Beneath the Bridge

By Jason L. Henderson

Elle Jensen and her father are on the run from Seattle, where her mother was murdered, and California, where Elle’s boyfriend turns out to be more than they wanted. 

Jake Dickson has been struggling to fit in with the kids at school. He has one friend, Gary, who lives on a farm a few miles down the road. 

When Jake notices the new girl at school, he will stop at nothing to meet her, even if it includes a trip to a local lot under a bridge known as The River, where the school bully and Karen The Goth frequent. During their first meeting a mysterious man appears from nowhere covered in blood. Friendships are formed as four teenagers fight to shed their pasts while exploring the strange events happening beneath the bridge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781491798263

Jason L. Henderson

Jason Henderson lives in Pekin, Illinois with his wife Rhonda. He discoved his fondness of horror and mystery while trying to stay awake for Creature Feauture with his brother on the weekends and by watching the first Friday the 13th with his sister.

Book preview

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1

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Kayla hated being grounded. She couldn’t leave the house to see friends, talk on the phone into the wee hours of the night, or watch all her favorite television shows. Sure, other seventeen year olds had been grounded before, but it was different for them. Most of their parents would tire from having to keep a closer eye on them and lift the miserable sentence after a day or two. For Kayla, groundings never ended early. Once her parents decided on the punishment, there was no going back. They did offer warnings before the punishment was handed out, but not too often. Perhaps that was why she didn’t get in trouble much. She enjoyed her freedom out of the house, away from the watchful eyes of her parents. And at this time of the year, with school having started just a few weeks before, Kayla wanted to do as much as she could to keep from being stuck in the house while her friends were having a good time.

Although it was only September, it felt like the holiday season was rapidly approaching. Thanksgiving and Christmas were good family holidays, but Halloween was something completely different to Kayla. It was her favorite holiday by far. When she was little, she’d spent a lot of time at her Aunt Kim’s house. Kim was her mom’s younger half-sister, but the two didn’t look alike. Both of Kayla’s parents had origins that included Mexican descent, whereas Aunt Kim had a lighter skin tone and brown hair instead of black. Kayla inherited genes from both parents. She was short, like both of them, with long black hair, and her skin was a smooth mocha color.

Every Friday night, Kayla had been allowed to spend the night with her aunt. And every Friday night she was introduced to some new and exciting horror movie. It had started out with Halloween cartoons and movies for children and younger teens. Cartoons like Scooby Doo, Casper, To Boo or Not to Boo, Goosebumps, and movies like Hocus Pocus quickly became favorites. Eventually, she graduated from the cartoons and young-adult movies into full-blown horror movies like Freddy, Jason, and Michael. She couldn’t quite explain what it was about being scared or watching scary movies. Maybe it was the sense of people coming together in a time of need. In the movies, it always seemed like that’s when people accepted and trusted each other the most. Maybe it was something that only science could explain.

Last year, a week before Halloween, Aunt Kim came over to announce that she had gotten a good-paying job in New Jersey and was leaving in two weeks. Kayla remembered the sinking feeling in her heart that day. It made her want to go to her room, walk into the closet, shut the door, and never come out again. Her Aunt Kim was one of the only friends she’d had. Not only was she leaving Kayla without something to do on the weekends, she was also forcing her into a lonely, dull life.

Even though Kayla was allowed to spend Friday nights at Aunt Kim’s, she normally spent Saturday nights at home. Her parents preferred that she spend one weekend night at home. But it was easy to take because Aunt Kim came to visit and stayed late on those nights. The last weekend was different, though. Because Aunt Kim was moving away, Kayla was allowed to spend the entire Halloween weekend with her. Aunt Kim took her to two haunted houses Friday night, and on Saturday, they watched scary movies all day, taking a few short breaks to carve pumpkins and bake cookies in the kitchen.

Saying goodbye to her aunt was the hardest thing she’d ever done. And although she was on the other side of the country and she was now on her own, Kayla planned to keep the good feelings she had at her Aunt Kim’s going this year, and being grounded wasn’t part of the plan.

Halloween was just over a month away. If she didn’t straighten out and get her parents off her case soon, all would be lost. While other kids were outside enjoying the fall weather, she would be stuck in solitude thinking about things like going swimming, hanging out at the park, planning Halloween parties, and shopping for clothes. It would also keep her from the only real friend she had since Aunt Kim left. Spending one day away from her friend, Elle, was like spending two weeks camping in the middle of nowhere with grandparents who sat around the campfire all day.

