Onda Thorne I don’t remember ever hearing birds chirping by my window whenever I wake up in the morning. And the air certainly wasn’t this chilly last night. I slowly open my eyes and the first thing I see is the bright blue sky high above me. I gather myself in a daze and sit up. This definitely isn’t my room. Why am I in the woods? What happened last night? The trees surrounding me are thinner than the ones I know. The branches are bare and the ground is covered in freshly fallen leaves. I could’ve sworn that they were all brown yesterday. Voices fill the air and I stand up as swiftly as I can. I’m either in the wrong woods or these people are lost. I follow the voices and they lead me to a large clearing that resembles an old village. How have I never seen this before? I turn around, frantically studying the unfamiliar environment. Men and women walk past me and little children r

I don’t know how long I’ve been walking for but I can feel my legs start to give out. My silvery hair falls out of the messy bun it’s in and I sloppily put it back.I left the house as soon as I got the second message from my mother. I packed as lightly as I could, only filling my bag pack with the essentials.The sun is high up in the sky once again. I check my watch and it’s actually 2pm. I’ve spent a night on the road so that means I’ve been walking for well over a day, only stopping 3 times – to sleep, for a bathroom break and to eat the last of my food.I left my old town a few miles back and now all I can see is empty, green land. The only people I’ve seen in the past few hours are bikers. A few have asked me if I needed a ride but I declined every time.“Don’t trust anyone.” I repeat to herself for the umpteenth time.I struggle to lift my feet as they start to feel heavy but

“Joey and I need to get back to the diner but we’ll be back in a few hours. West is here so don’t worry about being alone.” Being alone is the last of my worries. “Do I really have to be alone with him? Can’t I just go with you?” I whine. I haven’t really talked to him much but from the looks of it, he definitely doesn’t like me. “No you need to rest and I can tell you’re not used to the smell of alcohol, you looked like you were about to puke when you walked in there. And don’t worry about West, he may seem a little tough but he’s harmless. A little grumpy but nothing to worry about. We’ll be back soon.” Thea puts on her apron and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her. After a few minutes, I hear the front door slam shut and a car engine roars to life. As soon as the car sounds far enough, I get up from the bed and leave the room as quietly as I can. I tiptoe downstairs, looking out for West but he’s nowhere in sight. Deciding on taking a quick tour

Thea slams the front door and stomps around the living room, letting off steam as best as she can. West and I follow, with shopping bags in both hands. Joey emerges from the kitchen with a towel in his hand. “Hey guys.” Joey’s smile slowly fades as he senses something is off. “What happened?” He asks cautiously. Thea turns to him, still fuming, “I’ll tell you what happened. It’s those disrespectful brats, those little punks who believe that they’re better than us but they don’t know I could snap them in half without breaking a sweat if I wanted to.” I stand awkwardly by the door with the bags still in my hand while West drops on the couch like he’s completely used to the situation. I don’t know what to do. Do I just leave the room? “Derek and his friends?” Joey asks. “Derek and his friends.” West nods. “They want to threaten me! Me? Bad choice.” Thea finally storms off. “Let’s get you unpacked.” Joey helps me with some

I'm lying on something even softer than before. I'm going to open my eyes at the count of three and I better not see Darius again. One. "Onda, wake up." Two.             "Is she awake yet?" Three. "Does it look like she's awake?" My eyes slowly flutter open to find the boys gathered around me and Thea pacing around the room, running her hands through her bright red hair. “Oh thank goodness you’re awake.” Joey says letting out a relieved sigh. Thea snaps her head in my direction and rushes to the couch. “Oh gosh. You’re okay. What happened? Are you alright?” She kneels in front of the couch. “I think so.” I try sitting up, using my hands to support me but I land back on the couch. “Or maybe not. Why do I feel like I was dropped from the top of a building?” “Because Joey tripped while he was carr