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Followed by echoing catcalls, Bryn and Arianna stumbled clumsily down the alley as they headed home. It had been an interesting night. After four rounds of margaritas with intermittent vodka shots at The Croc Bar, affectionately known as “The Croc” to the locals, Bryn and Arianna were slightly trashed. The two thin girls giggled as they swayed down the street, grasping onto each other for balance. Their footsteps echoed as they continued down the dimly lit, deserted alley.

“Dude, happy birthday!” Bryn shouted, then snorted after it echoed throughout the alley.

Arianna began to giggle as her brown hair tumbled down from her ponytail, hiding her face, “You snorted!”

“Shut up,” Bryn feigned anger, then giggled again.

“Well happy 21st to you too,” Arianna replied.

“Aw, thanks!”

They continued to weave down the street when suddenly Bryn gasped and yelled, “He’s really hot!” As the young “hot” man passed by, he brushed back his slightly long dark hair and gave them a sly smile, his sky blue eyes gleaming with mischief.

They giggled again and Arianna said, “I can’t believe you just did that! He totally heard you, now he’s gonna follow us home and demand food.”
They quickly turned around to see the street completely empty. “Whoa, where’d he go?” Bryn paused, “Dude, tooooo many shots.”

After a moment of staring blankly at the road, they continued on their way. Suddenly, they saw a dark figure moving towards them. As he approached them, he smiled and nodded, then continued down the street. The two girls frowned and looked at each other. “Wasn’t that…” Bryn started.

“Noo…” Arianna started.

But just as they started to shake it off, the same young man appeared once again. This time, instead of walking by, he stopped and with a solemn look on his chiseled features whispered, “Turn around. They’re watching you.” His voice echoed throughout the alley.

Unable to respond, they simply stared after him as he pointed at a building, walked toward it and vanished into a mist. They turned to each other, Arianna raising one eyebrow at Bryn.

“What just happened here?” Arianna asked timidly, her hazel eyes loosing their glazed look.

“I…I don’t know,” was all Bryn could say in response.

Arianna glanced at the building the man had pointed at then back down the street they had been heading down. “What should we do?”

Bryn shrugged, “Are we going to listen to some random guy? I mean, what is that place?”

“But… now I’m freaked out, Bryn. I mean, we saw him three times,” Arianna replied worriedly.

“Well, let’s just walk a bit further and see. We’re not that far from home now.”

Arianna nodded, giving the building one final look before they started heading down the empty road once more. “My high is totally gone now,” Bryn sighed.

“Yeah…” Arianna said absentmindedly. She was starting to have a bad feeling, like they should have listened to the man.

As they walked down the street quietly, their footsteps echoed all around them. Just as they were beginning to feel comfortable, they heard something that sent chills up their spines. A high-pitched, chilling laugh filled the air. It seemed to be coming from all around them. They stopped in their tracks.

“What was that?!” Arianna whispered fearfully.

“Uh…” Bryn started, then stopped. The two girls looked at one another and nodded. They turned around and started walking hurriedly toward the building the young man had pointed at.

They reached the door and hurried inside. To their surprise it was a fully lit arcade with all of the games on and running. Yet, there didn’t seem to be a soul in the building as they entered.

“Hello?” Bryn called timidly, brushing her blond-streaked dark hair over her shoulder.

They walked in further, the flashing lights from the different games lighting up the walls, the colors dancing on their faces. “Well I don’t know if this is any better,” Arianna declared.

Just as they were passing a column, a dark figure jumped out from behind it, Bryn screamed as the figure tackled her and pinned her to the floor. She looked up into the face of a young, handsome man; his perfectly mussed black hair gave him an air of confidence as he stared back into her blue-green eyes. “Whoa, you’re not a guy!” he exclaimed in surprise, “Who are you?” he demanded arrogantly.

Before he knew what was happening, Bryn had kneed him in the groin. He fell over to the ground, curled up in a ball. Arianna watched all of this in amazement. Bryn stood up and walked over to her, all the while watching the young man.

“God, why’d you have to do that?!” he whined.

