Some Dream I Had

I grab my bag from the dry dirt below me and throw it back over my shoulder. I love hiking, but I have way too much homework to be spending the day in the middle of a forest. Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather be walking through the trees, but my parents push me for straight A’s and a college scholorship, even though I’d be perfectly happy to work as a tour guide all my life. I shake my head, dismissing the thoughts and continue on, singing A Hot Summer Night in my head and trying to calculate how long my homework will take me. I’ll have about twenty minutes of relaxation before I have to go to bed. Eh, normal I suppose…stupid school.
“Hurry up!” Rob calls over his shoulder to me.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” I jog to catch up with him and readjust my bag. “So where exactly are we going?”
He smiles over at me. “This awesome spot I found the last time I was here. It’s right off the bank, you’ll love it.”
“Great.” I smile and look up through the leaves above me. “Hope there aren’t a lot of people there.”
“Shouldn’t be.”
“Good, I have a new song that I want you to hear.”
“A Hot Summer Night?” He asks, a slight smirk on his face.
“No, I wrote it last night, I think you’ll like it.” I reply as he begins to laugh.
“Is it about your not-so-secret crush on the famous Jacob Black?” I roll my eyes and sigh.
“That was not about a crush on a make believe character, it was his feelings, how many times do I have to tell you this?”
“Perhaps, but you still like him don’t you?”
“I did, but I’ve got you now.”
He smiles and wraps his arm around me. “How sweet.”
I come to a stop as my phone begins to vibrate against my leg. Shrugging my backpack off I pull out my phone and read the message.
“Mommy asking where you are?” Rob asks, pretending to peek over my shoulder.
“No, Hannah asking if we’re still going running tomorrow.”
“Ohh. Gonna get nice and sweaty before our date.” He nods his head as if agreeing. “Nice idea, I might have to do a couple pushups before I pick you up so we can match.”
“I’ll have taken a shower.” I reply, shoving my phone back in my pocket and tugging him forward. “Which way do we go Romeo.”
“You like Romeo too?” He whines. “How can I compete with that?”
“Shut up and get going.” I laugh and push him forward.
I go back to singing in my head, the only place that I actually can sing, as I follow him off the path. I can smell the water, the muddy smell mixed in with a light hint of fish. I love the smell, it seems to clear my mind of the thoughts stressing me out; homework, grades, what I’m going to do tomorrow. It makes me want to drop my pack, throw my phone in the dirt, and give in to the nature surrounding me. But this is the twenty-first century. I can’t give up my phone and school work, if I did I’d be considered an animal, stupid people making everyone conform. If I want to be a tree hugger I shouldn’t get laughed at, I should be applauded for wanting to save our futures! Ha…whatever. This is what I get for thinking to myself too long without a song running through my head.
“And we’re here!” Rob throws his arms out to the side, reminding me of The Sound of Music when what’s-her-name spends around on some hill.
I’ve never actually seen the movie, only the little ten second previews they show on TV before it comes on so I know to change the channel. Don’t get me wrong, I like musicals and all, but something about that one doesn’t appeal to me. Now Rent, that’s a good one, or Oklahoma, I loved that.
I stop thinking about musicals and take a look around. The river lies a couple yards ahead of us, past the sandy bank. Across the river and down a ways is a small dock that looks to be about fifty years old. Other than that there seems to be nothing else indicating any human life.
“It’s amazing.” I state, wanting so bad to drop my bag and jump in the water. “How deep is it here?”
He shrugs, causing his short brown hair to fall into his eyes. He whips it away to one side and smiles. “Only one way to find out.”
“I guess you’re right.” I sigh, letting my bag fall from my back. “Last one in is a stupid snob!”
I race past him toward the water and try my best to make the biggest splash I can. I totally beat him. As I push back up to the surface I blow all the air in my lungs out. As my face leaves the water I pull air back in and prepare to yell ‘stupid snob’, but he’s not there. I wait a moment for him to come out of the water.
He doesn’t.
“Rob?” I call, stepping out of the water. “Rob, stop trying to scare me. Just because you’re the stupid snob doesn’t mean that you have to pay me back with a ‘good scare’.” I state with air quotes. I wait for him to reply, but again he doesn’t. “Rob, come on. Okay, I’m sorry that you lost to me, but it’s not my fault, you’re the one that chooses to sit out when Hannah and I go running.”
Still no reply.
“Okay, Rob, this isn’t funny. Just come out and let’s swim.” I wait for a moment. “Whatever, if you don’t want to swim then that’s your problem, but I am not missing out.” I turn from my bag back to the riv-.

