I held his hand in mine, pulling him close to me. I appreciated his warmth; it would probably be the last thing I could feel. We sat there, huddled against the wall, ignoring everyone's looks. I could care less what they thought of us now. All I wanted was this; this comfort. The light began to dim and thunder rumbled. We had to get moving soon. It was almost here. I looked at him, wondering if he knew. He seemed to be distant, attempting to block everything out. I wanted to take away his grief just as badly I wanted to everyone else's.

    "We have to hurry," I whispered to him. He looked at me with dead eyes and nodded, letting me go. Our hands lingered in each other's grasp for a moment longer, holding onto whatever last minutes of this we had.

2: Chapter 1

    My name is Marie Jackson and I'm 18 years old. There's nothing very interesting about me, except that I really love music and the fact that I'm getting ready to graduate high school. I stood in the dark, waiting for the bus. Normally I would've had my heavy books in my arms, but I didn't. My hands were free aside from a permission form, leaving my arms to idle at my sides. I listened as the cars drove by, making the leaves on the branches rustle as I stood on this asphalt hill. What I really wanted to hear was the song that was playing my head, something to keep me occupied while I waited on my friend, Kimberly.

    West Virginia mornings weren't the best. It was dark, and the wooded hills that surrounded us were rather creepy, foreboding almost. You couldn't see past the trees, which could make it easy for someone to attack and possibly drag you away and hide your body. The idea of coyotes wasn't comforting either, seeing as they would attack anything if they were in a pack. Most of the time it wasn't the woods that made me uneasy, it was the civilians that were on their way to work that usually did. The drivers were almost always in foul moods, not really caring if they almost hit you. As always, it was your fault that they weren't on the road. The same went for the coal truck drivers, only they were more daring. They were the speed kings of the road, sometimes the reason for putting holes in newly laid concrete. Then there were the ones that obeyed the laws, which was sadly a tiny handful. They wouldn't pull out in front of you, they'd wait until the kids were safely across the road before going anywhere. The new drivers, as nice as they are, were annoyingly slow. Sometimes a mile long line of traffic would be piled up behind them, honking their horns, waiting for a chance to get around them, or praying that they would turn off somewhere.

    The fact that I was right next to both of these things wasn't very comforting either.

    One of the more daring ones flew by, making my dark hair fly around my face annoyingly. Then he honked his horn, sending me flying into the guard rail. I'm a rather jumpy person, so if I think I see something that's not supposed to be there; say a spider, then I almost fly to the roof.

    Waiting on Kimberly took forever, considering my cousins would've been here first. Alex moved back in the winter time, leaving Bailey alone with their two younger siblings. Kimberly was their aunt by marriage. If I'd look out at the right time, I could see Bailey standing on the hill by herself. I felt bad for her, even if she got a little out of hand at times. It wasn't that she was annoying, it was just that she got really hyper.

    I was snapped out of my thoughts when the motion sensor light turned on. The light was fixated somewhere on the porch of the green house that sat at the bottom of the hill. I'd walked by it many times, but never saw where the light was. I guess that's a good thing.

    Kimberly stepped into the spotlight, her dyed brown hair seemingly glowing. I smiled in relief that I wasn't going to be riding the bus by myself. She left the illumination of the spotlight, only to reappear a few moments later in front of me.

    Kimberly was always rather bright and cheerful. She wasn't one to throw in a smart comment if she didn't like what you were saying, though she did have her moments when something would tick her off and she'd say something, albeit small. Normally, she was almost always level-headed and calm.

    "Morning," she greeted, "Wassup?"

    "Nothin'," I responded, "Bored. You?"

    "Same. Didn't wanna get outta bed this morning. Where's Bailey? Is she not coming?"

    "I don't think so," I said, looking back to the old, rickety bridge that Kimberly had crossed to get over here. Her house sat across the creek, far up on a hill surrounded by woods. Bailey had the same predicament, only she had to traverse the wilderness before she made it to the bridge, sometimes even having to walk across the railroad tracks and then walk down the slope to the bridge.

    Normally, if Bailey hadn't shown up by now, it either meant that she was going to be late or she wasn't coming at all.

    "Where's your books?" Kimberly asked.

    "I ain't got 'em," I responded. She pulled her eyebrows together and laughed.

    "I can see that," she said, "But I mean, why not?"

    "I've got a trip today," I said, smiling. Her jaw dropped dramatically as the bus slowed to a stop.

    "You're so lucky, I'm stuck with a report I have yet to do!" She exclaimed as we left for the bus. We sat in our normal spot when Bailey wasn't here, letting the bus radio take over. There wasn't much to talk about with Kimberly. Normally it was Bailey that did the talking most of the time. Kimberly and I were almost always listening, sometimes throwing something in about what she'd said to prove that we knew what was going on.

    As always, the bus was quiet. Some people took up full seats to sleep, others rested their heads against the windows, while others had their heads back with their mouths gaping open. I hated the bus ride to school. The radio always played the stupidest songs ever, sometimes the commercials would take up the whole bus ride, or one of the few good songs that they played was either ending just as we were getting on the bus or was just starting as soon as we had to leave.

    On this bus ride, though, the forecast interested me. They said something about a giant heat wave that was supposedly spreading across the country before it cut off to static. The hills in West Virginia didn't help the transmissions, especially not way out in Mingo County.

    The forecast was strange. It was just the middle of spring, so why was it getting so hot all of a sudden? I had noticed before that spring came earlier and earlier each year, so I didn't think too much into it. Maybe it is just a heat wave.

    "That's weird," Kimberly whispered, so as not to wake the sleeping person in the seat next to us.

    "I know," I answered her, "Maybe it's because we just got done with Blackberry Winter?"

    Blackberry Winter is a time in spring when it gets really cold, like the beginning of fall. Even though it's warm the day before, the temperature will suddenly drop over night. During Blackberry Winter, blackberries will start to grow. After the cold days, when everything warms up, some West Virginians will go out and pick the blackberries that had grown. Some people like this time of spring, mostly because they get their berries, but I hate it. I was always happy when things started to get warm again.

    "Might be," Kimberly said with a shrug. Soon we arrived at the mouth of the hollow that was home to Tug Valley High School. As we slid with the motion of the curves on the road, I caught glimpse of the football field. It was a mess. Not only was it littered with candy wrappers and pop cans, but it was built on top of a sewer. It had rained the night before, so now the field was almost flooded. I dreaded stepping a foot off this bus.

    The softball field, which was located to the far left corner, was junk. The ground all over the field was uneven, unlike the football and baseball regions. They were always in upkeep conditions while weeds covered the softball field until you couldn't even see it. The only thing that let you know that it was there was the bullpen behind it.

    Our bus driver slowed to a stop behind the other bus carefully, setting the vehicle in park. Beside our bus stood the dull gray and black building known as our high school, looming ominously over the two sets of stone stairs. I smiled in triumph. I didn't have to deal with this place for today. As soon as the bus doors squeaked in protest as they swung open and the lights flashed on, everyone stood up and slowly made their way to the road and up the flights of stairs to the entry way of the school. As we waited at the entry way, my permission form in my hand gently fluttered in the cool wind. The janitor slowly made his way to the doors, and I'm not exaggerating when I say slowly. When he finally opened the doors, everyone flooded past him to get to the warmth.

    I spotted two of my friends immediately, Janie and Bree, and sat with them as Kimberly went to sit with her group. No one in our group of friends ever really talked in the mornings unless there was drama. We mostly slept, finished some work, or studied for a test until the bell rang.

    Bree was more so the mother of our small group. She was caring and nurturing, if something had gone wrong we'd talk to her about it. Even if she couldn't really help, she was there for us to talk to when we needed a shoulder to cry on. Janie, on the other hand, was quite different. She was the inane one; loud, snippy, sassy, boy-crazy, love obsessed, and the dramatic. We loved her, but she could get a tad bit annoying, especially with the way she obsessed over guys that would talk to her that she thought was cute.

    "You excited for the trip, Marie?" Bree asked as I sat down at the lunch table. My friends were part of the reason I was going, the other part was because it was an excuse to get out of here. I laid my permission form in front of me, rubbing out the folds that somehow appeared.

    "Yes," I said, letting out a yawn. I was not a morning person, nor was I smart enough to bring coffee like Janie, "Are you guys?"

    "Yeah!" Janie exclaimed as she took a sip from her coffee. Not long after, in walked the last person of our small group. Kris sat down beside me, stifling a yawn in the cuff of her green jacket.

    Kris was the rational one of our group. She had her restrictions and gave helpful comments here and there when she saw fit, but she wouldn't push her belief down upon us. She was witty, especially in stressful situations. If it came down to it, though, she was concerned and there to help with any problems we were facing.