Her parents were aware of her fondness for the Halloween time of the year. It seemed to Kayla like they always used it to their advantage. They’d told her that she’d been in jeopardy of losing out months ago when she started back talking more and her grades slightly fell. Apparently, they’d gotten tired of it and grounded her. She simply had to be good for the next few weeks so that the happy horror day could be enjoyed without being confined behind closed doors.

The crime that crossed their line hadn’t even been that bad. All she did was borrow her father’s Mustang for a night visit to the beach. She didn’t even go alone, like her parents cautioned her about so many times. Elle, Elle’s boyfriend Jimmy, and Jimmy’s two friends Carl and Louie went with her. If something would’ve happened, they would have helped her. So why couldn’t her parents understand? She could have done worse things, like accidentally burn the house down, have a party while they were out of town last year, or even play with her father’s gun that he stupidly stored under the cushion of the couch where anyone could find it. But no, they couldn’t look past their only child doing things that all teenagers take part in at one time or another. Instead, they decided that Kayla could spend two weeks doing laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, and not leaving the house, with the exception of school.

At least it had been worth it. Jimmy’s friend Carl was superhot. He reminded Kayla of an 80s rocker. Skinny, long dark hair, and just thin enough to remind her of the drummer of a famous band from back then. She couldn’t remember the rock star’s name, but he was famous for also dating a model. Jimmy’s other friend Louie was a geek. Like Carl, he too was skinny, but could be described more as lanky. His hair was short and black, and his face was thin and long. Kayla figured you had to take the bad with the good. Reluctantly, she made attempts to include him in conversations.

At the end of that night on the beach, Carl asked her out to a movie. Kayla had hung out with boys in the past, wherever she and her friends were, but none had ever asked her out. As far as Kayla was concerned, it was the beginning of something great. She’d been dreaming of that date since she’d gotten back from the beach, even when her father handed down the punishment.

She’d also got to spend that day with Elle, who was not only her best, but practically her only, friend in the world. Kayla knew a few other girls in her grade, but she never felt comfortable enough around them to talk about the important things. They liked to talk about the Disney Channel, boy bands, and fashions. Kayla joined in the conversation when she could, but she didn’t care enough about those things to sound enthused. So, she would stay on the outside of the conversations as much as possible.

Elle moved to California six months ago. And like Kayla, she didn’t have many friends. The two regularly sat at the same table during lunch break at school. At first, they just exchanged glances as they sat and ate. Then it turned into a greeting, and then discussions about the science class they shared. Within a few short weeks, the relationship bloomed into a full-fledged, uninterrupted, unbreakable sisterhood. Kayla could talk to Elle about any of her issues, good or bad. She could tell her about how her parents were overprotective, how she wished she could meet a boy, or how her Aunt Kim got her into horror movies. And Elle actually listened and responded with empathy. She would even offer suggestions if the conversation warranted it. Although Elle didn’t share similar feelings for the darker side of movies like her Aunt Kim, she had seen the same movies as Kayla, so they did occasionally talk horror. All other things considered, Elle was just as easy to talk to as her Aunt Kim, and the bond they shared was beyond words.

Kayla had trouble remembering which city they had moved from. It was somewhere near Seattle. According to Elle, it was one of the best places on the West Coast for a teenager. The crime rate was low, permitting teenagers to walk just about anywhere and not have to worry about constantly looking over their shoulder or being safe. Kayla found it interesting that Elle bragged about the low crime rate considering her mother was murdered right before they moved to California, but Kayla was careful to never be the first one to mention that.

To get away from Seattle, Elle’s father had accepted a job over at the government building on the edge of the city, forcing Elle to move here against her will. Kayla figured Elle’s mother’s death helped influence the decision. Every time Elle started complaining about the move, her father would kindly remind her that his job was going to pay for her college. A few times, he’d add, Besides, if we didn’t move here, you would have never met Kayla. That would usually be followed up by a blushing apology to Kayla from Elle. But it didn’t bother Kayla, having also been a helpless victim of a move seven years earlier. Truth be told, Kayla was glad Elle’s father had made her move. Without his decision, she would’ve been stuck sitting at the lunch table by herself every day.

