“Oh Lordy! How did I ever let the two of you talk me into this?” Kristen looked down from the giant hay bale and swallowed hard.
“Awwww, you can do it,” said Liz. She patted Kristen on the shoulder. “And after all, you wanted to take the dare rather than telling us the truth, you know. That’s how the game’s played.”
“I know, I know,” moaned Kate.
“You can still change your mind,” said Mia. “Just tell us the truth and admit that you slept with Gordy and then you don’t have to take the dare. That’s all you have to do. Otherwise, you’ll have to jump down from here – and it’s probably - I dunno – thirty feet up or so.”
“I’ll probably break my neck or get killed or something.” Kristen twisted her hand together.
“Nah,” said Liz, “although you might break a leg.” Seeing Kristen’s face, she added, “Just kidding.”
“Well?” Mia stepped closed to Kristen. “Let’s finish the stupid game already. Then we can all go get a bite to eat.”
“Okay, okay – I admit it. I slept with Gordy. But only once,” said Kristen. “We both were really drunk after the Lambda Alpha Delta party. And hey – it’s not like you two are virgins or anything. And anyway, he is kind of cute, right?”
Mia looked back and forth between Liz and Kristen for a minute before shoving Kristen off the hay bale. Kristen screamed the whole way down. Liz and Mia looked over the edge. They both heard what sounded like muffled crying at the bottom.
“Do you think she’s all right?” asked Liz.
Mia shrugged.
“But she decided to tell the truth, Mia,” said Liz, “so why did you go and push her off the hay bale?”
“I guess you guys didn’t know. I thought everybody did. Gordy’s my boyfriend,” answered Mia.
I stood with each of my two feet on a different cylindrical bail of hay that was nearly as tall as I myself was that cloudy Friday afternoon in Nebraska, one of the flattest places we'd found. I held my balance without much difficulty as long as I stood absolutely still. The moment I tried to locomote myself forward, however, I began to wobble to one side or to slip down between the two bails.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked. I'm not sure if I was asking my companions, myself, or the the big, cold universe.
“You can do it,” Zestra said from where she stood to my right. She remained in one place, standing erect, feet shoulders' width apart. She wasn't going anywhere, so of course she felt it could be done.
To my left, Angren laughed. He was standing still, too, but to the edge of the bail he was on. Balance was more of a feat where he was. He twisted and torqued his awkward body, trying to use his ape-like hands for counter-weights. He leaned towards me, further helping his balance.
“These are the dumbest people ever,” he remarked.
“Angren!” Zestra scolded him. “It is not our place to judge.”
I tried to bring the focus back to basics. “Are we really sure this is how they get around?”
“It pretty much has to be,” Angren assured me. “I mean look at the long pathways of these bails, leading around the property, to and from the different lands. Raised walkways.”
“Keeps them out of the mud,” Zetstra added. “And it's totally organic, which I think is a great sign that they are not dumb people at all.”
“I know your interpretations,” I grumbled, “but you also thought they had red skin and so we constructed these bodies to blend in, but I have yet to see anyone else that looks like a glowing red hay-walker.”
My cell phone beeped. What now? I thought, pausing just before the cross walk to fish my phone from my coat pocket. I flipped it open. Another super, secret meeting in the middle of nowhere? Great. I rolled my eyes and checked the coordinates one more time before pressing reply. This should be fun.
I held my breath against the instantaneous pressure, and then hit the ground gasping a moment later. I will never get used to that feeling. I surveyed my surroundings, pretty sure that I'd just landed smack-dab in the middle of a farm, somewhere the midwest from the look of the coordinates.
I started walking toward the edge of the crop line, groaning internally. This was the fifth time this month we’d been summoned to the middle of nowhere without warning. It’s not like we don’t have our own lives to tend to. And I seriously doubt that there is any earth-shattering news to share anyway. Our new supervisor is just enjoying his power a little too much, if you ask me.
"Hey." I called to Stelle, as she stepped out of the corn field a few feet ahead of me.
"Dude, where are we?" She asked, as I caught up with her.
"Hell if I know." I rolled my eyes, falling into stride with her. "Raynard's lost his mind."
She looked around wearily. "Careful Trey, someone might be listening."
"Screw it," I said. "No one's around anyway." I tapped the side of my head knowingly.
She sighed. "Still, you know how they are. The minute they catch the slightest whiff of dissention, they'll put you on the list."
"So having an opinion makes me a traitor now?"
"Not to me," she said, brushing her shoulder against mine. "But to them? Yeah."
We approached the clearing, marked by several giant barrels of hay smattering the darkened sky line.
Atop the first group of barrels sat Gareth, presumably awaiting our arrival. His feet swung up on down against the edge of the barrel as he looked out across the farmlands.
