*Lustrous Locks

Sam's Story (#9)

A couple of weeks ago, I would have been pleased to see Ty beside himself. Today, not so much. The world has been flipped upside down, multiple times, and no one knows when it is going to right itself. A little consistency would be nice, but I disprove the one constant we were holding on to.

Ty was just starting to accept the fact that Jake and I were dating. Though Jake tried not to let it get to him, it bothered him when his friends didn't like me. Jake invited me to come to the skate park, I was giving him motorcycle lessons.

“Hey, Sam?” Ty asked, shuffling closer to me as we watched Jake take the bike around the lot.

“Is there something you need?”

“We've never seen Jake so animated. He was always just stuck in his drawings.”

I looked at Ty and then at the others who were hanging around the half pipe.

“Or maybe it was someone else who was stuck.”

Ty frowned. “What do you mean.”

“When you were stuck in the basement, did anyone specific come to mind? And what was the first thing you said when you got out, I'll get to see my show.”

Jake was headed back and Ty wandered off, not saying anything. I almost felt bad but I liked the new, thoughtful Ty, and didn't want to risk bringing the old one back.

“Nice job, Jake.”

“Thanks, Samantha.”

Jake parked the bike and pulled off the helmet. We wandered over to the others, hand in hand. Though Jake is the most artistic one of the group, it always made me laugh how he stood over all of them. He wasn't the artistic looking type, unless you count permanently colored and stained fingers.

There was a penny lying in the grass and I stopped.

“Nice, I can always use a bit of luck.”

My fingers brushed the shiny copper face and my ears buzzed. I straightened and rubbed my forehead. The ground began to shake and a rock pushed up on my feet. Jake was thrown backwards as a larger rock shot up between us.

“Samantha!”

Before I could move, I was entrapped by large boulders on every side at chest level. Placing my hands on one, I pushed myself up but fell backwards as I stared down at the tiny figures of my boyfriend and his friends. After catching my breath from the initial vertigo, I climbed up again and carefully looked down. The face of the stone tower was smooth and I couldn't see an imperfection anywhere.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel. Let down your long hair.” Steve called up.

“In case you haven't noticed recently, your hair is longer.” I heard Michael reply.

The sun was hot, and I don't do well in the sun. I was already feeling dry when I hollered down. “You'd better come up with someone. You don't want to blow your chances at being the hero for once.”

“The hair isn't an option?” Steve asked.

“First off, I am not staying in the tower long enough for that to happen. Secondly, there is no way on earth I would agree to anyone climbing it. I like my scalp attached.”

“Wait. I have an idea.” I wasn't sure if it was Ty or Blake that spoke.

“Samantha, we'll be right back.” Jake called up.

“Stay there.” Ty added.

I slumped against the wall, with the sun nearly directly overhead, there was no chance for even a sliver of shade to hide in. The sun inched by and at one point, the tower shook and I clutched the walls but it remained standing.

“Are they trying to kill me?”

I stood up and leaned over the wall but they weren't in sight. Exhausted and thirsty, I slid back to the floor and sat down.

I was laying in a small sliver of shade when there was a loud thumb and the tower shivered.

“Hey, be careful. We don't want to knock it down.” Jake said, angrily.

“I thought getting grenades from dad was a great idea.” Brad retorted with a laugh.

“Knock it off, get over here and help me.” Clint yelped and there was another thump.

“You sure this is going to work, Blake?” Tyson asked.

I struggled to my feet but the pain on my arms and legs were excruciating. I wished I was wearing trousers and not shorts. The hours in the sun had left my skin a wonderful rose color. As I tried to pull myself up to see over the edge of the wall something large and green poked over the top of the wall. A breathless Jake poked his head over the top.

“Are you okay? Sorry it took so long.”

“Why didn't you call the fire company?”

“We tried. You need to see this for yourself.”

Jake climbed over the wall and gently put his hands around my waist to help me up. He was careful when lifting me but there was no other choice but to kneel on the wall. I bit my cheek and looked down. A large green plant was resting against the side of the tower and the guys were holding it steady at the bottom. I carefully climbed down and sank to the grass when my feet finally touched ground. Jake jumped down part of the way and took off his shirt, carefully resting it on my legs then stood so he cast a shadow on my arms and face. Tyson handed me his water bottle that he always carried with him

“So why didn't you call the fire department.” I asked hoarsely after taking a drink.

“The town is empty. Everyone's gone.”