Page 2
From Create Your Own Story
You dart inside the tube-slide and then stop to catch your breath. It's not long now before the lunch hour ends and you'll be safe, but nevertheless you can feel your heart pounding inside your chest. If Ricky does manage to find you, you're toast. The thought is rather unsettling. You sit silently, listening to your own heartbeat and breathing, which is accelerating. You've never been all that great in enclosed spaces, and the inside of a tube-slide is pretty enclosed. You close your eyes and try not to think about where you are, or the fact that awaits you if Ricky does find you. You're thinking you would give just about anything to be somewhere else right about now and that's when it happens. You begin to feel nauseous and start to hyperventilate. You get very dizzy and soon you can feel your stomach lurch. You try to keep it down but it is of no use and before you know it you are throwing up in the grass.
It takes you a second to realize that you weren't in grass a moment ago, you were in a tube-slide. But there you are, on your knees in a patch of grass, stark naked, looking at your own puke. You shakily get up and survey your surroundings. Sure enough, you aren't in a tube-slide. You aren't anywhere near a tube slide. You aren't even in the school yard anymore for that matter. You aren't quite sure where you are, or where your clothes went. You begin to wonder if you're delirious. Maybe you passed out in the slide and this is some weird dream? You contemplate this notion when you recognize the locale. You are standing in Fairmont Park, a rather large park that is on the southern end of Duluth. You recognize it because your parents have taken you here before. It was for your seventh birthday, and they took you here on a picnic to celebrate not too far from where you are standing. It's when you think of this fond memory and look over to that location that you are shocked with the sight of your parents, sitting down on a large blanket, with an old fashioned picnic all spread out on it, having a wonderful time. You start to run over to them but are stopped cold in your tracks when you see a familiar young boy run up to your father and say "Daddy I found a butterfly!"
You become aware once more of your indecency and hide behind a tree as you watch them enjoy themselves. That boy is you, only, a younger you, and you are witnessing your seventh birthday, exactly as you remember it happening to the finest detail. How could this be happening? Are you hallucinating? Are you unconscious in a tube-slide somewhere else? Is this all just a dream? It feels more real then any dream you've ever had, but how could that be true? Maybe Ricky found you and before beating you to a pulp your life flashed before your eyes. All these thoughts are passing through your head and you are trying to make sense of it all when you are pulled from your quiet contemplation by a large hand grabbing you firmly by the shoulder. You turn around to see a man in his mid twenties. He's tall, has short dirty blond hair, and is wearing a dark trench coat, some jeans and some boots that aren't befitting of this warm weather. At first you are stunned, and don't do anything. Then you cover yourself with your hands, realizing once more that you aren't clothed.
"Jensen, I know all this is very confusing and strange to you, but you must come with me and I will answer all your questions." The man seems sincere, but nevertheless he is a stranger, and you're not supposed to talk to strangers. But he knows your name. How could he know your name? Admittedly, you are a little scared of this person. He doesn't exactly seem trustworthy, but he does seem to know something about why you are here. You glance over your shoulder at your family and yourself enjoying themselves. "They can't do anything for you," the man says. "You will only scare them if they see you. Come with me, I'll get you some clothes and some food and I'll answer all your questions."
You realize that he is probably right about the scaring your family part, and being clothed and fed is tempting as Ricky ruined your lunch earlier. But even still, you're not sure about this guy. Who is he? What does he want with you? You look past him and see a coffee shop across the street. There are some cars parked in the parking lot, and one of them is a police car. You briefly contemplate running to them for help, but adults generally look down on kids, and who would believe your crazy story anyway? You look back at the stranger who is inviting you to follow him. he looks anxious to get on his way, and it only makes you feel more unsure of what to do.
