FIVE. ((PG-13 Possibley))

Cayden sat on the steps of the school, she could see the kids playing kickball and basketball in the distance. Of course, she wasn't with them, she never was. Every morning during P.E. class, Mr. Wills and Ms. Kierth would have them come outside, rain or shine, during the fourty-five minute class. All the other kids were bursting with excitement as well as the teachers since they wouldn't have to teach a restless class, but all Cayden did was dread it. She thought that when she finally got out of middle school all the breaks and recesses would stop, but being a freshman wasn't helping anything. All that happened was there were more kids to make fun of her and ignore her. Whooptydoo. 

Today was one of the more depressing days when it was sunny because all the kids could play even more games and were in such peppy moods since there was sunlight. Of course, Cayden couldn't just be normal and like any of that. She had to be the one who liked rain, and darkness, and wind. Not sunshine or the hot weather like the rest. It was like the universe didn't want her to fit in or have any friends so it made her the way she was. Weird and different. The only thing that ever kept her going was that her birthday fell in the middle of the school year, giving her just enough happiness to make it through the last final months. Her birthday. It was tonight actually, Friday, January 13th. 

Cayden stood up and brushed off her jeans. They were black skinny jeans with rips and tears here and there. Her shirt was white with black long sleeves, nothing short of her normal, black theme. She used to wear brighter colors, but now all she wears are dark browns and blacks since she started feeling so alone. She was thinking about that right as a bright red kickball came flying toward her head and she fell right to the ground again. With shaking legs she stood up and grabbed the ball. As she did a girl came jogging up to her and stopped suddenly, with her hands on her hips. She had brown hair and was wearing a lacy pink top with a matching skirt. Her name was Lilian and Cayden had seen her around school many times before, but had never gotten to know her. She stretched her arms out to show Lilian the ball. She attempted a smile, but it quickly faltered as the girl gave her a criticizing look. 

"Why did you take our ball?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Ummm," Cayden started, "I didn't take it. One of your friends kicked it over here and it hit my head." she said, attempting another smile. This was how it always went with people. It was like they were born not liking her because no one ever did.  "But you can have it back," she said, holding the ball out once more. 

She stumbled back as the girl yanked it out of her hands. "Whatever, just don't touch it again. We don't want any of your germs."
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After her lovely encounter with Lilian, the day just dragged on from there. It was nothing new, in Math her compass broke and no one was willing to share with her, in Liturature they had to write a story and she ended up in a group with three other girls. She did all the work. In Social Science they had to pick partners for the semester project of making a civil war diagram and Cayden ended up doing it by herself. The rest of her classes were pretty much the same. She didn't know if the teachers found it enjoyable to have every single class include a partner project, and then have her do it by herself, but that's always what happened. 

At least she could look forward to her birthday right?  Even though her day had been horrible, her birthday would be good, right?  Some people say that, with a birthday on Friday the thirteenth, something was bound to go wrong but they might just be making up lies to scare her. She thought about all of this on her way home that night and eventually decided they were just wrong. Probably another kid spreading rumors and trying to ruin her birthday, but she wouldn't let them. She was turning fifteen and she wouldn't let that be ruined. 

As she slowly walked up the path leading up to her house, she, for the first time, noticed how entangled it was. It was a steep inline of rocks that twisted through a jumble of trees. It wasn't a forest as far as anyone in her family knew, there weren't even animals living there, of course, they had never actualy gone in. The path finally broke, revealing a two story house some would say had the same style as a castle. It was true. The house itself was made of gray rocks unevenly laid upon one another. The top half of the houses rooms all included one window with a small, enclosed, overhanging that over looked the grounds. They rest of the property was covered by a large, in-ground pool, and trees and bushes. 

Slowly walking up to the big brown door, she used the only procedure that could get you into her house. The secret knock. Three fast ones and a slow one. Knock knock knock....knock.

She waited for a few moments before Russel, her family's butler, answered the door. "Sorry for the wait, Miss Hatch, I was just cleaning up the kitchen." Russel had always been there for her and her family since Cayden could remember. Since her parents were the CEO's of Sun Motors. They were always out of town in a different state or even country. They weren't even really the ones that raised her. Russel was pretty much like her one and only parent and she always tried to be nice to him because of it. 

"That's alright," she said with a smile. She could feel her stomach churning and butterflies flittering as she asked the question she dreaded most. "Are my parents here?" Deep down she knew the answer but she hoped for once, she might be wrong, but the grim expression on Russel's face was enough. She nodded silently, trying to hold back tears as she ran through the living room and up the flight of stairs to her room. 

It was nothing new that her parents weren't here for her birthday, the only birthday she ever heard they were at was her actual birth day. They always gave Russel enough money to buy her some expensive and elaborate present which she always ended up loving, but it was never enough to replace them actually being there. When they did come to visit, she always put on a smile and acted like nothing was wrong, but afterwards, she'd normally go cry in her room for a few hours. 

She pushed her long, black, curly hair behind her face and sighed. Why couldn't her parents just realize how much they hurt her every time they went to a party in Paris or a vacation in China?  There was suddenly a knock at her door and Russel's head popped up out the side, "Ahem," he said softly. She quickly sniffed and wiped away her tears. Turning herself around, she forced a sliver of a smile and looked into his kind brown eyes. 

"Yes?" she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. 

"I was just worried about you after...you know..."

Cayden couldn't help but stifle a laugh as he tried to find the right words to make her feel better. How typical of him to try to make her feel better through words and actions, when she was just touched by the fact he cared so much about her. She still had her two little brothers in the house who were seven and eight, but they hardly ever asked for parental guidance by Russel. Besides cooking and cleaning, he really had no other obligations, that was all that he had to do according to his contract, but he went above and beyond by driving them to school, the park, and friends houses. 

