asking questions about me, so this time I answered the question you always ask first: namely, how I got here.” She stabbed a piece of fruit from the can and bit it in half. “And the answer is that I ran away.”

After a moment, he felt his usual grin spread over his face. Here she was, offering him a carrot for the first time, a carrot he had been reaching for since he had met her. A carrot he was beginning to think didn’t exist. “And what did a pretty girl like you have to run away from?”

“I wasn’t running from anything.” Her head snapped up as her grip on her fork tightened. He kept his smug smile, knowing that he had pushed a barrier but not caring. She had opened the locked door, and he knew that there was a reason. If she opened up to him, the one who routinely and intentionally pushed her boundaries, then it was because she needed it. Sure enough, her head swung back to her can and her fork resumed its circling. “I was raised on a farm,” she continued as if nothing had happened. “That’s probably something a city boy like you wouldn’t understand. Raised in seclusion like that, every word your parents say to you is the gospel truth. Values and morals are deeper and stronger because who’s there to contradict you? I loved my home and I would have stayed if the border disputes hadn’t reached us.”

“You were involved in the disputes.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement. He felt the confusion and hurt form lines on his face, streaks of disbelief and horror. The border disputes were infamous for death. It was a cruel death and an even crueler life for the survivors. And here was a survivor, battle-worn and just as bloodthirsty as one would expect.

She shrugged, her eyes still not on him. “It wasn’t much, at least not when I was there, but there were a few incidents. And I decided that I couldn’t stick around to watch it escalate. So I left home and joined the Republic.”

Something surged through him then, the dominant emotion being rage. “You walked from one barrel to the next,” he said bitterly. She looked at him then, rage creeping into her eyes just as they were entering his.

“People were dying. All around me, people that I had known my whole life were being killed because they were alive. There’s no justice in that.” The cans sat forgotten in their hands as their eyes locked. It felt like a battle of wills in that moment, as though sheer force could have changed the outcome of the girl’s steps all those years ago, steps that took her away from home and into the unknown. He knew this was the moment to resist everything he wanted to say—the moment to congratulate her and remark on how well she had done. But the words left his lips faster than he could stop them.

“That doesn’t mean that you have to provide it.”

She snorted and dropped her can on the table, some of the juice splashing out, as she shouldered the rifle she had left on the chrome island. “Someone has to.” And she left, calling out the name of their superior and leaving him in the kitchen alone with his can and his fork.

Chapter One: School

Chapter One

I was running for my life, running so fast that the world blew by me in a blur.  There was a monster I was desperately trying to out run.  This monster had bested me before, but not today.  Today I was going to be the victor, no matter what.  I turned the corner at full speed and sprinted up the last few feet to my destination.  As I enter the building in front of me I can hear my shoes squeak on the tile floors. I see that the hallways are deserted except for a few stragglers, which is not a good sign.  I continue my desperate flight down the hall and I barely make it when the bell rings.  I stop and pant inside the door of my AP English class, it takes all my strength not to fall over.  Thank goodness my house is only a few blocks from school, or the monster that is tardiness would have won again.

“How nice of you to join us Kara.” Mrs. Phillips states, “We are all glad you made it, but now I need you to take your seat, class needs to begin.”

I trudge to my seat in the back of the class amid stares from my classmates.  I probably don’t look so hot, I don’t even remember if I brushed my hair before I ran out the door.  Just another day of the geeky high school student.  Getting looked at and judged at all times and in all places. 

“Did your alarm not go off again? I told you that you need to get a new one.” My best friend Angel sits beside me in the seats we picked so long ago at the beginning of the school year.

“I don’t need a new one, I just need to actually set my alarm every day.  Just because it’s old fashioned doesn’t automatically mean I need a new one.” I respond between gulps of air.  I need to get into better shape. “I like my wind up clock.  When it goes off there is no way I could ever sleep through it.”

“No, you just sleep in because it never goes off.” Angel off-handedly replies.  She isn’t paying much attention to me because she is in the middle of her morning beauty routine.  I take this as a good thing because if she saw my hair right now she would probably scream and then pass out.   

I start to actually listen to the teacher as she introduces a new book we are reading to the class.  She says it’s called Metamorphosis and is actually a short story disguised as a novel.  It’s a long story by the look of it but apparently it is about the human condition and all that, like every other novel you would study in high school English class.   As Mrs. Phillips talks I look around the classroom.  The jock corner is actually looking alive today, compared to their usual stance of sleeping through the first two classes of every day, there must be a game soon or they wouldn’t be sitting up in their chairs.  I glance towards the “popular” girls near the front of the class and notice them all texting one another.  They must have gotten yelled at one too many times for talking, or they wouldn’t have gone to such measures.  Everyone else that doesn’t exactly fit in a stereotypical roll is in a stage of being half awake.  Monday mornings are the hardest for everyone I guess. 

I am finally able to slow down my breathing by the time the first bell goes off. I start to gather my things when I hear a gasp coming from the front of the room.

“There is no way that’s possible.” Amy Andrews exclaims, “What could he be thinking asking her?” She is obviously continuing the conversation that was previously being held via cell phone. 

“I know right? He is obvi being delusional.” replies Stacy Green.

They glance towards the back of the room where I am standing and proceed to give me the death glare usually reserved for teachers and when some girl steals your boyfriend.  They must have noticed me eavesdropping on them.  I go back to focusing on cleaning up my desk, I don’t really want to know what they were talking about anyway. Angel however, is a completely different story. 

