CHAPTER 1

Red dots.
They danced on me. Little red dots everywhere. On my chest, my forehead, my arms, and my legs.
They intrigued me. As they danced I had a feeling. I’m not sure which feeling though. All I knew was that it was a weird feeling.
Then I woke up.
That’s the third time this week that I’ve had this dream. Not sure what it’s supposed to mean. Mom tells me that all dreams have meanings. I’m guessing since I’ve had this dream three times it must mean something important.
My mom walked out of the hotel bathroom.
“Glad to see you’re finally up Toby. We need to get going.”
We were moving halfway across the country. My dad turned out to be a psycho murderer. So my mom and I decided to move.
We used to live in New York, but we’re going to go live in Iowa.
Town name? Bethany. Population two hundred and three. Exciting? No. Not at all. And no, there wasn’t any sarcasm in my voice right then.
This was supposed to be our last day on the road, we would make it to Bethany by nightfall.
My mom drove the moving van and I drove my car. As I watched the world fly by, I wondered what it would be like, my new life I mean. Yeah it’s as small town, but what’s the school like? Was everyone there ugly? I had no idea what I was going to encounter.

~
We arrived at about nine o’ clock at night. It was cold, with snow on the ground.
“We can unpack everything tomorrow, let’s just get the beds out of the truck so we can go to sleep tonight.”
We took the beds out and set them up in the living room and slept.

~

I woke up at about ten o’ clock and drug the toaster out of the moving van and put it on the kitchen counter. I stuck some bread in and let it cook.
When the toast pooped up it woke up my mom.
“What are you doing up so early?”
“Mom it’s ten thirty.”
She looked at the stove clock.
“Huh, I guess it is…”

~

We unpacked the whole moving van in about fifteen minutes.
It took us the rest of the day to unpack all the boxes and then set up all the stuff where it needed to go.
Tomorrow I had to go to school. I didn’t want to. If I had the choice I would just curl up in my new room and never come out. Ever.

~

Being the new kid sucks.
The school was literally only twice the size of my new house. So it makes me wonder, how did I manage to get lost? Well, there I was, first day of school, I’m late, I went to the office to find only one very unhelpful secretary.
“You’re late.” She said flatly. The look on her face said it all: She didn’t want to be there and she wanted everyone to know it.
“Yeah… sorry about that, our shower was acting screwy and…”
“Save it. Don’t care.”
Ok… you’re a nice lady.
She handed me a map and my schedule.
“It’s second hour. Do you want me to show you where your [WORD AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED] is on that map?”
“Uhhh… no thanks, I’ll take a rain check.”
“Good, because I wasn’t going to show you.”
Yeah. Defiantly a nice lady.
I left the office and looked at my map. If you could call it a map. It looks like a three-year-old tried to draw a dog eating a horse, then finger painted it red and yellow.
In other words, it didn’t make any sense.
So I just started walking. I figured I would eventually figure out where I was going, but soon, I had no idea which way was up or down. I must have looked pretty sad standing there, because a girl in the hallway saw me and walked up to me.
“Hey! Are you new here?”
No, I’ve just been living under a rock for the last seventeen years of my life, thanks for asking.
“Uhhh… yeah, can you help me find my [WORD AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED]?”
She snatched my papers out of my hand and stood right next to me. Like, right next to me.
“Uhhh…”
I got a good look at her. Her hair was strawberry-blonde. She was a bit shorter than me, maybe five-eight or five-nine. Her features were small and feminine. I guess she was cute, but it kinda bugged me how she was all up on me. I started to sweat a little, it’s a good thing I didn’t forget to wear deodorant. She was skinny, and it looked like she didn’t have to try. She wore black clothes and painted her nails black to match. It wasn’t heavy goth, more like she didn’t mean to wear black. Judging by her appearance she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen.
“Head down the hall, make a left, should be the first [WORD AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED] on the right.”
“Thanks.”
I stood there, waiting for her to give me back my stuff. She looked at me, then looked some more. Then she grinned.
“Uhhh… can I have my stuff back?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” she blushed. She gave me my papers, then watched me as I walked down the hall. I could almost feel her eyes drilling holes into my back.

