Monday, May 21;
15:37
Plugging my earphones into my iPod and mashing the side of my head against the window, I contemplated my options.
I could:
(a) Hop off the bus at Jade's Cross and skip the summer camp altogether; or
(b) Suck it up and get through the two weeks I'd be there.
Option (b) was more likely, seeing as someone was meeting me at Jade's Cross, to supposedly take me to camp. It was strange that there was no bus for the camp. What was even stranger was how completely arbitrary this whole thing was. My parents had certainly never voiced any interest in my summer activities. Why now?
I bit my lip, frustrated. Marco had told me to suck it up; to even 'have a ball'. Yay.
The Greyhound jerked to a sudden stop. I sat up straighter and looked out the window. The sun was hidden by a thick, ominous fog. I shivered, taking my earphones out of my ears.
"Where are we?" I asked the woman sitting beside me. She had been engrossed in a thick, dusty novel during the journey.
Her head snapped to her side. "Jade's Cross. Where you going exactly?" Her voice was gravelly; constricted.
I wasn't in the mood for conversation, but I pleasantly replied, "Summer camp," as I stood up, gathering my tote bag and hoodie.
She moved to make way for my exit. "Camp, huh? You enjoy it, girlie. You enjoy it."
Her tone bothered me. I ignored her and reached up to open the compartment to get out my suitcase, then followed the few people getting off at my stop.
It was freezing outside. Goosebumps prickled my arms and legs. I cursed myself for wearing shorts, as I pulled on my hoodie. And the fog only thickened.
"Terra? Terra Martins?" a voice said from behind me.
I spun around. "What?"
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a crisp black suit stood there, reaching out to shake my hand. "Tom Baskett. I'm here to pick you up? Camp Cross?"
I looked him up and down, confused. I'd expected a lowly driver, but this man looked too distinguished. Yet he knew my name.
His hand fell to his side. "Cat got your tongue?"
I shook my head. "I just didn't expect... you," I said awkwardly, adjusting the strap of my bag.
"Let's go. We're late," he said, ignoring me.
"Late for roll-call?" I asked innocently, not budging an inch.
His eyes became slits. "They told me you'd be difficult," he spat, moving for me. He grabbed my right arm roughly. "And in such a short time, that's proved to be true!"
"Let me go!" I squealed, squirming. Just my luck. Jade's Cross was overrun with crazies.
"I have to pick you up!" he growled, reaching into his jacket with his free hand.
And then I felt it.
Cold. Pressing against my exposed thigh, silencing me; stilling me.
A gun.
*
"I'm thirty-one. You wanna know why I haven't had any bloody kids?" he fumed, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. He ignored my silence and continued. "Because they're so stubborn. Like mules! And because of this ugly, ugly world. Why put myself through that right now? Why put THEM through that? I will, though, in about a decade. You just wait, Terra."
I shuddered at the sound of my name. This was surreal. I was being kidnapped, and my kidnapper was making small talk about his future seed.
Sitting in the backseat, I considered my options. As usual, I had two.
As usual, I decided to suck it up.
YOU ARE READING
The Secret Life of Inanimate Objects
Teen FictionWhen Terra was a kid, her bed attacked her. Of course, no one believed her - but after that, she becomes afraid of being alone. Her family is convinced that it is a phase, but is it? It's the way the objects in her house move slightly, taunting her...
