Chapter 1

It's August. Great. This means that summer is coming to an end and I have to live by the rules of everyone else again soon. My mom is already pushing me to go shopping with her this weekend for back to school clothes. I should be excited since this year marks the beginning of the end of high school for me, but I'm not. Senior year; when most people my age are excited to be looking into college and finding jobs and feel like they are on the brink of adult hood. I feel like I am in my 30's, not a normal 17 year old.

I remember the last day of school for my Junior year like I am reliving it every day of my life. It was a hot day for early June and we only had a half day of school at Forest High. Becka, Michael and I were planning on going for a hike in the woods and then taking a swim in the lake after lunch. We had all found jobs for the summer and we wanted to at least have one afternoon out in the sun having fun. Once school let out we all went home and agreed to meet at my house after lunch. I rushed home, put on my swimsuit under my hiking clothes and made a quick lunch. I was getting restless in the house so I decided to head out to my front porch and wait. 1:00pm rolled around and my friends were no where to be seen. 2:00pm came and went. I tried calling their cells and didn't get answer. Mom and Dad were at work so I decided to leave behind 2 notes. My first note I left on the kitchen counter for my parents.

"Mom (or Dad if you get home first), I went for a hike on the trail. It's 2:30, I should probably be home before you guys get here, but just incase, I'll be down at the lake. See you for dinner! Shelby."

Then I taped my second note on the front door for my friends, "Becka & Mike, what the heck? I waited long enough, see you guys down at the lake. Shelby"

We have all lived in Forest Glenn since we were born. It's a typical small town. We have some amazing hiking trails and there's a gorgeous lake about 30 minutes off the main trail that is photo worthy. Most of the people in Forset Glenn are outdoorsy types. We have bike trails, hiking trails and you can't drive down Main street w/ out seeing a few joggers. The lake is where most people go for canooing, fishing and even sun bathing since it has a nice beachy area. I figured my friends would just meet me there.

My house is located about 3 blocks off the main trail which is why we all just meet here for our hikes. I walked past my neighbors and Mrs. Walsh called to me to make sure I stop by on my way back, apparently she has some veggies for my parents from her garden. I picked up the pace because Forest Glenn is one of those neighborhoods where everyone knows everyone and you have to stop and say hello and I really have no interest in talking to my parents friends.

Less then 10 minutes later I made it to the trail. I brought my camera with so I could take some pictures. I was planning on redecorating my bedroom and thought some enlarged nature photos would look nice. I stopped to snap a pic of some wildflowers and then a beautiful hawk was circeling in the sky and I was able to get an impressive picture of him. I checked my watch, 3:00, I better stop putzing around, I wanted to swim a bit and try to get a little tan before the mosquitos came out in full force. That's the only thing that sucked about Forest Glenn lake, Sunset in the summer wasn't until 7:00 or 7:30 but around 5:30 the bugs were so bad that you basically had to abandon sun tanning and tanning oil and go back to your bug spray and pants.

3:10 and I reached my destination. Oh God I love this lake! The pier is beautiful. Strange, no one is sitting on it fishing today. Usually you feel as though you're interrupting some private fisherman party just trying to walk down the pier and get a great view of the lake! You can only say "sorry, excuse me" so much before you just give up on even stepping foot on it. I just have left it to the fishermen.

Since I had put my swimsuit on under my clothes I was undressed from those hot hiking clothes and in the lake in about 30 seconds! As I was swimming I noticed that the lake was really quiet considering it was the last day of school. I expected there would be a lot more kids here. There were a few random people enjoying the sun and I could see some hikers in the woods, but usually on a day like today there'd be about 20-30 people around and today there were about 5 or 6.

What a refreshing swim. The water is perfect. Sometimes a random fish would nip at my toes but other then that it just seemed like a perfect day. I got out of the lake and laid out in the sun to relax. Before I knew it my cell phone was ringing. I was so disoriented and it took me a few seconds to even realize I had fallen asleep. It took a few more seconds to locate my cell phone in the pocket of my hiking pants.

"Hello?"
"Oh, Hi mom, what time is it?"
"6pm? Oh my god, I fell asleep at the beach. I'm so sorry, I'll be right home"
"what?"
"An accident?"
"Are Becka and Mike ok?"
"Thanks for letting me know, I'll be right home"

Well crap. At least I knew what happened to Becka and Mike. Apparently on their way to my house they got into a minor accident. My mom works in the hospital admittance department and was the one who admitted both of them into the E.R. They were rear ended on their way to my house and called their parents. Neither one of them was injured but their parents insisted they go to the hospital to be checked out. Their cells didn't have signals in the E.R and that's why they missed all of my calls. When my mom got home she saw the note I left for them on the door and immediately knew I didn't know about their accident. I have to admit that I have an awesome relationship with my parents. We have our normal disagreements but we also get along. My mom can be annoying but she really means well and tries to be involved in my life but not to pushy.

I put my hiking clothes back on and headed for the trail. Whoa, I'm the only person at the lake? This never happens. Well....the bugs are out so that probably explains why. About 5 minutes down the trail I hear the snapping of sticks from my right. There isn't another hiking trail but people go off trail all the time. All of a sudden I get that feeling like someone is watching me. Sunset isn't for at least another hour so everything is very well lit, I look as far into the woods as I can from my trail and see nothing. Oh well, probably just an animal. I decided to jog my way out of the trail to get home sooner and then I heard it again, another snapping to my right. I stopped dead in my tracks as I had the prickly feeling down my spine and arms as if someone was watching me. I looked all around and saw nothing. Now I was getting a little freaked out. I finally made it out of the woods and back to paved surface and thankfully I wasn't alone.