    "Mornin'," she said as she laid her permission form out in front of her. I've known Kris ever since kindergarten. We used to be best friends then, but somehow we forgot about each other for four years. It was Kimberly who brought us back together, and ever since then we've been inseparable. In my eyes, she was the sister that I had adopted.

    I met Bree at about the same time as Kris, but we weren't friends. I don't think she liked me then, but when we became freshmen she started to come around. I met Janie our freshman year as well. We weren't as close, but we got along.

    The bell rang, signaling it was time to start the day. As usual, Janie went to her locker before she went upstairs to our class so she wouldn't have to wait as long. Bree, Kris, and I went on without her. On the way up, we talked about the trip. I don't know if it was my heart murmur or if I was just weak, but I'd always get winded every time I went up the steps. I felt my heart jump in my chest and placed the blame on my condition. While they weren't paying attention, I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself, lagging behind. I didn't want to slow them down.

    After I caught up, we waited outside Mrs. Walker's room, where two more of our friends were.

    "Yo!" Jean greeted, lazily waving a pale thin arm. Hannah smiled and did the same. They weren't going on the trip, which saddened me, but they had reasons. Jean's parents wouldn't allow her to go for some reason and Hannah was waiting on a call from the university she was going to.

    "Ayo Jean," Kris said, flailing her arms and making the paper flap. The hallway was filled with people, so we had to squeeze by to stand with our friends. We weren't there long when we heard the clacking of heels hurrying down the hall. Mrs. Walker flew around the corner, taking long strides to the door. Once she unlocked the room, she turned on the lights and let us in.

    It was like an ice block when we stepped into her class.

    "Holy crap," Kris said, almost taken aback.

    "Don't worry," Mrs. Walker said in her unusually high pitched voice. The reason I say that is because she's extremely muscular and tall. She could, and had, lifted the biggest boy in the school. She flipped the other switch, "I'll turn the heater on."

    Kris bounced over to the heater and plopped down on it. A look of regret passed over her features as she gasped loudly, her brown eyes widening.

    "Th-That's cold!" She exclaimed in agony. Kris wasn't the type of person who liked the cold, especially not when it was supposed to be warm. She was easily froze, which was why she wore her jacket all the time. Holding her breath, she forced herself to relax. Once the heater began to blow warm air instead of cold, she calmed down.

    "Are you guys ready for the trip?" Mrs. Walker asked, moving to her desk to do roll call. Once that was done, she sat down in her chair, "You all don't have to do anything, seeing as I won't have you guys for the rest of the day, but I will leave the sub a note to let you all know to work on your projects."

    After the tardy bell rang, we all stood to say the pledge of allegiance. After the pledge, we sat back down and ignored our vice principal's words of wisdom, which she herself didn't follow. We've had to listen to the stupid things our whole four years. At first, I thought they were a good thing. Refreshing, almost. Then the year after that she repeated the same thing. Not only were the 'words of wisdom' infuriating, but in literally every class they would call someone out to the office.

    "The students who are going on the trip with Mrs. Walker, please come down to the office and turn in your permission forms," Mrs. Sawyer said in her same monotone, uncaring voice. After hurrying down to the office, we waited on the office helpers to take our forms. While they were giving us bored looks and not moving an inch off their chairs, Mrs. Sawyer came out with the counselor, Mr. Terry. They took our papers and sent us back to class, where we waited impatiently to leave the building and be on our way.

    There wasn't much to do except talk and wait. It wasn't even two minutes after we'd gotten back that they called Bree down. Hesitant and nervous, she walked out of the class. She didn't come back for a good five minutes. When she did, she was flustered.

    "They lost my paper," she said, furrowing her brows, "I don't know if I'm going to get to go or not."

    "You're 18," Janie stated, "They saw you turn in your form, so why would they keep you from going?"

    That was their specialty, the office. They complained about how all students weren't responsible when they were as responsible as a child.

    "I say go anyway," Mrs. Walker said, swinging in her chair, "I'll get them to let you go."

    With a wink, she started working on a note. We all knew that the office didn't like Mrs. Walker, especially not where she was one of the few good teachers here. She wasn't one for kissing their butts at every moment they wanted something.

    "Hey," Janie said, "Maybe while you're working on that note for Bree, you could ask them to let us eat Mexican to!"

    "Yeah!" Mrs. Walker smiled, scribbling faster on the note, "I can actually go and see right now... be right back."

    She raced out of the room, leaving us all to our own devices. It wasn't long before she came back.

    "Mr. Reitez said, 'No!'" She made a swinging X motion with her arms. I rolled my eyes.

    "Why not go anyway and not tell him? What the office doesn't know won't hurt them," I suggested. There was a mischievous glint in Mrs. Walker's eyes, but she shook her head.

    "I don't want to get in trouble," she said.

    The intercom belted out, "Those students going on the trip with Mrs. Walker, go down to the cafeteria now."

    I hated the way they talked to us like we were small, unruly children. Mrs. Sawyer called us out one by one until we were all seated at the still filthy lunch tables. Mrs. Walker took her chance and shuffled into the office with Bree's note. Luckily they let her go.

    We loaded the bus, sitting as close as we could get to each other. Kris and I were in the seat next to Janie and Bree's. As Mrs. Walker sat in the seat in front of us, I said loud enough for her to hear, "Viva la Mexican."

    She turned, giving me an understanding look, but didn't say anything as the bus pulled out of the hollow.

3: Chapter 2

    The college was a lot bigger than it looked. Granted I had never been in this part of the building, though. The campus was nothing to what it looked like on the inside, which was much more pleasant and cozy.

    When we'd gotten to the front desk, there were sheets of colorful papers marked 'A-G,' 'H-N,' 'O-U,' and 'V-Z.'

    "Go to the first letter of your last name," one of the attendants said as we entered. I went to the bright blue paper marked 'H-N' and waited in line. When I got up to the desk, the man wrapped a blue band around my wrist and sent me off to the cafeteria, where other students from different high schools were.

    I waited outside the doors, terrified to go in there alone. Janie and Bree came first, then Kris. Once our little group was formed, we went on into the cafeteria. They were playing music, which I thought was nice. I wondered for the moment if all colleges played music while their students ate lunch. We sat at one of the isolated tables that was positioned in front of a podium, and I knew what we were in for. One of the staff members stepped up to the podium and started speaking into the microphone. I barely could hear her over the sound of the other senior classes. When she was done, I heard her say to go with our group.

    Everyone got up at the same time, scrambling every which way to find their guide. I found mine quickly and shuffled past the other students to the quick forming group. When I realized that none of my friends were going to be with me, I felt that anxious feeling again.

    "What up, Marie?" said a burly girl with curly brown hair tied in a bun. Chloe meandered through the thinning crowd to our group with a smile on her face. Her friend, Kelsey, kept up with her friend. I felt relieved to see friendly faces in the group.

    We didn't talk much during our trip around the campus, but when we did it was short and quiet because the guide was almost always talking. When it was lunch, we all gathered around the table in front of the podium. We ate our bagged lunches, which were cold and gross. Not only was anything unappetizing, but the milk they expected us to drink was ruined by a couple months. Without any kind of hesitation, we all quickly threw our lunches away and snuck away to the vending machines, where a long line of students—not only from Tug Valley—was stationed.

    It didn't take long to get up there, unless you take away the idiots that just stood there talking. When we did, we ordered our 'food' and waited on each other. We downed our snacks hungrily, not caring how sloppy we ate. We were just so hungry. I blamed Mr. Reitez, our principal, for not allowing us to eat somewhere good.

    After everybody ate, they finally brought up the motivational speaker. He did surprisingly well. At one point it made Janie cry, but I think she was just doing it for the dramatic effect. It took about an hour for him to finish his well-done speech. We were then sent back to our groups to continue the rest of the tour. We went to the last few places we hadn't been yet, taking the papers that the instructors gave us and scribbling on them. They weren't very interesting, but I knew they were important, so I left the sides with writing on them alone.

    We went back to the cafeteria when we were done. All the schools were dismissed and we went back to our bus with black bags full of souvenirs from the many different instructors that told us about each part of the campus. The ride back was more interesting than the one getting here. Everyone was hyped up after their 'lunch.' There was at one point where they tried to squirt Mrs. Walker with water through a pinprick hole in the lid. When she tried to take the bottle away, she squeezed it too hard and the lid popped off, sending water flying all over the back of the bus. It was funny.

***

After I got back home, I was tired and ready to just fall onto my bed. My grandmother, Flora Mae, stopped me before I went down the short hallway. I was adopted when I was a few months old by my grandparents. Mom and Dad couldn't take care of me where they both had to work hours on end, so they let Grandpa and Grandma keep me. If I wasn't busy on the weekends or holidays, I'd go to stay with my parents in Matewan. Grandma was one of those old ladies that was really kindhearted, but if something happened then she turned into a warrior ready to destroy everything in her way just to make sure everything was fine.

