Survival

Chapter One: The Stalker

~JASON~

"Bye!" Jason called to his mom as he walked out of his front door. He checked that his new cell phone was in his pocket, and then began to walk. He walked down his street to a bus stop, where the school bus was waiting. As he stepped inside, he bus driver turned and frowned at him.

"Late again, are we?" The grumpy driver asked. "That's the twelfth time this month!"

Jason ignored him, and slowly walked down the path to the back, where he sat down with his friends, Daniel Terrence and Theresa Cantu. He set his backpack down on the opposite side of the isle, and turned toward Daniel.

"So, how've you been?" Daniel asked him.

"Good, I went down to Portland over the weekend."

"Ah. My weekend was boring. I didn't have anything to do, since my parents were out of town and my laptop was in a repair shop. My sister dropped it down the stairs."

Jason smiled, and looked out the window at the sunny sky.

"How was your weekend, Theresa?" Daniel asked from behind him. Before Theresa could reply, the bus came to a sudden stop. Jason lurched forward, and then stood up. In front of the bus was a man in a black trench coat and fedora, staring at something- No, staring at Jason. Jason frowned, but as the man noticed Jason looking at him, he turned away and walked to the sidewalk. The bus driver cursed at the man under his breath, and turned off the emergency brakes. Jason watched out the window as a large truck passed by, and after it passed by, the man was gone. The bus driver yelled at him to sit down, and then the bus started moving again.

When he got to school, he walked into his first class with the rest of the students that had been on the bus. 

"You're all late!" exclaimed their science teacher, Mr. Jacobs. Jason tried to explain that the bus was late, and not them, but the teacher wouldn't listen. He gave them all Lunch Detentions and sent them to their seats. 

"Page two hundred fifty-six, please." Mr. Jacobs called out, smiling as if nothing had happened. "Today we will be learning about the adaptations of animals. Can anyone define the word 'adaptation'..?" 

Later that day, during his third class, math, the teacher called him up to his desk. 

"Jason, I just received this hall pass for you, there's someone here to see you." The teacher explained nonchalantly. Jason took the small blue slip of paper, and walked out the door. He walked slowly down the hallway, and out into the courtyard. From there, he took one of the five doors that led to the offices. As he walked into the main office, he noticed only the staff were there. 

"There you are, Jason. He just left, by the way." The principal explained, as if she was reading his mind. "He told me to give you this." She handed Jason a manila envelope, and he accepted it hesitantly. Walking back to class, he looked at the front of the envelope. In messy handwriting, it said... 

To Jason Shalen

Do NOT share this with any of the others. It is meant for you only. 

Jason frowned, and pushed the envelope into his pocket. He walked into the room, and walked back to his desk. As he sat down, he slipped it into the back of his binder. He pulled out his pencil, and went back to his classwork.

As was finishing his drawing in his last class, art, the bell rang. He shot up out of his seat, turned in the paper, and ran out the door. He reached his locker, packed his backpack, and sprinted out of the building. He stepped onto the side walk, and walked off campus. He walked to the local park, and sat down under a tree. He pulled the envelope out of his backpack, and cautiously opened it. It read...

Jason,

Make sure NO ONE sees this letter. I can only tell this to you. When you are in the arena, stay on the path, NO MATTER WHAT. You will be tested, but you have to pull through. GROUP UP, BE ARMED, AND DO NOT DIE.

-TK-

Jason shook his head. This had to be some kind of joke. What arena? Who were the 'others'? And why did he have to be warned to stay alive? He looked to the opposite side of the park, only to find someone staring back at him. It was the man in the trench coat. Jason stood up, and folded up the letter. Pressing it into his pocket, he started backing away from the man. He took up speed, and turned and sprinted away. He ran, his shoes beating hard against the hot pavement. He didn't slow down until he reached his front door three blocks away. As he was about to open his front door, his phone vibrated.

-Unknown Number-

Stay inside, don't let him find you.

-TK-

Jason's heart started to beat faster and faster. He looked to the end of the sidewalk, and the man was there again. He flung open the front door, ran inside, and slammed it behind him. He checked his watch. 3:12. His parents wouldn't be home with his little brother until 4:00. He locked the front and back door, ran up to his room, and pulled down the blinds. He opened his laptop, and turned it on. Setting his backpack down on the floor, he grabbed a piece of gum from his dresser. He popped it in his mouth, and jumped into his swivel chair. He went on the internet, and looked up "TK". He hoped for something useful, but all that was there was a few useless websites. He closed his computer, and looked out his window between the blinds. The man was still there at the end of the block, staring at Jason's front door. Jason watched as his parents pulled into the driveway, and looked back at the end of the block. The man was gone. He stepped away from the window as he heard his mom calling for him, and he walked slowly downstairs.

"Hey, guess what, Jace?" Called his dad. "You got a package in the mail!" That was weird. Jason never got mail, much less a package.

"Who's it from?" He asked, attempting to hide the shakiness in his voice.

"I dunno, it just says 'TK'."Jason's eyes widened. He walked into the kitchen to see his dad setting a small package down on the counter. He grabbed it, and took it up to his room. He set it down on his desk, and pulled open the top. When he reached inside, he found a small silver whistle threaded onto a necklace. He slipped it on, and looked further in the box. At the very bottom, there was a hunting knife and sheath. He took it out, set it on his nightstand, and tossed the box under his desk. He pressed the whistle to his lips and blew hard, but no sound came out. He shrugged, and walked down to the kitchen table downstairs.

After dinner, he walked back up to his room. He set the whistle on his nightstand next to the knife, and pulled his blankets over him. He tried to sleep, but he couldn't. After about an hour, he sat up, only to have a dart embed itself in his shoulder. Slowly losing consciousness, he looked out the window. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the man in a trench coat standing on the roof of the house across from his.

When he woke up, he felt the cold metal of the whistle against his neck. Under him, he felt wet leaves, and a cold wind was blowing past him. Suddenly, he shot up. He looked around at the trees around him, and listened to the silence. 

He was in a forest.