My head is killing me and my back stings. I reach to rub my head but I can’t move my hands. They’re tied behind my back and as I open my eyes I see that I have no idea where I am. It’s dark and looks like a shed from one of those scary movies. Oh gosh, I’m gonna die! Some freak is gonna take an ax to my head and rape me! What if it’s Rob? That’s how it always is in the movies, the boyfriend is the psycho killer, or the boyfriend’s dead. God, please don’t let him be dead!
I try to pull myself up to a sitting position but my head begins to spin. I fall back to the ground and close my eyes.

I wake to the sound of a rusty door opening. I open my eyes and can make out a small sliver of light from the opposite side of the shed. The sliver grows slightly before completely disappearing. I slam my eyes close as a light flickers on overhead.
“Who are you?” a voice to my left asks.
“A soon to be famous killer.” A female voice replies. I slowly squint my eyes open to look at her. She has short cropped hair streaked different colors of faded red over messy brown. She pulls off a pair of oversized sunglasses, the kind that all the girls at school are wearing, and sticks them in her butt pocket.
“Now, I only came in tonight to tell you one thing.”
“And what’s that? That you’re a freaky seventeen year old that likes to tie people up in her barn for fun?” The same male voice as before asks.
She laughs lightly, as if to get rid of the insult. “Actually, I’m not doing it for fun, I’m doing it so I can go out with a BANG!” She replies, pulling a gun from her waist. “Now, if you want, you can do as I’m about to say, or you can go out with a bang too, it’s up to you.” She informs, spinning around the room to look at all the people lined against the walls. “By the way,” she begins, pointing the gun back to the man that had spoken, “you’re not starting out so great.”
She laughs as his face changes quickly into fear. “Now, who wants to do what I say?” she glances at everyone quickly. “No hands?” she points the gun to me, “are you going to do what I say.”
I nod fast, unable to raise my hand. “Y—ye—yeah.” I stammer, praying that she will take the gun off of me.
“Good.” She smiles. “Now everyone, take your pants off.”
No one moves.
“What?” asks the same man from before. “What do you mean take my pants off? Is this some kind of joke? Are we all getting Punk’d or something? Where’s that Ashton kid?”
The girl cocks the gun quickly and fires, creating an echo in the small room. The mans blood sprays on the lady next to him as his body falls back to the floor from its sitting position.
“Anyone else think this is a TV show?” no one says a word. The only thing I can hear is the beating of my heart and the echo of the gun. “Okay then, pants off.”
I work quickly to unbutton my jeans and pull them off my legs. I want to search the room for someone I recognize, mainly Rob, but she stops me. The gun presses against my forehead as she leans down so she can be eye level with me.
“Looking for someone?” she asks coolie, that stupid grin from before sliding back onto her face.
“M—my boyfriend.” I spit, anxious to get the words out so she will move on and take the gun off of me. It’s funny, I always use to think ‘oh, I would beat anyone up that put a gun to my head’, but until you’re actually in the position, you have no idea what you will do. I guess stammering like an idiot is my thing.
“Your boyfriend? Well, do you see him?” I shake my head slowly, afraid that if I move to fast it may cause the gun to go off. “What a bummer. You sure that’s not him?” she asks, motioning to a small wooden table along the wall. I see someone huddled underneath it, fully dressed.
“I—I don’t know. I—I can’t see him.” I state as tears begin to slip down my face. She tilts her head and stares intently at me.
“What are you crying about?”
“He might be dead and there’s a gun against my skull.” I reply. Wow, this freak is really stupid.
“If that’s him then he’s not dead, and as long as you do what I say you won’t be either.” She pronounces the last word as if it starts with an i, for some reason that has always bothered me, just like when people say Carrabbean instead of Caribbean.