“I wonder what they could possibly be talking about.” She says with a sideward glance at me.  The way she says it makes me feel uneasy. As if she knows I am keeping a secret from her, except I have no idea what she thinks I’m hiding.  

“I really couldn’t care less.” I say, ignoring Angel’s attempt at baiting me.

“Uh-huh,” she says under her breath, I can tell she doesn’t believe me. “Maybe it has something to do with Ty Browning, that’s who they are always freaking out about anyway.”

Ty Browning was pretty much the coolest, most attractive guy in school.  He was the typical king of high school.  He played an instrument, was the quarter back on the football team and was student body president.  A normal person wouldn’t have time for all of that, but Ty Browning was more than normal, he was perfect.  Every girl in the school had a crush on him at one point, most times it never went away. Unfortunately, I had also been caught in the web. 

“Since that is normally the crutch of their conversations and I can say that that is a fairly good bet.” I keep walking, ignoring Angel’s pointed stares in my direction.  We turn into our math class and find our seats. I’m hoping that whatever is on Angel’s mind will be blown away by the torture that is Trigonometry but my hopes are quickly crushed.

“Oh come on, you have to give me something! I’m your best friend!” She adds a slight whine to her voice because she knows I cannot stand whining.

“I really have no idea what you are talking about.” I say as I sit in the desk. I just want her to get it over with but if I ask her outright, she will shut down and get defensive.  She would probably say something like ‘Fine, if you won’t tell me your secret, I won’t tell you what is on my mind.’ Which would be completely ridiculous because then I really have no clue as to what she wants from me.  

“Yeah right, there’s no way you haven’t heard about it.”  I can tell she is getting obstinate, so for now my best course of action is to remain silent. I guess after ten years of being best friends with someone you know how to manipulate them really well.  Angel probably would have been in the popular crowd if it wasn’t for her friendship with me. I blink my eyes at her and wait patiently.  We are supposed to be doing a warm-up thing, but I can talk and do it at the same time because it is ridiculously easy. 

“The rumor…?” still trying to bait me. I blink more at her. “About Ty…and prom… come on!” she exasperates, looking exhausted at my ignorance, “There is a rumor going around that Ty is going to ask YOU to the prom.” 

Most of the time I feel like I am too mature to still be a high school student.  I don’t do what normal teenagers do.  I actually listen to the teacher while they are talking, I do my homework, go to bed before 10:00 p.m., stay home on the weekend and not go to some ridiculous party, half the time I talk in bigger words because of all the old English books I read.  But as soon as Angel told me about that rumor, I became an average teenage girl.  The butterflies started in the bottom of my stomach and I blushed uncontrollably. 

“There’s no way.” I say under my breath, I am too stunned to respond in proper English, “Shut up, there is no freaking way that is possible. Why would he want to ask me when he can have any pick of the girls in the school?” I subconsciously started to whisper, as if we really were talking about some secret, and not just an improbable rumor.

“He likes you, duh.  Haven’t you noticed?” I shake my head, still bewildered that I was the topic of such a juicy rumor. “You really are oblivious sometimes.   Whenever you two are in the same room he glances in your direction.  It’s the worst in orchestra because every time he tries to steal a glance he messes up, you think the first chair would be better at focusing.  He has turned down six offers of a date in two weeks!  Everything is pointing to him asking you to the prom.” Angel’s face is a mixture of frustration at my being incapable of keeping up on the gossip pool like her, and admiration for apparently gaining the favor of the cutest boy in school. 

Mr. Anders calls the class’s attention and Angel is forced to turn away from me.  I sit in stunned silence.  Can it be possible?  Can the hot shot of our school really be interested in a geek like me?  How on Earth did that happen? My head swims in a chaos of these types of questions and math mixed in there as I frantically try to focus on math. 

The rest of the school day goes by in a blur.  My mind turns into that of a goldfish, only having three minutes of memory before everything goes back to Angel’s voice telling me that Ty Browning likes me.  Next thing I know I am walking down the road with Angel as we head home.  She lives a few blocks farther from school than I do, so we always walk home together. 

“It was really weird that I didn’t see John today.” She mumbles as she plays with the strings on her backpack.  John is my best friend since before we were born.  His mom and mine were college roommates and made sure to stay near each other.  He is also Angel’s boyfriend for about a month now.  Nothing is more awkward than your two best friends making goo-goo eyes at each other over the lunch table.

“Maybe he was just not feeling well.” I say, starting to come back to reality.

“He should have texted me then.” She states as she pulls out her phone, “It’s really weird that he hasn’t even tried to talk to me today.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I console her, “He may have just been sleeping all day.”

“I hope you’re right.  Hey! Do you want to go see him later?” She asks, perking up, “We haven’t had a good game night together for a while and it would probably cheer him up if he is sick.”

“I would, but I can’t.  My brother and his family are coming for a visit tonight and I really need to practice for my recital.” I reply.

“No normal sixteen year old plays the harp.” She sighs. She has been trying to convince me to quit since I started, but I am too stubborn for her ways.

“Good thing I’m not normal then.” I say turning off the sidewalk to face my house.  The walk is a lot shorter when you spent half of it daydreaming. “I’ll see you tomorrow okay? Say hi to John for me.”

“See ya.” She grumps, she most have really missed John today.

I walk up to my front door and brace for the blinding light.  Whoever thought doors should be white never thought about afternoon sunlight.  As I walk through the doorway, I get attacked what looked like a blur of gold. I fall to the ground and feel my face start to be wet.

