Chapter One: Time and Fortune

Ringgg……Ringgg…..! My mom picks up the phone. “Hello?” My mom answers. “Who….Oh okay I will see you there Wednesday.”
“Who was that?” I asked.
“That was Mr. Madison, I mean Judge Madison. I am on Jury duty in Sonoma County, Montero.
“But that’s… Like fifty hours away!”
“I know. I will be gone for a while.”
My mom is an accountant, but she used to be a stenographer. That’s why she almost called him Mr. Madison.

This is my mom’s third time being on Jury Duty but this time I think she’ll be gone a while. Each time she goes it feels like the trials get longer.

“I will be gone for a while, at least four days.” Today is Saturday, and he said she’s leaving on Wednesday. Man this Stinks! Her and I where going to go camping this Week. Its summer break and we haven’t been anywhere. My dad has been away for his job for three years. He is photographer for the army and with out him mom is the only one I can do things with. Like go camping. We used to communicate with that Web-Cam thing but I accidentally knocked ours over and it broke. We would call him but he usually doesn’t have time and even if he did my mom is so lazy she didn’t bother to write down his number.

My name is Thomas Riady but my friends call me G-tom because my favorite book is called the Grand Ball and they took that G and put it onto my name because it sounds catchy. I’m in the seventh grade and I live in Redway, Humboldt County, California. A place that does exist but no ones heard of. I go to a school called Skyfish (all one word.) I know what your thinking, hippies. That’s write but, but we aren’t those stereotypical hippies. We are farmers and unlike a lot of people in the world today we respect the planet. I have three friends, Nicole Rubin, Rady Cortin a Jamaican kid who no one accepts but us; and lastly Ellen Madison (She’s Judge Madison’s daughter.). Knock….Knock….Knock….They were loud and slow. Who ever it was sounded tired. “Who is it!?” I shouted from the kitchen; I was making a sandwich, my favorite Peanut butter and Honey. I ran towards the door with the Peanut butter. “Hello.” I said slowly as I opened the door. “It… Be… Me… Man!” He whispered while heavily breathing.
“Why are you breathing so hard? Did you like run here or something man?”
“Yes… Yes… I did mun! I raced Nicole here! And I Won!”
“Would you like a drink of water?” I said questionably as in I didn’t know if I was pointing out the obvious or not.
“What do you think!?” He said sternly. He pushed me, I dropped the peanut butter and it shattered. I knew it happened but I just thought I would clean it up later.
“Nicole was somewhere around fern avenue when I lost her.” Raidy said.
I handed him the water then grabbed the broom to go sweep the broken peanut butter jar up. “So then she is probably going to be here any time now. By the way why did you guys race all the way here. Is there something important you want to tell me?”

“Oh ya!” Raidy said. “Ellen is going to move to Sonoma, and we want to plant something to remember her by. Well I do seeing as I’m her boy friend…” Just at that moment we heard a loud “Ow!” coming from out side. I ran to open the door. I through open and there was Nicole with a four inch piece of glass in her foot.

“Help me!” she said as I stared at the blood like a forth of July firework with my mouth open.

“Well are you just gonna’ sit there like a toad?” She yelped.

“Oh! Sorry! Guess I just don’t see that much blood that often.” Raidy and I dragged her into the house with her legs scraping against the floor

“So I’m guessing Raidy told you.” Nicole said.

“Ya! What a bummer man. I’m goanna miss her.” I said slowly with my head drooping. I started rapping a cloth around her foot to stop the bleeding. “Well we should probably go see her, she leaves tomorrow.” Nicole said with what I thought to be too much enthusiasm.” I guess she would like that. You know how she is. She never wants to do anything or go any where when she’s sad. We took my brother and mines bikes and head off up Cherry Line Road and toward the old Snow cone stand next to my favorite restaurant, Debbie’s. It was decorated with Betty Boop merchandise every where; and it had old arcade games for a nickel a gem which was awesome. Ellen lived on chest nut Drive and she and her Dad were the only ones whom lived on that road because it led to a huge hill where her house was. We liked to call it Kill Hill because nit was impossible to get up and down on with our bikes.

