What lies instore

Prologue
I couldn’t see. Everything was black. I was running but I couldn’t feel my feet. I couldn’t breathe but I couldn’t slow down to catch my breath either. Crispy fall leaves crunched under my feet and behind me as I was followed. Every step gave away my location. My wet hair kept flying in my face. I wasn’t going to try and move it. My lungs were on fire. My throat burned with every breathe and I didn’t know how much more I could take.
In the next millisecond I was tripping over a rock and hitting a tree. I rolled across the forest floor and slid down a hill, feeling the mud cover my body.
I skidded to stop and I finally couldn’t take it anymore, I had to stop and breathe. I know this is the part in the horror flick where the guy with the knife shows up but I wasn’t scared of him. Now I knew there was worse out there, and a guy with a knife was the least of my problems, actually I’d beg him to save me at this point.
No more sitting, the more I sat the closer he got. I started running again, I had no idea where I was or what direction I was going but I didn’t care. I glanced behind me and ran straight into something warm and human like. That’s when I realized stopping was a huge mistake.
“Finally, I found you.” His voice so soothing, yet dangerous.
I heard a high pitch, blood chilling scream fill the air. Then I realized, it was me.

Chapter One
“Alex wake up!” My mom yelled. “This is the third time I’ve woken you up this morning, what is your problem? Your alarm is making me mad and I’m not waking you up again, you can be late for all I care.” She slammed my door with ferocious strength and stomped down the stairs. Cigarette smoke hung in the air.
         “Great start to the day.” I said aloud.  I slowly got out of bed and made my way towards my closet to decide what I’d wear today. After going through my whole closet I had found nothing. I went through my dresser and finally settled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain green V-neck tee. It’s only school, it’s not like I have anyone to impress, I thought to myself.
         I sluggishly walked to my door, opened it and walked across the hall to the cramped bathroom. The only reason I call it cramped is because the toilet, sink, and bathtub have about an inch in between them. I grabbed a towel and washcloth from the closet in the hallway and closed the bathroom door.
Once I had stepped into the shower, I let the water run over my body for a couple minutes, but it seemed like forever. The hot water seemed to wash all my stress away. All my cares, all my worries just went down the drain.
“Alex, get out of the shower! You’re wasting all the hot water!”  My mother shrieked.
         I used the washcloth and scrubbed myself clean. The roughness of it felt good against my soft, pale skin. I took my time, making sure I felt completely fresh before shutting off the water. I grabbed the towel from the metal rack by the shower and dried off my thin figure. I pulled my clothes on fast before my mom could complain more and escaped to my room.
My clock told me I had ten minutes to get ready before I had to leave for school, or I’d be late. I got my new striped neon pink and orange socks and put them on, then quickly slipped on my black Converse. I grabbed my old cell phone off the charger and stuck it in my back pack with the rest of my things for the day. My mom’s snoring filled the house, she wouldn’t notice if I left. I slipped out of my open window onto the fire escape and left my house for the day.
         Everything was perfectly normal this morning, the birds chirping and the cars gliding by me on the roads. As I walked I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. Dark clouds covered the clear blue sky. My legs moved faster towards school, turning the corner onto the road just as it started pouring. The little, tear shaped raindrops turned into hard, big drops that fell down like a waterfall. I started jogging, which turned into a run.
         By the time I reached the school doors my shoes were full of water and my hair was drenched. I grabbed the metal handle and opened the door. I scurried inside to the welcoming air-conditioning. I had no doubt that I looked horrid because of the mud and water all over me but I was just glad to be out of the storm. My shoes squeaked with every step I took on the linoleum floor, people looked at me but I just overlooked them. To say I didn’t care about them looking at me would be a lie, I did care but I had other things to worry about at the moment.
         I made my way down the hallway, past all the snickering teens and the watching teachers to my locker. I put in my combination that I had had memorized since day one and set my back pack inside. I walked to the bathroom down the hall, grabbed some paper towels. I tried to get all of the excess water off of my clothes and hair. After I had got all the water I could I picked up my back pack and walked out.