    "Mail time," Grandma chimed, giving me a mischievous smile. I inwardly groaned and took my shoes off, putting on my flip flops. I hated shoes, but I wasn't allowed to go barefoot up on the road. I walked up the alley, listening to the cars drive by. I enjoyed feeling the warmth on my skin as the sun stood high in the sky, the clouds flying past.

    I walked up the hill where I had waited on the bus. I waited until a coal truck drove away from the three mail boxes before I walked on the side of the road. I opened the first mail box I got to, getting Mamaw Grace's mail. I shut the box and went to my old, beat up, rusty one that never wanted to shut. I got my mail and fought with the mail box until it closed. I turned around, glancing across the road, and almost dropped the mail in both of my hands.

    There, in the middle of the road, stood my Uncle Frank. He smiled at me, standing as still as a statue. He looked exactly as he did in his picture, dressed in his suit with a deck of Rook cards in his hand.

    "Hello, Marie," he said. My heart was beating fast. There was no way this could be happening! Oh, I was so happy! But at the same time, I was scared. This wasn't right. I got a sickly feeling in my stomach, an icky, burning substance settled at the back of my throat upon the sight.

    "F-Frank?" I said, feeling a hard lump form in my throat as tears stung the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill. Uncle Frank's smile widened as he nodded, only to disappear as a look of serious business fixated itself in his eyes.

    "Dana cheated on me," he said, his voice pained. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He spoke again, "Did you notice how fast she got her boyfriend? My best friend?"

    I nodded, getting that sinking feeling.

    "I wish she could see that he's using her for money," he said, his voice distant and trailing. He came back, locking our eyes with a gaze so fierce it could make a tough man tremble..

    "Be careful," he said, "They're coming."

    "Who?" I asked, feeling the color drain from my face. He shook his head. The distant roar of a coal truck engine reached me. I looked from both ways, trying to find where it was coming from.

    "Uncle Frank," I said, "A truck's coming. You better get out of the road."

    His only response was a saddened smile. The truck appeared around the bend, racing its way to the mail boxes.

    "Uncle Frank!" I shouted. He didn't move. I tried again, "UNCLE FRANK!"

    Before I knew it, I shot away from the guard rail and ran to him. I was pushed back to the side of the road as I watched the coal truck hit him without a second thought. I screamed in terror, squeezing my eyes shut and turning away. I held my breath to keep my shrieks back. Slowly I opened my eyes, not looking at the road.

    Look, something told me. So very hesitantly, I turned my head. I didn't know whether to be shocked or happy that there wasn't anything on the road. No signs of any kind of accident, no dead Uncle Frank, nothing. I stood there, trying to piece together what just happened, until I heard a distant whistle. Grandma sat on the porch, my dog Princess perched at the top of the steps in the sunlight, making her white fur seem to shine.

    As I walked down the alley, I thought over what just happened. That was definitely Uncle Frank. He was there, I heard him, I talked to him and he talked back. Then what was...?

    Should I tell Grandma what just happened? Walking up the stone steps, I handed her the stack of mail.

    "What were you starin' at up there?" She asked, tilting her head back to get a good luck at me. I bent down and patted Princess's head, earning a grunt from the old Maltese.

    "N-Nothing," I stuttered. We didn't speak as she shifted through the envelopes, pausing to squint through her glasses to get a better look. I kept my attention on Princess, who was enjoying every moment of it.

    "Grandma?"

    "Yes?" She didn't look up from her mail.

    "Do you... do you believe in the paranormal?" I asked. This got her attention.

    "What do you mean? Like ghosts 'n monsters 'n stuff like that?" She asked, pulling her brows together. I nodded, making her puff out a quiet laugh, "No, Marie, I don't. But I will tell you what I do believe in."

    I silently sighed as she delved into her story. I'd heard it way too many times to count. Her father had this crop field somewhere behind their house. From the back door, they'd watch squirrels run in and out of the field, eating their crops. No matter what her dad did, the squirrels would come back. Grandma's mother's brother came by one day and saw what was going on. Her father complained to him about it, saying that he wished that the squirrels would go away. Her uncle smiled real big and told him that he could get rid of the squirrels over night. Her father let him take care of the problem and, sure enough, by the next morning the squirrels didn't come back.

    Nobody knows how he did it, but Grandma swears up and down that it was witchcraft. Immediately, I knew not to tell her. She was already off her rocker anyway, as much as I loved her.

    I left to give Mamaw Grace her mail, leaving Grandma to sort through her own. I walked next door, finding her sitting on couch. She had her head lolling down and her eyes shut, her breathing rhythmic. I put her mail down on the nightstand beside her couch and quietly left her house. Quickly stepping down the stone steps onto the gravelly drive way, I noticed her daughter's car nearly speeding down the alley.

    Lucy pulled onto the gravel driveway and got out. The older woman spotted me and motioned me over.

    "I want you to help me bring the groceries in," she commanded, her sky blue eyes scanning me. Lucy was a hateful old woman, but she was a good God fearing Christian. Every time she saw me, she'd always get on my case about not being at church on Wednesdays and Sundays. I wanted to go, but I've had to stay and take care of Grandma.

    As I carried the heavy stuff up onto the porch and sat them down, Lucy spoke again, "How's Flora Mae been doin'?"

    "She's fine," I responded, "A little short winded today, but fine nonetheless."

    "You always say that," she shook her head, a deep scowl forming on her wrinkled, pale features.

    Grandma had been placed on oxygen after she got pneumonia. It had been after the flood of 2003, when we were forced to live in a camper for over a year. Grandma got sick and we had to take her to the hospital where we found out that she had to be on oxygen for a couple years. After we got our new house in place, we had to use a ladder to get into the laundry room and stairs made of cinder blocks to get into the living room. It took a while, but we got our new home built before I had to go to the fifth grade. After we'd moved the furniture in, we settled down and Grandma got taken off the oxygen for a while.

    A couple years later, she got sick with pneumonia again and had to be put back on. She came close to not having to wear it all the time, but then, just last year, she had a heart attack. The doctors said that she won't be able to be off the oxygen again.

    It was saddening to think that she would never be able to do the stuff she used to.

    After we got all the groceries up on the porch, we took them in to the kitchen, which was connected to the living room. Mamaw Grace slept peacefully, almost like a baby. She started snoring, and after we got the last of the groceries in, I left as quietly as I could.

    Making it back to my house, I was greeted by my Grandpa blasting old country hits, like Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Roy Clarke, and Willie Nelson. I liked this music, it was refreshing, but sad to think that most of the singers were dead and gone.

    Grandpa was reclined in his chair, his head lolled back and his mouth gaping open as a snore ripped through the peacefulness of the music. Princess lay on the hardwood floor beside him, snoring along with him. They always take naps around this time. I disappeared into my room, grabbing a sketch pad and pencil with a good eraser. I began to doodle many things, like a raccoon, a squirrel, a berry bush that I'd seen growing up around Kimberly's house, the honey suckle vine that was growing along my chain-link fence out back, Mamaw Grace's apple tree that she had growing in her back yard, and the mountains that surrounded us.

    I stopped when I realized that I had put all those things together and made it a scenery. As full as it was, there was something missing. Absent mindedly, I started sketching the lines for a human. Before I could stop myself from going any further with the idea in my head, I realized that I had drawn Uncle Frank, Rook cards and all. Strangely, he fit in the scenery.

    Wet spots dotted the paper. I wiped the tears away from my eyes, recalling the event that took place not too long ago. That shouldn't have happened. There was no way that it could have. Uncle Frank has been dead for about three years now.

4: Chapter 3

    I sipped from my cup of coffee, scrunching my nose up at the bitter taste. I needed one more spoonful of sugar. No air seemed to be stirring today aside from a gust of wind that blew every few minutes. Sweat trickled down my forehead and I quickly wiped it away. It was unnaturally warm for spring: maybe this was the heat wave they were talking about? Grandma opened the screen door and whistled.

    "Hoo, is it hot this mornin'!" She said as she sat down in the chair opposite of me. Placing her own cup of coffee on the table next to us, she shook her head, "Hasn't been this hot in spring for a long time."

    "Did ya know we were supposed to be having a heat wave?" I asked her. She nodded.

    "Yeah, I don't remember them saying how long it was supposed to last."

    "Hopefully not long," I said. Even in a tank top and shorts with my hair pulled up into a ponytail, I was miserably hot. I longed for the pool, but I could no longer fit into my bathing suit from last year. Apparently I had shrunken down a couple sizes seeing as it was baggy on me and wouldn't stay up.

    I gulped down my coffee, wishing that the fan overhead would work. Princess, who had followed Grandma outside, laid in the shade where she panted. She looked as miserable as I felt. Feeling sorry for her, I got up.

    "Ya wanna go inside?" I asked her. Of course, she didn't respond, but when she saw me move to the screen door, she got up.

