This story is going to end with Daniel all alone.
...Everything around was dark. An empty, cold void, surrounding every inch of existing space. Amongst the darkness, someone floated around, a boy with his eyes closed and a deep wound on his shoulder. The blood coming out of his wounds was slowly flying out like in a non-gravity room, getting engulfed in the deep void. His consciousness was slowly drifting away. Yet, moments Before he was out completely, a voice echoed in the darkness, calling out his name.
"Daniel!"
A female voice screamed. It kept crying out his name, getting louder. As if the voice's source was getting closer and closer.
"Daniel! Where are you?!"
His consciousness was slowly fading, right on the brink of disappearing completely. Yet, his will started trying to take control of his body to do something.
"Daniel...?"
The voice became softer and more hopeless in tone. The boy's will, however, was not giving up, gathering up all the strength that was left in his body, the boy opened his eyes.
"Daniel!"
A different voice called his name. Looking up, no longer in the strange dark space, Daniel saw the white ceiling of his room. He turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw his sister standing in the doorway of his room.
"Dude, why weren't you answering when I was calling you?"
"Ughh... Because I was asleep?"
Daniel gave her a half-hearted response, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Well, maybe if you weren't staying up untill 4am all the time, you wouldn't be falling asleep in the middle of the day?"
"Well, maybe that's none of your business? Anyway, what do you want?
Daniel said, as he got up and sat on his bed.
"Ohhh, you know what I want."
"Uhh, no? I don't?"
After answering her, he gave her an indifferent look.
"I'm going out with Thomas today, right? So I take my wallet and I see something strange. I had 60 bucks a few days ago and today I'm ten dollars short. Since I didn't spend it on anything, mom wouldn't borrow my money without asking first, and as far as I know, nobody robbed me in these past few days, the only suspect is you. So don't even start with any of your bullshit."
The siblings exchanged glances. After a short silence, Daniel sighed and answered, looking away.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You don't, huh...? Well, maybe I counted it wrong?"
Daniel glanced at her. She folded her arms and continued.
"I have an idea! I'll go downstairs to get my stuff. After five minutes, I'll go back to my room and recount my money. If the number isn't 60 that time, I'll call mom and we'll go look for it together when she gets back. How does that sound?"
"...Do what you will. I don't care."
Daniel answered and laid down, turning away from Amanda. She rolled her eyes and left the room. Daniel listened to her going down the stairs. When she came all the way down, he reached for his nightstand and grabbed his cellphone. He dialed a number. After a few seconds, a voice answered on the other end.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Carl... Is Finn at your place already?"
"No, not yet. He'll be here in while though... Why? Is something up?"
Daniel, still lying on his bed, rolled over on his back with a sigh.
"Yeah... You could say so. I don't have any money after all. So I'm not going out today."
"Uhh... You're shitting me, right? Yesterday you said you had the money. What happened to it?"
"Does it matter? I just don't have it anymore."
Daniel answered as he got up from the bed and walked out of his room.
"Ugh, fine. We'll pay for you. So get changed and be ready for us outside."
"No, Carl. I owe you and Finn enough money already."
"Come on dude, what else are you gonna do on a saturday? Sit in your room all day? Besides, maybe if you weren't getting your ass grounded all the time, you would have money and wouldn't need to borrow any from us?"
Daniel rolled his eyes as he entered his sister's room.
"You two just go out without me today. I'll be sure to have some money for next week."
"Ehhh... If that's what you want, fine. See you in school I guess."
Carl anwsered with a sigh. Daniel hung up. Then, he reached into his pocket and took out the ten dollars, placing it on his sister's drawer next to her wallet. After taking a few steps towards the door, his eyes wandered to the shelf that was hanging over his sister's bed. Its contents were numerous awards and certificates for achievements in education.
"To Amanda Anderson, for placing 1st place in the Noorwood 2011 math tournament!"
That, and many other similar awards were sitting on the shelf. Daniel gave the reward a bitter look, and left Amanda's room. After that, he entered his room and collapsed on the bed.
"...What a weird-ass dream..."
It wasn't uncommon for Daniel to have bizarre dreams, but there was something very unnerving to him about the one he had today. It felt more real than any of his other dreams, almost as if it was like a distant memory. Then, Daniel was taken out of his thoughts by Amanda's yelling.
"Hey, would you look at that? I found my ten dollars!"
Annoyed, Daniel rolled his eyes. He stood up from the bed and reached for the remote sitting on his CD radio. He laid back down and turned on the radio. The sound of a rock band's song quickly spread through Daniel's room. Just as he was starting to relax, he once again heard Amanda's voice.
"Daniel, turn that down, will you? We need to talk."
Daniel picked up the remote and reluctantly paused the music, then looked at her.
"Look, I'm sorry for ruining your plans by taking back the ten dollars you stole, but taking my money without asking is totally uncool. You know that, right?"
"...I was gonna give it back to you when I got my allowance, and you wouldn't even notice it was ever gone."
He gave her an indifferent response, and looked away.
"Don't you see this isn't about giving it back, Daniel? It's about the fact that you took it without my permission."
"It's not like you'd just give it to me anyway, so why even ask?"
Amanda sighed. After a moment of awkward silence, she again spoke.
"Look... I'm too tired for this argument, so just listen. I'm going on a date with Thomas today, I had test after test these past three weeks, I'm tired as hell and I just wanna enjoy a day off with my boyfriend. Mom is working till' late today and she asked me to look after you... But we both don't want that, do we?"
"...Your point being?"
Daniel asked, she carried on:
"You're not a kid anymore. So let's just be adults about this, okay? I'll let this ten-dollar incident slide. We'll just forget about this like it never happened. In exchange, you're gonna behave today and not pull off any dumb shit that will get you in trouble."
"...You're seriously gonna let me off the hook that easily? I thought it was your life priority to make sure all the bad stuff I do gets reported to mom."
