Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

two

When Chase left his house earlier that night, he didn't expect to be hiking through the forest. In the dark. Alone. Had he known that, he would've worn better shoes and brought a flashlight.

But, for now, the dim light coming from his cellphone would have to do.

It barely illuminated the space ahead of him. As he staggered forward, trying his best to dodge trees and the occasional shift in terrain, a gnarled root hidden in the dirt snuck up on him. Before he knew it, he was face-to-face with the ground. Spitting dirt, twigs, and dry leaves from his mouth, he got up and dusted himself off.

Whatever Theo had to show him, he hoped it was worth it.

Ahead of him, he spotted the faint outline of Stella moving through the underbrush. He was glad she chose to wear a yellow dress. The bright color was the only reason he could still see her. He assumed Theo wasn't too far away as she seemed to know where she was going. Getting lost in the woods wasn't exactly his idea of a fun night out.

He then realized someone had the foresight to tack a few wooden signs into the imposing trees around him. Red arrows pointed him in the direction of the old quarry.

A million different possibilities for why Theo was bringing him to the quarry ran through his brain like speeding code through a processor. His first thought was aliens. He immediately discarded it; aliens weren't real. His second thought was that something equally surprising must've been inside the dig. In regards to what exactly, he had no idea.

After a few more minutes of following the signs and listening to the eerie ambiance echoing around him, the forest broke away to reveal a clearing that dropped off into a sheer cliff. A group of teenagers stood around the area, talking and snapping pictures of whatever it was that resided within the quarry. Some passed around a blunt and others drank from beer bottles and plastic cups.

Chase slowed his pace as he approached them. Theo, who had been conversing with a rather short girl in a black Nirvana hoodie, beckoned him over to where he was standing.

''What's all this?'' he asked. ''The after-party?''

That earned a few snickers from his peers.

''You brought Stella and the new kid?'' the girl Theo had been talking to asked. A deep scowl had been etched into her pale face, which was adorned with dark makeup and random piercings.

''He's cool, Emily,'' Theo said. He flashed a smile at Chase. ''Right, Chase? You're cool.''

Chase nodded slowly. ''Yeah, what he said.''

''As for Stella, I'm not so sure.''

''Gee, thanks, Theo.'' Stella rolled her eyes at him. She and Emily glared at each other for a bit. After a while, they averted their gazes and pretended to be preoccupied with something else.

Chase shot Theo a skeptical glance that said: ''what was that about?''. His friend simply shrugged.

He never would've thought Stella had any enemies; after all, she was the most loved girl at school. But, if she was to have one, a girl like Emily Yumiko certainly fit the bill.

While he didn't know her personally, he knew enough about her to know she was a little strange. She hung out with the punk rock kids and spent most of her time out of school in detention. The only reason he knew that was because that was where he first met her. She was also a self-described anarchist and hated the preppy kids of River Hill; Stella happened to fit that bill. Though, her dislike for the senior class president was greater than her dislike for anyone else.

With Chase not growing up with the majority of River Hill's students like most, he didn't know the backstory to their feud. While intriguing, he wasn't going to go around asking questions about it. Instead, he decided to start asking the important ones.