         My cell phone buzzed in my backpack just as the bathroom door closed behind me. I grabbed it out of the pocket in the side of my pack and flipped it open, the caller ID said it was a private number.
         “Hello?” I questioned. There was silence on the other end, “hello?” I asked again, still silence.
          “Alex, you didn’t give me my medicine before you left.”
         I sighed, “I’m sorry mom, but I’m at school so I have to go.”
         “Apparently you didn’t understand me, daughter. I said you didn’t give me my meds this morning and you need to come home. Now.” She said sternly. I could feel her anger emanating through the phone.
         “Mom, I am at school and I’m not coming home, goodbye.” I closed my phone and I stuffed it back into my bag. This day was just getting worse and worse, I just had to make it one more year after this and I’d be graduated. I smiled at the thought, it made me so happy just to think I could leave this place and travel like I had always wanted. I hadn’t noticed a group of girls come toward me.
         “Watch it!” A blond girl yelled, I think she was a senior but I wasn’t sure.
         I returned to my locker to grab my books for my first class and to put my two bags away. The bell rang and I joined the crowd moving in the hallways, it was like a traffic system, and you didn’t go against the flow of students. I reached my English class and went to my seat in the back, watching as all the other kids filed in. The plastic seat was cold against my legs, even though I was wearing jeans. The late bell rang and everyone settled into their seats as our teacher, Mr. Seitz took his place in front of the class.
Just as he was about to speak there was a knock on the open door and the principal stepped in. Our principal was new this year, a lot of kids liked to take advantage of him because he didn’t say no. A lot of the girls liked to flirt with him because he had the perfect face, body and tan, he was called a God by the female teachers. Honestly, I didn’t know what they were talking about; I didn’t think he was at all good-looking. He was a little on the short side and he had a slight balding spot directly on the top of his head.
All the girls in the class, though, sighed as he strolled in. He smiled his best flirtatious smile that he could give without getting in trouble and turned his back to talk to Mr. Seitz. He knew where all the young girls would look. While all the girls stared and the guys envied him, no one noticed another person walk in. While Mr. Seitz and the principal, Mr. Nelson was whispering the new guy kept glancing around with wondering eyes. He kept looking around, observing the room, and then he stopped and looked into my eyes. It made me want to gasp.
         “Alex, is something wrong?” Mr. Seitz asked and everyone person in the class turned to stare at me. I guess I had gasped out loud causing attention to myself.
“Me? No…Nothing’s wrong.” I said looking down at my desk. My face burned and I couldn’t look anywhere. I just studied the rigid wooden top before me.
         “Class,” The teacher said, taking all the attention away from me, “This is our new student, Jett Turner. Jett, you can take the seat back there on the left, by Alex.”
“Uh, Mr. Seitz, that’s where Sadie sits.” My voice was so quiet compared to all the noise in the room but somehow he had managed to hear it.
         “Alex, I understand that’s your best friend and all but she’s not here today and he needs somewhere to sit.”
         I gave up early, I could’ve dragged this on but I didn’t want another call from the principal. My mom was a ball of fury when she received those when she was sleeping. I didn’t want to argue with the teacher and Jett and his pink converse made their way towards the seat. He avoided my eyes the whole time. Jett looked like he was wealthy; all his clothes looked brand new. There were no holes or tears in his clothes either. He had black hair cut about an inch above the shoulder, his bangs shadowed his eyes.  The color could be described as…I guess by saying it was jet black. I wonder if that’s how he got his name.
I suspected he was a little taller than most guys at this school. He also had little piercings on his pale, bottom lip. They were slender silver rings running through one side of his lip and out the other and had little silver spheres at the ends. They were called snake bites but I didn’t know why. I didn’t really care either. He wore black skinny jeans and a bright neon green shirt to complete the outfit.