Daniel looked at Amanda, surprised by her strangely forgiving attitude. She continued.
"Like I said, I want to spend my day off with Thomas, so I don't have the time to deal with you today. And I doubt either of us wants to spend our saturday at each other's throats over these ten dollars. So do we have a deal, or not?"
"Well... For me, it's either that or getting my ass grounded for another week. So yeah, we have a deal."
He answered her with a sigh. Amanda smirked, crossing her arms.
"Well, well, would you look at that? Daniel Anderson can actually be reasoned with! Who would have thought?"
Just as Daniel was about to say something back, they heard a honk of a car outside.
"Oh, that must be Thomas. I'm leaving!"
Amanda said, as she rushed to her room. Daniel sighed. He stood up and walked after her into the corridor. Looking into Amanda's room, he saw her hurriedly picking up her things.
"I might stay over at Thomas' place for the night, so you'll have the entire house for yourself to do whatever. There's still food left in the fridge, so don't order any junk food!"
"Yeah, no shit. I don't have any money anyway."
"And make sure you pick up mom's phone calls. You know how she gets when you don't!"
"I know! You tell me that literally every time you go out!"
Daniel answered as Amanda ran past him and walked down the stairs, when she reached the bottom, she looked up at him and said;
"Also, Daniel?"
"What?!"
Daniel exclaimed, getting slightly annoyed.
"...Thanks. For being mature about this."
"Yeah, sure, whatever! Go already, your Romeo is waiting!"
Amanda rolled her eyes and hurried to the front door. Moments later she slid into Thomas's car, clicked her seatbelt into place and shot him a quick;
"What's up?"
"Nothing much... So... How's the little devil?"
"Uhh, better, I think? He's kinda less of an asshole today... But then again, he did steal ten dollars from me..."
Thomas smirked, looking at the window of Daniel's room.
"I always told you, that someday that rebellious phase of his is gonna end."
"Uhhh... Believe me, it is FAR from over."
"Well... Small steps, am I right?"
Amanda sighed, quickly trying to change the topic.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess. Can we go already? And can we like, please stop talking about Daniel? Today is about us, not him."
"Yeah, yeah. Your wish is my command milady."
Thomas answered as they drove off the driveway and took off into the city. Daniel peered out of the window, looking at the couple leaving. When Thomas's car was no longer in sight, Daniel picked up the remote and unpaused the music, turning up the volume. The sound of the song spreading throughout the entire house. Meanwhile, in the quiet suburbs, Ellie stepped onto her porch, immediately noticing the sharp smell of cigarettes. She glanced at her friend Mia, and exclaimed;
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Mia?"
Mia returned her gaze, impishly taking another puff of the cigarette.
"Well, since you were taking your sweet time in there, I decided I might as well smoke up."
"Stub that out already, last time my mom busted me out here."
Crossing her arms, Ellie gave a firm look.
"Come on, your mom wouldn't bust me."
"Don't be so sure, smartass, she can sniff this out from a mile away. And that shitty brand you smoke smells like burning tires, so stub it out already."
"Ehh, you're such a wuss."
Mia smirked, before dropping the cigarette on the ground and stubbing it out with her shoe. Satisfied, Ellie sat down beside her.
"Why are you even so scared about your mom seeing you smoking out here? You're eighteen, not twelve."
"She's always been obsessed with this whole 'fit' and 'healthy' lifestyle, and smoking, I guess, is the opposite."
Ellie said. Letting out a feverish sigh, she laid down on the ground and looked up at the sky.
"You know... It's kinda sad."
"What is?"
Mia asked, looking over at Ellie, her eyes still glued to the sky.
"How time just passes by, you know? It feels like we were still playing with dolls and shit not that long ago. Yet we're already in our senior year of high school, and only a few months are between us and the finals... I just feel weird sometimes, thinking about what's gonna happen to us once we graduate... Like, say we go to different colleges, would we still keep in contact?"
"What kind of a stupid question is that? Of course we would, girl."
Mia smirked, rolling onto her back beside Ellie. After a pause, she added;
"You're sure as hell right about one thing, time fucking flies... Honestly? I still don't know what I'm gonna do after high school. On one hand, I was thinking college, leave this shithole of a town behind... But deep down I know that if I leave, I'm gonna miss the shit out of it. On the other hand, I can always just take over mom's corner shop, but then, I'll spend days and nights thinking about what my life would have looked like had I done something differently."
"...Isn't college a given? You can always come back if shit doesn't work out."
Ellie sat up, shaking off the ground.
"Alright, enough of this emo shit, let's get outta here and take a walk."
"Ugh, do we have to?"
Mia rolled her eyes but reluctantly stood up. Just then, two boys rode past on bikes. Carl and Finn glanced at the girls before turning their attention back to the road.
"Uhh, so he's seriously not coming today?"
"Yup, apparently the ten dollars he had yesterday vanished."
The two of them were riding their bikes along the side of the forest road, heading towards a small skatepark the city built a few years ago. Hearing Carl's confirmation, Finn commented;
"Yeah right, he probably pissed off Amanda, she snitched on him, and he's not getting his allowance till the end of next week, for the hundredth time this year."
"Definetley. When was the last time he wasn't grounded, anyway?"
Carl rubbed the back of his neck and hesitated before answering.
"Maybe like... A month ago or something? Man, it sucks that he got held back. Outside of passing periods we barely see his ass anymore. But hey, maybe he'll come hang out sometime this year."
They kept driving in silence, passing house by house, getting closer to their destination. Then, Carl had a sudden thought.
"Hey, since Alex is coming back in a few days, then maybe if we can get Daniel outside next weekend, we all get together, drive up to Fargo and go hit the arcades? We haven't done that in like, what? Half a year, or something... Finn?"
When he didn't get a response, Carl stopped his bike and turned around. Finn had stopped behind him, and was looking to their right. Carl turned in the sane direction, noticing a man with a rifle walking out of his house.
