HFT Chapter One

The boy ran faster, his bare feet hitting the ground with so much force, he could feel the vibrations rattle his bones. He had no idea what was chasing him, but he knew it was lethal and it was bent on killing him. And he was desperate to escape - he had been running so long without rest, too scared to stop, afraid he would die if he slowed. He was too scared even to reach up and swipe at the sweat dripping down his flushed forehead. A stump jutted up from the ground. He was moving too fast to see it in time, and he tripped, falling hard down a deep pit. He opened his mouth to scream, but the musty air sucked it away. His throat was dry from lack of water and oxygen, and he knew, with a sinking feeling, that nobody would hear him. He closed his eyes, knowing he would die here.

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"Dianna, Hurry up!"

"Sorry, Kelsey, but these shoes weren't meant for running!" Dianna Rassau puffed back.

Kelsey Thompson and Dianna Durand were late for school, again. Thanks to Dianna's broken alarm clock and Kelsey's addiction to sleeping in made them miss the bus every single day.

Kelsey rolled her eyes at the lame excuse. Dianna was limping along in her terquoise heels slower than a snail. She was short, yeah, but that was no reason to wear heeels every single day.

"Hurry up! Or Mr. Burbanks will give us the 'you're late again' speech!"

The two friends made a break for it. They could just make out Elliswood High School down the road. Kelsey's cream-colored gathered bow flats smacked the ground as they flew towards the dreaded school.

They ran as fast as we could, but we were out of time. They could already hear the bell. They were late. Typical.

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"Late again, Miss Thompson and Miss Durand. You would think, by 10th grade, you wouldn't be late every single day," Mr. Burbanks said. He glared at the two girls with his beady black crow eyes. "Looks like another detention and another call to your parents, Miss Durand, and to your grandmother, Miss Thompson."

Kelsey returned the dirty look. Mr. Burbanks was fat and bald, with the creaky voice of a dying frog to top it off. The entire 10th grade hated his pudgy guts.

They went over to sit with their best friend, Ryan Werner. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it.

"What is it?" Kelsey asked curiously.

She just shook her head. "Later," she mouthed.

The day was boring, but went by quickly. Afterwards, the two skipped detention without getting caught, as usual, and met Ryan outside.

"Okay, school's over - what is it?" Dianna pressed.

"I found a cool place in the woods," she said. "I know we've been there a million times, but there was a place I found that was, just, I don't know... different. You guys have to check it out!"

Dianna shruged. "Sounds like fun, I guess... I mean, what else are we supposed to do for kicks around here?"