    "I already gave her water," Grandma informed me.

    "Maybe she's out," I said, earning an aggravated huff from her, "I'll check and see."

    "Okay, Marie."

    I opened the door and Princess jumped over my feet to get inside where the air conditioner made the house feel like Heaven. Making my way to the laundry room, where we kept Princess's doggy pads and her food and water bowls, she was right on my feet. The sound of her little claws scraping against the hard wood floor never ceased to amuse me. She ran into my legs, pushing me to hurry up. Normally she'd be in front, leading the way with her dancing and twirling while her tail wagged so fast you couldn't see it. I loved her.

    I looked into her water bowl and, sure enough, it was empty.

    "Baby girl," I said to the small dog, "Were ya thirsty? You want me to get ya more water?"

    She danced to the kitchen sink, her nails making it sound like she was tap dancing. I giggled and grabbed her bowl, taking it to my bathroom sink to wash out. After it was clean, I brought it back to the kitchen and filled it with water. I didn't have time to set it down, as Princess had rushed between my legs to get to the water.

    She gulped it down, splashing droplets everywhere. I left her to go back outside to get my coffee. Disappointingly, it had cooled down.

    "You gave her water, didn't you?" Grandma asked.

    "She was out," I responded sheepishly.

    "I hope you know she's not gonna stop peein' for the rest of the day," she chided me. I couldn't blame her for being grouchy. If I was in her condition and it was breath-takingly hot, I would be jumping onto somebody's case to.

    "I know," I said calmly, taking my mug back into the house. Grandpa looked up from his recliner, a mischievous smile on his face. Grandpa was a lovable old man, easy to get along with and playful. Sometimes we would horseplay, though he could get a little rough. Either one of both of us would go on with bruises for a couple days, but that didn't bother him. He knew I wouldn't be meaning to hit him hard, just like I believed that he didn't mean to hit me as hard either.

    "What's she gripin' about now?" He asked, rocking back and forth. He had to yell over the TV, which was now blasting a Johnny Cash song.

    "Princess," I said loud enough for him to hear me, "I gave her some water just now."

    I saw his beady eyes roll as he gave a breathy laugh. Grandpa was one of those old men that would pick on you no matter what. With Grandma, where she can't hear over her breathing machine, he always poked fun at her.

    "WHAT?"

    "EH?"

    "WHAT'D YOU SAY?"

    Grandma gets so mad when he does it that she just ends up not telling him anything that she wanted. It's not that he does it because he's grouchy, he's just not a bad tempered person. The only time he is, though, is when his sugar goes down.

    Grandpa's a diabetic, so whenever his sugar goes down, so does his patience. When he gets mad, he's like a volcano. He goes off on anyone that he sees, no matter who they are. The only other time when he loses his patience is when he gets hungry. He's not as angry, but he can still put you down.

    "Maybe it' because it's hot," I said, defending her. The smile on my face agreed with him, though.

    "Maybe," he said, giving a thoughtful look, "It's supposed to be real hot for a while now."

    "How long?" I asked him. He shrugged, raising his caterpillar-like eyebrows.

    "I don't know. Just make sure you don't over heat yourself," he told me.

    "I won't," I said. Grandma knocked on the window, causing Princess, who was still in the laundry room, to run at the door. She yapped as loudly as she could, making Grandpa laugh more.

    "Get 'em, Princess, get 'em!" He encouraged her.

    I stepped out, peering over Grandma's shoulder as Princess shoved her way past me to sit outside.

    "You need somethin'?" I asked her. She looked up, squinting from behind her glasses so she could get a better look at me.

    "Aren't you gonna sit out here with me?" She countered, wheezing.

    "Ain't you gonna get back on the oxygen?"

    Grandma narrowed her eyes as if to argue, but stood up and went inside where she retreated to her room. I sat beside her on the bed as she adjusted the hose.

    "How was your trip yesterday?" She asked.

    "It was okay," I said, "The food was awful, but they had vending machines."

    "So you're saying you didn't eat at all."

    "Not until I got home."

    She shook her head, "Honestly, they expect you to eat that stuff?"

    "Only because they haven't ate it themselves."

    Shots fired.

***

I woke up early Sunday morning after hearing the front door slam shut. Getting up, I made my way down the short hallway to the kitchen, where Grandma was making her a cup of coffee. The smell of coffee grounds hit me and I melted, giving in and going to get myself a mug.

    "Grandpa already gone to church?" I asked her. She hummed. That must've been a yes.

    Princess groggily strode over to where I stood, tilting her head back and wagging her tail.

    "I haven't fed her yet," Grandma said tiredly, "Can you feed her for me?"

    "Sure," I said, striding to the dog food and filling her bowl by two handfuls. My hands are smaller than Grandma's, so I have to give her an extra filling to make it one handful. Princess strutted over and pushed past me, gulfing down her breakfast as I got her some water.

    After I was done with Princess, I made myself a cup of coffee. For the rest of the day, I was wide awake. I swept both back and front porches, mopped the living room and kitchen, and dusted the furniture before Grandpa got home. With nothing to do, I sat in my room drawing. With the caffeine still in my system, I twitched almost every minute. I needed to do something. I jumped from the bed and plugged in my headphones. I was going to go see Kimberly.

    "I'm going to Kimberly's!" I called out.

    "Okay!" I heard Grandma say as I headed out the door. I turned on a song by Johnny Cash and ambled over the asphalt hill, stopping to look across the road. Nope, no Uncle Frank. With a chill, I carried on down the hill to the rickety old bridge.

    When I was little, I used to be terrified of going over to Kimberly's. I was always afraid that the boards were going to break from underneath my feet and I was going to fall into the shallow creek below. When Grandma was able, she literally had to drag me across the bridge.

    Oddly enough, it's in worse condition now, but I'm more comfortable with it. For some reason, I have this sense of calm whenever I cross over the creek. Looking down into the shallow waters, I saw my reflection. Glancing around, I picked up a small rock and dropped it over the rusty iron supports. The water rippled, my reflection distorting. When it settled, I found that I wasn't alone.

    Standing beside me was Uncle Frank. I couldn't see his reflection very well, but I saw that his features were distressed. I jumped away from the ledge and looked up, to confront him.

    "What's wrong?" Kimberly asks, tilting her head to the side. Behind her, Bailey tossed a handful of pebbles into the creek.

    Taking my headphones out, I put my iPod into my pocket and shrug it off.

    "Oh, nothing," I said. Kimberly didn't seem pleased with the answer.

    "You seem freaked. You alright?"

    "I-I'm fine. Just... just saw a big fish is all," I was a horrible liar.

    Her eyes brightened, "Oh? Think we can catch it?!"

    "If we hurry," Bailey said, "I think I just saw it to!"

    They rushed back to Kimberly's house. I was right beside them until I felt my heart do a flip and I was out of breath. I fell into a jog as my heart continued to do flips. I had to stop. They didn't notice when I started lagging behind to catch my breath. It wasn't a good idea to drink coffee and run when you had a heart murmur.

    Once my heart calmed down, I released a breath of relief. I was pathetic, I'd almost made it to Kimberly's house, too. They came back with three fishing poles.

    "You okay?" Kimberly asked, concerned. She knew of my heart problem because of her mom. Rena was a nurse who worked at the hospital in town. She was the one who found out that I had a heart murmur when I was a kid. Rena said that it was innocent, but I felt otherwise. The way my heart did flips when I tried to do any kind of exercise, the chest pain, the way I sweated so heavily with little to no exertion, and the shortness of breath made me think that it was more abnormal than innocent. Then again, I was a child when I got diagnosed, so it might've grown over time.

    "Yeah, I'm fine," I responded. Kimberly gave me a second to catch my breath before we went back across the bridge. On the way, we stopped to catch some worms. Bailey had brought a bowl that we could put the worms in. We caught quite a few, enough for a couple tries at trying to catch anything.

    "Hey, if we catch it, do you think Aunt Rena or Flo will cook it?" Bailey asked as we meandered down the hill to the creek bank.

    "I don't know about my mom, but I think Flo will," Kimberly said. We sat at the edge of the creek bank and put the worms on their hooks. We casted our lures out into the water and waited patiently.

    The way the sun shone through the trees made it look like the newly forming leaves were glowing bright green. The creek sparkled in the sunlight, making it hard to see what was in the water. Kimberly's lure went under and she quickly jerked it up. She'd hooked one. Reeling it in as fast as she could, the fish jerked around, sending water flying. When it was finally out of the creek, we immediately got excited.

    The smallmouth bass wriggled on the line as we quickly brought it up onto the bank.

    "We should take this to Flo!" Kimberly exclaimed. I shot to my feet.

    "Wait here with it," I said, "I'm gonna go get one of Grandpa's buckets so we can put the ones we want in it."

