J U M P E R

C H A P T E R | O N E

The day had begun normal enough. But it was terrifying how quickly things could change.

A sigh of relief passed through her lips as the bell signalling the end of fourth period rang through the school. Only five classes to go. She pushed her way down the too-crowded hallway. She was glad this was her last year of high school. She took her seat in her next class and waited for the teacher to arrive; she was always late. Calculus breezed by, as it always did.

The lunch bell was a godsend to her stomach; she'd skipped breakfast that morning.

She met Ella in the lunch line, and they talked as they waited their turns. Once they'd gotten their lunches, they made their way to the usual table. Their other friends Tom and Allison were waiting for them. The two were locked in a conversation about which Sci-fi film was the greatest.

"Alien is obviously better," Tom argued. Allison rolled her eyes.

"It's all violence and things bursting out of people's chests. The Matrix at least has substance," She said.

The debate continued. No sooner had she sat down had they included her in the conversation.

"What do you think, Kieran?" She glanced up briefly from her plate of Mystery Meat.

She said nothing.

Her friends rolled their eyes. Kieran had never been a fan of that sort of thing. She considered it to be make-believe; children's stuff. She preferred realistic, plausible stories.

If only she'd known then how unbelievable her own story was about to become.

The rest of the school day passed by in a haze. A headache pulsed behind her eyes to the beat of her heart. She just wanted to go home. She shoved her way through the crowd of students, not in any sort of mood to be caught in the middle of the weekly Friday Afternoon Showdown between the football players.

She jogged through parking lot to get to the bus once she made it out of the building. The bus driver nodded in her direction as she came up the stairs. She sat alone in the back as she usually did.

She closed her eyes as a lance of white-hot pain stabbed through her brain. A wave of nausea hit so intensely she put her hand to her mouth, worried her lunch would come back up. She breathed deeply, waiting for it to pass.

She opened her eyes again once the feeling was gone. That would be the last time she ate cafeteria food. The bus's engine roared to life and they pulled away from the school. She watched out the window as trees and houses passed in a blur of greens and white and red. Another stab of pain erupted behind her eyes suddenly.

She closed them tight and took a deep breath.

What was happening?

Her head spun. She felt altogether too hot and too cold. She felt herself begin to fall forward. She vaguely heard someone ask if she was alright. Her ears began to ring. All other noise faded away.

And darkness consumed her.

ΑΩ

When she came to, Kieran didn't know where she was. Somehow she'd been taken off the bus. She was now on the side of an empty road. She looked around. Trees on either side. Nothing around her looked familiar.

She stood on stiff legs. She had two choices. Stay here, wait for a car and hope they'll drop her off in the closest town, or look for it on her own.

She decided on the second option. The daylight was softening into that early evening mix of orange and shadows. If she was still lying on the road before waking up, then she guessed no one had driven past her in the hours since she'd been on the bus. She took a moment to decide which way to go, left or right. After a moment's consideration she chose right and walked forward. She'd been walking for maybe an hour, no cars or signs of people anywhere, when bad luck struck.

Didn't take very long.

She heard the distant rumbling of a diesel engine before she saw the vehicle. Hope sparked in her chest. Maybe they could help her.

She waved her arms around once the truck came over the next hill. She didn't know if the driver could see her, but she hoped they did. Her arms dropped and her shoulders sagged when the truck drove past her. She sighed in defeat and turned to keep going.

A honk from behind her made her jump. The truck had turned around.

It slowed and came to a stop beside her. The passenger window rolled down to reveal three guys, all college age, looking at her.

"Do you need a lift?" The driver asked across his friend. She thought that was a stupid question.

Obviously.

"Would you mind?" Was all she said.

"Not at all. Hop in," The passenger door opened, and the guy jumped out of the truck.

He pulled his seat forward so she could get in the back. The third guy slid over to the driver's side to make room for her. Once everyone was in the truck, they sped off in the direction the truck had come from.