My name is Caleb Marsh and I don’t exactly live the most exciting life.
I live in the most unknown and technically nonexistent town of Bone Dry, Arizona, which is a couple of hours away from Tucson in Pima County. There’s not a whole lot to do here. I mean, we have a few things like a roller rink, a small-scale mall, and some pretty neat, family-owned fast food joints, but it’s still not enough to be considered “exciting”.
It gets really hot around here as well, considering that I quite literally live in a desert. Just like most towns and cities in Arizona, the weather can get up to over one hundred degrees, which is most definitely undesirable. I prefer to stay indoors all summer, but there are days when my mom will ask me to go run some errands for her or go drop my brother Brandon off somewhere.
Living in Arizona isn’t all that bad, if you ask me. Occasionally, it’ll give you something to appreciate, such as air conditioning. Most places will take it for granted, but people who live in Arizona grow to love it. It’s the best part of anybody’s day, if I’m being honest.
As I lounge on the muted navy blue sofa, I carelessly surf through our endless cable networks, hoping to find something interesting. It’s almost noon on a Saturday morning, and I’m bored and soaking in the refreshing air conditioning that switches back and forth from either blasting or gently passing by my face.
So far, every channel I go to doesn’t interest me at all. Sometimes I wish my parents would pay for streaming like everyone else I knew, but a part of me knew I couldn’t change their minds. They’ve always preferred cable.
Somehow, I find my way to one of the various News channels, and I decide to linger on it for a little while longer. Maybe the newscasters will have something interesting to say.
I see a woman with long, blonde hair sitting at the large table included with the rest of the setup. She fixes her papers and quickly tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear before speaking.
“Just two nights ago, seventeen-year-old Maddox Henderson was brutally murdered in Downtown Tucson,” the newswoman says. It piques my interest.
“Maddox was last seen at the local Italian joint Oregano’s, where he went out to eat dinner with his friends. After eating, Maddox was separated from his friends and hadn’t been seen again until the following morning. However, he was found with several stab wounds scattered around his body, mainly placed along his chest and stomach with others along his arms and legs. While the Tucson Police are still investigating, many locals claim that they have an idea of who the culprit may be.”
I keep all eyes on the blonde woman as I internally pry the information right out of her. I want to know more.
“They believe the one responsible for Maddox Henderson’s death is none other than the well-known serial killer of Arizona: The Reaper. For the viewers who may be unaware of The Reaper, he is a traveling man known for killing several of Arizona’s citizens without any clear motive or pattern. While The Reaper’s identity is still a mystery to the public, witnesses have seen vague, physical details about him. As a general warning, if you see–”
The tv is shut off before I can get a good physical description of The Reaper. Startled by this sudden change in scenery, I tilt my head up and see Brandon standing over me from behind the sofa, remote in his hand and an agitated look on his face.
“Mom’s been calling you for a while,” Brandon states. “She says your phone’s ringing and it’s annoying her.”
I sigh as I stand up, lighty bonking Brandon on the head with my fist. “Whatever… I’ll get it.”
I can tell that Brandon didn’t like getting bonked, but I chose to ignore it for now. I have bigger things to worry about, such as finding out who’s calling me. I trudge up the basement stairs, which is actually quite rare for a house in Arizona. This is because of how poor the soil is and how it provides challenges when attempting to construct one. My family just happened to luck out when they bought this house.
Once I reach the top of the stairs, I see my mom preparing some lunch in the kitchen. There’s a loaf of honey wheat bread resting on the marble countertop, along with ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, peanut butter, jam, and a few other things as well. She’s making sandwiches for lunch.
“Your phone is ringing, Caleb,” Mom says.
“I know,” I confirm. “I’m going to see who it is.”
Mom spreads some peanut butter on a slice of bread. “If you’re going to answer it, please make it quick. Lunch is almost ready.”
I give her a quick nod before continuing the journey to my bedroom. I tend to leave my phone there instead of keeping it on hand, which bothers my parents. They find it annoying that I’m always missing calls from them.
I can hear the sound of my ringtone coming from the top of my beige study desk as I approach it. Taking a peek at the screen, I can see that the call is from my best friend, Noah Romano. With a brief sigh, I pull my phone away from the desk, press the “Accept Call” button, and hold the phone up to my right ear.