Trying to get her mind away from the terror of being grounded, Kayla tried to focus her attention to the day ahead. Laundry was the important chore for the day, which didn’t really inconvenience her too much. It was easier than dishes or cutting the grass. Dishes required her to spend time in the kitchen away from daytime television, and she was allergic to outside stuff like grass and trees, so cutting the grass always sent her into a fit.

Standing near the open window in the living room, still in pajamas, it seemed chilly to her. Even though it was fall, she found it odd that a day in California could be considered chilly. Before moving, Kayla lived in Minnesota. Her parents had met there years before Kayla was born. She would always hear vacationers at the ski resorts talk about the warm weather in Cali. The way they described it back then, it made Kayla picture sunny skies on the beach with large umbrellas and swimming suits.

Now, watching the dark clouds roll in, fifty-five degrees didn’t seem warm. It had rained all night and was scheduled to start again later that evening. It sent a chill through her; the kind she would sometimes get when she was outside in a cold rain for too long. A chill that sunk in all the way to the bone. She couldn’t understand why she felt that way, though. Back home in Minnesota, fifty-five degrees in early October would be considered warm.

After starting the second load of laundry, Kayla stubbed her toe on the edge of the step while heading upstairs. Cursing the rest of the way up and into the living room, she threw the laundry basket onto the floor in preparation for folding. The phone on the wall started ringing just as she sat down.

Groaning, Kayla stood up and kicked the basket to the side as she walked over to the primitive twentieth-century landline hanging on the wall next to the hallway. She glanced at the caller ID. It was Elle. Before answering it, Kayla briefly wondered how she even knew her home phone number. The only time they spoke was either in person, on the Internet, or on her cell phone.

Picking the heavy receiver up and placing the large round speaker to her ear, Kayla heard a loud banging in the background. Hello, she said, pulling the phone away from her ear to avoid the sharp sounds from bursting her eardrum.

Kayla? Are you there? The voice sounded hushed, unusual.

Yes, Kayla responded.

Something happened and I need you to come to my house as soon as possible!

Warning bells went off in her head at how different Elle sounded. It scared her. Elle was normally soft-spoken. She couldn’t even scare away a cat that had once entered her house. But today was different. Today she sounded like she was the lead role in a slasher film, and she just found out that the next victim was her, and she was trying to keep the killer from hearing her talk on the phone.

Elle, you know I am grounded. The last time I tried to sneak out, my dad caught me and beat my ass so bad that I couldn’t sit for two days. The only thing I could do was lie on my bed. And that’s embarrassing for me to admit to, by the way. John heard that at school, and he still gives me a hard time for it. Can’t you just tell me over the phone?

Kayla heard Elle’s dad yelling something in the background, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. She wasn’t used to hearing Stan yell. Elle started talking again, but stopped when it sounded like her dad entered the room.

Kayla looked quickly around for her father or mother before she spoke again. You know that I am going to be ungrounded on Friday, and that is the day I am supposed to go to the movies with Carl. I’ve been trying to get him to notice me ever since I first saw him with you and Jimmy. What is going on? It sounds like your house is being torn down. She pulled the phone away from her ear again as something glass broke in the background.

The phone became muffled, like Elle put her hand over the microphone, and then the crashing sounds returned loud and clear when the muffle went away. After which Kayla heard, I really don’t want to talk about it on the phone. My dad won’t let me use my cell, so I’m stuck here on the house phone for everyone in God’s creation to listen to my conversation. It’s not fair what he’s doing. Please come over so I can talk to you before…

Kayla heard another loud bang on the other end of the phone line. It sounded like Elle’s father had come into her room again. He was still yelling. I thought I told you to get ready! It doesn’t even look like you’ve started. Get a move on. Then he must have left the room, because the yelling had stopped.

I know what you mean about not having a phone, Kayla said flatly. "I haven’t had mine in over a week. Who knows what texts my mom’s been reading on it? What’s going on over there? I’m not used to hearing your dad act like that."

My dad’s pissed. I snuck out last night to meet Jimmy over at the arcade. When I got there, he was drunk again. He was with Carl, Louie, and Carter all afternoon. They wanted me to ride with them out to the coast where we all went last week; remember that place? Jimmy said that he wanted me to meet some old friends of his.

Carter was new to Jimmy’s group. Neither Kayla nor Elle had a clue how Jimmy had met him. He had long blond hair that was teased with hair spray. He was the largest member of the group, standing at least six foot and weighing over two hundred pounds. He showed it by bullying the people around him; except for Jimmy. After hanging out with him a few times, the two girls got to know his personality. It was apparent that he was a perfect match for the bunch. He looked like a punk rocker and spoke with a blatant defiance of authority. He liked treating everyone around him as though they didn’t exist.

