The field was covered in waving grain and a blue water tower sat in the middle with a simple gravel road leading to it. It was around sunset and then the sky was all kinds of colors as the clouds moved slowly over the horizon. The gravel road was being overgrown with grain and weeds since the maintenance only came every few months. The water tower's blue paint was fading and peeling and the chain-link fence around it was rusted and bent to where intruders could easily get inside.

Natalie Arlington peddled faster and faster to get ahead of her best friends Adam Crawford and Trevor Welsh. The gravel crunched under her brother’s BMX bicycle that she liked to use. Its matte black paint was starting to peel and the blue rims were muddy. She was ahead and the water tower was looming overhead when Adam rushed past her on his own bike. She felt determination as she tried to peddle faster, but she just fell further behind. Breathlessly, she approached the fence around the water tower’s base to see Adam laughing c***ily.

“What are you laughing at, you twat waffle?” she called as she placed her bike in the weeds with Adam’s as Trevor pulled up. “I’m laughing because you lazy slowpokes couldn’t keep up with me,” he admitted and grabbed the bag. “C’mon,” Trevor grumbled, took the bag from Adam, and ducked under a break in the fence. Natalie followed with a still proud Adam in tow, and they started the great climb up the ladder to the top. It was a long way up and a long way down.

Once they reached the top, they sat on the metal platform and Trevor pulled out a six-pack of Budweiser. “Your brother won’t notice these gone, will he?” Natalie asked quickly at the sight of them. “Nah,” Adam replied, “and if he did, he’d just think it was one of his buddies.” Quickly, he pulled a can from the pack and popped the top off. Trevor did the same, and after debating it, so did Natalie.

She just hoped that Adam’s brother, Danny, did not notice a whole six pack of his most prized possessions missing because when he’s drunk, he’s violent. He has been known as the town drunk and liked to pick bar fights. He’s been in the county lockup multiple times for causing a few and his house mostly smelt like alcohol, puke, and sometimes even feces. His lawn was unkept and his the only thing that mattered to him other than his beer was his old green Chevy. So, therefore, Natalie never liked Adam’s brother.

After a few cans, it was getting dark and they could see the town and the flatness that surrounded it. There was no traffic on the road leading to the gravel road to the water tower, and everything was quiet.

That is unless you counted Adam and Trevor laughing and chortling at their own stupid jokes as Natalie sat away quietly with her feet dangling off the platform. She was in a daze of thought and was only brought out of it by a drunk Trevor. “Wanna hear a joke?” he slurred. Before she could even reply, he answered, “Our lives.” He immediately started laughing and turned back to Adam to come up with more stupid jokes. Natalie sipped her own and sighed for no reason in general, before finding a purple Sharpie in her hoodie pocket. Separating herself, she got up and went around the other side of the water tower.

In the distance, there were headlights heading down the gravel road that led toward the water tower. She recognized the loud music radiating from the vehicle and she immediately knew it was Danny. He had noticed and was coming after them most likely in a drunken fury. “Adam, Trevor,” she screamed in alarm and rushed back to the other side, “We got to go!” Both just stared at her in a confused daze.

“What, why?” Trevor asked.

“Danny. That’s why ” she answered and swooped for the bag. “Whoa, whoa,” Adam urged and pulled the bag from Natalie’s grasp. “I’ll go down there and talk to him, calm him down a bit.” Natalie and Trevor watched as he climbed down the ladder with the bag over his shoulder. He was gone for about five minutes before they could hear yelling and Trevor burst into action, “I’m going down there to see what’s going on.” She debated on stopping him but decided to go with him.

As they descended, the yelling got louder and more consistent. Trying to stay as quiet as they could, Trevor and Natalie hid behind a bush and watched Danny and Adam argue in the light of the Chevy’s headlights. Over the next few minutes, Adam backed up step by step to get away from his brother and closer to his bike. Natalie noticed this and started on her own, tugging Trevor over too. She quickly, but as silently as possible, got on her bike and waited for Adam to make their escape.

Trevor made it onto his bike just as Adam screamed, “Run.” Following his own advice, he rushed to his bike and peddled into the field. His two friends followed and they heard Danny yell in frustration and slam his truck door. With the rev of the engine, the headlights shed light on them as Danny raced after them. Eventually, Natalie, Adam, and Trevor made it to the main road but Danny was still right behind them. Casting a quick glance, Natalie watched as he pulled from the field onto the road, mud, and dirt flying from the ditch, and quickly catching up with them. She couldn’t see him through the window, but she could imagine his angry face twisted into a snarl and his eyes glaring at their backs.

The truck started swerving in and out of the lanes and Natalie wanted to get close enough to a small trail close by, but she didn’t know if they would make it. The trail was out behind an electric grid off the side of the road that led into some woods, which would make it harder for Danny to follow them. All she could say to her friends was the code word for that trail: Feinberg, and hope that it was loud enough for her friends to here. The electric grid was in sight and she could only see it because of Danny’s headlights. It was still a few yards away, but Danny was only a few feet away from Trevor’s back tire.

“Hurry!” she could hear Adam scream from ahead.

“Feinberg!” Natalie called quickly as she hurried past him to be the leader and cut to the path. She could hear the death of the engine as they disappeared into the woods and she could hear the footfalls behind them. “Get back here, you little pieces of…” Suddenly, Danny went silent but Natalie could still hear him chasing them. Then suddenly, she could hear a loud shoot, and then another. Dirt shot up near her and she peddled faster. In his drunken rage, Danny had gotten his shotgun from the bed of his truck.

A few more shots rang out and Trevor suddenly screamed. “Maybe that'll teach you to never steal from me again!” Danny slurred out his threat and shot another round. This time, Trevor fell to the ground with his bike up over him, groaning in pain. It was dark so Natalie couldn’t see where he was hit, but she knew it was bad. Even though she felt sorry for her friend, she peddled on with Adam, maneuvering through the trees. Another shot rang out and Trevor went quiet. With ragged breathing, Natalie ditched her bike and began to run, and split away from Adam. She ran and hid behind a tree wide enough to conceal her body. Her body relaxed, but tensed back up when she heard a scream and another shot.

Adam.

She stilled and tried to get closer to the tree as she heard leaves crunch and branches break. “Natalie,” Danny cooed with an eery niceness, “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” He made it seem like they were just playing an innocent game of hide and seek. “I can hear you. I can smell you. Won’t you come out?” She shuddered and sunk to the ground to hide behind a bush as she saw him pass. Suddenly, her leg slipped from underneath her and she groaned just loud enough for him to hear. “Ah, there you are,” he smiled an insane smile and walked toward her, raising his gun, “Found you.”

One shot rang out and she watched in horror as Danny dropped to the ground. Behind him stood Adam with a handgun. “What,” she stuttered and stared at his shaking figure. He was as white under the moon as a ghost and his breathing was shaky, if not nonexistent. Adam dropped to his knees and cried there over his brother’s body, and Natalie couldn't move. She just watched in astonishment as Adam closed his eyes and smiled to himself after a few minutes, before putting the gun to his own head.

“Pew, pew, pew,” he said and pulled the trigger.