He took his seat and placed his notebook and pen onto the desk. He placed his hands on his lap and he looked out the window. He looked like he really didn’t want to be here, but then again who did? The principal left and Mr. Seitz took his place once again and went on with today’s lesson, and I went on with my usual doodling in my notebook.
         
         The day slowly went on and I soon found out that the new kid was in all of my classes. Not just that but he also sat by me in all of them. And to top that off he was even in my lunch period. After school was out I quickly gathered my things and headed towards the exit. I had had enough of Mr. Gloomy and I needed some fresh air.
I knew my mother wouldn’t be happy when I got home so I took a detour to the park. The sky was still gray but it didn’t look like it would rain. The park was very calm and mostly empty, except for a couple joggers and dogs. The wind blew through the trees, creating a nice breeze. Across the park a woman and a baby in a stroller were taking a walk.
         I followed the path of the park until I found a bench. The wood was still wet from the shower earlier this morning. I wiped it off with the bottom of my shirt and then sat down. I enjoyed the quiet. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me.
After a couple minutes I realized the sounds had disappeared. Heavy footsteps echoed through the air. My eyes shot open and I stood up, alert.  I looked around to find the source of the noise but there was nothing to be found. A cold hand landed on my shoulder. I squealed and turned to find no one behind me.
         “Okay, you’re fine, you’re just sleep deprived. You can just go home and go to sleep.” I said to myself. Oh my gosh, I’m going crazy talking to myself out loud. A tree rustled above me and I screamed again. Not taking my eyes off of the tree I backed away slowly and took deep breaths. I took one last look at the tree and ran.
         Loud footsteps followed behind me so I ran faster. I was terrified and just wanted to get home. I reached the rusty fire escape ladder and climbed as if my life depended on it. Once I was safely in my room I slammed my window shut and looked down. The place where I had been seconds ago was empty, no one was there. I didn’t know what scared me more at this point, the scary footsteps or how mad my mom was going to be because I slammed my window. 
         “Alex!” Her voice could break glass, I swear. Now, I guess I would find out what was scarier.


Chapter Two
         After being yelled at brutally by my mom I finally was left alone to do as I pleased in my room. I decided that I actually didn’t have anything to do. So I lay down face up on my bed. The mattress groaned as it supported me; it was an old bed, actually a hammy down. Only the matching baby blue comforter and sheet set were new. I stared at the ceiling wondering how much longer I could take of my mother yelling at me and throwing objects at me when she gets drunk.
         I was getting tired of acting like her supervisor or guardian, she was mine, right? Everything was ass-backwards wrong in my house. I cooked, cleaned, and even did my mother’s laundry but that’s a mother’s job right? I didn’t think I could do this anymore but until I got a job I got to stay here. My friend Sadie was emancipated and lived in the apartment two doors down. Why couldn’t I have rich parents? Having money to spend freely would be nice especially when your parents just keep putting money in your bank account like hers do.
         But no I get the narcissistic drunk mom who’s always at work at a local bar and drinking more beer than she serves. I wish one day she would clean herself up and not smell like beer and cigarette smoke when she wakes me up in the morning.
         A breeze from my open window made my cheeks cold. I rubbed my face to warm them up and I pulled back my hands to find them wet. I hadn’t known I had been crying until now. Another cool breeze seemed to wrap around my body sending shivers down my spine. The rain from earlier must have cooled down the warm autumn air. I grabbed the soft feather filled comforter beside me and wrapped it around my slender body. Then, I realized something that froze every muscle in my body. I hadn’t left my window open.
         “Mom!” I hollered down the stairs while almost tripping running down them.
         “How many times have I told you not to sound like an elephant?” She growled. “Now, why would you distract me from… the news?” She slurred a lot of her words and on the last two she had almost lost what she was saying. This meant she was on the verge of passing out because she was so drunk.