~

Everything was pretty normal, until lunch.
I got my lunch from some very manly looking lunch ladies. It seemed like there were only two places to sit, and they were both at the same table. The table where all the druggies sat. Not that there’s anything wrong with druggies, I just can’t handle the smell.

I sat down next to this guy with dreads, he was black and smelled like pot.
“Hey man. What’s up?”
Best thing about druggies? It’s like you’ve always been their lifelong friend, no matter who you are.
“Nothing much, just moved here.”
“Yeah his name is Toby, he has his next hour with us.”
I cringed. That empty seat next to me, wasn’t empty anymore, it was filled with…
Her.
Great.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you my name earlier. It’s Abby.” She scooted closer to me.
I don’t know about you, but I think she was a little clingy.

~

The next hour was Beginning Culinary Arts. I only took the [WORD AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED] because I wanted to eat.
Of course the day I show up, we take notes. No cooking. No eating.
And the teacher thought it would be a good idea if she put me right next to Abby.
It wasn’t that she was ugly or anything, because she wasn’t. It was that she seemed to be so clingy.

~

After I got home I shut the door and went straight into my room.
“How was your day honey?”
“Uhhh… fine.”
“Are you sure you don’t want…”
“No, it’s ok Mom.”
“Ok…”
I sat on my bed, pulled out my mp3 player, turned up the volume all the way up and drained my mind.
It had been a very long day.

CHAPTER 2

I woke up the next morning feeling quite refreshed. It was snowing outside so I went downstairs and watched the news. We got of school for a snow day today.

So I sat on the couch and tossed Cheerios into my mouth, when the doorbell rang.

Still in my boxers, I got up and answered the door.

Guess who?

If you guessed Chuck Norris, you would be wrong.

If you guessed Abby, you would be absolutely correct. Unfortunately.

“Hey! I just realized that we’re neighbors! I saw you eating Cheerios and I came over to talk.”

I was suddenly self-conscious. “Uhhh… we’re going to be busy today, so… can’t really talk for long.”

“Oh, ok. I’ll just get your number so we can text each other!”

I would do anything to get her out of here right now. “Sure hang on a second.”

I went and grabbed the first piece of paper I saw, ripped a piece off, and grabbed a sharpie. I wrote my number on the paper and presented it to her. She looked at it like it was the Holy Grail and left.

I went up to my room and put on a pair of pants and threw on a shirt.

My mom walked past my room. “Why aren’t you at school?”

“Snow day. Hey, can we get curtains for downstairs?”

“Yeah, what for?”

“Uhhh… the sun is really starting to bother me.”

“Ok… Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Sure Mom, will do.”



~



I sat down at my computer and started surfing the web, when my phone beeped at me. I picked it up and looked at it.

Heyy.

Who is this?

It’s Abby, sorry.

It’s ok.

Whatcha doin?.

Vacuuming.

Oh…. I see..

Yep.

do you need a job.?

I’ll admit, I had a car, but a little extra cash would be nice, and you don’t turn down a job proposal from thin air. No matter who it’s from.

Yeah, you know of any openings?

Yep it’s where I work..

Where do you work?

Kradneck Science Labs and Research Center. It’s just outside of town..

I had completely no idea what that was.

Ok, what would I be doing?

Filing, labeling, stuff like that.

Ok, doesn’t sound too hard.

it’s not..

I put my phone down. I was still really tired. I went into the bathroom and threw some cold water on my face and looked into the mirror.

My features were soft except for my chin, which was slightly pronounced. I had dark hair and slightly tanned skin. I stood at about six foot zero. I was skinny, but I still had muscle. I wouldn’t say I was good looking, but it seemed like everyone else thought so.

I dried my face off and sat in my bed, put in my earphones and drifted off to limbo.



~



I was brought back to reality by my phone. It was going crazy!

I checked it.

Twenty five new text messages, and fifteen new missed calls.