“Rocky, get off of me boy.” My golden retriever steps on my stomach to get over me as I wipe his slobber off my face. “What are you doing Rocky?” I ask.  He softly barks and me and then runs for the back door. I must have forgotten to put him outside when I left this morning.  Curse you tardiness, you have to ruin my dog’s life too.

“Sorry buddy.” I say as I follow the bouncing fur ball to the back of the house.  When I open the door he takes off like a NASCAR racer towards his “special spot”.  I leave the screen door cracked open a bit so he can come back in when he wants.  He knows how to open it more if he needs to.

I bound up the stairs towards my room, ready for some serious practicing time.  When I practice music, the world disappears around me and I really don’t notice time passing.  It is one of the best parts of my day.  If I haven’t said it already, I’m a huge geek.

“Wow, you’re starting to sound good Care Bear.” My dad says as he opens my bedroom door a crack.  His bald head is slightly red from working in the fields today, and I can tell he hasn’t showered yet because there is dirt all over his hands.  My dad works on a farm in Jefferson County, which isn’t too far away, but he still has to commute. “You’re gonna do great at that concert.”

“It’s a recital dad.”

“Concert, recital, same thing really.  Hey, can you do me a favor?” He pleading asks.

“Um, that really depends on what it is.” I reply.  With him you can never know what he is going to ask you, it can range from hold out your hand to re-shingle the roof.

“Calm down, I just need you to get out the food for tonight’s dinner. I already have the grill warming up, I just need the steaks taken out there while I clean up a bit.” He says.

“I am cleaner than you are at the moment.” I say as I stand up and put my sheet music away.

“Thank you.” He says turning away from me and walking towards the bathroom.

I head downstairs and start getting dinner together when my mom walks in through the garage door. My mom is an accountant at an important firm, or so my dad says, and she is really what has kept this family afloat.  Don’t get me wrong, I love farmers and farming, but it is really undervalued in today’s society. 

“Hey sweetheart, how was your day?” It really is a mom’s job to make meaningful conversation with her children at all times.

“Fine, yours?” I haven’t looked at her, but I can feel her plant a kiss on the back of my head. 

“Long.” She sighs, “I can’t wait for Peter to bring me my grandkids.”  I’m the youngest of four and the only one that still needs to live at home.  Peter is the oldest and the only thing we really share is a love for his kids.  He has some really cute kids. 

I help my dad get dinner ready as my mom tidies the already spotless house until Peter comes.  Then the night is filled with laughter and steak.  The best of combinations really.  We sit around the table talking as my nieces and nephew play with toys in the living room. Mom and Peter are discussing finance and my sister-in-law and father are pretending they know what they are talking about. I sit in silence.  Honestly, the kids are having more fun than me at this point, but it would be rude to get up without a reason.  Then my salvation rings the doorbell.

“I’ll get it,” I quickly say, pushing away from the table. 

I open the door expecting to see a late salesman, but instead find Angel.  Her face is red and puffy and she won’t look me in the eye.  I can tell she has been crying, so my overprotective friend mode kicks in.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, moving in to put my arm around her shoulders and drag her into the entryway.

“He’s gone.” She sobs.  It is really hard to get good information out of emotional teenagers.

“Who’s gone?” I ask. I hope John didn’t break up with her because then I would have to break his legs.  I have it in writing and everything.

“John!” She wails, “I went to his house to see him and his parents said he didn’t come home last night.  They haven’t seen him all day. When I told them he wasn’t at school they called the police and I had to give a statement.  He’s been kidnapped or something!” Her wails are getting louder, and my mom came into view.

“Why don’t we move down to the family room.” She says and walks over to put her arm around me.  It’s then that I realize I have frozen.

My best friend is missing.  The cops are looking for him.  What am I going to do?

Part of the Plan

That day was third day of his search; and if he didn’t find someone soon, the council would resort to the back-up plan. He cringed to think of the back-up plan coming into play. Overthrowing the world’s governments was certainly complicated, but it didn’t need to be messy.

He stopped at a bench on the edge of a small park in the middle of a crowded city. It was a clear summer day and people were running this way and that, giving him plenty of places to look for his target. It would take a special kind of person to pull off the task at hand.

He spotted a magician doing a simple card trick to amuse tourists and his two accomplices casually pulling phones and wallets from the pockets and bags of entranced spectators. They would easily come on board, but perhaps were too tricky to be trusted.

He turned away from the group and saw a small crowd of children in a game of tag. Briefly, he amused himself by imagining the children taking on the job. Of course, they could fly under the radar and nobody would suspect them, but children are hard enough to work with as it is. One small boy tackled another as a little girl spun in circles until she fell as well. If the future of the world wasn’t at stake, he might consider mentioning children in the next council meeting.

A woman in heels pushed away a man who was trying to talk to her. Too empowered and willing to stand up for herself. A young man helped an old woman who dropped some change on the ground. He almost considered speaking to the man when he noticed a handful of coins slip into the man’s pocket. He wouldn’t come without a price.

He stood and started to walk toward a café for a late lunch when he noticed a pretty young woman in a sundress walk by. He couldn’t say exactly what, but something about her caught his attention. She smiled softly as she spotted a brave squirrel trying to take popcorn away from a flock of birds that were surrounding it. As her head turned to the side, she was suddenly struck by a tall woman on roller skates and the two fell to the ground. He considered going to help, but decided to watch instead.

“What do you think you’re doing, crazy!” the woman screamed, struggling to climb to her knees and regain balance.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” the pretty girl said, rushing over to grab the woman’s hand and help her stand.