"It's okay Russel, I was just... so happy for my birthday that...I was overwhelmed with emotions and I..." she suddenly stopped to the sound of laughter. Russel was laughing at her!  She turned to him with a critical look on her face. "What was that for?!" she asked. 

"Oh-it-was-nothing," he managed in between laughs, "I just....you can't lie!"

She smiled and shook her head, "Oh!  Like you're any better?" she laughed as she tossed a pillow towards him. Yep, he was more of a parent to her then her actual parents were. 



*****Okay, I'll try to post some more of this soon, but until then, questions? Comments? Critiques?*****

yeah, I have a question, and a comment:
since when were you so awesome?, and
please get more posts up.

Ch. 2  Sleepwalking
That night Cayden laid in bed, thinking about everything that she actually  wanted for her birthday. Most kids would've asked for new toys, electronics, even new pets, and with her parents unlimited amount of money, that dream could be a reality. Unfortunately, it wasn't her dream. She wanted her parents to come home so they could actually swim in the half deserted pool, play with her brothers that she hardly ever saw any more, and be a real family for once. 

She pushed off her red satin covers, sat up, and glanced at the clock. 11:47. Why was she like this? Most kids were still up playing video games, texting, or just goofing off, not worrying about what a horrible birthday they just had because normal kids didn't have normal birthdays. Their parents came to them, barring cake and presents. Then their friends came over for more cake and they got even more presents. 

Stupid things like clothes, games, and toys are what most kids got for their birthdays, of course, even though everyone knows deep down that your present wasn't what the birthday kid was hoping for, it was still a nice gesture. That was all Cayden wanted. One nice gesture that she really hated. 

For her birthday Russel would get her parents' money in the mail, give the number to Cayden, then she would find some catalogues and mark everything she wanted and Russel would order it. No surprises and no moments of pure joy at the gesture. That was how it always was for her birthday, just like one big shopping spree. It wasn't like she wasn't great full for all her opportunities and gifts, she just wanted it to be more like a normal birthday for once. 

With a sigh she got back into bed, pulled up the covers and, within minutes, was asleep. 
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Her dreams were filled with strange sounds and visions. It was almost like she was just walking straight. She started in her room, then down the stairwell, through the living room and out the door, down the path, and across all these streets and lakes she had never seen before. Of course, it was just a dream so there was nothing to fear. Although, she'd never had a dream like this before, in fact, she hardly ever had dreams. It was mostly this annoying blue light that would float around in black darkness. Someone could hardly call it a dream.

After a lot of dream walking, everything went black as usual and she turned over onto her side. The bed felt...strange and more firm, but she dismissed the thought and fell back to sleep. It felt like she had only just closed her eyes when she heard a faint beeping noise, her alarm clock. 

She reached out her hand to turn it off, but instead she felt something rough and pokey. She flipped over and brushed both her hands on the ground, only to feel a grainy substance fall between her fingers as she picked it up and pushed it around. It most certain didn't feel like her soft silky sheets, and this was not her bed. So the question was, where was she?

Cayden suddenly opened her eyes, expecting to see her familiar grey ceiling, but instead she saw brown leaves. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she realized she was looking up at a blanket of trees. The only place she'd ever seen trees in town was at the park and the small wood next to her house.  She slowly brought her hands up to her face to rub her eyes, only to find they were caked with dirt. That must've been what she felt earlier on the ground. 

If there was dirt on the ground and and trees above her head, she must be in a forest. 

She suddenly jerked up and put her hand to her head, was she dreaming?  She must be, she was totally convinced of it. Well, 97% sure of it. Most of her dreams were fuzzy and confusing, this scene was very clear and distinct. Even though she was very confused, maybe she wasn't dreaming and she was actually in a forest in the middle of nowhere. 

She looked around the clearing, no one else was there, yet she had this feeling that someone was watching her. How could they?  She didn't even no where she was so ho would someone have followed her?  Replaying her dream back in her mind, she realized how deep into sleep she must have been. Anyone could've noticed her and decided to see where this teenage girl was going and she wouldn't have even noticed. 

Cayden whirled around, expecting to see some kind of clue indicating that someone or something was there, but all she saw were more trees filled with a darkness that anything could be hiding in. She took a few steps forward and felt leaves crunch beneath her feet. Did her stalker hear them?  Was he already running away?  Was there even anyone in there?  All these questions were spinning around in her head mixed with a reasonable amount of fear for her safety. If there wasn't anyone in there, how would she get home?  She didn't even know where she was so how was she to get back home?

It didn't seem very likely that she could. The only place she had ever seen with this many trees was the park but it never seemed this big and thick. Not to mention there were playgrounds scattered all over the land, and this wood seemed so unfriendly and unwelcoming. The park was a fun, safe place for kids, whereas this place seemed scary, dark, and defiantly not for kids. 

Her thoughts paused for a moment as she reached the edge of the clearing. Slowly and, with a trembling hand, she reached out and pushed aside the brush in front of her. For a split second, Cayden thought she saw a pair of blue eyes looking at her, full of fear, but she never got the chance to find out who or what thy belonged to. 

Her sight was suddenly blinded as a bright blue and white light broke through the air behind her. She spun around on her heels and a burst of cold wind greeted her face with a shrieking sound. She put her hands up to her face to guard it. The one thought going through her mind was What's happening?

And, in one swift moment, everything stopped. 

Cayden slowly removed her hands from her face. The wind had died down and everything seemed calm, but there was still a slight ring in the air that she couldn't place. She put her fingers in her ears, yawned, and clicked her mouth to stop the sound, but nothing worked. 

She, with an annoyed spirit, dropped her hands to her waist and turned her attention to the source of her next obstacle. The light. 


*****Okay, I'll try to post some more of this soon, but until then, questions? Comments? Critiques?*****