Down End Road

We collapsed onto the sofa in my bedroom, instantly sinking into the plush fluff of the cushions. A knock at the door jolted us out of our tired haze. “Hey girlys how was your shopping trip, you go to that new boutique I told you about.” My mother chirped. Her usual cheery tone an instant comfort.

“Yeah, we did. We were just about to try on our loot, as soon as the aftermath of shopping wears off.” I said lethargically, yawning at the end.

Kaylee and Marriane stood up and walked over to my bed in the corner of the room. My room had been renovated so that it was more open. It was my seventeenth birthday present a year ago.

My parents also bought me new décor to decorate my furnished room. It was definitely the best present I had ever gotten and one I would never forget. “Hey Mrs. R, oh my gosh I swear we were only at the mall for an hour. Marriane how many stores did you make us run to again.” Said Kaylee.

It was true, Marriane had always been the sportiest one of us and when it came to shopping, she would run to Canada if it meant that she could get her hand on an exclusive Chanel line. “I think we went to six. Maybe seven.” Groaned Marriane.

Me and my mother were only amused. They could be drama queens, but when it came to shopping, they always stuck with the truth. Their dedication to something so material, had always befuddled my father.

However, he had not changed his clothing choice since the seventies had just come around. For four decades he had been wearing bell bottoms and shoulder pads, under the misguided impressions it was high end fashion.

“Well, I’ll let you girls get to it, I just came by to give you these cookies, Maria was in a baking mood again.” She said tapping the side of her nose. I did the same, it was a Remington family tradition. If we were lying or just having a laugh about an inside joke, we tapped the side of our noses.

As soon as my mother left Kaylee and Marriane leapt to their feet. “You think we fooled her”? Said Kaylee. Marriane just laughed and I joined in too. My mother knew we were going to the party but Kaylee for some reason, insisted on acting tired so it seems like we are likely to get into less trouble.

The math did not add up in my head, but then again Kaylee was the party queen and I had hardly attendedfour parties out of the fifty that Kaylee seemed to throw. If it made sense to Kaylee, then I would just have to go along with it.

Tomorrow was our graduation ceremony and Kaylee seemed to think that being completely exhausted with a smashing headache was the best way to enjoy the day. I did not share this opinion. “So, who’s ready to party.” Said Kaylee.

“Kaylee, I can’t see a dang thing, where on earth are we going, are you sure this is where the party is”? Complained Marriane. It was ten o’clock and sufficiently dark.

We were all alone in the woods with the light from Kaylee’s phone screen guiding us. It was eerily quiet. We took a couple more steps and landed face first into a tree. Our huddle broke as we fell to the ground. As we rolled in the dirt trying to get our bearings, I heard talking and music, thumping in the background.

“Hey, you guys you here that.” I whispered for no apparent reason. Marriane slowly got to her feet rubbing her forehead vigorously. “Yeah, I hear it, let’s go.” She said tugging me and Kaylee along. The smell of smoke burned my nostrils. The loud music pulsed through me, making me shiver. It was, without a doubt the party.

“How are people here, before the hostess has even arrived.” Kaylee belted in a flirty tone, her smile charming and mischievous. The crowd laughed and welcomed her with open arms. Two boys, I recognized as Chad and James, from the football team arrived at our sides, placing their hands on the smalls of our backs, guiding us to the centre of the of the party.

I moved slightly away but Chad’s hand stayed put. “You want a drink?" He offered pointing to a large silver keg. I shook my head and moved away putting a large gap between us. I hardly knew Chad;I think we had a couple of classes together but apart from that he was a total stranger.

It was weird, knowing someone your whole life, but not actually knowing them. “Oh, come on it’s a party. Loosen up, relax.” He persisted. I did not want to relax with Chad. He moved closer and I shrank away. I could tell he was not going to go easy. All of a sudden “you made it, who’s this guy”? The stranger said, hugging me around the shoulders, when turned to acknowledge Chad who looked furious and slightly embarrassed.

He stared for a while, looking back and forth between me and the platinum blonde stranger. The stranger put his arm around my shoulder protectively and Chad finally spoke up, the menacing silence between them, growing uncomfortably long. “I didn’t know she was with someone my mistake.” Apologised Chad, as soon as he turned his back and started to walk away the boy with the blonde hair and emerald eyes pulled his arm away.

He opened his mouth to speak but it just hung open. He was staring at my necklace, curiosity piercing his gaze. “Uh... thanks for that, Chad can be a real pain, I hear.” I said.

His staring was awkward. I grabbed my medallion and tucked it in my shirt. I looked at the boy again, a memory flashing in my brain. He was the boy I saw in the trees. His piercing emerald eyes and platinum blond hair gleamed in the darkness the same way it did when he was in the tree.

It was then that I noticed his unusually dark clothing. He was wearing a sleeveless acid wash denim jacket, black jeans and a black t-shirt. The oddest part of his outfit was the long chain medallion hanging around his neck.

It was exactly like mine.

He caught me staring at his medallion. He also tucked his in his shirt. I was extremely curious as to who he was, so I decided to be extremely direct. “Alright mysterious tree climber, what’s your name?" I said.

He seemed amused by my question. Laughter was dancing in his eyes. He brought his full pink lips up into a smile then cocked his head to the side. “You first.” He said playfully and rather flirtatiously.

My jaw slightly dropped at his boldness. I had never been challenged before, especially when I was giving my death stare. It was not funny, nor would it ever be. “Fine tree climber." He raised his eyebrow at the nickname I had given him, "Myra, Myra Remington.”