 “Watch where you’re walking!” she huffed before leaving without so much as a thank you.

He knew the pretty girl probably saw the woman on skates distracted by her phone shortly before the crash, but she didn’t say anything. She took all the blame and still helped the woman.

A smile broke across his face, and before he planned what he was doing, he was shaking the girl’s hand and passing her a business card, telling her that his company needed good and honest people if she was ever interested.

Somehow, he knew she would be.

Somehow, he knew she was the target. 

Round Up: Week Fourteen

This week’s delay was brought to you by laptop repair, where sometimes laptops break and need to get repaired so stories are late.

The Round Up is also late. Sorry about all the lateness.

Last Week’s Prompt

Write (your version of) the true story behind any urban legend. you can either show it's true or show it's false, just pick an urban legend and tell a story

Amanda

I had so much fun with this prompt. In fact, I based the prompt around an idea that bloomed in my head for a story as I listened to a podcast about crop circles (thanks, Stuff You Should Know!). I have always been interested in urban legends and unexplainable events, but crop circles are one of those very much explainable phenomenons that still boggle people's minds and make them wonder. It’s an artform; one of the most scientific artforms there is. I love the combination of art, science, and crop wreckin’ that comes from crop circles.

My story of Noah and his new group of friends is an idea that I adore, and one that I will expand on, so stay tuned for a possible bestselling novel. Noah, who never had much time in any one city to make friends, finally finds himself with a group where he is needed and adored for his skills in drawing. This week’s story focused on his first crop circle, but the group becomes more advanced until one day crop circles start appearing that they had nothing to do with. Maybe they truly did contact an alien species?

MY VOTE: Kylie

Korrin

The Hook Handed Man is one of my favorite urban legends that I have heard.  Besides Bloody Mary and Scary Sherry it is the one that freaked me out the most and I have always remembered how it made me feel.  

The moral of the story is that being naughty with your partner is a bad idea which I agree with completely (outside of marriage) and there is not enough of that left in the world so the story should be told over and over again.

I thought it very plausible for the story to be created by teenagers pulling a stupid prank that was sure to lose them a friendship if they ever said anything to the victim of the prank. As such a legend is born.  If you don’t think it is plausible, watch Pysch more.

MY VOTE: Amanda

Kylie

My story explores the deep theme of what it means to be alien. After all, being “alien” just means that one thing is different from what one majority has experienced. What does it mean to truly be alien? What does it feel like to be out of that majority?

In other words, this piece is about a race of dumb aliens who keep driving their rovers in cornfields and making circles and then not being able to figure out why they can’t get any viable research on that pesky third planet from that really big star. Darn humans, planting all that corn. It confuses the aliens.

MY VOTE: Amanda

Next Week’s Prompt

We all have ideas for novels.  This week create something from the realm of your novel.  This could be a chapter of the book, a character sketch, a short story outside of the stories plot, maybe just a random character in the world that has nothing to do with the story doing stupid things, anything.

Readers, please note that this will be rough draft writing and will probably be nothing like any published works we may or may not have in the future.  

Terra-3

                Cara hesitated before the door, biting her bottom lip and tapping her foot on the ground. Her reports weren’t good, not good at all. There was so much potential here, and yet it all fell to pieces every single time. The boss wouldn’t like these reports, not at all. After all, Ms. Freidman had been working on the project since the beginning, when she was just a young astrophysicist. How was Cara supposed to go in and tell her idol that the rovers had failed again?

                Before she could lose her nerve, she rapped on the door a few times. Ms. Freidman had to find out eventually, and it would be best if she found out sooner rather than never. When the call came for her to enter, Cara strode in with her head held high, but her eyes downward. Despite being one of the few people who reported directly to Ms. Freidman, it still made her heart race to talk to her boss. She had first seen Ms. Freidman years ago on the telly as she gave one of her annual public reports on the development of the latest space program. Cara had somehow found it while flipping through the channels and was immediately enamored. Space, she discovered, was beautiful. Stars and nebulas haunted her dreams for weeks after that, and it was then that she had decided on her career path. Ms. Freidman, the woman who had inspired her love of the cosmos, was now the same woman she would have to disappoint.

                It didn’t help that when she looked up, Ms. Freidman had that hungry look on her face that Cara understood all too well. It was the same look she herself had carried before studying the data. “Cara. Those are the reports, are they not?” Cara simply nodded as she placed the folders neatly on the desk, wincing as Ms. Freidman’s smile stretched across her face. “And?”

                Cara shook her head and averted her eyes again. “It’s a bust. The rover got the exact same shots as it did last time. There’s nothing new, not even a glint of bioluminescence in any of the shots. We have nothing.”

                A silence fell over the two as Cara tried to hold in her tears. They had all worked so hard on this project for so long—Ms. Freidman more so than anyone else. If it was difficult for Cara, she couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for Ms. Freidman. Perhaps that was the reason why Cara didn’t even flinch when Ms. Freidman suddenly swore and slapped her desk.

                “Nothing?” she yelled. “How does this keep happening? We’ve been sending probes down there for over fifty cycles and all they ever record is this tall, ugly vegetation! Is it so much to ask to get one shot of the bioluminescent vegetation?” Her head dropped into her hands and Cara felt her heart drop with it.

“This planet had such promise!” Ms. Freidman lamented, her head still downward. “It’s a prime candidate for alien life. And those forests of bioluminescent plants… We can’t even get one shot! Is it something we’ve done? Our rovers sweep in such wide circles; we shouldn’t be missing anything. There should be no room for error, but we are always three steps behind where we should be. All we have are these boring, knobby plants!”