"Hey, look at that, Lyla's dad is going hunting."
As Finn spoke, the man noticed the boys and gave them a light head nod.
"Hello, Mr. Bailey!"
Carl yelled out to the man, who then turned away and walked behind his house. Disappearing behind the trees. After a moment of silence, Finn asked a question.
"By the way... Doesn't Lyla's dad come to have lunch at your mom's diner all the time?"
"Uhhh, I wouldn't say all the time, but yeah, he's a regular. Why?"
"Well, has he told your mom anything about Lyla? She's skipping school again, and remember that math Daniel was stressing about all week? She probably didn't take it. I mean, how the hell is she expecting to catch up with all of this?"
Carl looked back at Finn and shrugged his shoulders.
"I honestly don't know. Lyla always had health problems, right? So she's probably just sick again. Why?"
"Just curious, she's gonna have to repeat the year if she keeps this up, after all."
Carl let out a sigh, and looked up at the sky, before hopping back on his bike.
"Well, get your ass moving, the weather lady said it's probably gonna rain later today, I wanna have some fun at the skate park before that happens."
Having said that, Carl started driving. Finn rolled his eyes, and got on his bike as well, and quickly caught up to Carl. after a short while of silent driving, Carl once again spoke up.
"If you're curious about what's going on with Lyla, don't you think you should ask Daniel? These two were always chummy together. If not for the shit that happened with Daniel's dad two years ago, you'd think he got held back so he can be in the same class as her."
"Nah, it's probably best if we leave him be today. You know what he's like after he gets into a fight with Amanda."
"True that... Also, you didn't answer me before, how do arcades in Fargo next week sound?"
Across town, at the Garcia family diner, two men sat across from each other. One of them stared off, clearly out of it, until the man in front of him leaned forward and spoke.
"Hey, Rick!"
Startled, Rick looked over at his brother Dave. His glare a mix of disappointment and annoyance.
"You didn't hear a single word I said, huh?"
"No, no... Dave, I'm listening, go on."
Dave scoffed. The diner's waitress, Clare Garcia walked over to them.
"Want anything else, you two?"
"Perfect timing as always, Clare! One coffee for my dumbass brother, please."
"Sure thing, Dave."
Rick looked over at Dave, who almost instinctively looked back at him.
"For your hangover, and don't thank me. You're gonna pay me back for that."
"What hangover, I don't know what you're talking abo-"
"Really? You're gonna go down that road?"
Rick rubbed his eyes with a sigh, taking a defensive stance.
"Look... I just had a couple of beers, that's it."
"Pff, yeah right. Just a couple."
"It's been a long week of work, Dave. What, I'm not allowed to relax?"
Dave gave him an unimpressed look.
"...You know? You really should start working on some sense of responsibility here, Rick. You're a cop, goddamnit. So act like one."
"Yeah, sure, because you were never hungover at the job."
"No, I wasn't. Because unlike you, I take my job seriously."
Just then, Clare walked over to them, and placed a cup of hot coffee on the table, Dave gave her a slight nod as thanks. When she walked away, he turned his attention back to his brother.
"We always end up having the same conversation, don't we?"
"Maybe if you weren't so hard on me all the time, we wouldn't?"
Just as Dave was about to respond, they heard a commotion outside.
"Stop! Thief!"
Dave stood up from his seat and looked outside. He saw a teenaged girl in faded, well-worn clothes, her long blonde hair streaked with pink at the ends, running out of a local store. Her hands overflowing with shoplifted food. In fact, she had so many things, she was gradually dropping more and more as she ran.
"What the actual fuck?"
Dave mumbled to himself, he jumped up from his seat and ran out of the diner, leaving all of his things behind. Rick, finally noticing the commotion, stood and peered outside. The other diners had all turned to watch. Rick watched in bafflement as his brother chased the girl, shouting for her to stop.
"...I think I'm still drunk..."
Not far away, in the Noorwood forest by a small stream, Daniel sat on a stump, skipping stones across the water. The chirping birds amd rustling leaves brought life to the otherwise silent forest.
"What the hell am I getting so worked up about? That was just a stupid dream, anyway."
Daniel mumbled to himself. He reached into his pocket and took out a cell phone, before going into the SMS tab and selecting his chat with 'Lyla Bailey'.
"I just need some, Daniel. I'll text you when I'm ready to talk."
That message was sent by Lyla two weeks ago. And Daniel didn't expect to hear back from her anytime soon. With a sigh, Daniel reached out for another rock to throw, that was when he heard rustling nearby. He turned in the direction of the noise and listened carefully. Suddenly, a girl with long blonde hair tipped pink ran out from the bushes and fell down on the ground. Her clothes looked ragged and she had too many tattoos to count. Clearly, she was not from around here.
"Uhhh... What the hell are you doin-"
"HEY, STOP RUNNING ALREADY, GODDAMMNIT!"
Daniel's words were interrupted by a voice that was all too familiar to him, the voice of officer Dave Gonzalez. The girl and Daniel both looked in the direction of the voice. They exchanged glances, as they could hear the sounds of Dave running closer and closer. After running for what felt like miles Dave found himself next to the small pond. Quickly eyeing the area, he noticed Daniel Anderson sitting on a small stump, looking at him with a expression that was somehow a mix of both confusion and indifference.
"Great... This is the last thing I need today..."
He thought to himself as he approached Daniel.
"Daniel, did you see a girl running somewhere nearby?"
"Uhh... What are you talking about?"
Daniel replied, visibly confused. Dave quickly added;
"Ughhh... A girl, blonde hair with pink tips, a bit taller than you, probably in her early twenties. Have you seen her or not?"
"... No? I didn't see anyone, let alone someone who fits your weird description... Why are you even asking me this?"
Dave let out a long sigh, judging that he must have lost the girl, he whipped the sweat off of his forehead.