Arianna couldn’t help but laugh, and once she started Bryn caught the bug as well. The young man glared up at them as he uncurled and sat up straight.

“Yeah, ha ha. Man…” he paused and looked the girls up and down, “Well, at least you’re hot.”

They stopped laughing abruptly and Bryn made to go after him again but Arianna stopped her. The young man grinned up at Bryn and said, “So feisty. I like that in a woman.”

He stood up with great pains and walked closer over to them. “Who are you?” Arianna asked him, holding Bryn’s arm to prevent her from hurting him.

He looked them up and down and spread his arms in a look at me gesture, “I’m your wildest fantasy come true, baby.”

Arianna scoffed and replied, “This is getting us nowhere. Obviously when you kneed him in his ‘special area’,” she emphasized with her fingers, “you damaged his brain.”

He scowled over at Arianna. She merely raised her eyebrows in response. “Oh look, he’s lost his ability to speak too.”

He clenched his hands and his golden eyes took on a reddish glow. “My name is Caden,” he said through clenched teeth, “What’re yours? Bitch and Ball-buster?”

The two girls gasped at this remark. Arianna let go of Bryn’s arm and said, “Okay, this time, neuter him.”

Bryn took a step forward toward Caden. “Hold up, ladies, it seems we started off on the wrong foot. Let’s try again,” he said as he took a step back, holding his hands up defensively.

“Fine. You’re Cade. I’m Bryn, this is Arianna,” Bryn replied hotly.

“No, no, no. Cade-n.”

“Okay Cade, we’re all introduced. Now, what is it you’re doing here?” Arianna demanded.

“It’s Caden, and I’m here because… because…”

“Because…?” Bryn raised her eyebrows at him.

“Would you believe that a strange guy appeared out of nowhere and told me that evil people were after me and that if I came to this place he would give me information concerning my parents?” Cade rattled off.

“Wait, what about your parents?” Arianna asked hesitantly.

“You know, average things like, who they were, where they’re from, why they ditched me, that sort of thing. Anything really,” he shrugged offhandedly.

“This guy who told you that, was he really, really hot?” Bryn prodded.

Cade glanced at Arianna as if to ask, Is she for real? Cade turned back to Bryn and replied, “How the hell should I know? I’m not into guys. Why?”

“The thing is, we had a guy tell us to come here too. Well, sort of. Long story short, he appeared on the street three times, said we were being watched and told us to come in here... then seriously just disappeared into a mist. A mist!” Arianna exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

He looked over at Bryn and said, “Translation?”

“Same thing happened to us. Only he mentioned nothing about our parents.”

“Wait, you don’t know your parents either?”

The two girls glanced at each other and then back at Cade. “No,” they said in unison.

“Right, and now you’re gonna tell me that your birthday was five days ago and you suddenly discovered you were a pyromaniac, even though you never were before.”

“Umm… well, half of that is kind of true. My birthday was two days ago and Arianna’s is, well, was, yesterday,” Bryn quietly responded.

“Okay, can I just say I’m officially freaked out now?” Arianna whimpered, “I… can we just go home?”

“Yeah sure, let’s go,” Bryn glanced at Cade, “Nice to meet you but… yeah, good luck with the whole pyro thing. Bye.”

Bryn grabbed Arianna’s hand and turned away from Cade’s stunned face. Before they could take one step toward the door, they heard an unfamiliar masculine voice behind them command, “Stop!”

As they wheeled around they noticed Cade had turned a bit pale and was staring at a figure to his right, the same young man from the road. Cade swallowed hard and gestured toward the man, “Is this your hot guy?”

Bryn nodded slowly as Arianna gaped at him.

“Look I can’t stay long. My name’s Logan Reed and I know you have no reason to believe me, but you’re all in a lot of danger,” he paused, glancing around the room confusedly as his figure began to fade in and out. He disappeared for a moment then reappeared, rubbing his head. “Sorry, I’m new at this. I… I just had to warn you so that they wouldn’t get you too—“

“Who’s they?” Cade demanded, “What do they want us for?”

“I don’t know, something about ‘the four.’ I… they’re coming!” his head jerked to one side and he let out a cry of pain as he fell, “Run…” he gasped hoarsely before fading.