Granted two of the missed calls and five of the texts were from my mom, but the rest were all from the same person.

I called her up.

“Hello?”

“Really? We’re neighbors, if you want to talk to me that bad I’m right over here you know.”

“But it’s cold outside!” She protested.

“Do you not have anything else better to do?”

“There are other things I can do, but you’re more interesting.”

“Pretty sure I’m the most boring person on the face of the earth.”

“I don’t think so.”

There was silence, I actually blushed.

“Anyways…. Whatcha doin’?”

“Sitting on my bed talking to this girl on my phone.”

She laughed, “You’re funny!”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

Silence.

“Well… I have to go…”

“Ok! Bye!” She hung up.

Well, that went worse than planned.



~



Later I stuck a T.V. dinner in the microwave and switched on the television, and there was a knock at the door.

“I got it!” I yelled up to my mom.

I opened the door.

I was really getting tired of this girl showing up wanting to talk to me every five minutes.

“Hey!” She was holding something wrapped in tin foil.

“Uhhh… what’s up?”

“My mom baked this cake for you guys.”

“Oh…. Thanks.”

She stood there with the cake, she didn’t hand it to me. She probably was waiting to be invited in.

What the heck? It wouldn’t hurt anything would it?

“Want to come in?”

“Yes!” She practically ran me over getting inside. When she did she acted like she had just entered The Most Holy of Holies.

She started to walk into the living room.

“Uhhh… the kitchen counter is in here…”

She changed tracks and came into the kitchen with me. When I tried to take the cake from her to set it on the counter myself, I accidently grabbed her hands. She giggled and I blushed.

I took the cake from her and laid it on the counter behind me.

She just stood there, making no motion to leave. She stared at me adoringly. It was starting to get creepy.

“… yeah… nice day, huh?”

“You’re cute.” She said bluntly.

Glad we got that elephant out of the room.

“Ummm… ok…”

She came over and stood right next to me. Outside I was calm and collected, but on the inside every freaking alarm in my head was going off.

She brushed her hand on my pants just as my mom came downstairs.

Thank you mom. Could someone give her a medal?

“Hey Mom! The neighbors baked a cake for us!”

“I think our ‘neighbor’ needs to leave.”

Make that two medals.

Abby, embarrassed, left.

“What do you think you were doing?”

“Mom, you came at just the right time. That girl has been hitting on me for two days straight!”

“I’m not buying it, you weren’t trying to stop her.”

“I don’t care if you bought it or not. You got her off me.”

“Whatever Toby.”



~



I sat on my bed, drawing. I’m not sure what though, just scribbles, when I got a text.

From Abby.

Sorry for coming on to you so strong. I thought you liked me too.

Liked her? I’m cute, then she likes me? Girls make no sense.

It’s ok I guess, I just need some time to settle in.

Oh ok, that makes more sense.

Yep.

So… can I ask you a question?

Shoot.

Are you single?

Yes. What about you?

Yeah. I have been for about four months.

I’ve been single for about… a year.

A year?!

Yep.

I couldn’t go that long.

Doesn’t kill you.

You don’t know that.

:p

:pp Well… sorry again. I was afraid that if I wasn’t aggressive enough I would lose you to some other girl.

Again… It’s ok haha. I gtg though. Dinners ready.

Ok. TTYL?

Yeah. TTYL.



~



I woke up the next morning and looked outside. No snow. It must have all melted overnight. No snow meant there had to be school.

I took a shower, got dressed, ate my breakfast and brushed my teeth. I went out and started my car, I was about to drive off to school when I saw Abby walking down the street. I was certain she was going to walk to school.

I jumped in my car and sped down the street. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was going to do something.

I pulled up next to her.

“Hey, need a ride?”

I guess I caught her off guard because she just stood there and gave me a quizzical look.

“You get in the car and I drive you where you need to go.” I teased her.

“Really? Thank you!”

“No problem.”

She got in the car, and hugged her backpack tight.

“You can just throw your stuff in the back.” I told her.

She seemed reluctant to toss her stuff back there, or even touch anything for that matter.

