CHAPTER 1:

If it weren't for the subtle tapping of a broken air conditioning coil I would've been asleep by now. I hadn't the energy to cover my head with the pillow I had turned over and over again, so I just lay there. Glancing to the left, my alarm clock displayed the ugly cyan digital font of 2:46am. It had been at least a week since I was last able to sleep. This occurrence hadn't been uncommon in the past, though, as I had spent many sleepless nights with my eyes glued to unfinished essays, math exams, and other miscellaneous garbage I never finished anyways. College; however, had just gotten out for the summer. Since I no longer needed to drive a half hour out of Hayesville to attend the decrepit remains of Rockwell County Community College, I'd find myself with a lot more energy during the day. Nevertheless, there was no excuse for not being able to sleep, especially since the air conditioner finally shut off for the night. My dad's trailer home didn't have central cooling, and he wasn't the kind to pay for it either. Although it was a small place, air conditioning rates were sky-high in the town of Hayesville. If it got hot indoors I was left with no choice but to run what was left of the air conditioning unit duct-taped inside my window. It didn't do a great deal of relief, but who was I to complain.

As the unit shut off, a peaceful silence covered the room. The entire house, I noted, was completely silent. That was almost as rare as my nightly rest. Bonzo, the dog I had owned since childhood, had run away nearly five years ago. At least, that's what my dad said. In later days, the only noises remotely resembling any noise Bonzo used to make might be the slamming of doors, or the deafening clank of pots and pans being thrown acEvanthe room. Sometimes my younger brother, Luke, did a decent job of creating a never-ending racket too.

Finally rolling onto my chest, I made an effort to shove both forearms underneath my pillow to help prop my head up. Facing the window, the only view I got was a dreary shot of my neighbor's trailer home. From what I could remember, the residents were an elderly couple that rarely ever left. They always kept their windows shut, so no one ever knew what was going on inside. The last time I had seen either of them, they had driven off in their 1976 Chevy Impala and never returned. I didn't particularly care for them, or anyone in the neighborhood for that matter. In the cul-de-sac of trailer homes smack dab in the middle of rural Hayesville, there wasn't much to be talked about between its residents. And when there was, everyone managed to know about it. Mostly due to the Hayesville Police Station Facebook account, which me and several of my acquaintances made frequent appearances on. I wasn't one to start fights, but I sure as hell would finish them. If my mugshot wasn't featured with a black eye or two, I was pictured with a "signature face", as Sheriff Lund so kindly put it, after ripping up I-80 with Dad's Mustang. The Mustang, although pretty old, was undeniably fast. The 1995 convertible had been bought with what little money Dad and I could spend. He was a night shift gas station employee at the 7-11, and I was completely jobless. Dad liked to claim the Mustang was his only get-away from Hayesville. For that reason, my weekends were usually spent alone, as Dad would often leave town for the entire weekend. I never knew where he went or why he left. Since the 7-11 was so close, I was free to use the Mustang during the week, as long as I stayed within the monthly gas usage. Dad and I made an agreement to only use one tank of gas a month. That didn't always work out, especially for me. It was a good thing I knew people at the gas station who could hook me up with a gallon or so for free. Any time I was ticketed for speeding, Dad would ground me for a few days. He usually forgot why, though, as alcoholism seems to impair memory. Even if I was grounded, though, it's not like Hayseville offers anything worth going to. There's only a few reasons anyone ever comes through here. They're either running off a tight budget, or running away from the rest of the world.

As the 6am sunrise hit my window, I groaned loudly. The scarce amount of sleep I got would probably stick for the rest of the day. Dad would be arriving home soon, so I needed to be awake. Walking slowly from my room directly into the kitchenette, I rummaged through the barren panteries hoping Dad had done some grocery shopping. Cereal still seemed to be the only possible choice for the morning, as it had been every morning for what's seemed like my entire life. Although the box of off-brand rice crisps had long expired, the milk was still fresh, and that's all that really mattered to me. I heard Luke thumping around the floor in his room, signalling he was struggling to get his clothes on. After grabbing one of the remaining yellow bananas from the counter, I began to hear the steady rumble of the Mustang engine from outside. It stopped as the car door slammed shut. I sat on the couch, awaiting the same greeting and conversation following it to start. Luke walked out of his room, yawning. His short brown hair was still tangled in his eyes, and his movements were stiff. I doubt he slept very well either. Right as the broken screen door opened, Dad entered the front room. His 7-11 uniform had soda stains running down the front of it, and had become untucked from his greasy jeans. His untrimmed face glanced towards me, as a pair of bloodshot eyes looked around the trailer.