Stelle jumped up easily, landing next to Gareth. I followed suit.
"Any sign of him yet?" I asked.
"Nah." He said, never removing his eyes from the field.
"What do you think he wants?" I asked, to no one in particular.
"Maybe it's an assignment." Stelle mused.
"Doubtful." Gareth said, ever the optimist. "We've only been in training for a few months; I doubt they'd send us on patrol so quickly."
"Maybe we've got a new team member." I offered.
"I hope it's another girl." Stelle said, eyeing Gareth. I caught her eye and smiled conspiratorially. "Some of us could use a little excitement."
Gareth stood up, abruptly. "He's here." He stated matter-of-factly.
"How far?" I asked.
"About 300 yards."
Stelle stood between us now, straddling the two neighboring barrels. I looked down at the field below us, thinking about what she'd said before about Raynard sniffing out the traitors. Was I really alone in my unease?
I felt a hand rest on my arm and a sense of calmness began to wash over me. I looked up to find Stelle's gaze on me. She smiled a reassuring smile and dropped her hand from my arm just as Raynard approached our lookout, a gaggle of assistants trailing behind him. My skin crawled at the sight of him.
"Do it, Joel!"
ReplyDeleteI stood there, looking down into the well, wondering just how far it went. "I don't think I should. I mean, there could be snakes and shit."
Trina laughed. "Go or I'll push you."
I wouldn't have even considered going down there, but the note said me. My name.
"Maybe I can climb down?"
Perry sighed. "Look, if we don't hurry up, it's gonna be dark. The note said "before dark"."
I swallowed hard. I wanted to be in the club. I did. But I wasn't sure exactly what would be waiting for me down in that dark, deep hole.
Or if I'd ever make it back up.
Ooooh! Sounds like the super beginning of a YA novel! Okay - so I'll bite - what happens next???
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“Oh Lordy! How did I ever let the two of you talk me into this?” Kristen looked down from the giant hay bale and swallowed hard.
ReplyDelete“Awwww, you can do it,” said Liz. She patted Kristen on the shoulder. “And after all, you wanted to take the dare rather than telling us the truth, you know. That’s how the game’s played.”
“I know, I know,” moaned Kate.
“You can still change your mind,” said Mia. “Just tell us the truth and admit that you slept with Gordy and then you don’t have to take the dare. That’s all you have to do. Otherwise, you’ll have to jump down from here – and it’s probably - I dunno – thirty feet up or so.”
“I’ll probably break my neck or get killed or something.” Kristen twisted her hand together.
“Nah,” said Liz, “although you might break a leg.” Seeing Kristen’s face, she added, “Just kidding.”
“Well?” Mia stepped closed to Kristen. “Let’s finish the stupid game already. Then we can all go get a bite to eat.”
“Okay, okay – I admit it. I slept with Gordy. But only once,” said Kristen. “We both were really drunk after the Lambda Alpha Delta party. And hey – it’s not like you two are virgins or anything. And anyway, he is kind of cute, right?”
Mia looked back and forth between Liz and Kristen for a minute before shoving Kristen off the hay bale. Kristen screamed the whole way down. Liz and Mia looked over the edge. They both heard what sounded like muffled crying at the bottom.
“Do you think she’s all right?” asked Liz.
Mia shrugged.
“But she decided to tell the truth, Mia,” said Liz, “so why did you go and push her off the hay bale?”
“I guess you guys didn’t know. I thought everybody did. Gordy’s my boyfriend,” answered Mia.
I stood with each of my two feet on a different cylindrical bail of hay that was nearly as tall as I myself was that cloudy Friday afternoon in Nebraska, one of the flattest places we'd found. I held my balance without much difficulty as long as I stood absolutely still. The moment I tried to locomote myself forward, however, I began to wobble to one side or to slip down between the two bails.
ReplyDelete“Are you sure about this?” I asked. I'm not sure if I was asking my companions, myself, or the the big, cold universe.
“You can do it,” Zestra said from where she stood to my right. She remained in one place, standing erect, feet shoulders' width apart. She wasn't going anywhere, so of course she felt it could be done.
To my left, Angren laughed. He was standing still, too, but to the edge of the bail he was on. Balance was more of a feat where he was. He twisted and torqued his awkward body, trying to use his ape-like hands for counter-weights. He leaned towards me, further helping his balance.
“These are the dumbest people ever,” he remarked.
“Angren!” Zestra scolded him. “It is not our place to judge.”
I tried to bring the focus back to basics. “Are we really sure this is how they get around?”
“It pretty much has to be,” Angren assured me. “I mean look at the long pathways of these bails, leading around the property, to and from the different lands. Raised walkways.”
