Fade: Prologue

Fade: Prologue1

As Melissa slid her math book inside her cluttered locker, she noticed Maggie open her locker at the same time; the girl slowly tossed her hair behind herself as she bent over to pick up several folders.2

“Hey.”Melissa said casually as she dropped to her knees and began shoving books into her aging, grey backpack. Maggie didn’t seem to even acknowledge Melissa, so she repeated herself. Maggie looked right at Melissa with her piercing-green eyes, held her pink trapper-keeper up against her chest, and walked passed her.3

What as that about? Melissa thought to herself as she closed her locker. She couldn’t think of anything that happened between the two of them today, but apparently Maggie was pissed off at her for some reason. Melissa let out a small sigh and went along the same route as Maggie had, towards the school’s glass-door exit.4

The two of them, Maggie and Melissa, had always been pretty friendly; and Maggie’s family lived next door to Melissa which meant that the two saw each other a lot. Still, it wasn’t like Maggie to act like that, she was usually very nice and pleasant some might even say ‘bubbly’. As Melissa walked through the hallways towards the school’s exit she noticed a few people glaring at her, she shrugged it off, but couldn’t help but feel slightly paranoid.5

The front door to her ranch-colored house was locked, Melissa understood that meant her mother wasn’t home yet. She took out her own key and let herself in, simultaneously throwing her heavy book-bag on an old, worn-out couch. She walked towards the kitchen, her hunger keeping her from even taking off her shoes; she stopped however, when she noticed the answering machine’s light flashing red.6

“You have two new messages.” The machine said in a robotic tone, Melissa pushed one of it’s grey buttons as it continued.7

“Thursday, 3:02 pm” 8

“Melissa this is Mom, I have to assist during an operation tonight so I’ll be home after six-thirty. There’s still some lasagna in the fridge, I think I put it in some Glad-ware, you’ll have to heat it up for around four minutes. Be careful of the cheese though and make sure to use a splatter guard. ” Melissa chuckled as her mother’s voice got cut off by the machine for talking a bit too long. At least, she thought, I know why she isn’t home yet.9

“Thursday, 3:31pm” the machine continued.10

“It’s Maggie. The team has a game in Fragsville tonight and Tracy hurt her ankle during practice. I have to lead the cheers tonight, so I can’t come over later. Bye.” Melissa felt slightly relieved that her friend had called her after the way she acted earlier at school, but her voice sounded a bit irritated. She could have been upset at having to go to the away game at such short notice, but either way Melissa decided not to worry about it too much.11

Melissa stepped away from the machine and walked out to the kitchen. She hadn’t so much as opened up the glad-ware covered lasagna by the time she heard a third beep echo out from the living room.12

“Monday, 9:02"13

“Follow me.”14

“End of messages.”15

Melissa raised an eyebrow as she slid the lasagna back into the refrigerator. She walked back over to the machine and pressed the small, grey button twice in order to skip the first two messages.16

The machine stated the time followed by a static-riddled voice. The short message was hard to make out, but as it ended it clearly said “Follow me.” 17

“Monday?” Melissa said to herself as she walked back into the kitchen. Usually, the machine cleared massages after three days, but she shook it off and took out the lasagna, this time she was determined to finally eat something.18

The Harvey family–that is to say, Melissa and her mother–lived in Silkwood, a small suburb of the city of Maybourne. Maybourne wasn’t a city like Baltimore or Annapolis, it was located in north-western Maryland, and the area consisted mostly of small towns and farmlands. While there was plenty of fields and farms, Maybourne itself was the center of activity for the area; and while the city didn’t have skyscrapers or high-rises, it did provide jobs and at least a little excitement.19

The sun was setting by the time Melissa’s mother finally came home, her car slid into the driveway at an unusually fast speed. Linda walked through the door and silently passed Melissa, who was sitting on the couch watching television. 20

“How was work?” Melissa asked as she flipped the channel to the local news station. She waited for her mother to respond but after awhile it became apparent that she wasn’t going to respond at all. Melissa turned around and watched as her mother slipped off her shoes and walked up the stairs in a mixture of irritation and weariness. I guess it didn’t go too well... Melissa thought to herself as she let out a small sigh.21

It wasn’t unusual for Linda to be uneasy after a day at work, especially if a patient hadn’t come through a surgery or she had to work later than expected. Melissa didn’t read much into it, and lied down on the old, red couch.22

The Harvey family went to sleep rather early that night, but Melissa had a strange, ominous feeling which hovered over her...even as she slept.23