    I quickly left for my house, which wasn't far away. I didn't have to worry about the bass dying on us. I opened the door to find Grandpa in the kitchen, a slice of bologna in his hand.

    "Grandpa," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, "Can we use one of your buckets?"

    He raised his eyebrows to where they almost met his receding hairline, "What for?"

    "Kimberly caught a fish."

    "Go ahead," he said.

    "Thanks!" I gave him a quick peck on his cheek and ran for the bucket, taking it back down to the creek where Kimberly and Bailey sat. Kicking off my shoes, I ran into the creek, scooping up some water and carrying it back to the ledge. I lifted it to where it sat on the log that was a few feet above the water before I climbed up onto the bank myself. I carried it back to Kimberly as she unhooked the bass and dropped it in the water, where it swam around frantically.

    "Good thinking," she said, putting another worm on her hook and tossing her lure back out into the creek. I got my fishing rod and sat on the log, dangling my feet above the water where dozens of minnows swam in schools.

5: Chapter 4

    In the end, we caught only two fish: the smallmouth bass and another. We took the fish to Grandma, who gave them to Grandpa to skin and slice. Bailey called her parents to tell them that she was over at my house and that her and Kimberly were going to be staying for lunch. There was some yelling on the other end, but they let her stay.

    When the fish was fried and ready to eat, we all gathered around the table. They didn't stay long after we ate, though. Bailey said that her parents told her to come straight home afterwards and Kimberly's mom was going to be back from work any minute. I was, once again, left with nothing to do but draw and listen to music. Before I realized it, I had drawn the bridge and the trees surrounding it with the water at the bottom. Once again, the scene seemed empty. I added Kimberly, Bailey, and I to the picture. All three of us were sitting on the edge of the boards with our feet dangling over.

    I set the sketch pad down and went to get a shower before school tomorrow. Once I got out, I checked my reflection. I was alone. Good. After I had dried off I brushed the tangles out of my hair. I went back to my room and put my headphones back in my ears, turning it to a random song. Sitting back down on the bed, I pick up the sketch pad. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

    Who's that? I ask myself as I peer at the drawing, finding now four people on the bridge. The three of us are like I had drawn, figures with slight detail. The shadow thing in the background seemed to be scribbled in. Looking closer, I found that they had a face. They seemed worried, frantic even. I stretched my arms out, holding the sketch book away from me to get a far away view. I dropped the book.

    It was Uncle Frank.

***

I couldn't sleep that night. Not only was I afraid to close my eyes, in fear of finding Uncle Frank in the darkness, but I was almost pondering.

    What did he mean by 'they're coming?' Who are they? Then I retraced his words back to Dana.

    Dana was his wife before he died in a mining accident. He was working on the longwall when he heard an explosion and the walls came crumbling down. He was under the shield, but the wall went underneath and buried him. Somehow, he was the only one that had died in the accident. Obviously, Dana was heartbroken. She got into a fight with some of her family over the money that the coal company was going to give her, for they wanted the money for themselves. It was a lot, which is why she needed it. Everyone that lived in this alley all lived in a double wide. We were all poor, lucky to have what we got. Once Dana got her money, she used it to build a garage for her newly bought Trail Blazer. She paid off her house and got surgery done for her nose so she could smell again. She got the breast reduction that she had promised she was going to get, too.

    After she had paid everything off, that's when it all went wrong. I think, at least. Dana got her a boyfriend a year later after Uncle Frank died. Not only was he married, but he had kids. Everyday, John would drive out to a car shop and leave his vehicle there so Dana would come and pick him up. After months and months of sneaking, John finally divorced his wife and began living with Dana.

    John hasn't done anything to me, nor has he said anything out of the way, but I don't like him. I find it awfully suspicious that he had made a move on her at all, what with her just getting the money from the coal company Uncle Frank was working for. Not to mention, he was Uncle Frank's best friend.

    Uncle Frank's voice rang loud and clear in my head. I wish she could see that he's using her for money. Okay, scratch that, I dislike John very strongly.

    I almost screamed as my alarm on my iPod went off. Had I been awake all night? Today was going to kill me, I could sense it. I better make myself a couple cups of coffee if I want to stay awake today. Not that my teachers would really care (except for some), but I didn't want look like I was stoned out of my mind.

    Stumbling out of bed, I could feel the exhaustion pooling in my system. Either today was going to be very short, or it's going to be miserably long.

    I quietly stepped into the kitchen, opening the squeaky cabinet above the counter top next to the stove that held my precious poison. I slipped the little container into the coffee maker and waited until the pot was filled. Pouring out a cup of coffee, I heard shuffling coming from the bedroom that was between the kitchen and living room.

    "I smell coffee," I heard Grandma's groggy voice say. The scraping of nails following her signaled that Princess was awake as well, ready for her breakfast.

    "Yeah, I made some," I hated the way my voice sounded when it was tired, "Want me to make you a cup?"

    Grandma nodded, but then added, "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"

    "I couldn't," I admitted.

    "Oh, is somethin' botherin' you?" She asked. Right now, I could either lie and feel guilty for the day, or tell the truth and get it off my chest so I can feel better.

    "Actually, there is," I started, uncertain, "I've been... been seein' Uncle Frank."

    Grandma didn't seem to react, but upon closer inspection, I saw that her jaw had dropped just a tad bit.

    "Is that why you asked if I believed in the paranormal?" She asked.

    "Yes," I said.

    "What's he been sayin'?"

    "He told me to 'be careful' and that 'they're comin''."

    She tilted her head to the side, bringing her eyebrows to meet in the center and forming a worry-line across her forehead.

    "I wonder what that means?" She inquired. So she believes me? Before I could say anymore, a look of seeming realization came across her face and she shook her gnarled finger at me, "I bet you it's because it's been hot. With your heart murmur, you can't really take the heat as well as most people."

    Well, that was a smack in the face. I knew I shouldn't have told her, but I felt as though someone was patting me on the back. I felt relieved, rejuvenated even. I didn't need coffee anymore, I was wide awake.

***

The walk up to the guard rail didn't seem so hard this morning. Bailey was already there, with her headphones in her ears as she danced and sang. Her short hair bobbed with every movement she made until she stopped once I got up on the hill. She took her headphones out and waved.

    "Hi, Marie!" She said loudly as she waved. Bailey didn't care if she was loud, not even when the people living in the green house shown their porch light to tell us that we were being too rowdy.

    "Hey," I greeted her, readjusting the books in my arms so they wouldn't fall. Normally she would tell a story about what her and Kimberly did after they got back home, but she didn't. Instead, she sighed.

    "It's quiet without Alex here," she said. Nodding, I remembered all the mornings when Alex was here. It was never peaceful with him and Bailey together. There was almost always a fight between the siblings, no matter what it was over. While Alex said that he hated her, Bailey always loved him, no matter how many times she would start the fight.

    I loved them, they were my family, but they got so annoying over the three years when Bailey started going to school with us. Alex always sat with me on the bus. No matter what it was over, whether he was complaining about his younger siblings or he was in a good mood, he always kept me company. Ever since he moved to Logan county, it's been peaceful, but too quiet.

    There were only two people allowed per seat on the bus. Bailey and Kimberly always sat in front of us, while Alex and I would usually sit behind them. Now that he was gone, I sat by myself behind the two.

    "It is," I responded, just now realizing how lonely it was without my older cousin.

    The squeaking of the old bridge sounded, signaling Kimberly's arrival. She strode up the hill to our spot with a polite, illuminating smile.

    "Hey guys," she responded, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Whatcha doin'?"

    "Talking about bubby," Bailey said. Alex hated the nickname.

    "Oh, it is very quiet now a days," Kimberly agreed with a nod of her head.

***

On the bus ride through Naugatuck, it was almost always beautiful, what with the way the early morning light shone through the new leaves, bathing the hills with fog winding off the creeks and rivers. It was beautiful in the mornings. That is, until you got to Tug Valley. On the outside, the school looked like a prison. On the inside, it didn't look any better what with the gray and white walls, the rotten lunches and ruined milk, the water bugs and cock roaches roaming through the building, and occasionally the friendly brown spider that was almost always dead.

    Yeah, the school was crap.

    I felt the familiar sense of dread when we came upon the railroad crossing at Marrowbone Junction, just before you actually entered Marrowbone that followed the train tracks away from the school and away from Naugatuck. I was not ready for school today, but I was awake enough for it. I was ready to get it all over with so I could go home again.

    The sun hadn't even peeked itself over the hills yet, and I was already sweating. I cursed the bus for only having a heater. The only thing I hoped for was that the school would as cold as ice like it normally was. There was nothing I wanted more than to be sitting on the air conditioner in Mrs. Walker's room.

    The bus slowed to a stop before it crossed over the tracks, opened the doors and closed them, and continued on until they got to the next set of tracks. Just around these last few turns was the school.

