Chapter 2- Slaughterville

Ok, well this is the whole second chapter!! I hope you enjoy it!! Message Please!!! =]

 

 

 

Can you believe it? Slaughterville. It’s like we are driving right into a horror movie. I’m probably going to get brutally murdered. I can see the headline now:

“Newcomer Gets Slaughtered in Slaughterville”

Wouldn’t that be great for the community. I mean, who would name a town that anyway? Is there some kind of brutal history? I’m sure I don’t even want to know.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” My mom asked as we were pulling into a rest stop. I shook my head yes and unbuckled my seatbelt. The air was a little chilly but not too much. There were only a couple cars parked outside besides ours. The rest stop itself wasn’t too appealing. It had paint chipping off the sides and not all the lights were working. I thought it looked like something from The Hills Have Eyes. Here’s another headline:

“Girl Gets Slaughtered Before Reaching Slaughterville”

Wow, I’m having a whole bucket load of fun right now! I entered the shabby looking building and asked the cashier where the bathrooms were. The guy wasn’t smiling and on his nametag, which was covered in stains, was the name Sam Swindler. He doesn’t look like one you should trust, but without hesitation he pointed to the back. I said thanks, still no smile, and turned around. I started toward the restrooms when I realized that the back of the store was where all the lights were burnt out. I slowed my pace and looked around. My mom wasn’t anywhere. I almost ran back out to the car, but my bladder convinced me otherwise. My last steps to the restroom were fast. I went to reach for the handle when the door swung open itself! I screamed a bloodcurdling scream and fell against the wall behind me. That’s when my mom walked out. Relief. She was laughing hysterically at me! I would have been embarrassed if I didn’t have that sudden urge again. So I just pushed her out of the way and ran into the bathroom.

“That was hilarious, Hayley!,” We were back on the road again and my mom was still laughing. “What were you expecting? That the scary monster from the haunted rest-stop would get you?”

“Basically.” I tried to keep a straight face but had an outburst of laughter. We laughed another couple miles before we couldn’t anymore. Everything was suddenly getting better. My mom was actually talking to me like a normal human being and getting along with me. I wish I could freeze time and keep this moment the same. I knew we couldn’t be like this forever. Sooner or later we would get into another fight.

“How long does it take to get there?” I turned to her and asked.

“About three hours,” my mom began, “We still have two hours of driving left. Do you want to take a little detour? We can go shopping. How does that sound?”

“That would be fun,” I started, “but where is all this money coming from?”

“I have been saving up for awhile and emptied my bank account from Byers.”

“Oh, alright. I’m really hungry too.”

“We can stop by McDonalds. You like McDonalds right?”

“Mom, are you serious?! Did you know that their french-fries don’t even decompose?! I am not shoving those grease covered things in my mouth! I would rather go vegan.”

“Haha…ok. We can go to some family restaurant or something,” my mom replied laughing.

The first place we went to was the mall. It was quite crowded, actually. My mom told me I could go look around, so I went to the record store. They had some Paramore CD’s but I didn’t recognize any of the songs. I just walked around and glanced at albums. My mom called me on my cell phone and told me to meet her at the pretzel stand. She was probably ready to leave.

When I got to the pretzel kiosk my mom was buying two pretzels. I quickly ran over and told them no salt because I didn’t expect her to remember. When she saw me she smiled.

“Hey, you. I thought you would like a pretzel. I got this great idea. I’m going to take you to get your hair cut, and we are going to get makeovers at one of these cute little stores. Would you like that?” When my mom said that I got all happy feeling inside. I would love to do that! I exclaimed yes and we were on our way with our pretzels in hand.

The first place we went was this tacky salon. They had pictures covering the walls of models with ridiculous haircuts. Seriously, who even wears their hair like that? The lady seemed nice enough. Her name was Carol, and she had long straight blond hair. She looked as if she were twenty or so. “What do you want done with your hair today, Sweetie?” Carol interrupted my thoughts.

I looked quixotically at my mom. “Get whatever you want, Hayley.” She wasn’t too much on advice.

Before I had enough time to think Carol broke in.

“I think you would look great with shoulder length hair. In fact, maybe we can dye it too. I could give you guys a nice little discount for the combo. Would you like that?”

I pondered the thought for a moment before gleaming. “I would really like that,” I said as my smile widened.