"The girl I just described stole a bunch of things from the Greens' store... I chased her, but since the brat was quick, she reached the woods and must have lost me a short while back."
Daniel looked at him and smirked.
"Are you seriously so bad at your job that you can't even catch some girl? Pff, serve and protect my ass, Dave."
"That's Officer Dave to you, so watch your mouth, Daniel. You're lucky I don't have the time to deal with you right now."
Dave turned from Daniel, and reached into this pockets. Quickly noticing his phone was missing. Annoyed, he picked up the walkie talkie strapped to his belt.
"Hey, Rick. It's me. I lost sight of the suspect and she got away. Hope you're in condition to drive because I'm gonna go back to the car so we can go back to the station and file a report... Oh and pick up my phone while you're at it. I did leave it back at the diner, right?"
"...Oh, yeah, I already took it with me... So uhh, I'm gonna park by that ghetto skatepark, so you don't have to go all the way back. See you there."
Dave strapped the walkie talkie back to his belt, he then turned his attention back to Daniel.
"I'm gonna have to file everything regarding this shoplifter, so do me a solid, will you? Get home early today, or at least pick up the goddamn phone calls from your mother. Last thing I need today is her calling past midnight again, saying you're out somewhere, not picking up your phone."
"Fine, Mr. Officer Dave, I'll grant your wish so long as you leave me alone already."
Daniel answered in a sarcastic tone, Dave gave him an unimpressed look, he turned away and started walking in the opposite direction, after a few steps, he stopped. He looked back at Daniel and said;
"You know... Sometimes it wouldn't hurt you to be a little nicer to the people who look out for you."
Daniel looked back at him, Dave turned back around and continued walking. When he was no longer in sight, Daniel waited a short while, he then turned towards the bushes in the trees and spoke up.
"...You can come out now."
The girl that Dave was after came out of the bushes. She slowly walked up towards Daniel.
"Well... That was a close one, huh?"
"Uh... Yeah, you're welcome by the way. And just what the hell did you steal that got Dave to chase you all the way out here?"
"Oh, come on! That was hardly stealing! I was ten bucks short and told the cashier I'd come back with the rest later. She tells me that since I'm not from around here she can't trust me and threatened to call the cops, so I left the money that I had on the counter, grabbed the stuff and ran out. And to add insult to injury, when we were out performing on the streets today we had like five different people telling us to piss off. No offence kid, but the people in your town are real assholes."
After listening to the girl's poor excuse for stealing, Daniel let out a long sigh.
"Ten dollars, huh? So you're a drifter, then... Well, don't take this the wrong way but after the stunt you pulled today it would be best for you to leave town before Dave and the fun partol busts your ass."
"Yeah no kidding... Well, thanks for not ratting me out. Your name is Daniel, right? You're an alright kid, you know? My name's Cassidy."
"Cassidy... Yeah, right..."
Daniel said as he stood up from the stump and looked up at the sky. Although it wasn't that late, due to the incoming storm clouds, it was getting darker by the minute. Suddenly, Daniel felt a cold drop of rain hit his forehead, He looked at the pond and noticed drops of rain starting to hit the surface of the water.
"Ah shit, the storm's coming faster than I thought... Well... I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get outta here before it starts to pour."
As Daniel stared walking away, Cassidy spoke up again.
"Uhhh, yeah. So... That cop chased me pretty far into this forest, and uhh..."
"...You don't know how to find your way back, do you?"
Cassidy nodded. Daniel let out a long sigh in response.
"Ugh, fine... But there's no way in hell that I'm walking out onto the streets with a shoplifter in brought daylight, so here's the deal. I'll walk you to my house, you can find your way back from there. Deal?"
"Seriously? Yeah, that would be great!"
"Alright. Let's get going then, before we both get soaked."
Daniel turned around and started walking towards the shortest way back to his house, Cassidy followed a few steps behind him. The rain was getting colder and heavier. A small wind started to pick up as well. About 15 minutes later, the two of them reached Daniel's house. The rain caught up with them, however, and both of them were soaked.
"God-fucking-dammit... I told you we should have ran to my house instead!"
"Whatever, dude! How about you try running from a cop for like 20 minutes straight? And more than half of that in a damn forest?"
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you tried stealing from that store? And besides, coudn't you have just left a few things and paid for what you could? Or maybe just, I don't know? Left, and come back with enough cash and buy all the stuff you needed?"
Cassidy rolled her eyes. She looked over at Daniel, as he was unlocking the back door to his house.
"Hey, I know this is weird and all since we just met but is there any chance you could let me in till' this rain passes?"
"Yeah, sure. And maybe I'll make you tea while I'm at it? Not a chance in hell."
"Oh, come on! You're really gonna make me sit out here? It's cold as fuck!"
Daniel looked over at her. Just as he was about to say no again, something in the way she stood on his porch, clothes soaked from the rain, made him recall a winter night from one and a half years ago. He'd told himself he wasn't going home. Not when the walls felt like they were pressing in. When every word from his mom was about bills. When Amanda had stopped asking about the school trip she knew she couldn't go to. Back then, he'd been the one standing out in the cold, convincing himself that it was better to wait it out anywhere else than spend another minute in the house. Dave found him at a bus stop, and after a bit of back and forth convinced Daniel to warm up in his patrol car. Now, staring at the stranger in front of him, Daniel hated how easy it was to picture her in his place.
"Ughhh... Fine, come in, but if you try to swoop anything I'll deliver your sorry ass straight to Dave myself, got that?"
"Seriously?! Thanks, you're a life saver!"
A few minutes later, as Cassidy was drying off her wet hair, she turned to Daniel and asked;
"Can you let me borro-"
Before she could even finish her sentance, without a word, Daniel threw her another towel.
"That's one moody kid I've ran into today... But then again, he didn't rat me out to that cop despite the fact they seemed to already know each other..."
Cassidy thought, as she dried herself with the towel. After a rather long moment of silence, she decided to ask Daniel about it.