6: Chapter 5

Apparently everyone else at school was feeling the heat, too. Every classroom had the air on, the windows were open, and all the students looked extremely miserable. The teachers were in agony, sweat stains appearing underneath the armpits of their shirts and make up running down their cheeks from the excretion. It was unbearably hot.

    Despite the smelly substance that had started to run down my forehead, I was calm. I didn’t complain about the day nor the heat. Though my heart did do a few flips, I wasn’t entirely fazed. It was surprising, even to me. I wasn’t one for extreme heat like this.

    I sat on the window sill, letting the air hit my soaked back. West Virginia had brutal springs and summers. Someone nudged me with their elbow.

    “Scoot,” my friend Tanner said as I moved as far as I could. He happily took his seat next to me on the window sill that was on the second story of the building. Mind you, we didn’t sit outside of the window, we were positioned inside the classroom where everyone was fanning themselves with paper. Mrs. Walker sat at her desk, tying her dark hair up into a short ponytail. When she was done, she turned towards us. She stared us down with playful agitation.

    “Move over, let the other kids have some air,” she said as we reluctantly left the blessedness of the window. An immediate effect lit up the whole room as some kids sighed in relief.

    “Air!” Some girl said, spreading her arms wide and leaning backwards, “It feels so good!”

    “If only we had fans,” someone said. Mrs. Walker’s evil laugh sounded as she pulled out a hand-held fan and turned it on, moving it over her face.

    “But really,” she said, keeping her little fan on, “I don’t see why we don’t.”

    “Because this school’s too cheap!” Jacob, one of the more popular kids in my senior class, exclaimed as sweat dripped down from his tan forehead. His short, dark hair was literally soaked it was so hot. He laughed a bit, “Look at what they did with the TVs in the cafeteria. Bought them and had them hooked up to the walls, but they’ve never once turned them on.”

    “I think that’s so stupid,” said a preppy girl, riling up the whole class into a heated discussion.

    “That is pretty dumb,” Tanner said from beside me once we sat down at our tables, his voice nonchalantly sarcastic. Tanner was a junior, but he was extremely tall and skinny. I would literally have to look up to talk to him. He was cynical, but he was enjoyable to be around. Normally we'd call each other names whenever we first stepped into the classroom. There were times when we'd stop for a moment and realize how awful we were to each other, but we both knew we didn't really mean it.

    “I know, I just wish that they’d get something useful for this school,” I responded, causing Tanner to snicker. Before he could reply, the bell had rung. It was now only fourth period.

***

I didn’t get much out of my other classes, not that anyone was really doing anything. It was just so hot that we were all miserable and ready to go home. Soon, fifth period rolled by, then sixth, and finally 7th. To make this class worse, we had to go outside to the greenhouse and work on the plants and crops.

    By the time we had made it outside, we were soaked in sweat, but we had to take care of the produce and the baby animals we had up on the hill. We turned into the parking lot, where we reluctantly had to climb up the steep, dirt hill. As we made it to the greenhouse, there wasn’t any sounds. It was unsettling.

    Our agriculture teacher unlocked the door and stepped in. There was a sharp gasp and we all piled in through the small door. She looked to be almost in tears.

    The baby chicks laid in their box, barely breathing. There was no water in their bottle.

    “I-I swear I watered them just before we got in here!” Mrs. Michaels said, bending down to grab the doohickey that poured water into the bowl when it was empty.

    “It’s been hot, though,” Jean said comfortingly, patting her shoulder.

    “Where’s Peep?!” Mrs. Michaels suddenly exclaimed, “Somebody find Peep!”

    We all looked under the metal tables, looking for the baby duck until we found him laying face down in his little kiddie pool. It felt as if my heart had shattered into a million pieces.

    “M-Mrs. Michaels...?” Hannah said, placing a hand over her mouth.

    “Did you find him?” She asked as she was filling up the water bottle.

    “Yeah...” One of the boys, Daniel, said as he reached for the baby’s body. Prodding it several times, we came to the conclusion that it had died from a heat stroke. To say Mrs. Michaels was heart broken was an understatement. She had burst into tears as she tried to get the chicks to drink the water. Some did, and some didn’t.

    “Maybe you should take them home with you,” I suggested, biting my lip to keep calm. I wasn’t okay with baby animals dying.

    “And put them where, Marie? I can’t keep them in my house! If I put them outside, they’ll end up like Peep!” She mourned. I mentally slapped myself in the face. How stupid was I to suggest that?

***

There was no way to explain the grief we all felt. She didn’t even let us stay in the greenhouse long enough to make sure the plants were okay. She sent us back to the classroom after we had buried Peep, taking the chicks with us.

    The classroom was ominously quiet. This spring was even more brutal than anything we had ever experienced. If the air conditioners weren’t enough, what was?

    The class seemed to take longer, what with mourning over the loss of Peep and some of the baby chicks that we had buried along with him. Whatever few babies was left were looking better than they had, though. There was nothing we could’ve done to prevent what had happened today, though I did find myself wondering why Mrs. Michaels hadn’t just brought the babies down to the classroom so they wouldn’t have been as hot.

    The bell jarred most of us when it rang with life. We escaped from the torment of the lingering despair and left to our other classes, Jean and Hannah not as lucky as the rest of us.

    My last class of the day was about the same as what my other classes had been, only not as saddening. Still, I couldn’t get the image of the baby duck out of my mind. Why did it have to be like that? I loved that little baby, even if he hated all the humans he encountered.

    Mrs. Harper didn’t make us do anything, seeing as she was in just as bad of a position as we were. Her long hair was tangled and matted with sweat that dripped from her forehead. Her makeup was running down her face, making it look like she had been profoundly sobbing before we got to class. The clothes she wore clung to her skin like they were glue. It was obvious that she was not comfortable.

    From the ISS table, or ‘in school suspension’ table, my cousin, Kyle, sat complaining the whole class period.

    “Why is it so hot this year?” He asked as he wiped sweat from his face, “And why doesn’t this stupid school have any fans for us to use? If they do, why aren’t they giving them to us? Are they just using them for themselves?”

    “Kyle, please,” Mrs. Harper said, dabbing a napkin at the running mascara.

    “Are they wanting us to die of a heat stroke? Why haven’t they let us out?”

    “Kyle, you can’t do anything about the weather.”

    “You can’t do anything about the snow either and they still let us out.”

    Mrs. Harper sighed, giving up the fight with my older cousin, “I don’t know why they haven’t done anything.”

    “Maybe they aren’t allowed to let us out. I’ve heard it’s not as bad up in Charleston,” Chloe said from her seat near the window and air conditioner. Lucky her.

    “Who gives a crap if Charleston isn’t as bad as it is down here? You’d think they’d have enough sense to let us out. Apparently, I am proven wrong,” Kyle responded harshly.

    “Why are you talking? There’s a reason why it’s called the ISS table,” Mrs. Harper interrupted, getting into her sassy mood, “You’re supposed to be 'isolated’ from the world, not talking to people that ain’t there!”

    “But Mrs. Harper!” Kyle protested loudly, “It’s just so hot!”

    Their little dispute lightened up the dark and solemn mood of the classroom for what little time we had left. The bell rang and we all jumped up to rush out of the doors of the high school. Before I could make it out of the room, Kyle had collided into me as he gave me a wet and sweaty hug.

    “Marie!” He said, “It’s so hot!”

    “I know,” I replied. 

    “What’s wrong? You seem worried. Are you okay?” He asked as we walked with each other down the excruciatingly long hallway.

    “Peep died, along with some of the other chicks,” I told him as he shook his head, sending sweat droplets to fly about out of his dark brown hair.

    “Who?”

    “The baby duck in the greenhouse.”

    “Oh that’s sad,” he said as we made our way out of the school, “But I’ll see you tomorrow probably, later Marie.”

    We departed for our own buses, giving each other one last hug. That was our relationship. We both loved hugs and did so every chance we had. Kyle was one for always being goofy, but when someone ticked him off, he’d fly off the handle and go for their throat. He was a very open person, not caring who the person was as long as they were compatible and not stuck up. That’s what I loved about him.

    Once I was on the bus, I opened my window, praying that the wind would cool me down. Kimberly and Bailey were already on the bus, their window down as well. They turned around in their seat and peered over the back.

    “How was your day?” Kimberly asked. We didn’t get to see each other, seeing as we were two grades apart.

    “Hot, like me,” I joked, “No, but really. It was hot.”

    “Oh yes,” Kimberly said as she shifted in her seat, her dark brown eyes widening, “I want to get home so bad and take a shower!”

    “I know!” Bailey chirped, “I feel so disgusting!”

    They veered off into another conversation, turning away from me. I didn’t mind, though. I looked out the window as the bus pulled out of the parking lot, waiting for the wind to make me feel better than I probably looked.