Kayla could tell that Elle was making a conscious effort to keep her voice low while she was explaining what happened. "I got mad at him because he said that he would quit drinking and doping for me. It’s been over two months since he made that promise. When I told him that I wasn’t going anywhere with him as long as he was being stupid, he told me that if I didn’t go, he would kill my whole family—dead. Dead, Kayla! He said ‘dead’ right there in front of everybody."

Elle’s voice cracked. She began sobbing. Kayla could hear Elle’s father in the background yelling again. He had heard what Elle was saying. You shouldn’t have been out with the sonofabitch anyway! It’s your own goddamn fault. I told you that boy and his friends were bad news. Every time I’ve seen them, they’ve been blown out of their minds. Little pricks!

Kayla grasped that this truly was an issue that required closed doors. She waited for Elle’s dad to stop yelling before she began talking again. I’ll be over as soon as my father leaves for bowling night. He just finished lunch. He likes to go early to talk with friends, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. If I get lucky, he may not even come home tonight. It depends on how much he drinks. My mom’s out shopping with Aunt Carol, so hopefully she won’t be home until ten or eleven. If she comes home early, she’ll probably be blasted out of her mind from the wine. She won’t even think to check in my bedroom for me. So, I will see you in a little while, okay?

Okay, I will see you when you get here. Please hurry. I don’t know how much longer I have. Bye.

Kayla heard the phone hang up on the other end of the line. Don’t know how much longer I have? What the hell?

She didn’t want to wait for her father to leave before heading over to Elle’s, but if she didn’t, she could kiss the date with Carl goodbye.

After thinking about it while pacing back and forth in her bedroom, she decided her friendship with Elle was worth getting in trouble over. If she had to wait for her father to walk into another room before trying to leave, she would. She took one last look around the house to see where he was. He’d just put his shirt on and was heading for the door, bowling bag in tow.

Thank god, Kayla slowly whispered to herself. Her date may not be ruined after all.

#

Kayla buttoned up her tan sweater after getting off the bus two blocks away from Elle’s house. Covering her head with a light-pink stocking cap, she started walking up the street thinking about how much she agreed with Elle’s father. Despite that fact the he’s super cute, Jimmy is a bad person. She thought about the time Jimmy had beaten a boy so bad that it had taken four months and three operations to bring him out of the hospital. It hadn’t been over anything serious either. All the boy did was accidentally bump into Jimmy when they were passing each other at the carnival by the pier.

Afterwards, Jimmy said that the boy had gotten off lucky. He’d done worse to people who’d pissed him off for less. The rest of his gang wasn’t any better. Carter and Louie had already been in a juvenile detention center. She was sure they would all be going to prison once they get caught for robbing that gas station three months ago. One thing was always certain when Jimmy and his goons were around: trouble. No matter where the party was, it always ended shortly after their arrival. More times than not, it ended up with the police and/or an ambulance.

Kayla couldn’t believe Elle still decided to date Jimmy after finding out about the things that he’d done; and that was only the things he had been caught for or bragged about. He tried to keep most of his erratic behavior hidden, but both Kayla and Elle picked up on certain things he would refer to or say. Kayla knew that he killed helpless animals and bullied both boys and girls, smaller and younger. No matter how old, young, the gender, status, lifestyle, or even if they were disabled, Jimmy didn’t care. If you made him mad, you paid. Police angered him by their mere presence. He would call them names and taunt them.

There was no doubt in Kayla’s mind that he had done more than anyone knew. She and Elle were there when the boy got the ass kicking of his life, but Kayla knew Elle didn’t know about the gas station robbery, or the other girl Kayla saw him with in the city a few weeks ago. Doing minor things like lifting a pack of cigarettes or spray-painting some graffiti was fine, but when it came to drugs and violence, they both voiced their disapproval many times.

Despite Elle’s quiet, gentle, and mature approach to life, she also knew when to say enough was enough. That’s why she told Jimmy two months ago that if he didn’t stop the thug life, she was done with him. She’d told Kayla that at first the bad boy persona was attractive and exciting, but she eventually realized that that lifestyle wasn’t what she wanted out of life. He was pretty good at hiding it for a few weeks after their talk, but eventually the old Jimmy started to show again. Kayla knew it was just a matter of time. That’s one of the reasons she took the car. She had to act fast with Carl. Had Elle broken it off with Jimmy any sooner, she would have never gotten the date.