His face went pale. His eyes widened. There was an awkwardly long pause. I fiddled with the end of my plait knowing that the firelight would make it seem more red than blond. The bonfire’s heat felt warm on my skin. “Sorry uh... Maverick Landon.” He said still stunned. “Do you want a drink, the kind that doesn’t make you dizzy.” He said, smiling politely.

I nodded, not knowing why. Maverick moved past me, I thought I felt the brief brush of fingertips on the back of my neck. Once he was out of sight I reached up to where my necklace chain was only to find my neck was bare. I whipped me head around, scanning the crowd for Maverick: the thief who stole my necklace.

I caught a glimpse of a blond head and a pair of leering emerald eyes. I yelled and he began to run. I chased after him. He jumped a fence, thinking he could escape. Unfortunately for him I had taken ten years of gymnastics and was on the track team. He was not getting away easy.

Using an old wood board as a vault I ran. I hit the vault with a spring, jumping high enough to reach the top of the fence and then using my momentum, did a very sloppy front handspring vault. I landed with a thud about one hundred yards away from a very impressed Maverick Landon.

He teasingly dangled my medallion in the air. His smug facial expression spurring me into a sprint towards the medallion. I charged toward him the medallion at arm’s length.

I reached out and he was gone. I stumbled almost falling to the ground. I stood as tall as I could, scrutinising the empty field. I heard a whistle in my ear. I whirled round and he was in front of me again I reached for the medallion, and he annoyingly stepped back.

I tried again and again and again, coming to the conclusion that he was just too far away.“Okay let’s try this again, what’s your actual name”? He bantered. I was fuming mad, I grunted in frustration. “My name is Myra Remington, and that is my necklace so give it back.” I said lunging forward trying to snatch my necklace back, but unfortunately, he was quicker and pulled away. He laughed, tickled by my failed attempts to get my medallion back.

“Okay if that’s true who are your parents”? He asked daringly.

“Oh, you mean the people who would be more than happy to call the police and report their family heirloom stolen. Their names are Charlie and Rebecca Remington. As in Remington design.” I said, with a sense of pride that my family was rich and famous for their design company.

It had always been comfortable for us, but I never thought much of it, and I had never bragged about it. “You... Your... come with me.” Maverick commanded. He grabbed my wrist and I writhed in his hands, but his grip didn’tloosen.“Look, I can either drag you to End Road manner kicking and screaming, or you can come with me in a dignified and ladylike manner.” He reasoned and slightly mocked. My insides twisted and my heart began to pound at the thought of going to End Road manner.

I looked toward Maverick Landon. His emerald eyes glistened in the moonlight. It was calming. “Fine, here’s your necklace, take it as good will.” He said. Maverick handed me the medallion. I stood still, frozen.

I swallowed a lump of adrenaline. I nodded. We began to move towards a light in the distance. It looked like a large blip surrounded by towering trees. “Wait where are you taking me and why should I go with you?"I asked, fear breaking my voice. He considered this for a moment his eyes facing skywards, tilting his head from side to side.

“You should come with me because you owe me, and because if I really wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t have saved you from that guy earlier.” He said.

I didn’t understand what he was talking about, I could have dealt with Chad by myself. I was furious with Maverick and it only agitated me more that he was so calm and self-important. “Look I didn’t ask you for help with Chad, nor did I need it, I could have dealt with Chad on my own.” I affirmed.

It was true I could have dealt with him on my own, Maverick just happened to be there at a convenient time. He mulled this over. His head bobbing from side to side. It was actually a kind of cute tell. From early on my parents had taught me to look for tells so that I could tell when someone was lying. For money security reasons they had said.

The longer the silence stretched I came to realise that I was staring rather intensely at this breathtaking thief and now kidnapper. “Look it’s clear that you probably can take care of yourself and its clear that you do not trust easy, so let me explain this to you. I helped you with that meathead which probably saved you a lot of trouble, this means I made your life easier in one way or another so do me a favour here, you make my life easier by coming with me, then we are even okay.” He said.

His green eyes piercing through the night air. I nodded, not knowing what else to say and not having a clever retort ready. We moved quickly through a field steering clear of any thick or thin patches of trees.

The closer we got to the building the quicker we moved. I didn’t mind the pace,I preferred it, it helped me burn off the all the extra adrenaline. As we were running, I felt a wet bead slide down my face.

Then another.

Then another.

They just kept falling. I looked up into the grey clouds. It was raining. The sky was illuminated by a thin white strip of light then a loud boom that seemed to shake the sky.

The rain fell heavier. My new shoes were now sinking deep into sludge. I tugged my wrist away from Maverick. “What are you doing” he yelled.

I slipped my wrist out of his hand. I bolted in the other direction, running as fast as I could into the thick patch of trees. I turned catching one last peek at Maverick.

I was surprised to see that he wasn’t running towards me but in another direction. He was sprinting to the house. I took the opportunity to run. The thick luscious trees gave me good coverage from the rain.

I was halfway into the patch of woodland when I heard growling. I turned to my left then cautiously to my right. My blood curdled, my face became as white as a sheet. I felt a shiver move through my spine.

I was surrounded by wolves.

Their yellow eyes, pierced through the darkness glaring at me. They reeked of wet dog, and the pong seemed to loom over us. My warm breath came out in puffs of vapour. This agitated one of the shaggy beasts. The wolf barred its teeth and began to growl. The blood drained from my head. I was wet. I was cold. I was alone. My legs trembled, then I heard a faint sound in the background. It was a motor. I saw a beam of yellow light, growing wider and wider, just before I fainted and fell into a cold puddle of sludge.