"Hey, that cop... What was his name, Dave? You two know each other? Is he like your uncle or something?"
"He's a pain in the ass is what he is. Him and my parents know each other pretty well, that's pretty much it."
Cassidy looked around the living room of Daniel's house. It was the definition of an ordinary American living room. The only thing that cought her eye was the fact that there were no family photos of any kind around the place.
"So... How long do you think it's gonna rain for? Did the forecast mention anything?"
"I don't watch the forecast, so who knows... The clouds didn't look all that dark though, so it shouldn't be that long. Are you in a hurry?"
"Well, my friends will be worried if I'm gone for long. I was just supposed to go buy some supplies for the road, and look how that turned out."
Somewhat intrigued, Daniel asked;
"So you're not alone? You in a group or something?"
"I wouldn't really call it a group, it's just me and three friends I met on the road. We're traveling across the country, playing music and doing odd jobs here and there to get by, you know?"
"Huh, I bet there's a lot of stories, then."
Cassidy put down her towel, immediately noticing his curiosity.
"You bet your ass there are. I can tell you some mildly interesting ones, if you want. Consider it my thanks to you for helping me out."
Back in the forest, it was almost two hours after Dave gave up on chasing the shoplyfter. Exhausted, Dave was sitting in the forest, leaning on a tree behind him.
What a shitty day...
Dave thought to himself. A few seconds later he grabbed the walkie-talkie strapped to his belt, and shouted into it.
"Goddamit, can anyone hear me on this thing?!"
His attempts to contact someone were futile. The intese wind along with the heavy rain were messing with the walkie-talkie's signal. Because of this, Dave couldn't contact Rick. And having left his phone back at the diner, there was no way for Dave to look up where he was or call for help. Just then, Dave heard a muffled voice coming from him walkie-talkie, despite the weak signal, he could make out what the voice said.
"Hello? Dave, are you there?"
Relieved, Dave grabbed the walkie-talkie and quickly answered.
"Rick! About damn time! This goddamn weather is fucking up the signal!"
"What's taking you so long? It's been almost two hours since you went after that girl and I'm still waiting for you by the skatepark!"
Dave's eyes wandered at his swelling leg.
"Believe me, if I could, I'd be back by now, but I got lost. Then on top of that I lost my goddamn footing and must have sprained my ankle or something... It hurts like a bitch. I don't know how but you'll have to come help me out."
"Ah shit... Well, do you have any idea where the hell you even are?"
"Last landmark I can remember is that pond where the high schoolers hang around sometimes, then I went off south... or maybe west? I have no clue. So move your ass and call for some backup."
There was no answer, only static. Dave sighed as he strapped his walkie-talkie back to his belt. The wind, along with the sound of the rain, created the only noise in the forest. Suddenly, Dave heard a loud rustle somewhere in the darkness. At first, Dave thought it was Rick, but then he thought to himself, that it was impossible for Rick to find him that fast. Dave felt his heart skip a beat and immediatly grabbed the flashlight sitting on the ground, he aimed it in the direction of the noise.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
There was no answer. Dave was looking around, listening for the smallest sound. And yet, nothing. He let out a long sigh, and thought to himself.
"What the hell am I getting so worked up about for? It was probably some animal in the bushes or my imagination playing tricks on me."
Dave turned his flashlight away from the bushes and reached out for his walkie-talkie once more. He pressed its button, hoping that Rick would answer.
"Rick, can you hear me?"
As expected, due to the bad weather Dave didn't get an answer. Then, suddenly, in the spot where the sound had previously come from, lit a pair of heterochromatic eyes.
"Humans are such frail creatures... A sprained ankle is all it takes to completely immobilize them... No fangs, no claws... And to thing such a weak species took over the world."
Suddenly, Dave noticed someone standing in front of him. The thing in front of him was a dark silhouette that appeared to come out of nowhere. Bewildered, Dave eyed the thing in front of him. It's skin was the colour of tar, a complete contrast to it's long, white hair. It's glowing eyes were different colours, one red and the other one purple.
"W-Wha... What...?"
Dave thought, as he quickly reached for his gun and pointed it at the thing in front of him.
"WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
He screamed, yet the creature didn't even flinch. The thing looked at the gun Dave was pointing at it. It then spoke with in a calm, raspy voice.
"A powerful weapon, isn't it? All you have to do is aim it, pull it's trigger in order to deal a fatal blow..."
The thing took a step forward, the light of the flashlight that Dave dropped started flickering more and more as the thing approached.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"
Then, the sound of a loud bang spread through the forest. Hearing the gunshot, Rick quickly turned in the direction of the sound.
"What the hell is going on there?"
He mumbled to himself, as he started running towards he direction of the noise. Elsewhere, the sound of a ringing phone filled a small, yet comfy living room. After a few rings, a woman cooking something in the kitchen picked it up.
"Hello?"
The woman quickly noticed the voice on the other line was Lauren Anderson, the mother of Daniel and Amanda Anderson.
"Um, yes she's here. She's with Tom, why? Oh... Oh really now? Well... Wait a second, I'll call her right over."
The woman placed the phone on the table, before walking to her son's room. She knocked and let herself in after a few seconds. She saw Amanda and Thomas laying on the bed, sunggled together, watching a movie on his TV. They both looked at her.
"Hey you two, sorry I'm interrupting, but Amanda dear, your mom is on the phone and she says it's important..."
Amanda rolled her eyes, and looked over at Thomas, who shrugged his arms.
"...Go on, the movie ain't going nowhere."
Amanda reluctantly got up from the bed. She walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Hello? What is it mom?"
"Hey sweetie, am I interrupting?"
"Uhh, no. Not at all, I'm with Thomas. What is it?"
Amanda asked, as she leaned over the table, waiting for her mom to continue.
"You see the rain that's going on outside, right? I called home to make sure Daniel isn't out in this weather and he isn't answering either the home phone or his cell phone..."