“Hello?” I croak out.
“Hey, man!” Noah sounds excited to hear from me. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m doing alright,” I say as I take a quick glance around my dark bedroom. “What made you decide to call?”
“Well, I was just wondering– since it’s the weekend and all– if you’d like to come hang out with me around town. We could go to the mall or something, if you wanted to.”
I think about this for a moment, then allow myself to come back to reality. “I’ll have to ask my mom first. She’s getting lunch ready right now.”
“O-Oh… Well, let me know what she says, then I’ll be at your house to pick you up, ok?”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes!”
“See ya.”
I hang up the phone, stuff it in my jeans pocket, then guide myself back to the kitchen, dreading to have to ask Mom if I can go out. She always insists on everyone staying together to eat meals, which will make it difficult to persuade her.
Without looking up from her sandwich ingredients, Mom asks, "So… who was on the phone?"
"Noah," I answer simply. "He wants to take me to the mall."
Mom pauses to look over at me. "Right now?"
I nod.
"Can't it wait until after lunch?" she pleads. "I'm almost done here."
"He said he'd be over in a few minutes." That isn't an exaggeration. Noah lives right next door to me, so it won’t take long for him to get ready.
Mom grumbles to herself. "Fine. You can go. Just be back before dinner, alright?"
"Yes, Ma'am." I turn around and make my way over to the shoe cabinet, surprised at how quickly it took to change her mind. Normally, it would've taken the same amount of time it would take for Noah to be fully dressed and standing outside my house for what would seem to be hours.
Once I reach the shoe cabinet, I slip on my black and white, checkered slip-on Vans. After that, I make sure I have my wallet on-hand then wait by the door. Noah should be here any minute now.
As I wait, I pick a random spot on the wall to stare at without any real reason. There isn't anything interesting about the section of wall I chose, besides the blue-gray color it displays. My line of vision remains attached to that particular spot, though I’m not sure why. However, it brings a peculiar feeling to the room. Every object starts to blur and each sound that fills the house is washed out. The only thing I can hear is the loud ringing in my ears. The world around me starts to dissociate and glitch out. It’s like I’m not even inside my own body.
It’s like I’m not myself anymore.
I soon see a tall, shadowy figure standing directly in front of me. This person is unrecognizable to me, but its aura reminds me of someone very dear to me. I just can’t make out who.
The figure soon makes eye contact with me and shivers run down my back. I can see its round, white eyes. It takes a step closer to me, maintaining its strong eye contact. I press my back against the wall, trying not to panic. The next feature I’m able to make out is a mouth that’s curved upward into a wobbly and crooked smile. Its teeth are just as white as its glowing eyes.
“C̸̺͕̆̉͝ạ̵̡̮̔.̷̗͖̎̏̽.̵͖̠͛.̴̞̬̹̾̊l̵͔̠̗̓̆͐ë̸̛̯͙́̎b̵̧͙͗̕.̴̧̾.̸͓̱͇̅̇.̸͛͑͜”
The shadow figure’s words have come out distorted, making it difficult to understand what it was trying to say. Meanwhile, I’m at a loss for words. I have no idea how to respond without angering them.
What should I do? I ask myself. What should I do? What should I–
A loud knock startles me out of my spiraling thoughts, breaking me free from this horrible confrontation. I take a minute to let out a breath that I didn’t even realize I had been holding in.
Whatever that was, it was terrifying…
Another knock follows, reminding me that I have a guest to greet. I slowly open the door and see Noah standing behind the doormat with a warm smile on his face. He’s wearing a plain, black t-shirt that matches his dark, curly hair and a pair of exercise shorts. I don’t blame him, considering the scorching hot weather outside.
“So, what’d your mom say?” Noah asks. He gives me a small wave from his right hand. I do the same to reciprocate the greeting.
“She said I can go,” I reply dully. I raise my foot off the floor and lightly nudge the small rug on my side of the door with it.
Noah looks excited. “Sweet! C’mon, let’s get in the car.”
I shrug. “Alright.”
Before I turn to leave, I look behind me for a brief second and notice that Brandon is scowling at me, carrying a plate with a sandwich on top of it. I can’t say anything to him because I hear Noah calling out my name, signaling for me to exit the house. I do just that, leaving Brandon behind in the process.