"Work went well?" I asked, taking a bite of the banana. Dad shrugged, ruffling his oily hair.

"Same as it always is," He replied groggily. Dad rubbed his eyes.

"We need more cereal," I stated, finishing the banana. It wasn't as tasty as I was hoping it would be.

"Luke, has your morning even started yet?" Dad called over to Luke, who had rested his head on the counter. He shot up straight upon hearing my Dad talk to him.

"Yeah," Luke mumbled.

"Your birthday's in just a few days here, what do you say we start planning a party?" Dad smiled. The last time I had a birthday party was at least ten years ago. When I did have them, clearanced decorations and expired discounted cake was what I was treated to.

"A party?" Luke asked, a slight bit of interest hinted in his voice.

"Yeah, sure. I got paid today. I think with the overtime money I got we should be able to afford a friend party this year," Dad shrugged. We were supposed to be saving our money. With me out of a job, relying on Dad's income ran us tight on the budget.

"So I can invite Devin? And Rick?" Luke asked, obviously interested in this proposal.

"We should be able to get a few of your friends,"

"What about-" I began to butt in.

"Vic and I'll make it a surprise, how 'bout that?" Dad interrupted. I sneered irritatedly.

"That'd be cool," Luke smiled. I decided to keep silent until Luke wasn't in the room anymore.

"Good. Now you go along outside, Vic and I will take care of the rest," Dad said, pointing to the front door. Luke did as he was told, as most of his friends usually spent most of their time outside. He hated the trailer home just as much as I did.

Dad and I both sat silently until Luke slammed the front door shut. Once it latched shut, I began to talk.

"You're talking about having a party here, right?" I asked, looking towards Dad.

"Uh, no," Dad replied defiantly, "You know how much Luke needs this right now,"

"So maybe a trip to the park?" I suggested. Mom and Dad had divorced nearly four years ago. I had put it behind me long ago, but Luke still struggled.

"A trip to the park," Dad mocked in a feminine voice, "It's gotta be something for he and his friends to enjoy,"

"We could go out of Hayesville, but I doubt we have the gas money for that," I replied, crossing my arms.

"Maybe if you got off your lazy butt and got a job, we might be able to afford something decent for him," Dad explained. He wasn't wrong, I had spent the majority of my days out with people I didn't like, and not finding a job.

"We need your paycheck for the bills this month," I spoke, changing the topic.

"There's a lot of things we need right now," Dad replied again, shaking his head. He walked into the kitchen. "I'm gonna go to bed for a few hours, when I wake up you better have applied to at least three places,"

I rolled my eyes. "There isn't anywhere to work here,"

Dad looked back at me, meeting my eye contact.

"Maybe to you there isn't. There's plenty of opportunity here, you just need to get over yourself,"

I was about to protest, but Dad had already slammed his bedroom door shut. I sat in my frustration for a few minutes quietly, before going back to my room. My anxieties had begun to grow, as I went over the possibilities of where to hold Luke's party. There weren't a great deal of family-friendly places in Hayesville. In fact, there weren't any family-friendly places at all. The only place remotely capable of providing any kind of entertainment was out of the question.

My faded band shirt and a pair of acid-washed jeans I had ripped myself was one of several pairs of identical clothing items I had in my closet. Nevada summers weren't bad. The weather here never really changed, so my closet never really needed to change.

Dad would be asleep for the rest of the day, and if he wasn't sleeping, he was just watching T.V.. This would give me ample time to submit a few applications. Of all the places I had applied to both in and out of Hayesville, there weren't many options left. I grabbed Dad's keys off the counter, not bothering to tell him I was leaving. He didn't care. He never did. Stepping into the summer breeze, the sun hit my eyes. Like every summer before this one, I often would spend my days with the few people I knew.