                Ms. Freidman, in fit most unlike herself, then swept her hands across the folders, littering the rover’s pictures across the floor of the office. Cara simply stood there and watched as her mentor attempted to calm herself. It was more painful to see Ms. Freidman like this than it was to see the reports. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Freidman,” Cara whispered. “I’ll go analyze the second reports from the Maza Probe. It may have taken a better picture of that blue liquid that covers most of the surface of the planet.”

                Ms. Freidman nodded wearily. “Thank you, Cara,” she said as she straightened the stray folders on her desk, ignoring the scattered documents. “Please continue to keep me updated on all the reports from the Terra-3 project. You really are invaluable not just to this project, but to me as well.” Cara nodded, grateful that Ms. Freidman held no resentment to her for being the bearer of bad news. This project was difficult, but each setback only made Cara more determined to unravel the secrets of Terra-3. One day, the planet would reveal its secrets to her even if she had to work until all four of her arms fell off.

Trick or Treat

“Dude, he is so going to hate us after this.”

“That’s the whole point! The best pranks are when you make the person really, really, mad.  It’s more hilarious that way.”

“But he’s been trying to hook up with this girl for months…”

“Stop being a wuss, you know it’s going to be awesome.”

The high school boys sat around the table with plans laid out in front of them.  It was the night before Halloween and they had plotted the best Halloween trick of all time.

“Let’s go over this one more time.” Ansel said.  Ansel was the president of the photography club at Harrison High and was in charge of record the event.

“Okay, Jake is going to take her out in his car to Autumn Peak to go ‘star gazing’.” Jeff started, “I told him that my dad’s radio station plays the best romantic music after dark without many commercials, so he is going to play it for them when they get to the peak. Meanwhile, I will be going to the station to distract my dad away from the mic.”

“While Jeff is doing that I am going to get into the recording studio and make the announcement.” Chris said. Chris was the lead soloist in all of the schools musical productions and had the best voice out of the group.  On a normal day this would have made the other boys jealous because Chris could always get the girls with it, but right now, it was exactly what they needed. 

“I will be at the top of the peak waiting for Jake to drive up and will be listening to the radio on my phone.” Kevin chimed in.  His parents owned a store and he had the best access to props. 

“And I will be waiting outside of the girl’s house like a stalker waiting for them to come back. Seriously though, what if someone sees me and I get arrested?” Ansel asked.

“Don’t get caught, duh.” Jeff responded, “Alright, we have all of the ground work laid out, now we just have to put it into motion flawlessly.”

#             #             #             #             #             #            

“So did you figure out how you are going to get your dad away from the studio?” Chris asked.  He and Jeff were standing outside of Kix 103.7, the town’s major radio station, waiting for the signal from Kevin that Jake and his date had reached the peak.

“I figured if I pretend to have some kind of teenage break down in the lobby they will make him come out to see me.  In the confusion you will have to sneak to the back.” Jeff replied, checking his phone for the text.

“Consider me stealth itself.” Chris said confidently.

“Dude, you’ve been spending way too much time in your English class.” Jeff laughed, “They are there, let’s go.”

The two boys made their way toward the station and entered the front door to see the secretary behind the desk. They walked up to her and Jeff cleared his throat.

“Oh, Jeffery, how nice to see you.” She said smiling at the boys, “How can I help you?”

“I need to see my dad.” Jeff said tearfully, he was trying to make his voice as pitiful as possible.

“Oh honey, you know he is busy right now and can’t come out.” She said sympathetically.   

“It’s really important.” Chris said in his best acting voice as he placed his arm around Jeff’s shoulders. Jeff had looked down mournfully and was doing his best to make his eyes water, Chris wasn’t the only one who could act. “He just got dumped by his girlfriend and told me he didn’t have anything to live for anymore.” Chris whispered to the woman as if in confidence, “I thought his dad should talk him down and I did all I could to get him here.”

“Oh no,” the woman whimpered, “You two stay right here and I will get him out here.”  She marched quickly through the doors into the rest of the building.

Chris and Jeff exchanged sly smiles.

“Good improv man.” Jeff whispered.

“I figured it had to be big or she wouldn’t have done all she could to get him out here.” Chris whispered back, “I hear footsteps, start crying again.”

“Jeff, what is going on?  You know better than to disturb me at work.” The middle aged man said as he walked through the doors.  He looked like an older version of Jeff, just with better facial hair.

Jeff started to sob and said sloppily, “She dumped me, dad.  I loved her so much and now that she is gone I don’t have anything worth living for in my life.”  Jeff grew more and more hysterical the more he talked.

“Calm down son, who dumped you? I didn’t even know you had a girlfriend.” His dad had moved closer and placed his hand on Jeff’s shoulder.  This gave Chris a perfect opportunity to move away from Jeff.  The secretary was engrossed in the conversation and was making what Chris guessed was supposed to be sympathetic sounds.  He started to slowly move around her.

“I was going to introduce her to you, but you always have to work nights and she kept putting it off and now I guess I know why and…” Jeff started to sob again, much louder this time. His dad ushered him to the chairs by the front window as the security guards came out of the back to see what the ruckus was.  As they left the doors, Chris swung past them into the back of the station.

Chris could hear Jeff’s wails getting even louder and more violent and couldn’t help but snicker. As he approached the studio he say the other workers start to move toward the door.

