The Town That Waits (W.I.P)

Chapter 1

Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.

- Mary Shelly, Frankenstein (1818)

Chapter 1

My turn's almost up. We've been driving for almost 8 hours now and we're already running out of gas. We haven't seen a gas station ever since we went past the over pass. Nothing but cacti, tumbleweed, and the scorching seemingly endless road.

" Ugh MJ can I have my turn on the stereo now? You've been playing the same album over and over for 2 hours straight now MJ. Enough already!", Claire said moaning in boredom.

" Nobody appreciates true music nowadays... Fine, as long as you don't play any more of those pop crap songs or I swear to god I'm throwing the AUX cable out in the window.", MJ replied as she reaches for her phone accidentaly bumping me. The car took a sharp turn making Claire spill her drink on the car seat. That was also our last bottle of water.

"MJ it's not a good idea to bump me while driving knowing that I've been driving for 4 hours straight now" , not taking my eyes off the road I handed MJ her phone that was  near the cup holder. My throat felt really dry and itchy. We ran out of water 2 hours ago and Claire refused to share her water bottle explaining how it'll be 'indirect kissing'. I didn't want to argue with her too much due to the lack of water. After repostioning myself, we hit the road once more. She mumbled a quick sorry and after a few minutes, I hear her snore. Soft lofi music filled the car eventually after a few minutes. We didn't want to wake up MJ.

After another 30 minutes I finally saw the intersection that leads to Amber. Not long after that, we finally drive pass the town's welcome sign. It was a bit rustier compared to the last time I saw it.

"Do you guys think there's anything new going on in Amber? It has been a while since I've heard news about it.", Claire tells me with concern. I only shrugged as a response. Maybe Amber changed or maybe it was still the same. There wasn't anything interesting on the town persay. According to my mother, Amber was a town that was once rich with gold. People from afar would come for the sake of finding riches in the mines. When the gold finally ran out, the others left but some stayed.

"You kidding? This is Amber. Town in the middle of nowhere. What could they possibly do in beside sun bathe in that town?", I said with a rather raspy voice.
The town was rather far from the other cities afterall. The most exciting thing they could do there was hold a cooking contest for the elderlies. Hell, I think the only people that're still living there were old people. Not to mention the arson incident that happened back in 2006. Rumor has it that the people who died in the fire haunted the town. They never did find out origin of the fire. Huh.

"What about 'Olly'? You think he still there?"

"Why would you think that Olly would be gone? The town has everything he needs.It has a church to pray in, a diner, and a nice warm bed. Plus he's a tough guy, he
handle himself just as well as he handles his mormon stuff.", I said with a shrug not keeping my eyes off the road and looking for the gas station that was supposed to welcome us before we reach the town's motel. I looked to my right to see that MJ was still asleep and drooling.

After 4 minutes of driving silently, we finally saw the old gas station. A pang of nostalgia hits my chest. I still remember the last time I was here.
"Finally, I thought I had to pee in the open again! Ugh, my bladder's going to explode". I quickly parked the car and woke up MJ tapping her on the shoulder lightly.
"Nngh, we there yet?", she said wiping the drool off her mouth and shirt with her hand. I just shook my head as a response and pointed at the window. With a sigh, she quickly unbuckled herself and went to the store. "Don't buy much MJ! It'll only be a few minute drive before we arrive at the motel!", I shout as she only waved her hand at me.

Lastly, I went out to fuel the car. I filled up the tank and payed the gas jockey without making eye contact. After that, I was once again alone in my car. Thoughts started to flood my mind. What'll I say to Matt? What'll the others say? Do they even want us here? Should we even contin-

My thoughts were interupted when MJ tossed a water bottle on my lap. "You OK there buddy? Looks like you spaced out there a bit, wanna talk about it?", she comforted me by gently rubbing my shoulder. Before I knew it my head was already resting on her shoulder, she didn't hesitate to hug me a bit. MJ and I were really close back then, she was our neighbour ever since I was 4. We grew up together, it was only the two of us until Matt arrived. He moved in on my 7th birthday. I was really curious about him because I found it really funny that he arrived at the town on my birthday. I thought that he may be one of my birthday present. He moved infront of MJ. Matt seemed very interested to us however he wouldn't come out of his house. He was constantly looking at us, peeking at their curtain whenever we play at MJ's front yard. After a week, my mom decided to give some of her caserole to the Matt's family as a welcoming present. And then I came up with a brilliant idea, I asked mom to take me with her so I can play with Matt. It took time to get to know him considering that he didn't know how to speak in english back then, but he eventually opened up to us. And the rest is history.

"I'm ok now MJ. Thanks". I took a drink from the bottle she gave me and moved back to my seat. A few minutes passed until Claire finally came back from the restroom. "Please, I don't wanna talk about it. Let's just go.", Claire huffed ws she sat on the backseat. I didn't wanna know what she was talking about so I just did what I was told.

Adter another 20 minutes we finally arrived at the motel. It looked just like what I expected it to be. Red bricked walls with a small gate and a guarding post. The guard quickly let us in after seeing our license plate. After parking the car infront of our room, I asked MJ to go to the lobby to get our room keys. I gave her my phone where the receipt was saved, then Claire and I started to get our luggage out of the truck.

"After we unpack our things, I'm going to the diner for lunch. Granola bars gets old fast if it's the only shit you've been eating for the past 8 hours.",I
could only nod at Claire as a response. I was tired, smelly, sweaty, and sleepy. You'd be too if you're driving for 4 and a half hours straight

We finally saw the motel we're staying at up ahead. The thought of taking a shower and sleeping on a nice warm bed made me ease up a bit. But then I remembered
that we we're all supposed to meet up at Bernardo's house at 3 pm. I took a glance at my watch, It was already 11 pm.

MJ finally came back with the keys and unlocked the front door. I quickly bolted in and before I knew it, I've already layed on the bed not planning to move. That quickly changed when MJ slapped my butt. I yelped and quickly covered it with one of the pillows.

"Foul play woman. What a man wants, a man gets. I'll change later..."

"Oh? And you wouldn't mind if I sit on your back too?", she smirked challenging me.
I swear if this woman wasn't holding one of my biggest secrets, I would've strangled her ages ago. Claire was already putting her clothes in the clossets near the bathroom. "Hey I thought you we're going to shower first?", I poked her side to get her attention. She only grunted as an answer. This hippocrite I swear to God. My phone rang causing the two women in the room to look at me. It was probably Oliver.

I sat up and answered my phone already knowing who it was and put it on speaker. "We'll be there in 30 minutessss. Atleast make us rest first Keith", I whined playfully.

"Wow dude, and 'Mah' said that I was an annoying little brat.",I could only smirk as I hear his stoned voice again. MJ grinned as she listens to our conversation while Claire looked at me  unamused.

"Missed you too dude. Alright where's Olly? He's supposed to take us to Matt's place. at 12:30."

"Oh yeah, he told me to tell you that he'd be a little late because of church stu- Holy crap the eddibles!", Reggie shouts as he dropped our call. I couldn't
help but smile after hearing his voice. Despite Reggie being a complete pot head, he's a very supportive friend. We kept in touch after I moved away for
college. He would always be open when I message him about my problems and wouldn't hesitate to help me in anyway he can. Claire might look like she doesn't
like Reggie that much but trust me when I say that she cares about him. We all do, 'cause that's what friends are for. Right?