7: Chapter 6

    I floated on my back in the pool, enjoying the blissful chill the cold water sent through my body. As soon as I had gotten home, I put on my baggy bikini and went straight for the pool. I didn’t care to wear it now, especially where it was so hot I couldn’t stand it. I closed my eyes, focusing only on the water beneath me.
    Calm down, Marie. It’s just us.

    My eyes snapped open. Who was that? It sounded like different voices that were speaking at once. I kept myself afloat, though. I wasn’t going to let my mind trick me out of relaxing.

    Calm down, they said again. Maybe it was because my ears were underwater that I was hearing these things. I lifted my head, bringing my ears out of the water. I listened to the cicadas and the call of many birds. I didn’t hear any voices talking to me.

    “What’s wrong?” Kimberly asked as she floated in my direction, “You’ve been acting weird ever since Sunday.”

    “Nothin’s wrong. I just thought I heard somethin’,” I said, “You didn’t say anythin’, did ya?”

    “No. I’ve just been floatin’ around the pool like you’ve been,” she said from her float as she drifted away. Sighing, I slipped out of the amazing water to get myself a float. Dropping it into the water, I got on it, spreading my arms so they could drift along in the water. I closed my eyes, feeling myself begin to drift off.

    It was so peaceful out today.

***

There was a rough push on my shoulder. I shot my head up, the freezing water trickling down my bare back.

    “Marie,” Kimberly said, covering her smile with a hand, “You’re as red as a lobster!”

    I looked down at my body. Sure enough, the parts of me that were exposed were red, almost glowing. It hurt to even look.

    “Oh my God,” I said, “Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

    Kimberly couldn’t hold it back anymore. She busted into a fit of laughter before she cut herself off.

    “I fell asleep, too,” she said, “But at least I put sunscreen on!”

    I rolled over into the water, squeaking at how cold it was now. My skin felt as if it was on fire. This only made Kimberly laugh harder, but I couldn’t be mad at her. I giggled with my friend before I ducked my head under water to get accustomed to the temperature again. After coming back up, Kimberly had calmed down. 

    “It wasn’t that funny,” I mocked her, doing my best impression of an angry person, “You should look at yourself. You didn’t come out unharmed either,” I said, motioning to her cheeks and nose. She covered her face in mock defensiveness.

    “Shut your mouth!”

***

I was miserable. Rubbing the Aloe on my chest, I was relieved for a brief moment of the burning that resided on my skin. I considered moving the thin, string-like straps of my black bikini top to get to my back, but that would undo their tie. It wasn’t that I had tied them loosely, it was just that it was the tightest I could get them.

    I sighed inwardly, putting some Aloe on my hand. I put the bottle down and used my free hand to move my strings and hold onto them just in case they came undone. I spread the cool gel over my back as best as I could, breathing a sound of relief.

    Calm down, Marie.

    I froze in place. That voice wasn’t just in my head, it was behind me. Slowly, oh so slowly, I turned to look behind me. There, in the window, stood an agonized looking Uncle Frank. He gave a sad smile before he dissipated.

    It’s just us.

    “Who’s us?” I called out to the window where Uncle Frank had been. I knew there was no logical way for anyone to be there. The back porch ended right where my window began. 

    I didn’t get an answer.

    “Is this the ‘they’ you’re talking about, Uncle Frank?”

    Something inside me screamed yes. I made a strange sound, mingled with realization and terror. I fell down on my hardwood floor, curling up, hiding from the view of the window.

    I’m going crazy, I thought, It’s just the heat. That’s all it is.

    Calm down, Marie.

    It’s because of the heart murmur. You slept in the pool for almost two hours in that heat.

    It’s just us.

    “LEAVE ME ALONE!” I screamed. The voices stopped, but there was this overwhelming sense of wrong that drifted through the room.

    Be careful, they’re coming, it was Uncle Frank’s voice, quiet, frail, and strangled. My breathing sped up. What have I done?

    “I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m so sorry Uncle Frank.”

    This time there was no response. There was absolute stillness. The only sound was from the living room, where Princess barked. It was useless, though. We were home alone. Kimberly had left after we’d gotten out, and Grandma and Grandpa were still in town.

    The fan buzzed, making the only noise in the room. Princess had stopped barking long ago, leaving my thoughts to get the better of me. At every moment, I thought I was seeing shadows poking their heads around the door to my closet or the one beside me. I kept telling myself that it was just my imagination, that I was only seeing things, but something was incredibly off.

    It seemed as though it had gotten hotter. Either it was my sunburn that was rubbing against the dresser behind me, or the temperature had risen. This was not a good sign for the crops in the garden across the creek.

    Yes, think of something else, ignore what’s going on, I encouraged myself as I slipped my bikini top off with ease, careful of the burns on my back and chest as well as my stomach. With that done, I wondered how I was going to get my clothes back on. Going with the easiest solution, I put on a loose t-shirt and shorts. Looking into the mirror, I wasn’t surprised to see that I was now pink instead of tan. I had to figure out a way to tell them that I hadn’t fallen asleep in the pool and that I hadn’t forgotten to put on sunscreen.

    Either this was going to be extremely embarrassing to tell, or it was going to be really funny to see what I’d come up with (which was, at the moment, nothing). 

    My grandparents got home sooner than I had expected, and I still hadn’t thought up a good enough excuse. Looks like there was no way around it. As soon as they walked in, they gawked at my pinkness.

    “Marie!” Grandma exclaimed as she tried to get past Princess, who was dancing around her feet, “What in the world happened?”

    I shifted my eyes to the ground, suddenly finding the hardwood floor more interesting. I noticed it was rather dirty. I’m going to have to clean later.

    “I-I fell asleep... ‘n the pool,” I stuttered out.

    Grandma made a shocked sound, bringing her eyebrows together and putting her hands on her hips. Grandpa only chuckled as he brought the groceries in.

    “Do y’all need any help?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. They nodded and I bolted out the front door, glad to get away from Grandma’s disconcerting stare. Me and Grandpa made several trips up and down the stone steps while Grandma put the groceries away. After we had brought everything in, we helped her put the stuff up.

    When all the groceries were put up, I waited until Grandpa went with his cup of coffee to sit on the front porch to sweep and mop the house. All the while, Grandma complained about how I should’ve done it while they were gone.

    “It’s not like I meant to fall asleep,” I retorted a tad bit harsher than I had intended, “The water just felt so good.”

    In response, Grandma only shook her head and went to get dressed into some cooler, comfortable clothes. When I was done, I took a step back to see if I had missed any spots on the hard wood floors in the living room and dining room before checking the linoleum floor in the kitchen. I grinned, feeling accomplished as I set the mop and broom against the wall in the laundry room.

    Going back to my bedroom, I got out my books and did my homework, seeing as I had nothing better to do. I didn’t dare pick up my sketch book again. Once I was done, I lifted my shirt up and inspected my burns. I grimaced at the sight of red skin that was soon to peel and not be pretty.

    With dread, I gathered my night clothes and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

    It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, if I was careful to scrub my chest, back, and stomach as gently as I could. The tension I was feeling before seemed to ease away with the water, making me forget all about the incident in my bedroom. I frowned when I had to get out so I could actually go to bed. I didn’t want to, I was enjoying the freedom from my problem.

    My hair was awesomely wet when I got out, but not to where it was still dripping water. I turned off the light and turned the fan on, crawling underneath my dark purple cover and curling into a ball before I drifted off to sleep.

***

Dust whipped past me, sending sharp stinging sensations throughout my body. The trees were going crazy, and I myself was having trouble keeping on my feet. The wind was so strong that I almost couldn’t take even one step. It was as if it was warning me, running away from something.

        The sky was a strange red, turning everything around me into a black shadowy monster unless I was right next to. Was this a dust storm?

        Even with the incredibly strong wind, the heat was prominent, even more intense than yesterday had been. Then I saw it.

***

The alarm on my iPod went off, disturbing me from my weird, seemingly real dream. It wasn’t a nightmare, but I felt the panic rise inside my chest. I took a couple deep breaths to keep my breathing steady before I got up to get ready for school.

8: Chapter 7

    I could still feel the sting on my burnt skin after I had gotten up on the hill. It was as if the dream had been real, like I was actually there. Maybe it was a lucid dream? Whatever it was, it sent a frigid chill down my spine.

            I waited on the hill by myself, already feeling the heat rising. I inwardly groaned. If it was hot now, it was going to be hotter later. I found myself wishing for the heat wave to be over now. There was nothing I would’ve liked better than to feel the cool, barely warm spring air on my skin, to see my breath when I exhaled. I wanted nothing more than that right now, then when the months came for the hot weather, I would’ve been ready for this.

            Minutes ticked by, and neither Kimberly nor Bailey arrived. Seemed like I was riding the bus by myself today. Sure enough, it rolled up, flashing its yellowy orange lights as it slowed to a stop.