It took us almost twenty minutes to get up the Hill. By the time we finally did I was so tired that I told them that I would just wait out on Ellen’s trampoline. Ellen had an awesome trampoline. It was so bouncy that there were times when we could touch the tree that was eight feet above our heads. For some reason it looked they had been out of town for a while and no one was there. Her bike was just laying in her drive way. Her windows were dust and left half way open. Her dad’s car doors were open and her bed window was completely open. I hadn’t even seen the inside yet. When I stood up on the trampoline to go inside and see what was up I saw a tiny little spider crawling by. I don’t know how I noticed it because I usually never notice things like that.
When it started to inch closer to my foot I could tell it was poisonous because it was white. I began to shake and squirm because, I had never told any one about this but I hate spiders. I winced backwards and foot fell through the springs so fast that I didn’t know it was happening until my whole body was half way through and I was about to hit my head on the metal outside ring. Clunk! Is the last sound I heard before my face hit the three inch thick so called protector so hard I couldn’t foal my forehead. I fell backwards and landed on my back against a willow tree that they had planted there last year with a thud. After I laid there in pane for about six seconds before everything began to fade out.
“Uhhhhhh…… Ow! Stupid little SPIDER!!!.....” I shouted as I jumped off the ground and started stomping. I admit I had a tempore tantrum but I and a good reason. It must have been four hours later or so because it was now night time and when we had got there it was mid-afternoon. I hadn’t thought of the fact that if I was out for that long that friends would of found me eventually and helped me back to my house. I stumbled for a few steps then regained my balance. “Raidy! Nicole! Ellen!” I shouted “Where did Nicole and Raidy go? I don’t see there bikes any where.” I softly whispered to myself. I began to walk towards Ellen’s house.

As I walked towards the house it started to get brighter like the sun was breaking out of the clouds. I didn’t pay much attention to that; I was still a little dizzy. I approached the confused. Not only were there no bikes but also no car and no trampoline and I was surrounded by more of the same willow tree as the one I hit my head against. I didn’t notice it before because it wasn’t there before. I got overwhelmed and I ran to the house door as fast as I could. I shot my hand towards the handle and ripped the door open as fast as I could. I jolted in and all the sudden the light was gone and there was nothing just me and not even a spec of dust to accompany me. In the distance a flicker of light formed and since it was the only warmth and comfort that I was untitled to I began to slowly shimmy my way towards it. The got brighter and in the distance I heard a faint screeching. It sounded like my mother. In a stern voice, with a powerful direction. I could barley make it out but it sounded like she was saying, “Come closer. Find the light. Come closer. Mom’s here. We can do all the things that you wanted to do now that I am here. I am here for good.” I started smiling and as I got closer the voice got louder and faster saying, “Come here Thomas come to mother!” It just kept repeating those words faster, and faster. “Come Thomas come towards the light. Come to mother!” I was three feet away and then all the sudden it was gone. The heavy and fast energy ion the room went with it.

Then the whole room lit up and it was a stone mansion looking place with torches that lit halls that seemed to gone for ever. It was a circle intersection with eight different hall ways. Long huge red tapestries in between each hallway. The tapestries were so long that I couldn’t see the roof where they started. It went strait up and went up forever. “Where am I?” I thought to my self. I heard screaming down the hallway to my right. It sounded like someone was hurt and they could us my help. I was in the boy scouts and got a badge for the bandage and open wounds department. I started bolting towards them and thought what if it’s some hideous monster that is tricking me and just wants to eat me. So I gulped and shouted, “Hello!? Are you human?” I thought it could have been a stupid question but everything isn’t the same in this world so I might as well give it a shot. “ROOOAAARRR!” the beast shouted. I could tell it was a beast from its loud, deep voiced roar. I ran as fast as I could in the other direction and about half way down the torch lit hall way I heard “HELP ME!!!” After that it must have some human resemblance. I figured that if it was in that much pain it must need some help. I sprinted back to him as fast as I could. As I got closer to the screaming the nice almost new looking stone walls began to rust and become more antique and distorted looking. “Don’t worry I said as I finally got to the end of the hall and jumped into the room that the sound was coming out of. “I’m here to……….save you? What is that!?”
THE END
To Be Continued……..