“I think there’s someone in the house.” I said frantically. Pacing back and forth I thought I’d leave a hole in the floor marking my path.
         “Stop pacing, God you’re making… me nervous.” She went back to watching her soap operas which she called the news. “And no one has ever… ever broken… into our house before. Quit… lying. I’m tired of… it always being about… you!”
         I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know if the person or people were still in the house. All I knew was that I wanted to be out of here, I didn’t feel safe and I didn’t really care where my mother was. I know it sounds mean but the whole insulting thing gets old after a while and if she doesn’t care about herself I don’t either.
         I grabbed a sharp steak knife from the top drawer in the kitchen by the sink and silently crept up the stairs to check if anyone was in the house. Theoretically if there was someone in the house they wouldn’t just be upstairs. My mom and I were in her bedroom downstairs yelling at each other so they could’ve gone anywhere but there.
I walked to my room with the knife hanging awkwardly at my side. I hadn’t held a knife for defense before so I wasn’t one-hundred percent on the way it should be held. I slid my hand along the smooth wall and found the light switch, turning it on before I entered. My room was very open, almost a perfect square. Hard for someone to hide when everything was out in the open, except for my closet.
My closet was on the right side of my room in the corner if you were walking in through my door. The door to the closet faced the wall with my window on it, making it difficult to see if anyone was inside it. I tried to sneak over there then realized there wasn’t a point because if the intruder was in my closet I suspect the light would have gave me away. I tried to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth like they tell you when you’re trying not to faint or hyperventilate.
I got close enough that I could just whip around the corner and kick the door open so that’s exactly what I did. It was easier to tell if someone was inside because all my clothes lay on the floor of the closet or my bedroom, only some wire and plastic hangers remained. I could see to the back of the closet without having to go in and check everything out. So I crossed my room off the list and thought about where to go next. As I turned to go out and investigate some more I bumped my funny bone into the edge of my dresser by my door. I hissed and cursed under my breath while hugging my arm to my chest. While I waited for the throbbing to stop I looked down and found a small slip of notebook paper.
It had numbers on it and a name; it took a moment for me to realize it was my uncle’s. Then a thought occurred to me, he was a cop, maybe he could come help me search the house. I immediately went for my cell phone in my backpack and dialed his number as fast as I could.
“Dean here.” His deep voice came over the phone.
“Uncle Dean, its Alex, your niece?” I asked, my voice was quieter than normal and I wasn’t sure if he had heard me.
“Alex? Did something happen? Are you okay? Where are you? Where’s your mom?” All the questions just kept coming and I tried to remember them all.
“Uh, yes something happened, yes I’m fine, in my bedroom and she’s downstairs watching the news.” I replied. I tapped my foot while I waited for him to answer. I was getting impatient, and I still didn’t feel safe.
“Okay what happened?” He asked with anxiety leaking out over the phone.
“I think someone broke into the house, mom and I were… fighting and when I went back into my room my window was open.”
He sighed. “Are you sure you didn’t leave it open? I don’t want you freaking out about nothing.” I could tell he was smiling when he said that last part. It was just how his voice changed and got a little higher I guess.
“No because I ran home and closed the window when I crawled through the fire escape. I thought someone was following me home but it was just my imagination because when I looked outside there was no one there.” I explained to him trying to be calm about the whole situation.
“Okay, well I’ll come check it out and make sure no one broke in. It will be about fifteen minutes; do you think you’ll be okay until I get there?” Things started clinging in the background and I knew he was packing a bag with his police stuff in it. He couldn’t come to my house dressed in his uniform because when he’s off duty it’s against the policy or something of the sort. So he had to pack a bag with his stuff and keep it with him.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine until you arrive.” I replied and hung up. He wasn’t much for goodbyes so it didn’t bother him if I hung up first or not.

Chapter Three
About twenty minutes later, or I assume it was, there was one solid, loud knock at the door. That was my uncles signature knock. I opened the heavy metal door to find my 6' 4'' uncle