Chapter 1
Alex stared around the entire Holland Falls fair grounds as the roller coaster droped two hundred feet in a matter of seconds. The people on the ground looked like multicolored ants, lined up for food or roller coasters, or just standing in small circles talking. It was dusk, so all of the lights on the rides and the advertisments were lit up.
Alex must have been staring down longer than normal, because Joplin, one of her two best friends, asked "Alex, are you okay?" She looked up and smiled at Joplin.
"Yeah, actually, it is amazing up here." Alex replied brightly.
The roller coaster had stopped at the top of its pole, and it was at a dramatic pause. She had barley finished my sentence when they dropped again.
"How could you say that!" Mikey, her other best friend, yelled over the screams of the riders and the rush of the wind.
His fingernails were digging into the padding of the safety bar and he had terrified look on his face. She laughed.
"How could you not love it? The blur of colors, the fast wind, the feeling of your stomach dropping. Its amazing." The roller coaster had hit the bottom of its pole, and was slowly rising back up. Alex looked around and saw all of the people standing around the metal gates, waiting for their turn on The Drop. Cheesy name, right?
She thought about what would happen if one of threw up, and scooched over away from Mikey in her seat. The roller coaster was at the top and at its dramatic pause again.
Since Alex missed out last time, she threw her hands in the air and screamed as w dropped down. She had a smile plastered to my face while she was screaming, but when Alex looked over at Mikey, he was screaming bloody murder. She laughed and leaned forward a bit to look at Joplin. She looked just as awed as Alex was, screaming and giggling.
They hit the bottom of the pole again, and the roller coaster slowly rose back up for its final drop. She looked around at the people, stands, and other roller coasters on the ground again. The place was amazing— except for the guy running behind the Funnel Cake stand with what looked like a knife in his hand and three people were running after him.
Wait,what?
The roller coaster dropped again, and she was caught by surprise. Alex shrieked and looked down. They had hit the bottom, and the guy who took the tickets and pressed the button was coming around to unlock their safety bar, but they didn't have time.
"We need to go,now." Alex said, trying to slide out from under the bar.
"Alex! Wait, the guy's almost to us!" Joplin protested.
"You don't understand. It was bad, Jop. We gotta go right now." Alex said and finally slid out from behind the bar and jumped down in the grass.
Joplin sighed and Mikey shrugged. They both slid out of the seat too and jumped out. Alex rushed over too the gate, with Joplin and Mikey fast on her heels, saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry' when she bumped into people. Alex looked in the direction she saw the bad guys and ran. She slowed in between two stands and looked behind her. Joplin and Mikey had stopped too, heaving and panting with their hands on their knees.
"I-I saw a person being chased with a knife in his hand and-and I panicked. They were behind here. We gotta check it out." Alex explained quickly.
"And do what? Get ourselves killed?" Mikey asked, but it was too late. Alex was already rushing through the little alleyway. She saw the figures again and ducked behind a few trash bins. Joplin and Mikey ran through and did the same when they saw Alex. They were in a maze of stands and trailers, all of the backs facing them.
"You know you can't take anymore without us knowing! Sometimes I think you Savers are just idiots." A boy, not too much older than Alex, said, sounding frustrated.
He was with another boy and girl, and they were all staring daggers at the man across from them. The man had to be in his late thirties or early forties, with dark brown hair that was beginning to gray in some places. He was very tall, and dressed in all black. The man was smiling.
"Little Hunters, why don't you go running back to your mommies and let the adults handle it?" The man said in a husky voice.
"Because we are better. You know that. We have been trained better than our elders and all of the Savers, yet you people still challenge us. Its suicide." The girl spat.
"Ah,well,-" Mikey shifted beside Alex and rustled a couple of leaves. The man stopped and looked in our direction. Alex swore. "It must be my lucky day. There are little mortals behind that trashcan that I can take, instead of hunting them down in this hellhole. Perfect." The man finished.
Before we could even run, there was a blur of color and the man was racing towards us. Alex screamed. The man grabbed Joplin, through her over his shoulder, and ran again. He ran faster than normal people, and Alex knew she didn't have any chance of catching up, but she could try. She got to my feet and was picking up pace when the boy caught her. His arms were looped around her waist as she kicked and punched, but he didn't budge.
Joplin was gone.
Alex struggled out of the boy's hands and ran to Mikey. She wrapped my arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Mikey has always been like a supporting big brother, but the same age as Alex.
"What do we do?" Alex asked in a small voice.
"We find your friend." The girl said behind her.
"How do we do that?" Mikey asked, letting Alex go. She turned to face them. You're strong. We'll find her. Alex thought to herself.
"We'll find her." The other boy said. But he wasn't finished. "Go back home. Tell your parents you lost her. They'll file an Amber Alert-"
"No. We're going to help find her." Alex demanded.
"Sorry, but we'll find her, I promise." Alex recognized them, but she didn't know where she knew them from. Before she could demand to help find Alex's best friend, almost a sister, a person she's known since she was eight, there was three blurs of color and the Hunters were gone.