“It’s alright, we set up a playlist for the next ten minutes. We should really see what is going on.” A woman said as she exited the sound booth with another man. Chris hid in a doorway until they had pasted and made his way quickly into the studio.  He grabbed the microphone and found the switch that changed the station from radio to announcer, silently praising all the times they had come to the station on field trips for school. He knew this place as well as he did his own house because of them.

He moved to the microphone and put on his best man voice. “Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is breaking news.  A convict has just escaped from Birch Mountain Penitentiary and is on the loose in the area.  This man is a maximum security prisoner and everyone is advised to stay in their homes until he can be found.  The man is a six foot Caucasian male with a hook for a hand.  That is right ladies and gentlemen, he has a silver hook for a hand.  He is known and the Hook Handed killer by police and is very dangerous. If you see any sign of this dangerous killer alert police immediately. Again I repeat, stay in your homes until the criminal can be found.”  He switched off the sound and went back the playlist the attendants had set off.  He moved quickly back to the lobby because he could hear that Jeff’s cries were not as loud as they were before.  Their part was done, now they just had to meet up with Ansel.

#             #             #             #             #             #

Kevin was shivering on top of the mountain. He wished he could sit in a warm car like Jake and his date were.  Kevin was wearing a jacket, but that was nothing compared the nighttime winds blowing on the top of Autumn Peak, he guessed it must have been called that for a reason.  He sat there watching Jake and his date start to get comfortable together.

“Man, this is disgusting, I don’t want to watch this anymore.”  He glanced at his phone to make sure for the tenth time he was on the right radio station, “Hurry up guys.”

He stood there for another five minutes in the freezing wind, then the announcement came on.  He could barely recognize Chris’s voice.

“Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is breaking news.  A convict has just escaped from Birch Mountain Penitentiary…”

It was finally his turn.  Kevin grabbed the hook from the bag he got at his parents store and pulled out the jar of fake blood as well.  He expertly added the blood to the hook and threw on his black hood. 

Sneaking up on people in the mountains is not as easy as anyone would think, with the twigs and rocks everywhere, so Kevin had to move slowly.  This worked out to his advantage thought because he could see that the girl was getting more and more agitated.  She kept gesturing to Jake about leaving and Jake just kept trying to go in for more kissing.  She finally shoved him away and Kevin was so close he could hear her voice going even higher pitched.  He carefully placed the hook on her door handle and moved back into the bushes, just in time for him to see Jake drive the car back down the hill.

He texted Ansel to tell them they were finally leaving.

#             #             #             #             #             #             #

Ansel was hunkered down in his car across the way from where he saw Jake pick up his date earlier that evening.  Tailing Jake wasn’t very hard since he was so preoccupied with the evening’s future events, but now Ansel was very bored.  He kept glancing at the neighboring houses to make sure that the neighbors weren’t staring at him, he also kept an ear out for sirens, because there was no way he was getting arrested tonight.  It was late enough that most of the parents with little trick or treaters were gone, and now it was pretty much just pre-teens and teenagers roaming the streets. Ansel was very careful to not look like a psychopath.  Soon he saw Jake and Chris making their way to him, walking casually down the road as if they hadn’t just hijacked a radio station for a Halloween prank. 

They got into the car and started to tell Ansel everything that happened at the radio station.  This was much more entertaining than just sitting outside a house like a creeper.  Ansel was finally starting to feel the thrill of the prank.  Then his phone went off.

“Kevin says they drove off and that he was ‘successful in his mission’.” Ansel cheerfully told the others.

“Oh man, I can’t wait to see his stupid face!” Jeff jeered.

“We should be quiet until they get here though, we don’t want to give away our position.” Chris said.

“Yeah, I am going to get the camera ready.” Ansel said as he pulled out a camcorder.

When Jake finally pulled into the driveway of the house they could tell he was mad that the evening didn’t go as planned, but like a gentleman, he went around the car to open the door for his date.

“This is it.” Jeff whispered

Jake reached for the door handle and then screamed and jumped away from the car.  The girl got out of the car and started screaming right along with him. The bystanders either looked at the pair concerned or just wrote them off as dumb kids on Halloween.  But in a cheap little car, three boys were laughing so hard the car was shaking. 

A Change of Plans

Due to some technical difficulties, we won't be posting new stories this week; rather, the urban legend prompt will continue until next Tuesday in order to give all Sexy Pants team members a chance to write a story. Thus, there will be no round up posted today, but will be posted next Thursday.

Seven Deadly Sins

Another day, another new school.

When your father is a travelling trainer for a nationwide company, things never stay the same for long. By now, Noah Greene was used to starting over every few months. He had been to school in 37 states and three provinces in Canada, but he was hoping this time would be different. He was only three months from finishing his Senior Year, so now he would finally know the school he would be graduating from- Ashton High School.

By the time his alarm sounded, Noah had been up thinking for hours. No amount of practice could erase the anxiety of being the “new kid” all over again. He rolled out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to find his mother waiting with breakfast on the table- something he expected his first day of school and never again.

“Hey there, my little crop duster!” Noah’s mom said cheerily as he sat down and pulled a plate of bacon closer.  

“Mom” he replied, rolling his eyes, “How many times do I have to tell you, that’s not the mascot. We’re lions… for some reason.”

“Did you stay up all night reading about your new school?” She pulled the bacon away and pushed forward a bowl of oatmeal.

“Of course not! I slept a good two hours too.”

