My Captivator

Chapter One

Kairyn:

"Wow . . ." Caleb smiled. "That was an awesome movie! It's crazy how real they can make the graphics and the aliens look. And when the ship was destroyed by the-"

"Yeah it was pretty cool." I sputtered. Sarcasm traced my voice but thankfully Caleb didn't catch it. He was a nice guy and all, but he was casted as a nerd, a serious, stereotypical nerd. High socks, nice shoes, glasses, button up, high voice, the whole shebang. His demeanor didn't fit him, though. Yes, he was a nerd, but he was also tall and muscular. If he hadn't been so . . . Caleb . . . I might have called this night a date. But no, this was not a date.

"Cool? Nah, it was way better than just cool! It was unreachable by any other effects of all kinds! The graphics and all unified the whole movie into-"

"Caleb." I interrupted him. He stopped and glanced over at me from the driver's seat.

"I'm doing it again aren't I?" He was referring to his nerdy quirks.

I gave him a sympathetic smile. His blonde hair was just out of reach of his green eyes.

"Awe, I'm sorry Kairyn. It kind of just comes out sometimes." His shoulders fell, meaning I had hurt his feelings. "So, did you have an awful time tonight?" He didn't make eye-contact with me.

"Caleb, I had a great time tonight. I just . . . am not into sci-fi. I did enjoy the food though!" I tried to cheer him up. His shoulders lifted and I swear I saw a ghost of a smile play on the edge of his lips.

"Next time you can pick the movie." His voice sounded lower.

I breathed out and closed my eyes. "Yeah, next time."

We continued down the road as the car became silent. It wasn't awkward, just quiet. I turned to look out the window and smiled at the star filled sky. I never knew, or understood why the stars had always calmed me. They caused me to relax, even if I was stressed to the max. I lived out in the middle of nowhere so stars, grass, trees, and dirt were my very existence.

We came up to the stop light near my road and waited. There was no one else around. Few people drove around at 12:30 a.m. in the small town I lived in. Nixa, Missouri was not large but it continued to grow every year. It was a quirky little town with more things to do than my family or I needed.

The stop light continued to shine red and I was starting to get antsy. There were no other cars so why was it taking so long for the light to turn green?

"Good gravy, how long must this light be red?" Caleb huffed under his breath. His high voice was almost annoying to listen to.

I looked out my window to stare back up at the stars and that's when movement caught my eyes. Two men stood between two buildings. One of them had blonde hair that waved down to the end of his ear. He had on what seemed to be all black and he held something in his hand. His movements seemed almost aggressive. It was then I realized what was happening. He was threatening the other man. And the object in his hand was none other than a gun. My heart began to pound. I opened my mouth to speak but silence came out. I quietly rolled the window down to see if I could eavesdrop and that's when my phone started ringing. The screen read 'mom calling' as I hurriedly tried turning it off. Time seemed to slow down as the man turned to look at me. His eyes widened and then narrowed as the look of determination stared me down. He turned back to the man and the spark of the gun ignited but only silence followed. The man who was slumped to the ground and the murderer turned his gaze on me.

"Caleb Drive!" I screamed, making Caleb jump.

"Kairyn the light is red! I know we've been sitting here a while but-" I didn't let him finish. I moved my hand over and pushed down on his leg, causing him to step hard on the accelerator. "Kairyn what are you doing?" He yelled. "Are you crazy? We could have just been killed!" His voice was lower than usual.

"There's someone after us!" I yelled. Caleb turned to see the man running after us and his face grew serious. A slight spark of recognition danced across his eyes. If I hadn't known him I would have been afraid.