Randomness of the day--- I beg people to listen to me. I use plain simple English, I have no accent that I'm aware of. (~ Ian Malcom, Juassic Park II, The Lost World.)

Chapter 1: the beginning

“Shelly” someone whispered my name.
You know the expression “a chill ran down my spine.” That’s exactly the way I felt and it made me shiver despite the warm January day.
I turned around in the plastic garden chair to see if it had been my dad trying to scare me. He wasn’t there. I looked around the wall blocking my view From the neighbors house. No one there either.
who said my name I thought to my self.
“Hello.” I whispered
No one answered. I must have imagined it I thought sitting back.
It’s a warm Sunday in early January - I’m sitting in the light blue garden chairs on the porch at my dads house watching my dog Chester eat the bones from my lunch. And reading my Favorite book, Twilight.
I picked my book back up and started reading again, but before I even finished one page the door I was sitting beside of started to shake like it does when the wind blows.
The wind had been blowing on and off all day (its January after all) so at first I didn’t pay much attention to it.
But when the door shook again I was paying attention. I knew the wind had not just blown.
I looked around me again.
no one.
“ Shelly you have got to stop watching scary movies they are going to your head.” I said to my self.
well even if I was imagining something I decided to move away from the door. So I dog eared my page picked up the chair and sat on the cement driveway.
For a few minuets it was quiet while I was reading my book in the sun then three things happened very quickly. One. A very loud plane flew over head Two. All the dogs in the neighborhood started barking.
three from down the street it sounded like someone was choking loudly and then three gun shots.
Now I knew I wasn’t imagining things.
I jumped up, my book still in my hands and ran half way down the drive way. I turned the direction I had herd the shots from.
No one was down there.
“what is going on I know I just heard shots gun shots, how can there not be anyone down there.” I tried to yell.
If anyone was watching I probably looked like I was crazy. I was standing there with my mouth moving waving my hands and book around like I was yelling but no sound was coming out.
After a few minutes of staring down the street I walked slowly back down the driveway to the chair but didn’t sit in it. I picked it up and carried it back to the porch.
As soon as I sat the chair next to the door my dad came out.
" Shelly, Do you want to take Chester to the dog park since its such a nice day?" he asked.
"Sure" I answered. Then I added " Did you hear all that noise a minute ago."
"You mean all those dogs, yeah. I wonder what they were barking at."
" No I mean the gun shots. There were three gun shots that sounded that sounded like they came from down the street."
"Gun shots? Oh they probably came from the turkey shoot there having in the hallow."
"Probably."
"So if we're going to take chester to the dog park we're taking the tracker. You better go pull you hair back."he said
"OK" I said already opening the door.
I walked down the hall to my bedroom found a hair bow and started to pull my hair back.
But while I was brushing my hair into a pony tail I was arguing with my self.
One side of my mind was saying " You just herd the turkey shoot thats all, nothing to worry about."
Another side of my mind was saying "Thos shots dfidn't even sound like they came from the sam e direction as the hallow.Something is going on around here and you and the guys have to find out what it is."
And the third part of my mind was saying "Shelly you think to much"
I decided to not think about it right now I was just going to have a good time at thedog park so I told all three voices to shut up.
I had my hair pulled back now so I walked out of my room closing the door behind me.
"Ready?" my dad asked as I walked in the living room.
"Yeah" I answered as i took chersers leash of its hook it was hanging on.
As soon as I walked out the door Chester saw his leash and started jumping all over the place.
"Cheaster Sit!" I ordered
He sat back on his hind legs but his tail never stoped waging.
As soon as I unhooked his chain (No need to pat his leash on him until we get to the dog park) he ran over to the little red GEO Tracker and started dancing around in circles.
"OK Chester no need to have a fit." I told him as I opened the door and put the front seat forward so he could climb into the back.
Cheaster started barking while my dad put down the back window and top as if saying "Your taking to long, hurry up!"
But soon we were on are on the road headed for Horizons dog park.
The ride was quiet. My dad was not the kind of person that talkes alot, i'm the same way.So there was nothing to keep me from thinking about what I had heard. I kept telling my self not to think about it, to tell the guys about it when my mom came and picked me up. But it kept coming into my head.
"Dont think about it' Don't think about it." I kept telling my self
***************
My mom was a little late picking me up so by the time i got home it was too dark to get the guys together to tell them what had happened.
"Shelly go check the mail for me , I didn't check it yesterday." my mom told me.
"OK. I'm going to go to the fort to see if one left a letter, ok. "
"Alright, but hurry its getting dark ."
I ran around to the other side of the house where the fort was.
OK so the "fort" wasn't actualy a fortas much as a tree that convieniently had six chair shaped spots up in the limbs. One for each of the guyes and me.
i quickly climbed to the lowest branch where we had a small woodenb box nailed, opened the flap, and got out the folded peice of notebook paper.I closed the box and climbed down before I read it.
It said:
Shelly ,
None of us are goinng to be at the bus stop tomorow. Lilly's mom is going to drive us because we have to be at school early.we'll see yuo in home room. Lilly says for you to call her. TTYL.
Lilly, Scarlet, Pepper, Gabby, and Dylan
I refolded the paper and walked over to the mail box. In it were the usual cell phone and power bills and pizza copons. I closed the box and started walking across the yard.
When i walked by the small patch of flowers and bushes by the front door the bush I had walked past started to shakelike something was in it.
On any other day when I wasn't already on edge from what had already happened I wouldn't have payed any attention to it, waveing it of as a squirl or stray cat.But today even that small sound made me jump and listen closer.
The bush shook again and this time it didn't sound like an animal. It sounded like when Lilly and I use to play hide and seek and some one would hide in the bush. It sounded like a perso was hideing.
OI knew thyat if someone was hideing in the bush that I should run. My common sense was telling me to run. But I coulden't.
No I coulden't run away I was doing the oppisite.I was walking slowly towards the bush and I couldn't stop.
When I got to the bush I droped to my knees, still not able to stop myself, I reached into the bush and something soft brushed my fingers. Like fur. But not animal fur.
My hand closed around it. As I pulled my vdand out It felt like a cold hand touched my wrist.
I yanked my hand back and fell backwards.
"What in the world was that !" I said but it came out as a wisper, With hardly any volume.
Finally able to move like I wanted to I ran to the house and slamed the door behind me locking it.