            Stepping onto the bus, a wave of extra perfume and deodorant hit me in the nose. It was nearly breathtaking, aside from the fact that I had done the same before I stepped out of the house. I ignored the strange mixed scents and sat in my usual seat, leaning against the (kind of) cool glass. Closing my eyes, I drifted back and forth from the dream I had last night and to now. Each time was the same as the first; strong, undulating wind carrying dust to pierce my skin. The small particles felt like a sucker punch, that’s how strong the wind was.

            The bus came to a stop outside the school. Surprisingly, it was still pretty dark out. The lamp posts were still on, being the only illumination for the outside. I looked out the window, finding the honeysuckle vines that ran along the chain-link fence that surrounded the football field were starting to wilt. The yellow and white petals were turning a dead brown, along with the vibrant green leaves. Maybe at lunch I’ll pick a couple before they die out.

            The doors opened and everyone was reluctant to leave. Nobody wanted a repeat of yesterday, but there was no avoiding it. I could feel the humidity gushing through the doors of the bus, sending a feeling of dread to creep into my chest. It was going to be hotter today than it was yesterday. With a sigh, I stepped off the bus, carefully balancing the books in my arms and going up the two sets of stone steps. I hoped that the school had turned the air on, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. It wasn’t the slow janitor that opened the door this time, it was the art teacher. He opened the doors swiftly, moving aside as everyone flooded past him. I quickly took my seat at the lunch table, Janie following in pursuit.

            “It’s too dang hot,” she said as she sat her books, lunch bag, and folder down. Her blonde streaked hair was tied into a messy ponytail. She wasn’t wearing make-up, not even a little bit of eyeliner. Her bright blue eyes were clouded in irritation.

            “It is,” I agreed, “Yesterday was awful. I’d hate to see how hot it’s going to be later on.”

            “I know!” She exclaimed too loudly, “It’s like our education is way more important than we are! Like, what if someone has a heat stroke?”

            Before she could go on, Bree flopped down in the round, dingy red seat next to me. Her hair was a mess, and she seemed miserable. She looked from me to Janie.

            “It’s already hot outside,” she said, her normally soft voice straddled the edge of aggravation. Her short-ish hair was messy, like she had just rolled out of bed and left. I saw the impatience in her dark blue eyes that was dying to be let out, but she kept it composed.

            Kris soon followed after her. She wasn’t wearing her jacket, instead she had it folded over her arm. The warning bells were resonating through my head, telling me it was going to be a doozy today. Kris was never hot. She was always cold, not matter how high the temperature. Her ponytail swayed as she meandered over to our table, setting her books and jacket down with a low huff. Instead of the bubbly, goofy Kris we all knew, she laid her head down on her arms and closed her eyes.

            “I have the strongest feeling that I’m going to hate today,” she mumbled, barely audible over the low buzz of the cafeteria. There was no denying it, everybody was miserable. The drain of yesterday had stolen all of their energy, leaving no room for tolerance. I could already sense the arguments and fights just waiting to happen.

            The dim lighting seemed darker this morning, and I hoped to God that the power would go out. There was no way anybody here could get through today. Just then, the intercom sputtered to life with Mrs. Sawyer’s monotone drawl.

            “Students,” she started with a long pause and an infuriating smack of her lips, “We just received a notice from the Board of Education, stating that there is a severe storm rolling through to our and other surrounding areas. At this moment, all students are dismissed.”

            And with that, she hung up. The rush of bodies flew by and I could barely hear Kris’ rejoicing praises as she picked up her books and tossed her jacket over her thin shoulder. Lugging our heavy books into our arms, we sped through the hallways behind the other students.

            “I’m so glad we’re goin’ home,” I said, closing my stinging eyes, thankful for the moment of relief.

            “Yeah,” Kris responded, speeding up, “I can’t believe they didn’t do this yesterday.”

            “Oh, my God. Did you hear about Peep and the other babies?”

            “Jean told me,” she said solemnly, “That’s sad.”

            “Yeah, especially where we were the ones that found him. Poor baby.”

            I could feel my heart breaking again at the recollection of seeing the baby duck’s lifeless body floating face down in the water. My mind shifted to the remaining baby chicks. I wonder if they survived or not. I’ll ask Mrs. Michaels when I see her again.

            Kris and I parted once we got down the concrete steps to go to our buses. A chill ran down my spine as I caught notice of the light. It was barely noticeable, and I doubted anybody else saw, but the sky was turning a reddish color. Maybe it was just me being reminded of my realistic dream, but dang was it eerie.     The clouds were almost black against the light and were moving rather quickly. More than likely this was the sign that the storm was almost here. I could almost hear Grandma’s voice as I was reminded of the old saying, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.’ Looks like it’s going to be bad.

            On the bus, everything was quiet and calm. I leaned my head against the cool window, watching my reflection’s hazel eyes start to slide shut. The low roar of the bus started up and we were moving. I briefly opened my eyes and saw I wasn’t alone anymore. My blood ran cold as the shadowy creature turned its head, showing shining white eyes and flashing a horrid smile.

            “Calm down, Marie,” it said, its voice like a thousand whispers as its body began to disband into strings, “We’re here.”

            I wanted to scream, but as I jerked my head around to confront the creature, I was alone.

            You’re crazy, I told myself, shaking my head. My body trembled in fear and shock. What was that thing? Was that the voice I’ve been hearing? No, it couldn’t have been. I must’ve been imagining things. Creatures like that aren’t real. It’s the heat, it’s getting to me. It has to be. That couldn’t have been real. There was no way.

            The ride home was long and frightful. I’d constantly see that creature out of the corners of my eyes, hiding in the shadows, watching me with its bright wide eyes. When the bus stopped at my hill, I nearly ran down the steps. My sneakers slapped against the asphalt hill as I ran the rest of the way home, hoping to not catch sight of that thing. Racing up the steps, I noticed the sky becoming a brighter orange. Opening the screen door, I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to let me in. I caught my breath as one of my grandparents opened the front door.

            “We just got a call about y’all comin’ home early,” Grandpa said, stepping aside and letting me in. There were no words to describe the relief I felt to be out of the scorching heat.

***

Immediately I turned on the fan after I had changed into a tank top and shorts. I was definitely going to need a shower. Outside the window, the world had turned almost completely orange. It was beautiful, but at the same time alarming. There was a big storm coming, and the clouds were moving in fast. The light wasn’t dimming, but it was becoming a lighter color than before.

            With nothing better to do, I grabbed a hold of my sketch book and stared at it. I was hoping that I would have something to draw sooner or later, but nothing was coming to mind. I was startled out of my thoughts as the phone beside my bed started to ring, its screen illuminating a neon orange as the caller ID read out ‘Henders, Kate.’ Immediately I picked up the phone.

            “How lucky was that,” Kris’ voice came through the speaker. She sounded better now than she had this morning. She was bubblier, more energetic.

            “Very,” I chirped, falling backwards onto my dark purple sheets, bouncing up and down for a moment.

            “Have you seen outside?” She asked, her voice hitching an octave. I heard the sound of cats mewling in the background before there was a thud. Kris sighed, “Hold on a minute, my cats are trying to get outside.”

            She pulled the phone away from her ear and set it down somewhere. I held the phone away a bit as I stared down at the sketch pad and pencil. Maybe I should draw while she’s gone… no. Nothing was coming to mind. With a sigh of defeat, I sat up and made my way through the house. The TV was glitching out, probably because of the upcoming storm. The alert for the National Weather Service suddenly screamed through the speakers, causing an uneasy feeling to form at the bottom of my stomach.

            The alert sounded for a couple seconds until the screen turned completely green. On the other end of the phone, I heard the same alert sound going off and the other noises disperse aside from the cats. White letters appeared on the TV, followed by a middle-aged man’s voice reading off the unsettling paragraph.

            “The Doppler radar has found what appears to be a literal firestorm charging straight through the Americas. As of right now, military enforcement is being sent out to all states to ensure that everyone has a safe place to escape to. We strongly suggest you start getting packed and heading to your nearest secure sector. We’ll have all of West Virginia’s county sectors listed in a couple hours.”

            The screen cut out to the white fuzziness of the television. I stood in shock, gripping the phone as the report ended on Kris’ end. There was absolute stillness, and I couldn’t stand it. I made a sound, one that had formed from the bottom of my being and forced its way out.

            “A-A firest-storm?” I heard my own voice say. It felt as though I wasn’t in my body anymore, that I was somewhere else. A few minutes ago when the phone had just rang. Oh, God, what was going to happen? Was it that bad? What about Grandma and Grandpa? Princess? My friends… where are they going to go?  What’ll happen to them? Will they be okay?

            “Marie!” I was startled out of my fearsome thoughts by my best friend’s frantic shout. Kris let out a shaky breath, but kept calm as she went on, “No wonder they were trying to get out. They were trying to escape.”