“It’s ok for you to put your feet on the floor you know, that’s what it’s made for.”

She slowly uncurled and stretched herself out as we drove.

“You know, if you’re uncomfortable…”

"No, no it’s ok, I’m just afraid that I’ll mess it up or something.”

I laughed “Don’t worry, I don’t mind!”

We arrived at school a couple of minutes later.

“So what about this job that you were telling me about? Do I need to fill out some kind of application or anything?” I asked as I looked for a place to park.

“Oh, no. Just come in with me after school. Can you do that?”

“I think I should be able to, I’ll text my mom and let her know what I’m doing so she doesn’t freak out.”

CHAPTER 3

After school I got in my car and waited for Abby, she got in not long after. “Hey.” I said. “Hey, how was your day, love?” Love? This would take some getting used to. “I had a good day, how about you?” I put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking spot. “I’ve been having better days than what I have been having.” “Why’s that?” “Because I have a new friend.” She winked at me. “Gee, who could that be?” She pushed my shoulder and we laughed. ~ We
reached the place fifteen minutes later. Everything about this
building screamed “I was designed by a creeper!” Abby must have seen the
concerned look on my face because she said “Yeah, it used to be an
asylum before a research center, it was really creepy before they fixed
it up.” She shivered. This place was fixed up? It
looked like the last time this place had a paint job was when Abraham
Lincoln was President. It had fifteen floors, and
more underground floors. It had a total of twenty windows, most of them
boarded up. The building was made of brick, black brick. It looked like
it had been painted several times, several different colors, just to
have the paint peel away after the next century passed.
It looked like there was only one door on the building, the front. As
we approached the door Abby pulled a lanyard out of her pocket and
scanned it on some sort of scanner, and then opened the door for me. “After you.”
I went in, and frankly, it was creepier than the outside, if that was
possible. The ceiling looked like it could fall in at any second, and
the paint on the walls was peeling even worse than the outside.
The only thing that looked like it had been replaced was the doors. The
tile looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in twenty years and had pieces
missing here and there. Abby led me up some stairs
and down a cleaner hallway into a room without windows. Just a table a
couple of chairs and what looked like a two way mirror. “If you need me I’ll be just outside the door. I’ll let Craig know you’re here.” She shut the door behind her, and left me alone.
Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to sit or stand so I sat in one of the
chairs. It took thirty minutes for someone to come in, and it wasn’t
even “Craig.” It was just one of his doctors. “If you want to work here, you’re going to have to get a couple of shots.” He spoke with an Indian accent. “Uhhh… ok… shoot me up doc.” He didn’t appreciate my joke very much.
He filled one needle with a red liquid, then stuck one of those tubes
with the needles on it into my arm. He then filled another needle with a
yellow liquid. The yellow liquid looked slightly thicker than the red.
He grabbed a bag full of water and connected it to the tube in my arm. “Why do you have to use the water and the tube to inject me with the stuff?” I asked. “We don’t want the steroid to enter your system too fast, especially if you prove to be allergic to it.” Ok… Hope I’m not allergic to it then…
He injected the red liquid into the bag with the water in it, I watched
it run through the water into my arm. As soon as it hit my blood
stream, I could feel it burn. I could feel it run through my body,
because the burn followed. “It might sting a little.” Said the doctor. Oh gee thanks.
As soon as he was done draining the red liquid into my body, the dude
put more water in the bag, then injected the yellow liquid into it.
As soon as he was done with that he hefted a large briefcase on top of
the table, opened it up, took several pill jars out, and set them on the
table. He left the room for a second. While he
was gone the yellow stuff hit my bloodstream, but I almost couldn’t
tell. It didn’t burn, it just went quietly inside of me. The doctor came back in the room, with some bottles of liquid.
“I’m going to ask you some questions now, it’s important that you