Amanda, already getting angry by the news of Daniel not answering the phone, responded in a confused tone.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Believe me dear, I feel horrible about this, but I'm working late today and I can't leave the office yet, so please... Would you quickly go home to check if he's there? You know how he is sometimes..."
"Come on, seriously?!"
Thomas heard the tone in Amanda's voice change. He entered the kitchen as well, then exchanged a look with Amanda as she continued talking with her mom.
"Mom, you know barely had any time to myself these past weeks! And I'm sure Daniel's home, he's just too lazy to pick up the phone, like always!"
Thomas looked at Amanda. After a short while of listening to her mom, she gave her an annoyed "Fine". And put the phone back in it's place. She looked at Thomas with a furious expression.
"I have to go back home, to see if that little shit is there."
Thomas let out a long sigh, and walked up to the coat hanger, grabbing his jacket.
"Ehhh... Well then, come on... Let's go."
Back in the forest, Dave's heart was beating faster than ever before, despite the sound of the wind and the heavy rain, it felt like it was completely silent. The silence in Dave's head was only interrupted when he heard what sounded like a piece of metal hitting the ground. His eyes slowly wandered at the creature's feet, what he saw was the shell of the bullet from his gun, covered in what could only be described as completely black blood.
"...Is that all?"
The creature was staring at Dave, completely unphased. It took another step toward him. As the hole from the bullet in it's head regenerated in mere seconds.
"You humans... Might not be so defenseless when you have your weapons, huh?"
Dave stared at the creature in disbelief. Too shook to run, shoot it once more, or even blink.
"But what do you think will happen when your precious weapons get taken away?"
The creature asked, while a tentacle emerged from it's back. Then, in a swift motion, the tentacle knocked the gun out of Dave's hands.
"That's right... You become completely hopeless."
Then, three more tentacles started to grow out the creature's back. The adrealine hit Dave harder than ever before, so he gathered all the strength that he had, he looked the creature in the eyes and mustered up all the courage he possibly could. He then quickly got up and started running, despite the fact his sprained anckle made it nearly impossible for him to even walk moments before. The creature still stood in place, it looked at the running Dave. It closed it's eyes, and said;
"You humans never learn."
Then, in one swift motion, Dave heard a whist behind him, and suddenly felt a sting in the area of his stomach. His whole body under his chest felt completely numb. Dave slowly looked down, and he saw what had happened. The creature's tentacle had pierced him trough his stomach.
"How sloppy of me, I was sure I aimed at your heart, yet I hit a bit lower... Seems like I'm out of shape."
Dave heard the creature's completely calm voice behind him, he felt all of the adrenaline fade, in it's place came extreme pain. Blood started flowing out of his nose. Then, the creature took it's tentacle out of his body and hid it just as fast as it attacked. In that moment, Dave felt all the strength in his body leave in an instant. He fell to the ground, and started coughing up blood. Dave slowly reached his trembling hand over to the wound and felt just how big the hole in his stomach is. The creature started walking towards him. With the last bits of strength Dave had, he turned onto his back, and looked at the creature that was slowly walking towards him. Despite the pain, managed to say the words:
"Wha... What... T-The hell... Are you?"
The creature stood over him, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Your species has forgotten us millennia ago... But if you're asking for me specifically..."
Barely alive, Dave looked at the creature, waiting for it's answer. The creature closed its glowing eyes and spoke.
"I don't have a name, but, I guess you could call me somewhat of a... Hunter."
The hunter said, as he once more grew a tentacle out of his back. At the same time, music coming out of the radio in Daniel's room was creating a lighter atmosphere compared to the one that was present before between him and Cassidy. Daniel was sitting on his desk, meanwhile Cassidy was lying on his bed, talking about stuff that happened when she was on the road.
"And there was this other time, when we camped out in the forest near this little town, a lot smalled than Noorwood. We were in a diner, right? And these redneck looking guys were giving us the bad eye, like they want us to get the fuck out right now. Later that day when we were sleeping in our tents, I think it was like, two or three in the morning, when we woke up to the sound of gunshots. Obviously we all lose our shit thinking maybe these same guys came to start some nasty shit with us. But nobody came for us, and then the next morning when we leave guess what we see? A roadsigh saying 'Causion, hunting zone ahead'. Can you belive it? We were camping in the middle of a fucking hunting ground!"
"...If there's one moral to the story it's that you guys aren't the smartest people on the planet. How the hell do you even miss something like that?"
"Ah, shut up! That was like the only sign there was!"
Cassidy laughed, only to realise she was the only one who found that funny.
"How long are you on the road anyway?"
"Well... I left home when I was sixteen... And that was three years ago, so there you have it."
Despite being pretty good at reading people thanks meeting countless people during her time on the road, Daniel seemed a strange mystery to her. He didn't laugh at what was in her mind hilarious stories, he only listened and kept asking more questions.
"Oh yeah? Did your parents kick you out or something?"
"Nah, I left on my own. And before you ask, yeah. There's a story behind that too. But I only share that with people I know really well, so no offe-"
"Hey, I get it. Tough subject. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I won't ask."
Daniel interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say. Cassidy nodded in response. Just as she was about to tell him another story;
"DANIEL!"
Amanda's voice suddenly reached their ears. Hearing her, Cassidy looked at Daniel.
"Hey, didn't you say your people were out for the night?"
Cassidy asked in a lowered tone. Daniel quickly got down from his desk.
"They were supposed to... Wait here."
Daniel paused the music. He then walked down the stairs into his living room, meeting eye to eye with Amanda. His sister walked up to him, and confronted him with an furious tone.
"Why aren't you answering phone calls from mom?!"
"...Wait, mom called?"
Amanda gave him a look mixed with anger and bafflement, and spoke.
"YES, She did!"
Daniel looked over at the house phone sitting on a shelf next to the TV, and turned his eyes back on Amanda.
