Untitled Story

It was only after midnight that Kelly was finally finished with her shift at Happy Burger. She was tired, her feet were sore from standing, and she was still furious with the rude customer who swore at her like a sailor. Being the hard worker she was, Kelly would often act on impulse and argue with customers-which got her fired from several jobs before. This time, she took the complaint with a grain of salt and tended to the customer’s every need until they were completely satisfied. Kelly really wanted to change because she needed a stable job to earn money for her journey. Kelly was tired of the daily strife she encountered, and planned on getting away this summer. With the stress of several other foster kids in her household and parents that did not and could not give her the proper attention she needed, Kelly planned to see the world outside of her small town. These things she pondered as she hung up her apron, stored away her headset, and changed her shoes.

            “See you later,” her partner Mike said. “Yeah,” she replied walking out, “See you too.” She trudged to her car. Sighing, she turned the key into the ignition and put the radio on her favorite pop station. The bubblegum pop lyrics of artists such as Brian Jupiter, Marley Anne Jetson, and 2-Way Street would keep her eyes open and mind alert enough for her to drive the twenty-minute ride home. She glanced at her side-view mirrors as she pulled out of the parking lot. Tapping her finger to the beat, Kelly anticipated the moment when she could just kick her shoes off and jump into bed. She peered at the back of the road, which was normally empty around this time. Strangely she noticed dim headlights in her rear-view mirror. She edged toward the left to let the driver past, who she thought was probably annoyed by her slightly slower driving speed. The driver, however, veered left along with Kelly. Kelly soon began to suspect she was being followed. Testing her gut feeling, she sped up. The driver increased their speed as well. Kelly turned into an empty lot. The driver followed suit. Kelly sped around and made a U-turn, nearly breaking the gas pedal to make it home as soon as possible. She took a backstreet through an alley to go to her house, catching the glow of the follower's headlights on her previous path. I lost him, she thought. She hung back in the alley with her car off until she was sure it was absolutely safe. Reaching to reignite the ignition, she caught sight of her stalker through the lines of the fence. He was tall, dark, and mysterious. Kelly noticed him on the phone and slowly cracked open her car door to catch his phone conversation.

“No, I didn't get her,” he said into his phone. “I lost her...she took a different turn, I don't know? It's time for Sinclair to start doing her own dirty work.” He slammed his phone shut and kicked his car door in frustration. Annoyed, he jumped in his car and drove away. Who is Sinclair, Kelly thought, and why do they want me? With her senses fully alert and heart pumping fast, Kelly acted on impulses again and turned out of the alley to track down her stalker.

Kelly managed to inconspicuously follow her hunter, unlike the vice versa. She was led to an abandoned toy factory. Her stalker crept inside unnoticed. Behind the door was pitch black, so Kelly knew if she went through as well, she'd also be unnoticed. She crept up to the entrance. Slowly opening the door, Kelly peered into a very dim hall. Remnants of old toys were strewn about as far as her eyes could make out images. She walked forward until she noticed a brighter glow coming from one doorway in the hall, and headed for it. That hallway lead to another hall, which was—again—dimly lighted. From there, even more rooms were left to be chosen from. Kelly suddenly made out voices, and headed toward that door. Behind the door were two gruff voices and one that sounded like her stalker’s tone. They were arguing. Kelly was scared, but she took a risk and knelt down beside the door to hear the conversation more closely.

“This is one of the most important missions she’s ever sent us on, and you want to bail on her now? Do you know how much danger that girl is facing? This could all blow up in our faces and it’d all be because of you,” spat one voice. “I've been following and studying this project for weeks now and I haven’t found anything resourceful. We’re running out of time and facing an attack at any given moment now. She’s not related to me, so why should I continue to risk my life for her? This mission will end up giving me more gray hairs than your whole head!” shouted the stalker voice. It was quiet for a minute, and then I heard a sigh.

The gruff man whispered, “Well, if that’s the type of morality that you have, and the amount of respect you have for the queen, then you can return all of your gadgets and leave now.” Panicking, Kelly backed away from the door to keep from being caught. Tip-toeing back, she heard the loud “SQUEAK” of an old rubber ducky and knew her cover was blown. The door immediately flew open and out came the stalker and an older man. Like a deer in headlights, Kelly stood frozen in her spot. The two men gazed at her in awe, surprise, and a bit of anger.

“Why, I don’t believe it! You went and traced her right back here! Good job, Daniel,” said the older one in what Kelly couldn't tell if his tone was sarcastic or serious. Clueless to what was going on, Kelly asked, “who are you all…and what do you want from me?”