The three of them remained silent for a moment and then Cade started laughing, “You have got to be kidding me!”

Bryn frowned at him, “Do you have a better explanation? The mob? The government? No, no, here’s the winner, aliens! Right?”

Cade narrowed his eyes at Bryn as Arianna cut in, “How do we even know there’s someone after—“

The sound of breaking glass cut her off mid-sentence. As they turned, tranquilizer guns followed by the rough-looking men holding them burst through the windows.

“…us,” Arianna finished her sentence.

“Holy shit!” Cade exclaimed.

“Now would be a good time to run,” Bryn grabbed their arms.

The moment Bryn’s fingers touched their arms, a powerful jolt rocked through them and passed into the ground. The earth shook and the lights went out. Suddenly the screech of the fire alarm sounded through the building, setting off the sprinklers.

Cade gasped, “Ignoring the fact that I feel like I just put my finger in an electrical outlet, how do we get out of here?”

Cade’s words were only a muffled background to the sound of rushing water that filled Bryn’s head. She looked up at the ceiling and could feel the water flowing through the pipes, it seemed to be calling her, telling her to follow it.

“This way,” she whispered, pulling them forward. She didn’t know where she was going exactly, but for some reason it just felt right.

“Where are we—“ Arianna began but was shushed quickly by Bryn.

“Just trust me.”

“Now where have I heard that before?” Cade mumbled.

Ahead was the bright neon green of the Exit sign. Behind them they heard the cursing of the men with the guns as they slid across the wet floor.

“Shoot them, dammit! They can’t get away!” one of the men shouted.

Light flashed from the guns as shots were fired at random across the room. Bryn pushed open the Emergency Exit door and led the other two outside with her into a dark alley.

“Umm… guys… We have a slight probl…” Cade slurred as he slumped to the ground.

“What? Oh God…” Arianna kneeled down next to Cade. She reached over to feel his pulse.

“Is he... alive?”

“Yes, the stupid bastard. He got shot in the butt with a tranquilizer dart,” Arianna said as she pulled out the dart and threw it to the ground.

“Come on, grab his arm,” Bryn commanded as she knelt down and grabbed a hold of him.

The two girls hauled the unconscious Cade down the alley. “Umm… question, where are we going?” Arianna asked, “He isn’t exactly light. We can’t carry him forever, and those men are eventually going to figure out that we’re not still in the arcade.”

“Let’s go to Denny’s. They’re used to weird people coming in at odd hours. Besides, it’s only a block away,” Bryn responded.

They shifted him around until they had a good grip and then headed out onto the main road, his feet dragging on the ground.


Inside Denny’s, the hostess gave them a strange look before seating them in a booth in the corner. She handed them the menus and said, “If your friend is going to get sick, you’re paying for the cleanup.”

Arianna turned to Bryn, “Do people get sick after they’re tranquilized?”

Bryn shrugged, “I hope not.”

The hostess walked off toward the front, giving them a suspicious glance along the way. Bryn frowned at her then turned back to Cade, sitting him up straight. Despite her efforts, he slumped back over onto her shoulder, his mouth slack. “Oh God, is he going to drool on me?”

Arianna just laughed at the sight of them. Her smile faded and slowly turned into a frown as she stared down at the menu in front of her.

“What?” Bryn asked her, trying to rock Cade’s head back the other way.

Arianna looked back up at Bryn and shrugged, “How.. how did you know where to go back there? In the arcade I mean.”

Bryn’s eyes took on a far-off look when Arianna asked that question. It took her a moment to respond, “I don’t know exactly. I mean, it felt like… No, it’s too crazy.”

“What?”

Bryn bit her lip as she glanced around the restaurant. “It was like I could feel the water moving through the pipes, like I was a part of it. That’s the only way I know how to explain it.”

Arianna raised her eyebrows at Bryn as she listened. “Yeah… okay.”

Bryn shook her head and laughed a little, “I told you it would sound crazy.”

“Well, it would, except, when we all t
touched… did you feel it too?” Arianna asked, a frown starting to play on her eyebrows.