The next hour was spent cutting, layering, and dying my hair. While this was going on I was planning out my adventures at a new school. I don’t know how, but I was determined to reach popular status. This year, I thought, is going to be great. Maybe I can even get a guy and some friends.

“Oh my god! Hayley! You look so pretty!” Alright, my mom had to be overreacting. But after a quick glance in the mirror I changed my mind. I was beautiful. My hair had been dyed a glossy blonde. It was shoulder length and perfect. I almost started crying at the sight of it. For so many years it had been a gross looking brown. I absolutely adored my new look. Only one other time in my life I had blonde hair.

When I was a little girl I would wear a purple ribbon in it everyday. One day Victoria Platts, this awful little girl, pulled my ribbon out and shoved it into the toilet. She then proceeded to flush the toilet and shove my face into it. -I’m pretty sure they call those swirlies now.- It was the worst day ever. She had told me that I had yellow pee hair! So when I got home I begged my mom to let me dye it. As for the ribbon, well let’s just say that I despise the color purple now.

“Hayley, do you like it?” My mom snapped me back into reality.

“I love it, Mom!” I wasn’t even lying when I said that either. Things are going great right now. I’ve never felt this good in my life. I walked out of the salon with my mom after paying. We walked by several kiosks until my mom stopped. She wanted to try this new eyebrow plucking thing. It looked painful to me. The lady had these two strings that she crossed. She would get a piece of your eyebrow in the middle and yank it out. There was no way I was going to try that.

After my mom got tortured we left the mall. We had parked extremely far away, so I was winded by the time we got to the car.

We were finally on the road again. The radio was playing some Linkin Park song. It seemed like the hours had passed but only 10 minutes. We stopped at a Perkins and stuffed our faces. Then we were back in the car. I stared out the window for brief periods of time wondering about life’s purposes. I then changed the station repeatedly stopping when I heard Flyleaf.

“So, how about we play the personal inclination game. We haven’t done that for awhile. I have the paper in my glove department.” My mom stated with a smile.

The personal inclination game was one we devised one boring evening. It was Pi for short. I admit that I’m a math geek. I’m also very familiar with the number pi. The game goes like this: You start with the first number, 3, and when you see it on a license plate you yell it out. You then carry on until you are bored with it. I know it sounds boring, but I find it quite enjoyable when you’ve nothing to do. It, at least, occupies me.

“3! Oh, and a 1!” My mom really gets into it. She still uses the list of numbers though. We usually don’t make it up to 20 because we get tired of it.

I swiftly scanned the license plates around us until I spotted one with a 4. “There’s a 4! Right over there! See it?” I rapidly pointed my hands to the right of our car.

Our game went on for about another half hour until we stopped. I was getting drowsy, so I let my eyelids fall. In my dream, I was wandering about in this empty bedroom. The only thing in it was a bench and the bright blue paint on the walls. I started for the door, but the farther I walked the farther the door got away. I turned around to see the bench was occupied by a porcelain doll. It was cracked in the face wearing a white lace dress. It smiled evilly at me. I started to sprint for the door when I tripped. I looked over and saw the doll crawling towards me. I tried to scream but couldn’t. My throat burned when I tried to speak and itched terribly. I scratched at it, trying to force the scream out. My hands felt wet, warm, and tingled slightly. When I looked at them I saw the bright red blood. The doll stopped at my feet and pointed at me. She stopped smiling while I wiped the blood on the carpet. I put my hands to my neck and tried to stop the blood from pouring out. I couldn’t. I was drowning in it. I couldn’t breathe. Everything went black.

I woke up with a start. Hesitantly, I felt my neck. No blood. Good. That had to of been the most terrifying dream I’ve ever had. I sat up in my seat just in time to see the Slaughterville welcoming sign. We made it. Chills went down my spine as we passed it. There were a couple houses on the street we were on. They looked a little rundown and creepy. In one of the yards was a little girl. She stood there and watched us as we passed. In her hand- Oh my god! My heart stopped. My arms and legs went numb. I felt nauseaus. In her hand was the doll from my dream. She was still staring at us when we drove past. What was happening? How is this possible? Maybe it was just a coincidence. It probably had nothing to do with my dream.

I looked at my mom expecting to see her as shocked as me. Of course, she wasn’t.

“Well it’s about time you woke up. We are in Slaughterville! Can you believe it? We’re finally here.” My mom obviously couldn’t tell I was in a state of shock. She didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t expect her to. My mind was a flurry of pessimistic thoughts about our new life. I couldn’t get the doll out of my head.

