The Aftermath

just a short sample from a possible book

  He had set out to go find his brother, but where to start first. Where would his brother go? They had family out of state but Conrad wasn’t sure which states his family lives in.  He leaned against the convenience store. He couldn’t go back home. Home. There was nothing to go back but an empty house with empty liquor bottles.  Conrad tried calling Ethan but he wasn’t picking up. He hopes that Ethan hasn’t gotten in trouble with that lose mouth of his.  Where ever he’s going Conrad knows he’ll find his idiot brother.  But once he finds Ethan what will he do next? He looked up at the sky, like there would be answers in the sky. Instead he got the glare of the sun burning his eyes. He hasn’t even gotten out of town and he’s already conflicted.  Maybe he should go back. 

                          “ Hey, you alright? ” A voice asked. Conrad looked to his side and saw a girl around his age. She chewed and watched, expecting an answer.

                          Conrad scratched his head, was he really okay? His head stung from all the stress and thinking. Or maybe was it because he’s been standing in the sun for 3 hours.

                          “ Here -,” The girl pulled out a can of ice tea from her bag. The hiss of the can snapped Conrad out his daze. “ -You must be dehydrated. Go ahead drink, I don’t mind” She held the sweaty can up and smiled. For some reason the smile on the girls face made Conrad relaxed. It was a genuine smile for all.

                          He took the can from her. One look at the tea made Conrad realize how thirsty he is. He licked his dry lips and gulped away. He couldn’t stop himself from drinking all the water.

                          “ So why are you out here in the heat? You look like your going to embark on some great adventure,” The girl said. She laughed at her own joke.  Conrad was too busy drink tea to answer. The girl waited.

                          “ Sorry I was really thirsty. Thanks ” Conrad said.

                          “ No problem, it’s not like it was expensive. It was a dollar drink.  You looked like you were about to faint. You, planning to go somewhere with the hefty looking book bag? “ She asked eyeing the book bag stuffed with clothes and preservative food, beside him.

                          Conrad tired to give her a smile, but he was pretty sure it came out awkward and weird. “ Oh well I’m not embarking on a grand adventure…”

                          “ Well that’s boring. You want to come with me?”  The girl asked grinning from ear to ear.  Conrad was taken by surprised. He was going to explain what he was doing but she just interrupts him. Who just randomly meets someone and goes out on a grand adventure. Conrad stared down at the girl, deep in thought. 

                          “ Where are you going?” It’s the only thing he could say from some reason.  She leaned next to him on the wall, and then looked up into the sun. She squinted and smiled at the sun.                     

                               “ I’m not going anywhere,” She says with ease.  Wait, what?

                               “ What?”

                          The girl squinted at Conrad as if he was the weird on here. Then she mumbled something about the how she has spots in her eyes now. The headache was coming back.

                          “ What do you mean, you’re not going anywhere?”

                          “ I'm just driving,” She pushed herself off the wall and balanced on her heels. “ Looking for an adventure. I guess. So want to come? ”

                          It’s been a taught rule through out elementary school to not talk to strangers. Don’t get into a stranger’s car.  Stranger danger, all that stuff. Conrad is pretty sure they’ve told him not to go on an “adventure” with a stranger too. But in reality there was really no other choice.

                          “ Sure”  

                          The girl smiled and it was the happiest things he’s seen in a long time. It kind of hurt to look at her smile, it was too bright and too happy. She then leads Conrad to her car. He fallowed behind her and she walk down the street. She parked to far away, Jesus. The sun was beaming down at him, all he wants is AC.

                          “ So where are you going”

                          “ I don’t know”

                          “ Well that’s dumb”

                          Conrad glared at the girl’s head. How is that dumb? Wouldn’t she be dumb too because she has no set plan on going anywhere?  He sighed too hot to call her dumb.  She glanced other her shoulder, the smile still on her face.

                          “ My name is Audrey by the way”

                          “ Conrad”

                          Nothing else was said between them.  Conrad watched Audrey. She is weird, Conrad can tell. But a good weird, maybe this isn’t a bad decision. She pointed to an old black 2008 Saturn Arua. On the bumper was a ding and on the backseat door was scratched up. Was he going to die? Conrad really doesn’t know. He waited for her to unlock the door. Nasty hot air escaped the car hitting Conrad’s face like a dirty rag.

                          “ Damn this car is on fire! Let’s wait until the car gets cool okay?” She rounded the car and stood next to him. He wasn’t much for conversations, he’s not socially awkward or anything it’s just that he had no idea what to say.  How’s the weather? They both know it’s hot as all hell. That’s a cool banged up car you got. From the way Audrey look introduced her car to him, it looks like the car was her trophy. He didn’t want to get into and personal details, yet. They did just meet a couple of minutes ago.  She seemed to think the same way. The only noise between them was the car’s purr.

                          “ My younger brother ran away a three days ago. He’s not in town and I looked everywhere.  He’s the only one left that I can call a family. He’s only 11, he’s not ready to deal with the real world” Conrad paused, and looked at Audrey. He wasn’t really one to spill out his feelings. Audrey had her eyes closed and had a strange smile. It was a bittersweet smile. She didn’t say a word. Conrad was expecting a barrage of questions, but the was nothing but the hum of the car. 

                            “ I guess we better find some clues to find your little bro, right. No one wants to lose their precious one right! Okay so, is there any family relatives that barely keeps contact or maybe a relative that lives far away. Someone your brother knows where they live.“ 

Author's Note

what do you think of it

Reviews

[Ali Bye]

Its great. I have one thing though. When Audrey opened he can, it was described to be sweet tea, but when Conrad drank from it, it was described to be water.
Could you clear that up?
The rest is honestly fantastic, a great read. Can't wait to see where this goes!