As Kayla stepped off the street and started up the walk to the house, she had a moment of deeper thought. Jimmy was a bad person. There were no two ways of thinking about it. It just took Elle a while to see the real him, and now there was a need for her to get away from him. He’d been so nice to her in the beginning; treating Elle like she was the only girl in the world, just like Carl was doing to her now.

As she neared the front door, Kayla shook her head with the realization that she’d just entered the same path that her best friend was now struggling with. Her heart sank, and her skin chilled. She needed to get out of the date with Carl this weekend.

After knocking on the front door, she heard shuffling from the front room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the curtain of the large picture window move to the side. The person was standing too far to the side to see who it was. The curtain moved back over the window. Loud footsteps quickly made their way to the door. A series of locks turning, and a chain clanking noise sounded off before the door finally opened.

Stan opened the door a few inches. His green eyes peered down, making contact with Kayla’s, then glanced to each side, and then over her head to see behind her. Opening the door, he croaked Hello, Kayla, sounding out of breath. His face was red, and sweat was running down his nose. His eyes were intense and exhausted at the same time. They seemed to have a glaze to them Kayla had never noticed before and the wrinkles underneath them shown deeper and wider. His dark blonde hair stood on end about two inches from his scalp. Stan was a tall, thick man, and right now it was unnerving to Kayla.

Her gaze went to his hand. He was holding a knife. The shine from a light in the living room stared directly at her on the blade. Bringing her gaze two feet higher than her level to meet his again, she tilted her head slightly. Hello, Mr. Jensen…

She’s upstairs in her room, he snapped as he stepped back and let her in. Make it quick! Then he turned and started walking to the living room.

Kayla was taken back by his demeanor. He was normally reserved and hard to approach for a conversation. Just like now, he always seemed to be focused on some other part of his life, mostly his job or working on the house. Elle had said once that he worked sixty to seventy hours a week. But now she could feel a different level of intensity radiating from him.

Kayla cautiously walked through the door and started for the stairs directly across the hall. She briefly stopped on her way, searching the front room to see if anyone else was in the house. It appeared like they were getting ready to move. Everything was either packed, or in the process of being packed into boxes. Books were on the floor, papers had been scattered throughout the living room, and Elle’s radio was turned on its side near the corner. Stan’s clothes were spread out on the couch next to a suitcase.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Kayla curiously gazed through the open bedroom door. Elle was sitting on the bed, looking like she hadn’t slept in a week. Her long blonde hair was matted together; her eyes were puffy and red. What little makeup she had left was smeared across her face. The orange shirt she was wearing had a rip in it all the way down the side.

Elle saw Kayla in the doorway and hurriedly ushered her in. Come in. Quick, I don’t have much time.

Kayla entered the room, shut the door, and sat on the edge of the bed facing Elle. "Not much time? You said that on the phone earlier too. Elle, what is going on, and why does your dad have a huge knife?"

Remember I told you about what happened last night on the phone? Well, I told my dad when I got home late last night. He lost it and started saying things like he couldn’t understand why I started going out with him in the first place, and that he had made a mistake by moving us here. He went on for about ten minutes before stopping and saying that it was time to fix it. Elle threw her hands in the air. After that, he told me to come upstairs and pack my things.

Things were going too fast for Kayla. Four hours ago, everything was normal. She’d gotten out of bed at noon after laying there for several minutes trying to decide what chores to do. With the exception of not showering or changing clothes, everything had been its usual boring self until Elle’s phone call. Now, she wished things could go back to turtle speed for just a few moments while she comprehended what was happening.

Kayla, staring intently at her friend, managed a soft, slow voice. Are you telling me that you’re leaving me, Elle? Why? All he did was threaten you and your dad. It’s not like he actually did it. She could feel her face turning red, tears forming in her eyes. She tried to hide her emotions by taking her stocking cap off and turning her head down so that her long dark hair would create interference.