As I climb inside Noah’s silver minivan, I feel the AC blast in my face, making me shiver slightly. Noah already has the car started and he’s setting up the Bluetooth features to get some music playing.
“Are you sure you want to wear clothes like that?” Noah wonders. “It’s reached over a hundred degrees today.”
I glance down at my current wardrobe pick for the day, which consists of a baggy, grey sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. “I’ll be fine.”
A glimmer of doubt flashed across Noah’s hazel eyes, but he shrugged it off and shifted the gears of the car to D. “Alright, if you say so.”
The car started moving away from my house, and it took us down the street until we reached a stop sign. Noah turned on the left turn signal.
“So, did you want to stop by the mall first?” Noah asks.
“Sure,” I reply, staring out the front window. A small, blue car passes by us through the center of the intersection, giving Noah permission to turn left.
“Is it alright if I turn on some music?” Noah hands me his phone. “Here, you can pick.”
“Thanks.” I scroll through Noah’s playlist and notice that he took the time to add some songs written by indie bands for me. I’m glad he remembers things like this.
I select a song that I’ve heard at least a couple of times and carefully place the phone in the nearest cup holder.
“Nice choice!” Noah approves. I know indie bands aren’t really his cup of tea, but it’s nice to know that he’s still willing to be supportive of my tastes.
The rest of the car ride is filled with silence, except for the occasional question from Noah. I’m a little surprised he hasn’t gotten bored of my simple and boring replies, but I don’t mind it at all. He can do most of the talking if he really wants to.
At one point, I almost fall asleep, but Noah wakes me as soon as we arrive in the mall’s parking lot.
“Hey, we’re here.” Noah shakes my shoulder, then lets out a soft chuckle. “Don’t tell me you were about to pass out just now.”
“I thought I’d have enough time to take a quick nap,” I say.
Noah laughs again. “Dude, it takes fifteen minutes to drive to the mall.”
I shrug. “Whatever.”
Noah and I exit the car and close the doors. While Noah’s locking the car, I quickly analyze the outside exterior of the mall. It was definitely smaller than a mall you’d find in a big city, but it wasn't too bad of a place to hang out in. There were still a lot of various stores inside to roam around in and shop. Besides, there was also a food court. Who can say no to accessible food?
I closely follow Noah as we both walk underneath the two pillars that hold the front side of the mall up. I momentarily wonder what would happen if the pillars suddenly cracked so badly that the entire building collapsed on top of us. However, before I can imagine that out carefully inside my head, Noah ever so kindly interrupts me from my train of thought.
“To start things off, I think we should grab some food.” I look over to Noah, who has his pointer finger placed on his chin. I become startled when his eyes meet mine. “What do you think?”
I do feel a little hungry, I decide. “I’m down.”
Noah smiles. “Great! Let’s go find the food court.”
As Noah practically leads me across the mall, I focus more on our surroundings. For a Saturday afternoon, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people here. I find that to be strange, but I don’t say anything to Noah about it. I then turn my attention to Noah, who is cheerfully strolling along the tiled floor.
Sometimes I wish I could be as free spirited as him, but I know that’s not possible for me.
It will never be possible.
We soon arrive at the food court, which is on the second story of the mall. Noah asks me which of the restaurants I want to eat at, and I let him decide. He chooses Chick-fil-A and we both approach the mall employee to take our orders. Noah orders first as I scan the menu for anything enticing. I decide on a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, then tell the employee. Noah guides me to a seat and we sit down at the small table surrounding it. Noah sits in the chair on the opposite side of the table from me.
“What did you order?” I ask him.
“I picked the Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap,” Noah replies.
I nod. “Cool.”
While we wait for our food, I switch back and forth between listening to Noah chat with me and spacing out. Noah sure does like to talk a lot– particularly small talking, which is something I never quite got the grasp of. He really doesn’t seem to mind me barely responding to him.
Suddenly, the food arrives. The Chick-fil-A employee sets down our lunch in between us, smiles when Noah thanks her, then returns to the front counter. Almost immediately after she leaves, Noah snatches his cool wraps from the tray, peels open the wrapping paper, and digs in. He must’ve been starving before we arrived. He scarfs down his food like it’s the end of the world. Meanwhile, I quietly remove my sandwich from the tray, unwrap it from its wrapping paper and take smaller and slower bites. I may be hungry, but I’m not that hungry.