"Well, I didn't hear it, okay? The music must have been too loud."
"Hah! 'Didn't hear it' How absolutely fuckin' wonderful! And since you didn't hear it, my plans can just go to hell, right?"
Weirded out, Daniel looked at her and asked.
"Wait, what are you even getting so worked up about?"
"Ohhh, I'll tell you what! I had a shitton of tests these past three weeks, I was studying like hell and I am exhausted. Today, I finally found some time to just relax with my boyfriend, then I get a call from mom and what do I find out? That I have to go back home, because you can't even be bothered to pick up her calls!"
Once again, Daniel looked at Amanda. He could see it in her eyes, she was mad. But not like all the times she gets annoyed or dissapointed in him, she was genuinely angry.
"We had a deal, you little asshole! You told me that you know to pick up mom's calls, and yet here we are! Looks like your word isn't worth shit!"
"Look, I'm sorry, alright?"
"Wow, how heartfelt of you to say 'Sorry'! You can't even genuinely apologize to me for ruining my night off! Tell me, are you doing this shit on purpose? Do you just hate me? Is that it?"
A little bewildered, Daniel spoke.
"Seriuosly, I-"
"You know what? Don't even bother, whatever you say, I know that you don't give a shit anyway... I'm going back to Thomas' place. Now you take the goddamn phone, call mom, and tell her that I came here to check on you. And if I found out, that you didn't call her, or didn't tell her I was here, I'm gonna make your life hell, understand?"
Said Amanda. Then, after a moment of silence she let out a long sigh.
"...I'm gonna stay at Thomas's place for the night, and I will be back tomorrow around noon, and so will mom. So you have the whole house for yourself... And maybe today don't stay up till morning, huh?"
Amanda added, before leaving the house. Daniel sighed, feeling even more awkward. He then turned to the stairs.
"I know you're standing there, don't pretend that you're not."
Daniel said. Cassidy then slowly walked down the stairs. Before walking up to him and asking:
"So, uhh... Family drama?"
"That's putting it lightly... You need to be more careful, you know that? You're lucky she was too pissed at me to hear you."
An awkward silence occured. Neither of them really knew what to say. Then, Daniel turned to Cassidy and spoke.
"Hey... Since it's already dark outside and since it looks like the rain is stopping already, I'm gonna call my mom, and then I'll walk you out. Will you be able to find your way back from the store you got busted at?"
"...Yeah, sure."
Daniel nodded, as he walked away from Cassidy and towards the home phone. He picked it up and saw a message: "6 unanswered calls from 21-424-761". He sighed, as he pressed the "Call Back" button. Around twenty minutes later, Daniel and Cassidy were outside, heading towards their destination. The awkward silence was letting itself known, as both of them did not really know what to say after the earful Amanda gave Daniel.
"So, uhh... Do you fight with your sister often?"
"Pretty much everyday, yeah. With my mom too."
"Well, don't beat yourself up over this, kid. The music was just too loud, and you didn't hear the phone ringing. It's not like you did this on purpose."
"I really don't even care at this point, honestly. I've grown used to this, both from my sister and my mom."
Curious, Cassidy asked:
"...Was it always this way? You having problems with your family, I mean?"
"No, not always. Things were different before."
"...Before what?"
There was a brief silence, Daniel looked like he was contemplating whether to answer her or not. After a short while, he spoke.
"...Before nothing."
"...You know, I don't know the scope of things, so I can't really say much about this... But if you're seriously unhappy here, you could always hit the road."
Daniel looked over at Cassidy. Not sure if she was serious or not.
"You serious? I'm only sixteen, you know?"
"Well, not necessarily right now, but when you're an adult, why the hell not? Go get some part time job, save up for a car or something, wait until you're eighteen, when your parents can't do shit about you leaving, then tip your hat and walk away. You meet a lot of cool people on the road, some of them might stick around and you may end up with a pack like ours. Hell, you can even rock with us if we run into each other again."
"Yeah, right. I seriously doubt that."
Hearing that, Cassidy answered with a smirk.
"Oh yeah? One thing you learn while you're on the road is that the world is a whole lot smaller than we think, kid... Hey, I recognise this street."
Daniel looked around, and noticed that they were just a block away from the corner store.
"Oh, yeah. The store you pulled your little stunt in is just around the block."
"Well then, I guess this is where we part ways, kid."
"Yeah, seems that way."
After a moment of silence, Daniel looked over at Cassidy one more time, before turning around and walking away.
"Well, good luck out there, thief."
"So long! If we run into each other again, you're gonna have to teach me how to rob a store proprely, Daniel Anderson!"
Cassidy yelled back, while waving her hand at him. When Daniel got back to the house, he walked up the stairs and just as he was passing Amanda's room, he stopped. After a moment of hesitation, he entered her room. Everything was unnervingly precise, textbooks aligned perfectly, notes highlighted with ruthless consistency and awards arranged so meticulously they seemed to mock him.
"Do I hate you...?"
He muttered to himself. Then, finally, his eyes drifted to a polished trophy on the highest shelf. The same one he eyes every time he entered Amanda's room. That trophy always made him recall something that happened a year ago... Daniel, Amanda, and their mother, Lauren, were having dinner. The food was about just as bland as the atmosphere, though that was not surprising, seeing as today it was Amanda's turn to cook. Each time Daniel told her that her cooking sucked and to at least try to season it, she just wouldn't hear it, and Lauren kept affirming to her that her cooking was fantastic; thus, Daniel decided to just stop trying to say anything about the food.
"...Hey, Mom, I forgot to tell you earlier, but on Friday we have this basketball match against the Fargo school, right? Our coach asked our parents to confirm whether or not they're going to be there to watch. Will you be coming or not?"
Daniel asked, a little reluctant. Lauren looked over at him, and after thinking for a moment, she answered.
"Ahh, sorry, Daniel. I have work late on Friday... As much as I'd like to come, I won't be able to."
