The Olive Theory ~ Adam Reed

3. Unfamiliar Meetings

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Hailey sat on Adam's bed as she watched him play video games. Hailey was startled when the power turned off. Hailey scooted closer into Adam. Adam takes off his headset and places it on Hailey's lap as Hawking ran outside of the room. "Hawking?" Adam said leaning over to see outside the bedroom door. Hailey followed Adam as he left his bedroom and followed Hawkings outside. "What are we doing this is how people die in horror movies." Hailey ranted as she looked around.

"What is it? You see something?" Adam asks Hawking bending down to be level with him. Hawking stops barking before running off. "Hawking, stop! Hawking!" Adam and Hailey yell as they watch Hawkings runs off. Hailey grabs her pocket knife from her jacket as Adam grabs his baseball bat. The two kids walked in the forest with flashlights pointing in different directions as they look for Hawking. "Hawking!" Adam and Hailey yelled as they came to a stop in the middle of the woods. 

Hailey wince as she felt a burning feeling on her arm, she looked down as she saw fire. Hailey looked at the sky admiring the embers falling from the sky. Hailey didn't realize she had caught the attention of the boy next to her as she laughed as she tried to dodge the burning embers. "Hailey?" Adam said bumping her in the arm. "What?" Hailey asked as she followed Adam's gaze above them. "Holy shit," Hailey said as she looked up at the trail of half-burning trees. The sound of Hawking barking scares the two causing Adam to lift up his bat and Hailey to open her pocket knife. 

"Oh my God. You scared the crap out of me." Adam said as he bends down to scratch Hawking's head. Hailey and Adam turn around swiftly as they hear rusting from behind them. "Who's there?" Adam asks flashing his flashlight towards the noise. "I don't think we should be out here," Hailey said as she turned over to look at Adam. Hailey ran after Adam as he chased Hawkings back to the house. Hailey leaned up against a tree and rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "We're okay," Adam says as he breaths in his inhaler and exhales. 

"We are so gonna die," Hailey says as she hears clattering come from inside the shed. "Hawking!" Adam yells as Hawking runs towards the shed. Hailey stood behind Adam slightly pushing him forward. "See anything?" She peaking above Adam's shoulder to see. "Take it easy." Was all Hailey heard before getting pushed down by Adam falling on top of her. "Ow, what the fuck?" Hailey groaned as Adam apologized. "Or, you know, fall down and scream." A man said from inside the shed. Adam quickly got up, turning on the shed light. "Jeez. Who the hell are you?" Adam asked holding up the bat getting ready to hit him with it. 

"Put the bat down. Put the bat down. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." The man said slightly squinted at the harsh light. "What are you doing in here?" Adam asked as Hailey finally walked into the shed. "Mostly bleeding." The man said looking down at his side. The man stopped as he looked at the kid walking into the shed. The man stared at Hailey with a surprised expression on his face. "Are you okay?" Hailey asked with a look of disgust at the man staring at her. The man shook his head before realizing something. "Wait, how old are you?" The man asked the two kids standing in front of him. 

"What?" Adam asked confused. "How old are you?" Said the man but this time more aggressive. "Twelve," Hailey said crossing her arms. "Twelve..." The man whispered. "Shit!" The man raised his voice. How did you get in my dad's garage?" Adam asked now realizing where they are. "I... It was open." The man stuttered looking for a lie. "No, it wasn't," Hailey said glaring at the man. "And that is a flight suit. Are you a pilot?" Adam said pointing to his outfit. "Yeah. Yeah, listen to me. Uh... Don't... Hey, don't call anyone. Put the phone down. I won't hurt you." The man said as Adam pulled out his phone. "You said that already," Adam said annoyed at the man in the shed.

"Well, it bears... God damn it!" The man shouted as the wound on his side started hurting. "Uh, it bears repeating." The man said finishing his sentence. "That's a lot of blood," Adam said staring at his wound. "Yeah it really is flowing right out," Hailey said tilting her head to look at the blood on the floor. "Well... well, I have so much more in my body. Where's your mother?" The man asked looking at Adam. "On a date," Hailey said answering for him. "With who?" The man asked.

"What?" Adam asked confused as to why he was asking. "With who? What's his name?" The man asked again. "I don't know. Derek?" Adam said questionably. "Derek? Derek. Derek, Derek, Derek." The man said almost as if he was trying to remember. "That's, yes, the guy with the, um... with the mouth mullet." The man said gesturing towards his mouth. " Mouth mullet?" Hailey whispered to herself as The man and Adam continued to talk. "The goatee?" Adam questioned. "Yeah." The man said agreeing.

"So say goatee," Adam said with attitude towards the man. "Yeah, he doesn't matter." The man said looking around. "None of them matter," Adam said quietly causing a silence in the air. "Oh, uh... Nice dog." The man said as Adam looked down at Hawkings with his head rested on the man's leg. "I'm gonna go inside the house. I'm gonna get some stuff." The man said as he stood up causing the two kids to back up. "Hey, careful with that." The man said as he walked past the two quickly grabbing the bat out of Adam's hand. "Stay here." He said throwing the bat on the ground.

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