I shut the door to the storage shed giving a sharp sigh as the lock clicked into place, I turned on my heal swiftly, bag in hand, I walked on the side of the soccer field to meet up with my best friend Katherine. She and I had been best friends since she moved to my home town in seventh grade. She was also my only friend until freshmen year. Kat had always been loud and out going but that hadn't stopped most of the other kids from outcasting her.
As I was walking, making my slow trek to the parking lot I saw a blur of ginger hair bounding toward the opposite set of bleachers. I couldn't help but grin. Kat was always trying to scare me. I ducked down making my way to her hiding spot. The further I got from the parking lot the harder it became to see so I was unable to tell if she had already moved on or not. Either way I was going to chance it. It was the only type of chance I would take after my brother...
We grew up in our safe, cozy, little town. Well, I did. He grew to be seven-years-old before he went missing.
It was just after dinner when my twin brother asked our mother if we could go outside to play before it got dark. She hesitated as she normally did when it got close to sunset. Eventually she gave into Jake's pleading blue eyes. Our mom had always had a hard time saying no to Jake and I.
"Eli, do you want to play ninjas with me?" Jake had asked me excitedly. I wish I would have said yes.
"I don't want to play ninjas Jake. I want to read that new book Mom got me." I told him. "Besides you always cheat when we play ninjas."
"Do not." Jake argued.
That was the last time I ever saw Jake. I didn't really understand when my mom panickedly screamed his name or begged my father to call the police as if he'd tell her no. Of course he would, he was just as panicked as she was. They never found his body and our family was never the same. Mom stopped being a mom and Dad threw himself into work so he'd never have to be home.
Not that it was much of a home after that day. I turned the corner to behind the bleachers and saw Kat. She had a noose around her neck and she was hanging only a few inches off the ground. A man stood behind her, haphazardly pulling her hair from under the rope. He hadn't noticed me. He was tall, standing several inches above my five foot seven height and he was obviously built. His muscles didn't bulge like I'd seen with a lot of football players but I could see each lean muscle flex in his neck and forarm as he continued his work
I carefully tried to pull out my flip phone from my pocket. I couldn't win against this man in a fight but if I could get the police out to the school quick enough maybe, just maybe I wouldn't have to watch my best friend die. Quietly I flipped it open and dialled nine with an ear splitting beep. My breath caught in my throat and my fingers froze. Fuck.
I was tackled to the ground, the phone knocked from my hand. I pushed desperately at his arms, shoulders, and chest while my legs tried to find purchase to kick him off of me. The fight didn't last long. My ears rang from two sharp blows to the head and then my vision went black.