Bryn nodded. The two girls sat silently for a few moments, not sure what to say anymore. Nothing made sense to them now. Only a few hours before they had been celebrating their birthdays in a bar, getting madly drunk, and now they were in the middle of something neither one of them could even begin to explain. Yet, somehow, they both felt it was meant to be.

A waitress shuffled up to the table, her order pad at the ready. “So what can I get you?”

“Uh…” Arianna grabbed the menu and started leafing through it.

“I could use some water,” Bryn said.

“Yeah, me too,” Arianna added.

The waitress pointed her pen at Cade, “What about him?”

Bryn looked down at Cade who was still asleep on her shoulder and smiled mischievously, “He’ll have whatever is the most expensive thing on your menu.”

“Bryn,” Arianna scolded halfheartedly.

The waitress raised an eyebrow at Arianna. Arianna just sighed, “Fine, whatever.”

The waitress shrugged and then traipsed off to the kitchen to put in the order for whatever it was Bryn got Cade. Arianna glanced over at Bryn and shook her head at her. “What?” Bryn demanded.

“We don’t even know if he has any money for one thing. And…” Arianna glanced around the restaurant, “What if this place isn’t safe? Those guys didn’t look like they would be giving up too easily….”

Before Arianna finished her sentence, Bryn was pushing Cade off of her and reaching for his back pocket. “What exactly are you doing?” Arianna questioned.

“Getting his wallet, what do you think?”

“Oh.”

Bryn reached down into his back pocket and pulled out Cade’s wallet. His neck was at an odd angle against the cushion of the booth seat, but he didn’t seem to mind in his unconscious state. Arianna inched closer to Bryn to get a look at his wallet as well.

Immediately, Bryn opened up the wallet and looked into the pocket in the back for money. In the pocket were two twenties and a couple ones, nothing to be too excited over. “Damn, I thought this kid might be loaded,” Bryn sighed as she closed the pocket and looked at his driver’s license.

“Caden M. Philips. Blah blah blah…” Bryn was leafing through his other cards as Arianna grinned at his driver’s license picture.

“Ah ha.. he has a car insurance card,” Bryn raised her eyebrows at Arianna.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to…”

But before Arianna could say it, Bryn was already reaching down into Cade’s front pocket, fishing around for his keys. As she came up empty handed in one pocket and went for the other, Cade began to stir. Neither of the girls noticed as Bryn’s hand felt the keys in his other pocket.

“Hey now, what do you think you’re doing?” Cade suddenly asked. Bryn jumped as she pulled the keys out of his pocket. Arianna laughed as Cade snatched his keys from Bryn. “Those, my dear, are not yours.”

She backed away from him in disgust as he quickly sat up. He grabbed his head and winced. “Bad idea,” he muttered to himself as he stretched his neck from side to side.

“Well, finally,” Arianna said, watching Cade.

“Huh?” he asked, then glanced around the restaurant in confusion, “Where are we? What happened?”

Bryn glanced toward the ceiling in exasperation as Arianna sighed. “Denny’s. And trust me, it was not easy to carry your sorry ass over here,” Arianna said.

“Well sorry but it wasn’t like I planned on that dart hitting me,” Cade replied.

“Not the point, Cade. Not the point,” Bryn shot back.

“Whatever,” he said quietly as he blinked his eyes hard, as if they were out of focus, “Remind me to never get hit with one of those again.”

Cade glanced around and noticed his wallet on the counter. “What exactly were you guys doing while I was out?” he asked, grabbing his wallet and checking the bills in the back.

The girls gave each other a look and Bryn couldn’t help but smile. He looked back and forth between them and shook his head in exasperation. “Actually, we were trying to figure out what we should do. Sort of,” Arianna answered.

Cade put his wallet back into his pocket as the waitress came over with the waters. As soon as she set them down he snatched one up and swiftly downed the entire glass. The waitress raised her eyebrows at him then stalked away.

“Umm.. wow,” Bryn commented.

He set the glass down, “What? I was thirsty.”


(there will be more added as time goes on, it's a work in progress! but let me know what you think of it so far!)