Black Hearts

Hiya! Well, since you're here, I may as well go on ahead and post up my first story chapter. =) Remember, the characters in my story belong to me and only me, and you MUST ask my permission before using any of them.

  They dashed madly through the streets, turning from left to right in a desperate attempt to get away.

     Things were not looking promising for them. No matter how many different ways they looked at it, they were going to die.

     “Get us out of here!”

     “I-I’m trying! I c-can’t get i-it to work!”

     “We don’t have enough time for this – you’ve got to do something!”

     A loud crash could be heard from behind them. Their pursuer was gaining on the small group.

     “Hurry!”

     “You don’t und—”

     Suddenly, a crack snapped open in front of them, and before they could stop completely, they had reached the edge of it.

     “What is this?”

     “I don’t know . . .”

     “Who cares? Sanctuary! Get inside! Go! NOW!”

     Shoving the other two inside, the final one took a deep breath, looking around. They couldn’t come back. Not for a while.

      He just prayed that they’d be able to come back at all.

     And with that, he turned again, jumping into the crack in the earth, eyes shut tight, and fists clenched.

-

    Brooke Richardson was possibly the most delighted person in all of Miami. It was finally her birthday, her parents had gone off on another one of their long vacations, and in less than an hour, her boyfriend was going to meet her at one of the fanciest restaurants in the city.

     It was going to be perfect!

     Trying to hide her giddiness, she pulled on her second heeled shoe and walked over to look at herself in the mirror.

    Brooke wasn’t exactly what she would call ‘astounding’. She was of average height, about five feet, five inches, but the two inch heels she was wearing helped to make her feel a bit less ‘small’. She had waist length dark brown hair, and her eyes were about two shades lighter than it. At the moment, she was wearing a long black dress with black heels, as well as a gold-chained necklace with a heart pendant on the end of it. She smiled at herself in the mirror.

     At least, she thought, she looked presentable. She tended to lean more towards formal wear on dates than anything else. It might have had something to do with the fact that that was all her parents would let her buy when they were home, but she figured it had a lot to do with her own preferences as well.

     She didn’t want to look like a lot of the girls that went to her school. Most of them dressed up like they belonged in clubs instead of public hallways.

     Glancing up towards the clock that hung in her bedroom, her eyes widened. She had to get going now if she had any hopes of actually getting to the restaurant on time. Why her boyfriend hadn’t just come and picked her up was beyond her, but, she wasn’t complaining.

     Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. Something in her was telling her that tonight was going to carry a huge change with it. She hoped that the change would be good. She liked changes better that way.

     Grabbing the keys to her 1978 Porsche (a gift from her father on her sixteenth birthday), she walked out the front door and made her way to the car. Climbing in, she turned on the radio to a decent station, switched the car into drive, and headed towards her destination.

     It took her around twenty minutes to reach the restaurant. It was only seven forty-five, which meant that she had about fifteen minutes to wait before her boyfriend, Nate, would show up.

     She let her Porsche idle in the parking space she’d grabbed, shutting her eyes and listening to the music playing on the radio. It was a rather old song, and she didn’t exactly recognize it, but something seemed familiar about it. Still, she couldn’t make herself focus enough to understand the lyrics.

     It was really beginning to bother her when a noise caught her attention. She opened her eyes, looking out the driver’s window of the car. Her brow furrowed as she spotted what looked like a grey German Sheppard. “What on earth?” she muttered, staring at it. It didn’t waver, its attention focused and staring in her direction. Slowly, she began to wonder if it was really looking at her. She waved a bit, and it stepped back slowly, ears lowering on its head.

      “Well, this is certainly weird,” she muttered. About to open the door, she jumped back in the seat, nearly strangling herself with the seatbelt as Nate suddenly looked in through the window. How on earth had he managed to sneak up on her like that without her seeing him?!

      “Hi, there. You planning on staying in there all night?” he asked, looking at her through the window. He gave a light knock on her window. Brooke drew in a breath, releasing it slowly before undoing her seatbelt and opening the door. “No, I’m coming.”

      “Good,” Nate replied, stepping out of the way as she crawled out of the car. He wasn’t quite dressed like Brooke had imagined he would. Usually he tried to dress as properly as possible. Tonight, though, he was wearing a standard pair of black pants in place of dress pants, and a black t-shirt with a red jacket. His blonde hair was in a mix between tidy and messy, and his brown eyes looked almost hollow tonight.

     “Is everything okay?” Brooke asked, looking up at him curiously. He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”

     “Okay,” Brooke replied, smiling at him. She didn’t see any need to try prying the answer from him, even if she felt like something was off. Nate nodded, taking her arm in his and beginning to lead her towards the restaurant.