Hearing this, Amanda froze and looked over at Lauren.
"Wait, what time will you be getting off of work?"
"I'm not that sure... Why?"
"I also have a thing on Friday, you know that math tournament at 4 PM? Will you still be able to pick me up after that? If not, I can have someone drive me back."
Lauren looked over at her.
"Well... I'm probably going to get back home around 7... So I don't know."
Amanda gave Lauren a little nod, and the dinner kept on as usual. Friday came, and the Noorwood and Fargo basketball teams were already on the court, the match being minutes away from starting. Daniel looked over at the spectator seats. Just as his mother said the day before, she wasn't able to attend the match. Daniel didn't really care about basketball all that much; he joined the team to pass the time and stay in shape.
"...Lots of parents came today, huh?"
Daniel thought to himself. There were few seats empty; he could recognize the parents of some of his classmates. There were also their siblings. Even Finn's uncle, who lives over 100 miles away, was there. In the final strech of the match the sun hung low, casting long shadows across the cracked asphalt court. The sounds of sneakers skidding and basketballs bouncing mixed with the distant hum of street traffic. Daniel's heart pounded in his chest, sweat beading on his forehead, a mixture of heat and pressure building in the late afternoon air. The game was tied. The clock ticked down thirty seconds. The ball passed between players, moving faster now, each second counting. Daniel's teammates were shouting, urging him forward. He could feel the defender closing in, his breathing ragged as he ducked past him, slipping through the gap between two other players. His legs burned, but his focus stayed sharp. The ball found his hands, spinning from the pass. With one glance at the scoreboard; ten seconds left. Daniel squared up to the basket, the hoop just barely visible through his blur of sweat and nerves. He jumped, feeling the burn in his thighs, and released the ball...
Swish!
The sound of the ball hitting the net was swallowed by the roar of his teammates and the cheers of the small crowd. The buzzer sounded, and the game was over. His team had won... And it was thanks to him. After the match was over, Daniel and his team were posing for a group photo that was sure to be placed in the school hallway for the years to come along with the trophy that Daniel's final effort secured for the school. A few minutes later, the coach handed out small, plastic trophies that their school bought. They were cheap, but it was the solidification of the moment that mattered. The coach finally made his way to Daniel and handed him his trophy.
"You know, Anderson? You may not have the most passion for sport out of everyone here... But I think that if you put your heart into it? You can be really good at this. That final score you made just made me more sure in that fact."
Daniel looked at the text on the thropy, it read;
"To Daniel Anderson, for scoring the deciding point in the Noorwood VS Fargo 2011 basketball tournament!"
Daniel held the trophy, not even sure how they managed to print this out and stick it on the trophy less than twenty minutes after the game was over. But it didn't matter. For the first time in forever, he got recognized; even if it was just a stupid little basketball tournament, he was the star of the show. After everyone left with their parents, Daniel was running back home on foot. Even though his feet felt like they were gonna explode, he didn't care.
"Haahhhh... Hufff... Maybe... Maybe I can really... Really be good at something? Damn... I can't wait to see Mom's and Amanda's faces when they see that I got a trophy for once!"
Daniel stopped running at the bus stop; he sat down and gulped down what little was left from his water bottle and took his phone out from his pocket. The street was totally empty and silent; the only audible sound was the chirping of the birds. Daniel took in the silence. As he caught his breath, he decided to call his mom. She answered on the 3rd ring.
"What is it Daniel? I can't really talk right now."
That was when Daniel noticed that his mom was whispering, which was odd. Whenever she called or picked up form work, she could in a normal tone.
"Oh, are you in a meeting or something?"
"Ahh, no, no... I'm at Amanda's math tournament. I was able to get off work a few hours early today, so I took the chance and drove over. What is it?"
After hearing this, Daniel just sat there in silence. After a few seconds of him not saying anything, his mom spoke on the other end.
"Hello? Are you still there, Daniel?"
"...Yeah. Sorry... I was just, uhh... Wondering... Like... What's for dinner... Tonight?"
"Seriously, Daniel? That's what you're calling me about? I don't know! Anyway, is that all? The tournament will be ending in about 10 minutes. So I've got to go. Is that all?"
After a few seconds, Daniel answered.
"Yeah... That's all... Bye."
Daniel hung up. He sat there, in silence, for a moment. The singing birds and the wind being his only companions. He took his backpack off before unzipping it. He took out the trophy and stared at it for a moment, before throwing it on the asphalt in front of him. It clattered awkwardly, not shattering, just breaking apart like something that was never meant to matter.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!! FUCK!! FUCK!!! FUCK!!!"
Daniel's scream and the sound of the trophy shattering as he stomped it on the ground over and over broke the quiet of the street. A few moments later, as Daniel stood over the pieces of the broken trophy, he then kicked the pieces off into the road ditch before sitting back down on the bench of the bus stop. The following week, Daniel quit the basketball team without a word and never spoke about the match again. The memory of that day lingered, a dull ache that followed him into each new day. The next morning, after meeting Cassidy, rays of sun entered Daniel's room through his roller blinds, hitting him in the eyes, causing him to wake up. He walked down the hallway into the bathroom. He stood by the sink and turning on the water faucet, he washed his face. When he was done, he walked downstairs into the kitchen and opened the fridge. While he waited for the milk in the kettle to boil, suddenly, the sound of the house phone ringing caught his attention. Daniel let out a sigh, Assuming it was either Amanda or his mother, he went to the phone and picked it up, but before he could say a word, the voice on the other end made it apparent they weren't either Amanda or his mom.
"Hello, is Daniel there!?"
"Ugh... What the hell do you want from me so early in the morning, Carl?"
Daniel answered, Carl was practically screaming into the phone.
"What do you mean? Have you heard the news yet?"
Daniel leaned against the wall as he anwsered.
"What news? What are you talking about?"
"It's officer Dave... Last night... His body was found in the woods... Completely massacred."