“Man, that was good…” Noah has already finished eating his two cool wraps! He must’ve noticed the surprised look on my face because he quickly says, “I can wait for you to finish.”
I nod slowly before continuing to eat my sandwich. It tastes good.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take me long to finish eating. I make an assumption that Noah is starting to get antsy, so I tap him on the shoulder and let him know that I’m finished. Noah flips his head around back to me after staring at all the people below us walking by.
“Alright, then.” He stands up and gathers our garbage. “Wanna walk around a bit? Explore?”
“Sure, why not?” I walk with Noah to the garbage can and watch him dump our garbage inside it.
“Sounds good! We can just wander around and see if anything catches our eyes,” Noah explains. “After that, we can figure out something else to do.”
I nod and follow him towards the escalator. As it takes us back down to the first floor, I can’t help but wonder how much money I have on me. Malls are expensive, and the last time I went shopping here I blew an entire five hundred dollars. That is not happening again.
We step off the escalator and Noah strides over to the first store he sees, which happens to be a clothing store.
“C’mon, let’s go see if they have anything new!” he prods eagerly. I have no choice but to follow him.
The entire time Noah and I explored the mall for probably the hundredth time, I felt like I didn’t have much of a say in anything. I mean, Noah did ask me if there were any stores I wanted to go inside, but most of our visit was me getting mercilessly dragged all over the mall. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Noah’s company, but he can be a bit of a handful sometimes. We’ve been inside the mall for a couple of hours, and I’m starting to become tired.
“Hey, Caleb, let’s go to at least one more store before we leave, ok?”
“Alright.”
As Noah takes charge once again, I glance at every store we pass by. There’s a bookstore, a store filled with makeup products, a toy store, and a… a skater shop…
My feet stop right in their tracks as I look closely at the skater shop. Something about it just feels… familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. A strange and unnerving feeling tingles my spine and makes the hair on my neck stand on end. I don’t like this feeling. It reminds me of what I felt right before I left the house today. Something about this is unsettling and it’s making me feel uncomfortable.
I feel my knees start to tremble slightly as everything around me goes dark again. I start to see my surroundings starting to glitch out again, and that’s enough to get my heart pounding hard under my chest. Then, without much of a warning, the shadowy figure from before spawns right inside the skater shop. Its glowing, white eyes examine each item on display.
“C̷̢̠̚̕ä̶̼́͊l̴̛̟̖̋̋͜e̷̩͙͛̅ͅb̵̛͎̥͉̈́͝.̷̮̼̋̈́.̸̟̐.̴͚̼̮̌ ̷̰̙̇̂̈́W̶͎͝h̵̨̠̱̕̚͠i̵̝͕̠͑̿c̷̨̩̓̀͝h̵͍̝̾̀̓ ̶̣̦̱̿ó̷̳̼f̵̛̜̋͂ͅ ̵̨̟͐t̴̜̓̈́h̶̫̔̓ͅẻ̴͓̦͐s̵̩͈̜̊e̷͎͈̙̎̽̑ ̵̹͈̄̀s̸̟̻̏̑͋h̶͋̎ͅo̸̮̗͋ū̴̝̰̎͛l̵͔͝d̷͕͓͙̃̃ ̴̦̀͂̍I̴̡͍̲̎̈́ ̶̡̳͖̐̎̚b̶̰̋ȕ̵̱̺̠y̸̢̺̌̔ͅ.̷̨̜͐̚.̸̪̗͚̎̃̐.̵̥̺̦͊̆̓?̸̮͗̔͜͝”
I feel a loud pounding in my head, making me slump down onto the tiled floor, which feels fuzzy all of a sudden. I press both of my hands against my forehead, begging for the pain to stop, but nothing’s working. I hate how vaguely familiar all of this is. I wish it would all just stop.
“Caleb…?”
I don’t say anything.
“Caleb, what’s wrong?”
I hear Noah’s voice, but I can’t breathe, let alone say anything back to him.
“Caleb!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi, Lovely Readers!
What did you think of the first chapter? :)
Any thoughts on the characters? Like Caleb, Noah, Brandon, or Caleb's mom?
I'm a little worried this chapter came out as a slow start to the story, but I have big plans for what happens next
I'll see you all in the next chapter! ❤️