Ch. 2

"Amity Park?" I asked with surprise. I had never heard of the place before. "So...it's not in town, is it?" My dad shook his head and I got a sinking feeling in my gut. We had moved plenty of times before, always going after the apartments and odd house or two that fit my dad's ever fluctuating budget as he moved from job to job. He would always keep me in mind though, and as we usually stayed within the same city limits at the very least, I was usually able to stay at whatever school I had been attending. But now...

Dad sighed and sat next to me on the couch, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. "I know you don't want to be uprooted and all, Max, and I understand how hard it's gonna be for you to leave your school and your friends. It's just...this job could be the one I stick with for a long time. I have a feeling that this is the one that'll keep both of us happy and safe with food in the kitchen and good clothes on our backs," he explained, a sort of hopeful light in his eyes as he turned to look at me straight on. I glanced away, slightly ashamed at the selfish feelings I had. It had been so long since Dad had had a job that he'd actually been happy at, one that had a good salary and benefits. Surely I could let go of a few ties if it meant we'd actually have a permanent home for once, right?

"Alright, Dad. I'll, uh...I'll start packing right away," I said, giving him the best smile I could muster. His returned smile was warm and grateful. With a quick, one-armed hug and a kiss on my cheek, he got up and returned to the kitchen. From the sounds of it, he was probably packing up the pots and pans. With a small sigh, I managed to get off the couch, grab an empty box, and head into my small room. I really, really didn't want to move. Las Vegas was my home. The only other places I had ever lived were some small towns in northern Nevada and western California, but those times had been while I was really young, almost too young to even remember them. I just hoped that this Amity Park was worth it.

It took a week before everything was ready to go. Dad had rented a small moving truck to drive to our new home, and luckily for us we could tow our car behind it. The week was a long one, though it wasn't all bad. My friends had thrown me a farewell party with many promises to keep in touch, some of them more like threats. I was really going to miss them.

We set out early morning on Saturday, before the September sun was even up. As we hit the highway, my dad glanced over at my tired self and gave me a reassuring smile. With one hand he tucked a long, wavy auburn strand of my hair behind my ear. "Everything will be alright, kiddo. You'll make plenty of new friends, I'm sure of it," he said in an attempt to cheer me up. I gave him my own tired smile in response, but didn't say anything. He directed his full attention to the road, and I looked back out the window, watching the familiar landscape race past me. It was with a pang that I finally said good bye to my home.

The drive itself, while long, was pretty uneventful. There was a moment when I thought I saw some freaky person on the side of the road, but we went by too fast for me to really get a good look at them. Our journey took nearly two days, and it was pretty taxing on both of us, though mostly my dad. We were both pretty relieved when we finally saw the sign that said "Amity Park" on it.

Driving through, I got my first real look at the town. It seemed pretty normal to me, if not a lot smaller than what I was used to. Our apartment building looked nice, though. That was good. Moving everything in was a bit of a pain though, but we were lucky enough to have some nice neighbors help us out. It was early evening before everything was unloaded from the truck and in our small apartment. Dad and I collapsed tiredly onto the couch, just happy to finally be done. Unpacking was an obstacle for another day.

For a while, we were silent. Then, I decided to break the silence. "So, Dad, what is this spectacular new job you've been called out here for?" I asked, looking over at him. "I got called in to work at Axion Labs. It's a very prestigious place," he explained proudly, sounding almost like a little kid boasting over a new toy. "Sounds cool," I said with a grin. He chuckled a bit, then let out a sigh and looked at all of the boxes littering the place. "C'mon, Max, we should at least get these boxes in the rooms they belong to," he said and got off of the couch with a small groan. Man, couldn't we just be lazy and procrastinate it all instead?

Before I could waste any more time, my dad dragged me off the couch and we both got to work, if not a bit reluctantly. I hauled my boxes to my room, getting a good look at it for the first time. While small, it was at least cozy. Painted a light beige, it had carpet that was a few shades darker and a large window that overlooked the street. My mattress was leaning against one wall, along with my one dresser and night stand. The bed frame could wait to be put together until later. After a few hours, I had managed to drag pretty much all of my boxes into my room as well as put sheets on my mattress and put it on the ground by the window. The clothes would take forever to put away, so I went to help my dad with the rest of the apartment.

"So, what school will I be attending?" I asked him as we put away dishes into the cabinets. "I've got you enrolled into Casper High School. You'll start next week on Monday. No buts about it," he added the last part as a warning, catching the eye roll I was doing. Being the new kid was not going to be fun. "Will you be starting work then, too?" I asked him, and he nodded while he shoved the rest of the pots and pans into one of the larger cabinets. He wasn't much of an organizer.

The rest of the night was spent unpacking and ordering some rather decent take out. At least they had good pizza here. Dad and I went to sleep, making promises to each other that we would finish unpacking the next day even though we both knew that that was never going to happen. At first, I actually had trouble getting to sleep. It all felt so weird, knowing that I was not at home and that tomorrow wasn't going to be some regular school day. That, and also the fact that the timezone was different. It wasn't by too much, but it was still enough to confuse me for a bit before I actually fell asleep.

Then, I had one of the most disturbing dreams I've ever had to date. I stood on what seemed like a floating rock in space. Some kind of green, swirly-looking space. "Hello?" I called out, feeling rather freaked out. A shadow shifted behind me and I whirled around, watching with horrific fascination as it morphed and solidified into a person of some sort. As they got more detailed, an eerie sort of recognition passed through my mind. I know you, I thought, trying to place her face. The shadowed girl finally stepped towards me, and I got a good look at her as she came into the light.

She had bright, almost headache inducing hair that was a few shades lighter than cyan. It reached the middle of her back, the same length as my own hair. But, the similarities didn't stop there. Like mine, her hair was wavy and somewhat frizzy, though the way it moved was almost like it was some weird fire. Her skin was tinged with blue, and her bright blue eyes were so pale they were almost white, a stark contrast to my own warm hazel ones. The eyes staring back at me glowed almost eerily enough to make me shiver, though her somewhat evil expression could have done that on its own.

"Who are you?" I demanded, refusing to be scared in front of this creep. She stepped right up to me, getting right in my face. It wasn't difficult, seeing as how we were both the same height. "C'mon Maxie, you're a smart girl," the person practically purred, taunting me. "This shouldn't be that hard to figure out." The use of my dad's old nickname for me made me want to punch her in the face. No one called me that but Dad! I glared at her, receiving a knowing grin from her. Suddenly, she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look her right in the eye. "I'm you!"