Chapter 1: Memories

1. She awkwardly stepped out of the doorway of the club and immediately stumbled a few steps to the light post in front of the club. She smiled to herself and straightened her back so the men watching from the club windows wouldn't think she was too drunk. She kept her head high, though her first instinct was to bury her head in the ground, but she had to stay upright to retain her pride.

As soon as she stepped out of the comforting light of the street lamp, she saw out of the corner of her eye, two figures in the shapes of men. She quickened her pace a little, and the two figures did too. She was far enough away from anything, or anyone now to call for aid and someone to come to help her. There was no help for her this time. Her mind was spinning and she felt the figures begin to run faster, so she ran faster too. Her shoes had fallen off somewhere between wherever she was and the sweet lights of the street lamps. Her bare feet pounded the sidewalk in a rhythmic beat. She heard four feet pound after her.

Her side hurt from running, but she wouldn't stop, she couldn't stop. If she did stop then...they would catch her, and she didn't know what they, whoever they were, would do to her then. Suddenly, a blinding pain tore up her right side and forced her to double over. She jerked back up and limped into oncoming traffic. She thought that maybe she would be able to lose the men in the traffic. She easily dodged the cars and slid into the shadows like a cat. But without any luck on her side, she had not managed to lose her pursuers.

She ran into the street and saw a blinding light before she tried to shield her eyes from the murderous light. She was tackled from the front before the lights could crush her. The lights belonged to a big truck she found out as it hurtled past her without a hesitation to stop. Her savior, or her attacker was on the ground beside her. He had a cut lip. She quickly glanced away and started into the shadows to find her pursuers, but she didn't see them anywhere. Maybe she had finally lost them!!

The young man on the ground shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, "Why did you run in front of that car! It could have killed you..." She put her hand over his mouth to quiet him. She heard footsteps behind her and whipped her head back around to see who it was. And sure enough, it was her pursuers. She let out a held back yelp, and leaped to her feet. She took off running into the moonlight, with two men following her.

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Charlie woke with a start. He hadn't thought about her in a few days, but when he saw her yesterday, he remembered that night like it had just happened. He remembered her eyes were clouded with fear and sadness, and pleading for his help. Her face was stark white and had black makeup running down it. She was barefoot, so he figured that she was homeless. But even homeless people shouldn't be run over by big trucks. She was very pretty, except for the fact that she was terrified and had makeup streaming down her face. She had long brown hair and very blue eyes. She had freckles scattered about her pale face. He hadn't given her another thought the day after, and did not tell the rest of his team about the mysterious girl. Why was he thinking about her so much?

He hadn't told the Ducks the truth behind his cut lip. He told them he fell while skating, but it was a lie. He had a girlfriend...wait...not anymore. He did not have a girlfriend. And all of a sudden the pain from the previous week's breakup hit him in full force. He couldn't believe that Linda was gone, and he would have to face Eden Hall all alone.

Then he remembered that he wasn't alone, and that he had the Ducks. He felt at home with them, like he didn't belong anywhere else but with them. He should go to school now, he thought; he was going to be late.