town.
We crossed over a main intersection and the tenor of the area changed. The driveways had cars parked in them with tires attached. I spotted a man through his bay window sitting in his chair reading the paper. Smoke trickled out of several chimneys. The world on this side was alive and thriving.
I turned and peered out the back window, curious to see if one road could split the same city into two different worlds, but a maroon car followed, blocking my view of the neighborhood we just left behind. I was about to turn my head when the maroon car turned down a side street and a black SUV came into view. My muscles tensed. I slid Sam a sideways glance.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
“I think the car behind is following us.” I flicked my head back.
Sam turned and looked. “Hey, man, can you pull into that gas station up ahead?” Sam asked the cabby.
“I thought you—”
“I just need to run in and get something,” Sam said.
The cab rolled into the gas station and parked in front of the store. Sam grabbed the handle on the door, but didn’t move.
I turned my head and the black SUV drove past the gas station.
“It’s gone,” I whispered.
Sam jumped out and ran into the store. A few minutes later he walked out with a bag of donuts and two sodas.
“Do you think someone followed us last night?” I asked softly, grabbing a donut.
“I don’t know,” Sam murmured as he opened a bottle of soda.
The rest of the cab ride, Sam’s radar was on high alert. He constantly scanned the area as the cab driver dodged through neighborhoods and side streets.
Before long, the scenery outside the window went from homes to wooded landscape. Snow-covered trees lined the road as it narrowed and curved back and forth.
We were traveling through the State Forest. It certainly looked different in the daytime. The yellow pairs of eyes I had seen last night were no longer peering out between the trees. Today, the edge of the roadside was dotted with small paw-like footprints, which disappeared into the forest.
When we exited, the cab rolled to a stop at the corner of Caran and Hamlet Street. We were just on the outskirts of the Highlands, not far from Ben’s house. He lived in a small community known as Riverside within the Highland area of Fall River. The neighborhood overlooked Mt. Hope Bay, which was home to the Riverside Black Sox, a major league baseball team that had won the World Series for the past two years. Half of the Black Sox players lived in the Highlands. In fact, Ben and his dad, Travis Jackson, lived next door to the starting catcher for the Black Sox, Buster Greene.
During baseball season Sam practically lived at Ben’s afterschool, hoping he would get a chance to meet the infamous Buster Greene. He always beamed from ear to ear when talking about Buster. I think I had been to Ben’s three times during the past year. The first time was for Ben’s birthday party. The second time was to pay my respects when his mother died, and the last time was at Thanksgiving.
Sam and Ben were best friends, which always surprised me. They had met under tense circumstances at school one day when I sort of introduced them to each other.
I had met Ben in Space Science class on my first day of high school. I was late to class that day and by the time I walked into the Planetarium there was only one seat left. With no other choice I sat down next to a redheaded kid with pimples and freckles.
“Hi, I’m Ben.” He’d smiled wide and extended his hand.
Shocked, I didn’t know what to say. I’d never made friends with boys in school. My experience with them was non-existent. Boys bullied me. So I ignored him as I slinked into the chair.
When the lights went out, the teacher instructed the class to lean back and gaze up at the fake sky. As the rest of us sat looking up at the stars, his stare bored into me. When class had ended, Ben had followed me out. I remembered how angry he was that I had ignored his
We crossed over a main intersection and the tenor of the area changed. The driveways had cars parked in them with tires attached. I spotted a man through his bay window sitting in his chair reading the paper. Smoke trickled out of several chimneys. The world on this side was alive and thriving.
I turned and peered out the back window, curious to see if one road could split the same city into two different worlds, but a maroon car followed, blocking my view of the neighborhood we just left behind. I was about to turn my head when the maroon car turned down a side street and a black SUV came into view. My muscles tensed. I slid Sam a sideways glance.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
“I think the car behind is following us.” I flicked my head back.
Sam turned and looked. “Hey, man, can you pull into that gas station up ahead?” Sam asked the cabby.
“I thought you—”
“I just need to run in and get something,” Sam said.
The cab rolled into the gas station and parked in front of the store. Sam grabbed the handle on the door, but didn’t move.
I turned my head and the black SUV drove past the gas station.
“It’s gone,” I whispered.
Sam jumped out and ran into the store. A few minutes later he walked out with a bag of donuts and two sodas.
“Do you think someone followed us last night?” I asked softly, grabbing a donut.
“I don’t know,” Sam murmured as he opened a bottle of soda.
The rest of the cab ride, Sam’s radar was on high alert. He constantly scanned the area as the cab driver dodged through neighborhoods and side streets.
Before long, the scenery outside the window went from homes to wooded landscape. Snow-covered trees lined the road as it narrowed and curved back and forth.
We were traveling through the State Forest. It certainly looked different in the daytime. The yellow pairs of eyes I had seen last night were no longer peering out between the trees. Today, the edge of the roadside was dotted with small paw-like footprints, which disappeared into the forest.
When we exited, the cab rolled to a stop at the corner of Caran and Hamlet Street. We were just on the outskirts of the Highlands, not far from Ben’s house. He lived in a small community known as Riverside within the Highland area of Fall River. The neighborhood overlooked Mt. Hope Bay, which was home to the Riverside Black Sox, a major league baseball team that had won the World Series for the past two years. Half of the Black Sox players lived in the Highlands. In fact, Ben and his dad, Travis Jackson, lived next door to the starting catcher for the Black Sox, Buster Greene.
During baseball season Sam practically lived at Ben’s afterschool, hoping he would get a chance to meet the infamous Buster Greene. He always beamed from ear to ear when talking about Buster. I think I had been to Ben’s three times during the past year. The first time was for Ben’s birthday party. The second time was to pay my respects when his mother died, and the last time was at Thanksgiving.
Sam and Ben were best friends, which always surprised me. They had met under tense circumstances at school one day when I sort of introduced them to each other.
I had met Ben in Space Science class on my first day of high school. I was late to class that day and by the time I walked into the Planetarium there was only one seat left. With no other choice I sat down next to a redheaded kid with pimples and freckles.
“Hi, I’m Ben.” He’d smiled wide and extended his hand.
Shocked, I didn’t know what to say. I’d never made friends with boys in school. My experience with them was non-existent. Boys bullied me. So I ignored him as I slinked into the chair.
When the lights went out, the teacher instructed the class to lean back and gaze up at the fake sky. As the rest of us sat looking up at the stars, his stare bored into me. When class had ended, Ben had followed me out. I remembered how angry he was that I had ignored his
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