      Considering Nate had reserved their seats for their date tonight, it didn’t take long for them to be seated.

      Once their drinks had been ordered, Nate looked at Brooke. “So, how are things going today?”

    “Good,” Brooke replied, smiling at him. “How about with you?”

    “Erm . . . I’ve had better days,” Nate said, looking down at the table. “I, um . . . Have something I need to tell you.”

     Brooke’s attention was caught. Could this be that change I felt earlier? I think he might want to take our relationship up a notch . . . After all, he is acting kind of shy . . .

      “What is it?” she asked softly, offering the waiter a smile as he set their drinks down in front of them. Nate waved him away as he asked if they were ready to order, much to Brooke’s confusion.

      This time, Nate looked at Brooke when he decided to speak up again. “What I have to say is really important,” he stated, sighing. Brooke looked at him cautiously. “Is everything okay?”

      “Not really,” he replied, leaning back in his chair. “You and I have been together for, what, eight months?”

      “Yeah,” Brooke replied, folding her hands on the table in anticipation, trying to hide this fact. Nate nodded.

      “Well, I’ve really enjoyed being together with you. You’re a very nice, thoughtful person, and goodhearted,” he stated, offering her a kind smile. “It’s just . . . Well, a new page is opening up with us in school, and we’ve been dating since last semester. The problem is, if I’m seen dating you again this year, then people will start to think that I’m tied down,” he added, sighing. “And that’s the last thing that I want. I want to be available.”

      Brooke felt her heart sink to her stomach. “You want to be . . . Available? Does that mean . . . Does that mean what I think that means?”

      “Yeah, Brooke. I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore. I’m sorry,” Nate replied, sighing. Strangely, Brooke didn’t feel like his apology was coming from his heart. It actually felt more like he was faking it.

      “So, you take me out on a date just to tell me that you want to break up with me?” she asked, scooting back in her chair. Nate sighed. “I just thought that this would make you feel a little less hurt.”

      “Less hurt? I’d say you kind of blew that,” Brooke stated, feeling tears threatening to fall. She shoved away from the table, standing up.

      “Brooke, wait,” Nate stated half heartedly, looking at her. She cast a glare at him.

      “Don’t bother – I don’t want to see you again!” she bit back, before turning and making her way quickly and sharply out of the restaurant, the doorbell jingling as she opened and closed it. She didn’t care who saw anymore. She just wanted to get away from that humiliating scene.

      Completely forgetting about her car, she dashed down one of the streets, not even bothering to pay attention to where she was going. Everything that she saw was a blur to her. She turned corners and followed street lamps, kicking off her heels some where along the line. She ran past people and buildings, allowing tears to fall from her face.

      Soon enough, though, all of the running caught up to her. Her adrenaline cut off, and a stitch hooked itself into her side, causing her to gasp and grab it. She leaned against a brick wall, drawing in quick, sharp breaths as she tried to get the stitch to leave.

      While she tried to catch her breath, she took the opportunity to look around her. Her brows knit together. “Where am I?” she muttered softly to herself, standing up straight once more. This time, she ignored the stitch in her side, stepping forward. It was so dark out now, and she definitely didn’t recognize the area. I must have gone the opposite way from my house . . . she thought, sighing to herself. She was really beginning to regret not driving, although she was sure that she probably would have caused a wreck if she had.

      “Why did Nate have to do this tonight?” she muttered to herself, turning back towards the way she’d come. “And why did he have to be such a jerk? Wanting to be available . . . So stupid,” she growled, starting to walk again.

       This time she tried to pay a bit more attention to where she was going. Not many lights were on in this part of the city, for some reason. Maybe there’s some maintenance going on around here that’s got the lights shut off at night . . . Though, the lamps are on, so . . . Well, that can’t be it, she thought, glancing up at the buildings. It’s so weird . . .

       Focusing her attention back on the street, she gasped, backing up immediately. Her eyes widened in surprise.

      The white dog that she’d seen in the parking lot earlier was standing about twenty feet away from her underneath a lamp post. Its expression was a calm one, but its tail wasn’t wagging. This worried Brooke quite a bit. She walked forward a bit, and the dog’s ears flattened against its head again. Brooke swallowed roughly. “I-it’s okay, doggy. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to go past you . . . Honestly.”

       The dog growled a bit, standing up from its haunches and stepping forward. Brooke backed up a bit, accidentally running into something rather solid. What the—there wasn’t a wall there! She thought, turning abruptly. Her eyes widened as she saw the silhouette of a rather large man.

      Before she could scream, the man grabbed her and covered her mouth and nose. Brooke thrashed around, trying to break free of the man’s grasp to no avail.

      The last thing she saw before she passed out was the white dog walking towards them; its ears perked up and tail wagging.