Pulling up my hair, I got into the Mustang. It smelt heavily of cigarettes, which made me cough. It took a few minutes for me to adjust to the smell. By then, I had already left the neighborhood. I would have gotten out of Hayesville too, if it weren't for Aaron's unfunny attempt to flag me down. His pretend jump into the road had me slamming on the brakes, causing the Mustang to come to a screeching halt. I pulled off the road, getting out of the car.

"You are such an idiot," I shouted at him, shutting the door.

"You were speeding," He replied, shrugging. Aaron, the suck-up jock of Hayesville, had known me since grade school. High school presented us with different paths; however, and we each went our separate ways for a while.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Victoria?" He asked.

"I suppose. How's college treating you?" I replied, leaning against the Mustang. Aaron had lost a football scholarship for out-of-state to one of his best friends, so he was stuck attending Rockswell Community College like me.

"Not bad. I can't say I passed my classes this semester," Aaron laughed, unbuttoning his varsity jacket.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, surveying the surroundings. We were on the far side of Hayesville, right on I-80, where aside from a few derelict buildings and an auto body shop, there was nothing but trees and empty desert.

"Uh, Liv wanted to talk," Aaron replied, rubbing the back of his head. I rolled my eyes. I had become a part of Aaron's friend group long before Liv had, yet I seemed to be the first one to be ghosted by all of them. Although we had been the bestest of friends in elementary school, different opinions destroyed that relationship.

"I don't even need to ask why, do I," I replied, pursing my lips.

"I-"

"Vic," A soft voice called to me. Kathy approached Aaron and I from within the trees, followed by none other than the rest of her friends. And Liv, of course.

"Oh wow, you're all here," I spoke, a little more sarcastically than I intended.

"It's been forever," Kathy smiled, embracing me in a hug. Her blonde curls covered my nose as I inhaled her noxious smelling perfume. Kathy and I had also gone through grade school together. She kept in touch with me despite belonging to a much different crowd than I. Kathy's boyfriend, Dan, rarely spoke to me. The two of them had won prom king and queen during our senior year. I didn't attend.

"Yeah it has," I replied to her comment. Liv and her friend, Chris, sulked in the background.

"What are you doing out here?" Liv asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question," I replied. I wanted to leave, as I was obviously not welcome. Liv glanced at Aaron. I followed her glance as he just shrugged in reply.

"This is the first time we've been able to meet up since finals," Dan spoke up.

"Yeah, you're right, the gangs' all here!" Aaron laughed, looking at all of us. I tried to force a smile in reply.

"Do you want to join the conversation, Vic?" Liv asked. That was an awkward question in itself, but was somehow acceptable because everyone's eyes went to me.

"Um, I'm good. I've got some places I need to grab applications from," I replied, my hand reaching for the Mustang door.

"Where? There's like, two places here that are hiring," Aaron said, preventing me from leaving.

"About to be three," Liv shrugged. I gripped the door handle tightly.

"Three?" Chris asked her. As much as I enjoyed Chris's quiet presence, he was even more of a suck-up than Aaron. He loved Liv, and everyone could see it. Except her. It was the constant "Is Liv okay?" and "Where's Liv?" that got on everyone's nerves.

"Yeah, genius, we were literally just talking about this," Liv retorted.

"You don't think we should try and help him?" Kathy asked.

"It was his choice, it's not like he was forced into it," Dan replied. Everyone looked at Dan. "Yeah never mind,"

"Once they clear everything out, we can go ahead and clear them out," Liv spoke, crossing her arms. Although I knew exactly what they were talking about, my participation would need to be imputed sparingly to avoid getting in another fight.

"Your plan isn't gonna work," I said, adding fake laughter for comedic effect.

"According to you?" Chris replied.

"The place is entirely made of bricks," I shrugged.

"Why do you have such an attachment to it?" Liv asked. "We all know what happened there. You, especially, should know,"

"It's not like they're still alive-"

"Don't you remember the new about the ritual-"

Before I knew it, everyone had erupted into argument, most of them trying to comfort Liv. I used that as an opportunity to leave. Pulling the Mustang door open, Aaron put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't pay attention to them, okay, I'm doing everything I can to get them from burning it,"

I gave him a half smile, then drove off.