“Keeps them out of the mud,” Zetstra added. “And it's totally organic, which I think is a great sign that they are not dumb people at all.”
“I know your interpretations,” I grumbled, “but you also thought they had red skin and so we constructed these bodies to blend in, but I have yet to see anyone else that looks like a glowing red hay-walker.”
Suzanne and RJ, awesome stories. Very teen agnsty. Goes great with the indie emo I'm playing in my iTunes right now.
ReplyDeleteMy cell phone beeped. What now? I thought, pausing just before the cross walk to fish my phone from my coat pocket. I flipped it open. Another super, secret meeting in the middle of nowhere? Great. I rolled my eyes and checked the coordinates one more time before pressing reply. This should be fun.
ReplyDeleteI held my breath against the instantaneous pressure, and then hit the ground gasping a moment later. I will never get used to that feeling. I surveyed my surroundings, pretty sure that I'd just landed smack-dab in the middle of a farm, somewhere the midwest from the look of the coordinates.
I started walking toward the edge of the crop line, groaning internally. This was the fifth time this month we’d been summoned to the middle of nowhere without warning. It’s not like we don’t have our own lives to tend to. And I seriously doubt that there is any earth-shattering news to share anyway. Our new supervisor is just enjoying his power a little too much, if you ask me.
"Hey." I called to Stelle, as she stepped out of the corn field a few feet ahead of me.
"Dude, where are we?" She asked, as I caught up with her.
"Hell if I know." I rolled my eyes, falling into stride with her. "Raynard's lost his mind."
She looked around wearily. "Careful Trey, someone might be listening."
"Screw it," I said. "No one's around anyway." I tapped the side of my head knowingly.
She sighed. "Still, you know how they are. The minute they catch the slightest whiff of dissention, they'll put you on the list."
"So having an opinion makes me a traitor now?"
"Not to me," she said, brushing her shoulder against mine. "But to them? Yeah."
We approached the clearing, marked by several giant barrels of hay smattering the darkened sky line.
Atop the first group of barrels sat Gareth, presumably awaiting our arrival. His feet swung up on down against the edge of the barrel as he looked out across the farmlands.
Stelle jumped up easily, landing next to Gareth. I followed suit.
"Any sign of him yet?" I asked.
"Nah." He said, never removing his eyes from the field.
"What do you think he wants?" I asked, to no one in particular.
"Maybe it's an assignment." Stelle mused.
"Doubtful." Gareth said, ever the optimist. "We've only been in training for a few months; I doubt they'd send us on patrol so quickly."
"Maybe we've got a new team member." I offered.
"I hope it's another girl." Stelle said, eyeing Gareth. I caught her eye and smiled conspiratorially. "Some of us could use a little excitement."
Gareth stood up, abruptly. "He's here." He stated matter-of-factly.
"How far?" I asked.
"About 300 yards."
Stelle stood between us now, straddling the two neighboring barrels. I looked down at the field below us, thinking about what she'd said before about Raynard sniffing out the traitors. Was I really alone in my unease?
I felt a hand rest on my arm and a sense of calmness began to wash over me. I looked up to find Stelle's gaze on me. She smiled a reassuring smile and dropped her hand from my arm just as Raynard approached our lookout, a gaggle of assistants trailing behind him. My skin crawled at the sight of him.
"Hello, children."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Cheryl whined as she fought to keep her balance in the wind."
ReplyDelete"You have a bad feeling about having a good feeling," Annie yelled across the hay bale.
"Well, I am personally not going to let your bad feelings ruin this road trip for me," Tori's words were snatched by a gust of North Dakota air.
"Admit it," Cheryl pointed her finger at Tori. "I've been right so far haven't I?"
"What? Your bad feeling about that sushi place here in North Dakota?" Annie snorted. "It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."
"Whatever," Cheryl pouted and dropped to sit down on the gigantic bale.
"Besides," Tori said, "What could possibly happen out here in the middle of a field?"
"We could get struck by lightning," Cheryl crossed her arms over her chest.
"No storm in sight," Annie announced.
"Some farmer could point his shotgun at us for trespassing," Cheryl added.
"We'd just employ a little flirting, right Tori?" Annie threw back.
"What about cows?" Cheryl asked.
"Cows? Pretty harmless," said Tori.
"Oh shit!" Annie pointed behind them. "What about cows with sticks on their heads?"
"Crap." Tori stared at the oncoming herd. "Have a seat girls, looks like we might be here awhile."
Suzanne, nice to hear from you! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteRJ - oooh, mean! love it!
Nevets & Emily, I like the sci-fi twist on your stories. What happens next??
I always wanted to be a superhero. So we practiced. But… damn. I can’t even jump off a hay bail. My career is OVER.
ReplyDelete