Before I knew it, we had stopped in front of the most polished house on the block. It was beautiful.

“Is this it? Is this our house?!” I asked my mom hopingly. She shook her head yes. I jumped out of the car. I ran to the back and got my things before running inside.---

The house was way better than I imagined it. The outside made it look like something you could only dream of. It was a large white two-story. To the right of the house was a connected garage. The house itself was conveniently nestled between a small timber. It was a little outside of town. I went inside to see a large, open living room. There was an extremely high ceiling. I absolutely loved it! My mom was still unloading the car so she probably wouldn’t mind if I took a look around. To the right of the massive living room was two brown polished doors. I took the one that looked more inviting. Inside was a lighted bathroom. It had one of those old fashioned bathtubs. Placed in a nook was, what appeared to be, a brand new toilet. The room smelled of air freshener. I saw that the source of the fragrance was a Glade plug in. I exited the bathroom and entered the next door. It was just a plain closet. I closed the door gently. When I turned around I saw my mom standing in the doorway absorbing the beauty of the house. She wore a large smile on her face.

It was just now that I noticed she had on her pretty blue sun dress. Her hair was put up in a messy bun. I was always jealous of my mother’s hair. It was so bouncy and curly when mine was just flat.

“Mom, this house is wonderful! I absolutely love it!” I ecstatically bounced over to her.

“It’s better than I remembered it!” My mom replied.

“Remembered it?” I didn’t know she had been here before.

“Well, when I saw the pictures on the ad it wasn’t as great.” She spit out quickly.

“Oh, alright,” I still didn’t fully believe her. “I’m going to go look around upstairs.”

“Ok, did you see the kitchen yet?”

“No, I’ll go look now.” I walked across the room. The only thing that changed was the carpet to tile. The kitchen was splendid! It was large and open. The far wall was covered in huge windows. It was so bright in here. I ran to the stainless steel fridge and opened it. This would be a perfect place for my Dr. Peppers! There was a large island in the center of the kitchen. To the opposite wall was a pantry.

I jumped with a start as my mom walked in. I told her how awesome the kitchen was and made my way for the stairs. They were actually quite wide and carpeted. The carpet, like most of the other rooms, was white. This house would be one where taking your shoes off is a rule. I took the steps two at a time as I eagerly rushed to the top. I took a mental note of the squeaky step near the top. If I ever wanted to sneak out I’d have to be careful.

At the top of the stairs was a hallway. The hallway itself presented wooden floorboards and five of the same brown doors. Door number one, to the right, led to a musty room. I figured that it would be an entertainment room or something. The second door to the right was a master bedroom. Then a bathroom was next. To the left of the hallway was another large bedroom and a door to the attic. I absolutely hate attics, so I didn’t dare go up there. This house was amazing, so I didn’t was to change my opinion of it by getting scared.

I slowly descended the stairs back into the living room. My mom was hanging up pictures already.

“Which room is mine up there?” I wanted to know so that I could start unpacking. I learned that my room was the first door on the left. So I had the room next to the attic. Great. My room also told me that the furniture would be here tomorrow. Okay, so what am I going to sleep on tonight? Well, this is wonderful. At least we have a couple air mattresses. I’ll probably get the small one again. I don’t really mind. I’m just still really worked up about the house.

The I remembered the doll. The cracked face was clear in my memory. That had to be more than just a coincidence. I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want terrible thoughts to chase away my excitement.

I asked my mom when I was going to start school, and she said tomorrow. So soon?! We aren’t even settled into the house yet. Well, I have to admit that I was excited to start.

“Do I need to take anything with me?” I probably needed some notebooks or something.

“Actually, I contacted the school, and they have everything ready for you. They seemed really excited for your arrival. I guess they looked through your old school records. You know, schools love to have people that make them look smart.”

“Yeah, I know. Hey, I didn’t see a school when we pulled in. Where am I attending?”

“You are going to Lexington Middle School. It’s nineteen minutes away. I think you’ll like it. It’s a kinda small school. There is like ninety in your class.”

“Oh, alright.” I kinda liked the idea of the school being almost small. It gives me a better chance to meet people. I just hope I don’t get caught up in the b***h-fest of drama. I would hate to be one of those back-stabbing jerks you see walking around in giggling cliques.