Elle’s face tightened. She began to speak more slowly than before. I didn’t finish telling you what happened over the phone. After the threat, I turned away and ran for the front door. Jimmy started chasing after me. The security guard at the arcade must have been watching us because right as I hit the door, he stepped in between me and Jimmy just as Jimmy grabbed my shirt. I ripped away from him and ran outside. There was a taxi in front of the building. I jumped in and screamed for the driver to leave. Her gaze drifted off toward the wall like she was watching the replay happen right in front of her. When I looked back as we were driving off, Jimmy was walking down the sidewalk right at us. Elle’s eyes lifted from the wall. They locked with Kayla’s. "He had the guard’s head in his hands. I thought the water from the rain on the outside of the window and the fog on the inside of the window was playing tricks on me, so I wiped it off for a better look. It was the guard’s head and he was looking right at me, blinking."

Elle’s last statement threw Kayla off guard. A soft scream erupted from her throat. She quickly put her hands over her mouth. Her best friend was losing it. Killing a security guard in the middle of a crowd full of onlookers was impossible. It would be all over the news. She did not remember hearing anything on the news today about a murder. Then again, did she even pay attention to the television today?

Elle burst into tears. After I told my dad the full story, that’s when he started in.

The seriousness of the issue was taking hold. Jimmy had officially driven Elle crazy. Did you tell him about the guard’s head? she asked, trying to figure out what to say next.

Elle slammed her hand down on the bed. Yes, that’s when he started yelling and cursing.

Kayla took a deep breath. Still trying to find the right words, she took Elle’s hand. "Elle, I am so sorry that I wasn’t there with you. He wouldn’t have acted like that if you had me with you. I’m sure he didn’t rip the security guard’s head off. Yes, he is an ass and probably capable of doing something like that, but even Jimmy is smart enough to know not to commit murder in front of dozens of people."

Elle tried to stop crying while she spoke. Her hand tightened around Kayla’s. "Yes. He did! You weren’t there, and it wouldn’t have mattered if you had been. You didn’t see him. He was so mad. I could see it in his eyes, and they were almost glowing red. And his friends just stood around and laughed. I’ve never been so scared in my life. There for a minute, I thought he was going to catch up to the car. When he saw me driving off, he started chasing the taxi. He was running really fast. What would have happened if he would have? He might have killed me too."

Kayla was trying to lend her ear the best she could, but reality quickly snapped back into her while Elle was talking. The only true friend she had was leaving, and she couldn’t say or do anything about it. If there was anything that she did know about Stan Jensen, it was that once his mind was made up, there was no changing it. This was the last time she was going to see her best friend.

Elle needed someone to talk to now more than ever, but Kayla didn’t know how to talk about something she didn’t want to believe. Trying to avoid the arcade, she sighed and asked, So, where are you going? Can you call me when you get there?

I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. After he went off about how everything was my fault, he made a phone call to someone. He told them that there was a problem and that we would be at his place in a few days. I have an uncle in…

She was interrupted by a knock at Elle’s door. Her father stood in the hallway. His voice was still labored and hurried. Elle, it’s time to start loading up the car. We don’t have time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. Come on, Kayla can help us if she wants.

Kayla and Elle gaped at each other. Their eyes told the story. The magnitude of the situation was starting to set in for both of them. This was the last time that they would ever sit in a bedroom together, the last time one of them would sneak out just to see the other one. No more stealing the family car to go on joyrides to the beach. No more whispering in each other’s ear when they were in the presence of a cute boy. No more skipping class. No more anything.

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2

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Nightfall had crept in while Kayla helped Elle pack all their belongings into the SUV. Their clothes had been tossed quickly in suitcases, the files her father brought up from the basement were smashed into empty boxes, and the computer from the back room was thrown onto the back seat. Everything else, like the television and the furniture, had to be left behind. Stan said they didn’t have time to rent a trailer.

A small group of children playing on the sidewalk across the street stopped to watch the trio while they rushed everything into the vehicle in an unorganized frenzy. Kayla couldn’t help but think that everything the family of two left behind would be gone in less than an hour after leaving the property. The neighborhood they lived in wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best either.

Heavy clouds moved in from the west about halfway through the chaos. Rain started falling while they were carrying the last of the belongings out of the house. The temperature felt like it had dropped another ten degrees since Kayla had stared out her window earlier in the day. The chatting remained minimal up until Kayla and Elle had given each other one last hug. Elle climbed into the vehicle and waved one last time as it traveled down the road and disappeared around the corner. That moment was sure to haunt Kayla’s nightmares for years.

After saying goodbye to the her only friend, Kayla needed some time to process the events of the day. She decided not to take the bus closest to Elle’s now former home. Instead, she would walk several blocks up the street and then catch another one, or she may just walk all