Sooner than he would have liked, Noah was backing out of his driveway with the school’s address programmed into his GPS. Every block he drove past looked nearly the same- corn and wheat with the occasional building thrown in to break the monotony. Why his dad’s company even had outpost here in the middle of nowhere was a mystery, though Noah felt he would like it more than Chicago, where they had just left.

Noah stopped by the office for the usual registration forms and picked up his new schedule. He snuck into class trying to be unseen, which worked pretty well since everyone from Chemistry II was in the lab watching the effects of pure sodium on a mild mannered glass of water. As the class returned and filled in around him, Noah tried to blend into the periodic table on the wall behind him. It seemed to work; at least, nobody asked who he was or why he was in their seat. Mr. Argon started back into his lecture after, to Noah’s horror, pointing to him and announcing him as the new kid. The other students stared, but eventually turned back to the front. A cute girl sitting in front of him whispered a quick hello before continuing a giggly conversation with her friend.

Try as he might to pay attention to Mr. Argon, Noah could feel his attention slipping. His leg bounced and his hand twitched, so he pulled out his notebook and started to draw- the only remedy he had found to cope with his ADHD. He drew fractals and spirals and sweeping geometric figures that took up whole pages. He started an intricate atom figure and took notes on the side, but became so involved that he didn’t notice the bell ring and didn’t even look up until he heard a voice behind him.

“Woah, that’s amazing, noob!”

Noah looked up to see a tall boy with shaggy brown hair peering at his notebook. He self-consciously slammed it shut and pushed it in his backpack.

The boy smiled and said “Where did you learn to draw like that?”

Noah blushed and started to walk to the door, but the boy followed expectantly, so he said “I didn’t learn, I just do it. And my name isn’t ‘noob’ it’s Noah.”

“Hey noob, where are you headed next? I can show you around if you like.”

“Still Noah.” He sighed but handed over his freshly printed schedule, which the boy glanced over and grinned.

“Alright! Your next period is with me, I’ll take you there! I’m Ronan, by the way.”

Noah, confused at this level of support and kindness from a boy his age, cautiously followed Ronan up the stairs to the English hallway. Making friends was never this easy, and he hoped Ronan didn’t have plans to be anything more than casual acquaintances. As they walked through the door, another boy ran over to Ronan and started talking over plans to meet up at such and such a time that weekend. Noah tried to sneak past them and find a seat in the back corner, but Ronan threw his hand across his chest to stop him.

“Where are my manners?” he practically shouted. “Noah, this is my good friend Leo. Leo, Noah. He’s a noob, but he’s totally cool. I think he just might be the answer to our prayers, dear friend.”

If Ronan didn’t scare Noah before that, his introduction just pushed him over the edge. He didn’t want to think of what he and Lion Boy had been praying for, and he certainly didn’t want to be the answer to that. He ran to an empty seat between two girls and avoided eye contact with the boys across the room, though he could see them whispering and looking at him repeatedly. He pulled out his notebook and tried to forget about it all, and then jotted notes to the side of his drawing as his English teacher- Miss Eyre- prattled on about iambic pentameter.

Noah was ready for the bell this time and ran out of his seat as soon as he could, escaping Leo and Ronan in the sea of Sophomores and Juniors spilling out of other classrooms. He followed the tide, hoping it would lead him to the cafeteria. He bounced in place as he waited in line, hoping this school lunch might somehow be better than all the rest. Waiting in lines was the worst because he couldn’t draw to distract his hyperactive mind, so he got bouncy and anxious fast. As soon as his tray was securely in his hands, he ran to an empty table and started eating as he perfected his drawing from English- a looping series of five circles with sentences written in iambic pentameter around the outside.

Before he realized what was happening, three trays crashed down on the table around him. He looked up to see Ronan with a boy and a girl.

“Hey noob, this is Darby and that’s Darwyn. They’re twins. I was just telling them about your drawing… mind if they take a look?”

Darby, a girl with long black hair, smiled mischievously in a way that made Noah feel she would just as soon take off with his wallet as look at his drawing. Darwyn, with short blonde hair that made him look nothing like his twin, simply looked curious.

“Actually, I kind of do mind… I don’t like showing off my drawings.”

“That’s alright; you don’t have to show them now.” Ronan looked disappointed at Noah’s refusal but couldn’t ignore his idea. “Look, Noah. We’re getting together with some of our friends this weekend and we want you to be there. You will understand once we’re there. But please bring your notebook and be mentally prepared to show your amazing skill to an appreciative audience.”

Ronan wandered off before Noah could refuse, so he mumbled to the twins that he guessed he could go. Darwyn made small talk as Darby stared out the window.

“What is it that Ronan was talking about?” Noah eventually asked as he saw Ronan at a table nearby talking to a girl and pointing at him openly. “Is it like a party? Because I still have a curfew and…”

“No, nothing like that….” Darwyn started.

“Like those dweebs would ever throw a party.” Darby whispered.

“It’s like a project that we’ve been working on, and I guess he thinks you can help us out. We’ve been missing a design guy.”

Noah thought about what Darwyn was saying, but before he could answer the bell rang. Darby walked him to his next class which was next door to hers and had a satisfying lack of Ronan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That weekend, Noah found himself bouncing and self-consciously fixing his hair as he waited for an answer at the door where Ronan had told him to meet. Ronan answered, smiled, and led Noah inside and downstairs, into a dark room with six chairs in a semicircle in front of a white board on wheels. Five of the six chairs were occupied, and Noah guessed that the last one belonged to Ronan. A boy Noah hadn’t seen yet scurried out the door saying he would find another chair for Noah. When he returned with a camp chair, Noah sat down as everyone stared at him. After an awkward minute, Ronan stood up and spoke.

