"Kay, I'll see you tomorrow!" she called to a group of people, her long blonde hair whipping around her face in the howling wind. She pushed it back out of her face, laughing. Nothing could ruin her day, not even the recent disappearance of her best friend Kaleigh.
She left the school parking lot and began almost skipping up the hill to the forested path. She couldn't believe it! Tommorow she'd be sixteen! She imagined waking up to find a new lustrous BMW parked in the driveway, a big satin bow in the hood. Sticking her earbuds in, she turned up her favourite song on her iPod and began to sing along.
A little ways up the path, she saw a figure, and immediately stopped singing. Her already rosy cheeks burned in embarrassment, and she kept her head down as she passed them.
"Hey, aren't you gonna say hi?" the person asked, playfully pulling an earbud out.
She looked up and smiled. "Hey!" she laughed.
"You know you shouldn't be walking home alone, ever since…well, you know." They said shuffling their feet.
Of course everyone had been carefull since Kaleigh went missing, but it was just after school, and people were all about.
"Yeah, well, I can take care of myself." She retorted, suddenly defensive.
"Fine. Can I walk with you though? We are going the same way."
She shrugged. That she couldn't do anything about. Plus she didn't wanna ruin her nice girl reputation. "Sure."
They walked for awhile, avoiding fallen logs and each other. Finally, it seemed as though they were reaching the end of the path.
"I feel like we went the wrong way. I mean, usually I'm out by now." She said nervously.
The silence was so loud it seemed to slam against her ears. Nothing moved. No birds in the trees, no mice running through the undergrowth.
"Why do you have to be out? Don't you wanna join Kaleigh?" they asked, stepping toward her.
Her heart jumped out of her chest. "W-w-what do you mean?" She took a step backward and fell over a fallen branch. She scrambled to get up, but was too late.
"Those nimble cheerleading legs won't help you now" they sneered.
Her screams echoed through the dense forest, but she was so far in that not a soul could hear her.