possible introduction\lead

Fear turned my shaking hands cold, while a chilly wave of excitement raised the goose bumps on my arms and legs. A fine layer of sweat glistened on my forehead- next to me I could see it dripping from the sides of Myrna’s face. Repeatedly my stomach would flip, giving the nervous butterflies in my stomach more commotion. No matter how many deep breaths I tried to take, I couldn’t shake the almost sickening thrill roaring in my head. I felt as if the four of us were trapped at the top of hell’s rollercoaster, forced to sit, looking down, and wait, with nothing to hold onto but each other.

For a moment, all we could hear was the lulling melody of the night; a couple of crickets chirping in the grass below our feet with the wind whistling through the wide cracks scratched into the sidewalk only a couple feet away. Then, like a shrill fire alarm in the middle of an unsuspecting math class we heard the cackle of Jason’s walkie-talkie.

“Oh my Go-”

“Shhhhhh!” Cam hissed, gently hitting Myrna on the shoulder.

“H-hello?” Jason stuttered uncertainly. We surrounded him eagerly, dead silent. With every millisecond we waited for an answer, the adrenaline rushing in our veins grew heavier, our hands shook even harder and night grew even colder.

“Jason?”

“Kim!” Jason exclaimed only a little too loudly. Everyone let out an exhausted sigh of relief, yet we still kept our awareness sharp.

“Oh my God, guys, I’m almost done in here- I just wanted to check and make sure everyone was still good.”

“We’re ok,” Myrna answered. “Just hurry up and get out of there, we’re all getting seriously freaked out!”

“Yeah,” Cam added. “Tomorrow’s school, and we’ve got band in the morning.”

“Uh-huh,” Kim said, probably rolling her eyes. “See ya, guys.”

And with that, the cackling on the other end of Jason’s walkie-talkie stopped and we were left in silence again. Simultaneously we all turned our heads to the town hall building only a couple of yards from where we stood, eyes burning into the exit. “Do you think she’ll come out of the front or the back way,” I started to question, but as always I was too quiet to be heard. Nodding to myself, I resumed the same position as everyone else and awaited Kim’s return.

“She’s not gonna make it,” Cam began. He was panting as if he were some dehydrated dog, worry gleaming in his large hazel eyes,. “We’re gonna get caught, we’re gonna get caught, we are so gonna get caught…”

“Get a hold of yourself man,” Myrna commanded in a harsh tone. “That’s not how we roll!” I couldn’t help it- they were being so ridiculous I just had to let out a chuckle, in the least. Jason joined me, and soon enough we were all laughing hysterically, only to hide the worried screams echoing loudly in our heads.

“Thank God,” I said as Kim sprinted from the front entrance of the town hall. “Kim!” I ran to meet her half way, arms extended with everyone else trailing behind me. Kim held up the files, grinning like a maniac. Up close I observed it to be a large manilla portfolio with thick stacks of stapled paperwork sandwiched in between. It was labeled on the front with a bright red stamp reading Chippeawa Falls Town hall. It appeared to be official; confidential.

High fives were exchanged, and hugs too, but all the noise was cut off abruptly with the loud honk of a car horn. We all froze in place, mouths clamped shut to choke back frightened shrieks of terror.

“Let’s go, guys, gas ain’t cheap!” With another honk of Trist’s car horn we all hurriedly crowded into the old and rusting 1970s Chevrolet pickup truck. No words were exchanged as he sped us off and away down the empty streets of down town Chippewa, street lights blurring past us with loose gravel flying beneath us.