“Welcome, Team Hoag. I’m glad to see you all here, and I am pleased to introduce the newest candidate to our team- Noah. He draws. Show ‘em Noah!”

Noah stood up and opened his notebook, showing his favorite pages to each person individually. Each face showed surprise and awe and quickly the people were talking about his drawings with great detail and passion.

“Great! So, all in favor of adding Noah as our Lead Designer, hands up!”

All hands shot up; two from Ronan.

“It’s official! Welcome to the team!” Ronan cheered as Noah sat down, blushing but pleased to be included in… well, whatever the heck Hoag was.

“Alright, let’s start with some introductions. I am Ronan, the leader and founder of this team, and clearly the most awesome.

“You already know Darby,” Ronan said, and Darby waved her hand once, and then turned her attention back to the wall. “She’s our head of defense, and she helps us get into prime locations for our work.

“Next to her is Calvin.” He pointed to a boy Noah had never seen. “He’s the head of agriculture. He provides insider information on the best types of plants to use as medium.

“There’s Leo. You met him.” Leo nodded. “He’s head of labor and our go-to math guy. He maps out the formulas and hands them off to Hannah,” the girl Noah had seen in the cafeteria smiled from the seat next to Leo, “Our treasurer, who plugs them into her computer and hooks up all the gadgets.

“Last but not least, Darwyn.” He smiled from the farthest seat. “He’s the head of education, leading the research and tracking out news stories to help us plan our next move.”

They all smiled at him expectantly until Noah, confused, said, “So wait, what do you even do? Rob banks?”

Hannah laughed and said “Oh, I like him!” and then blushed heavily. To cover her embarrassment, she pulled out her laptop and stood in front, showing off some amazing pictures on her screen.

“This, Noah. This is what we do.”

A series of green and brown pictures flashed on the screen, mostly with simple geometric designs.

“Are those… crop circles?” Noah shook his head, thinking he got involved with a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists.

“Yes, well spotted.” Leo chimed in. “See… we make crop circles. The town goes crazy for them. Some people think aliens are responsible, some think it’s some crazy terrorist group, but most people adore them. It’s an art form, something that has brought us together and lets us get some revenge on people around here without any harm.”

“But, as you see, they suck.” Darby said. “You draw pretty things, cool designs, which is why you’re here. People won’t be astounded by a couple of circles forever.”

“Well, that. But also, I’d like to point out that a group of seven is way better than a group of six. Nothing cool comes in six… half dozens of donuts maybe.” Calvin spoke up for the first time. His voice was deeper than Noah had expected, but it suited him well.

“Good point, Cal. Seven days of the week, seven colors of the rainbow…” Hannah said.

“… Seven wonders of the world…” Leo chimed in.  

“Seven Harry Potter books!” Ronan practically screamed.

“Seven dwarves” Noah whispered.

“Yes! I call Dopey!” Ronan laughed so hard, everyone else joined in.

Noah soon found himself standing up to the whiteboard, sketching out a fractal while the others chimed in suggestions. They decided on something fairly simple for Noah’s first time, and then loaded up in Ronan’s van as Calvin directed them to their target- his grandpa’s field.

They ran through the rows of corn in a line until they reached the center. Everyone had a job and worked methodically. Hannah and Leo stayed in the middle and hovered over Hannah’s laptop. They tracked the movement of the rest through tracking devices each held in their pocket and called out directions over walkie talkies. Calvin and Darby walked clockwise, Calvin holding a rope to keep the circle perfect, and Darby following behind to make sure the stocks were bent properly. Ronan and Darwyn did the same thing counterclockwise. Noah walked to and fro, taking it all in and making sure the results matched the design. They worked under a clear night sky and admired the stars, wondering aloud if other creatures did exist out there, and if they did… would they really speak to us through designs etched into fields?

Suddenly, bright lights shone from somewhere and everyone hit the ground. They army crawled back to the center, where Darby quickly concocted an escape plan and whispered it to the rest. They heard dogs barking in the distance but coming closer, and they scattered. Each would wait on the side of the road until Ronan drove to each spot to pick them up. Noah ran, worried about ending up in jail on one of his first outings with friends, but also proud of his work. He waited by the mile marker they told him to find until the van pulled up and Darby opened the door. As Noah jumped inside, he heard yelling in the field that was drowned out by the Fall Out Boy song Ronan was shouting along to. They drove away, laughing and talking, and stopped for ice cream at a Mom and Pop store in the middle of town.

That night, Noah couldn’t sleep. His mind was running wild with designs and he had to get them down on paper or lose them forever.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At school on Monday, Team Hoag crowded around a newspaper article Darwyn had clipped out and stowed in his Calculus book. It talked about another in a recent series of crop circles in the area and mentioned the source was currently unknown. At the top of the article was a picture of their masterpiece, taken seemingly from a helicopter. When everyone had finished relishing their fame, Noah pulled out his notebook and, smiling, showed them his next masterpiece- six circles surrounding one in the center, each with a different design, but all supporting the theme. At the bottom, Noah had penned the phrase “Seven Deadly Sins” and designed each circle to match one of the infamous transgressions. Darby grinned up at him and said “I like it, noob.”

Noah smiled shyly at Darby as the rest of the group made plans to turn the design into a crop circle, and decided on the perfect place to put it.

Ashton High wouldn’t know what hit it.