“So, what are we going to do now?” I had nothing to do, and my mom probably didn’t feel like unpacking.

“Well…umm…Oh! I brought some games! What do you want to play? Scrabble, Uno, or Monopoly?”

“Uh…let’s play Scrabble.” I didn’t really feel like playing any board games, but there was nothing else to do.

My mom scanned the boxes with a thoughtful stare. She automatically went to one and opened it. I was actually surprised that she knew where the game was. We had like umpteen boxes. I grabbed two pillows and laid them on the floor. I sat down on one and waited for my mom. She rushed over excitedly. Great, I will have to pretend I’m ecstatic. It’s not that I hate playing Scrabble. I just didn’t really feel like thinking up words at the moment.

I got to start first. Luckily, I had excellent letters and was able to lay down the word pneumatic. My mom looked at me in surprise.

“Wow, I guess we know who will win this game tonight!”

“I’ve only laid down one word, Mom,” I gave her a wide grin as I said that.

The game went on for an hour. I wasn’t doing as good as I was when I started. My mom somehow won using small and simple words. I just like to challenge myself and use the uncommonly known ones.

After Scrabble I got my bed ready. I slowly unfolded the air mattress, laying it out flat. While it was filling with air I went and brushed my teeth. I finished getting ready in the bathroom then ventured downstairs. My air mattress wasn’t quite full of air yet, so I went into the kitchen. My mom was in there putting stuff in the fridge. My stomach growled when I saw food. I told my mom that I was really hungry, and she fixed up some pot pies. I absolutely love those things!

We both went to the living room and sat down on the floor. We used our laps as tables trying not to burn ourselves. My mom looked at me, and we both broke out laughing.

“What…haha…are we…haha…laughing about?” I could hardly talk. I was pretty sure a piece of carrot flew out of my mouth too. My mom shrugged her shoulders as I tried to clean up my mess. (I had also spilled broth all over.)

We continued eating in an unmannerly way, talking with our mouths open and laughing. By the time I finished my pot pie the air mattress was full. I laid a polka dot sheet over the top. My blanket was a navy blue quilt my grandma made for me. It had some rips and tears in it, but other than that, it was pretty comfy. My pillow had also seen better days. It was a bright pink with stars on it. Nothing on my bed matched, but I didn’t care. I climbed on top of the makeshift bed and settled under the quilt. My mom had already prepared her bed ahead of time and was turning off the lights. Soon, we drifted off into a deep sleep.

I was sitting at a kitchen table fidgeting slightly. The air around me was thick. I even felt as if I could barely breath. There were two knocks at the door. Something told me not to open it. I sat for another thirty seconds until I stood up. The door opened by itself, and in came a rather proper looking man. He was tall and wearing a weary expression on his face.

“I’ve come to take what is mine.” he stated. He spoke slowly and fluently. When he pulled out the gun I woke up with a jolt. My face was drenched in sweat. My hair was matted to my head. My hands, well they couldn’t stop shaking.

“Hayley, what’s wrong?” I guess my mom woke up as I was dreaming.

“Nothing,” I lied, “I was just having an abnormal dream. I’m okay,” I spoke those words even though they weren’t true.

After some time we both went back to sleep. I woke up around seven in the morning. S**t. I shouldn’t have pushed snooze so many times. That only gave me like a half an hour to get ready.

I threw on an old, worn pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I didn’t want to look like one of those spoiled preps but at the same time a homeless person, so I put on some makeup. I wondered if there would be any trouble my first day or not. I took the optimistic road and thought no. I hadn’t realized it, but then I saw my hands were sweaty. Great. I wiped them on my pants slowly taking deep breaths. My stomach felt as though it couldn’t contain itself. I cant believe I was this nervous. Especially about going to school.

It was almost 7:40, and my mom was waiting impatiently by the door. She smiled when she saw me.

“So, are you ready for your first day of school?” She asked.

“From moving to Slaughterville to going to school. I think I’m pretty sane for a normal person.” I smiled and threw my bag over my shoulder as we walked out the door.

Author's Note

Comment Please!!!

Reviews

[Shellie]

The headlines were a great touch, i laughed at them!There are a few errors with vocab I didnt think to pick them out as i went so if you just give a quick run over them and fix them thats all the constructive criticism i have. The chapter itself is excellently done. The journey wasnt done boring, and seeing the new house and showing her fear about the attic and the dream about the doll and then seeing the doll in reality were all excellent touches.