answer truthfully and seriously,” he glared at me “don’t try to be macho
man for this. It’s important for your health.” “Ok, shoot.” “Are you feeling lightheaded?” “No.” “Weak?” “Nope.” “Any muscle spasms? Eye twitching? Leg jerks?” “Zip. Zero. Nada.” “Are you or have you been feeling anything unusual since I’ve administered the steroid? “When you gave me that red stuff there was burning, like, inside me.” “Has that gone away?” “Yep.”
He quickly picked up a bottle and fished out two little red pills, then
poured me a cup of… some kind of blue foamy liquid.
“Take these,” he handed me the little red pills, “with this drink. It’s
a little bitter but it’ll counter-act the side effects you’ll be
experiencing.” I took them, and man I thought that cherry cough medicine was bad, but I drank that stuff to the last drop. “Are you feeling tingly?” He asked. “No.” “Is there anything else that wasn’t normal?” “No, I think I’m good.”
“Ok, we have one more drug you’ll need to take next week, it usually
has violent effects with the other steroids we just administered to you
if we put it in your body too soon. Until then, we need you to take two
of these at dinner,” he handed me a bottle of the little red pills
“every day until it runs out.” “Ok, will do.” “Mr. Kradneck will be with you shortly.” The doctor took the needle out of my arm, packed up all his stuff and left.I waited another five minutes before Mr. Kradneck came in.
Mr. Craig Kradneck was a middle aged man, with dark hair that had its
share of gray streaks in it. He stood at about six foot two and wore a
tailor made suit. He looked professional like any C.O. would. He had a
thin goatee with a very prominent chin and high cheekbones. He seemed to
be a mix of Native-American and Italian. He sat
down in the chair across from me. He folded his hands together on the
table professionally, and leaned forward slowly toward me. “Mr.… Toby? Is it?” “Yes sir.” “You want to work for me?” “I would like to sir.” “Good, how much money were you expecting?” “Sir, I was expecting seven-fifty an hour.” “How does fifteen dollars an hour sound to you?” “Very good sir.” “Good. You understand what you’ll be doing, correct?” “Abby said I’d be filing and any other odd jobs.” “That’s a pretty accurate description.” “Ummm… sir, if I may ask, I have a question.” “Yes Toby?” "Why did I have to get all those shots?" “Toby,
we’re a scientific research laboratory. You understand that we have
several different specimens in this building? Both human and animal? If
you come into this building carrying any sort of disease, and our test
subjects catch them, we get moved back to square one.” “I understand sir.” “Any other questions?” “Uhhh… no sir, I don’t think so.”“Ok. I’m going to need you to sign this work release form, then you can start working tomorrow.
He seemed to pull the paper out of thin air. He laid it in front of me,
with a fancy pen next to it, I skimmed through it, just to make sure
there wasn’t any funny business in it, then I signed it. “Thank you.” He said. He
picked it up, rolled it up, then stuffed it into an inside pocket in
his jacket. He picked up the pen, put it in his front pocket and left. I wasn’t sure if I could just leave, or if I had to stay, but when I started to get up another doctor came in. “If
we could ask you to stay here for just a few more minutes, that’d be
great. Just to make sure that there aren’t any more side effects.” She
said. “Sure, that’s fine.” The
chick left, and I sat there for about ten more minutes before she came
in again and sat down in a chair next to me. She looked through a couple
of papers in her binder, then looked up at me. “Everything seems to be in order, you’re free to go.” I shook her hand then left the room. I found Abby waiting for me just outside the door. “Ready to go?” I asked. She nodded and led me back down to the first floor. ~
That night I sat on my bed with a bouncy ball and tossed it at the
ceiling. It seemed like my feelings about Abby had shifted. I wasn’t
sure where this was going to end up, but I knew it was going somewhere
far from here.When I finally decided to go to sleep at eleven-thirty, I had a dream. Everything was black. Then, like a door opening, a giant eye opened up. It was a bright yellow color and seemed to have an animal quality to it. It stared at me, its gaze drilled into me. I felt like it could see into my soul. A distant growl reached me. Then I woke in a sweat. That was a weird dream. Even weirder than the red dots.

Epic! That is (I hate to be using the word my sister uses all the time) amazing.