Ivory Firen Chapter 1

I am so dead and it’s entirely my stepmother’s fault. I know it’s like instinct for kids to always blame their step mums for their problems but this time it’s really serious. I mean currently I’m running for my life down some really dark alley.

So what does my step mum have to do with this? Well I don’t really know. One minute I was sitting in her car the next I was flat on my back on the sidewalk with four guys in suits approaching fast. Okay obviously there’s more to it than that because normally I’d spend my Saturday morning in bed, sleeping of the indignities I’d suffered at school during the week. However this morning I was rudely awakened when someone, namely Evil incarnate, pulled opened my blinds letting a lot of very bright sunshine hit me square in the face. That was not a pleasant way to wake up and coupled with the fact that Her face was the first thing I saw well I’m sure I shouldn’t have been in any state to get out of bed really.

However, when I very rationally mumbled this she ignored me and dragged my covers off saying how it was such a beautiful day and that we never spent any time together. Unfortunately she had disappeared into my closet when I sensibly told her that most teenage girls would not want to hang around a Disciple of Satan and did not hear me. Before I could comprehend what was happening she was ushering me into a sweatshirt and some jeans. I mean I hardly had enough time to brush my teeth much less take a shower but did she care? No! I mean as long as her makeup is perfect and every strand of her dark hair is in place why should she care how anyone else looks?

Anyway, she had apparently planned a girl’s day out with appointments at the spa and the salon, a reservation at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city and shopping. I relaxed then. Who wouldn’t? I was feeling really bad too because all this time I’d been thinking she was an evil and old yet terribly glamorous witch and really all she had wanted was to form a closer relationship with her stepdaughter. So when she stopped the car on this empty road downtown I wasn’t terribly suspicious especially when she broke down and started getting teary. In fact I felt worse because I thought she knew what I’d been thinking. However the minute I unbuckled my seatbelt she looked up at me with these really teary eyes and said “Goodbye Ivory.”

You would not believe my surprise when I suddenly found myself on my back on a dirty sidewalk, inhaling the exhaust fumes from her car as it roared off into the distance. Surprise turned to anger very quickly as I quickly remembered the fact that I had not had a bath, I was wearing drab clothes, I had on no makeup and most hateful of all I had not done anything with my hair which had become a big, red fuzz ball from sleeping on it the night.

My anger was short-lived because suddenly I realized I was not alone. Four men dressed in identical, black suits had been approaching me steadily and has halted a few feet away from me. My face turned as red as my hair as I quickly realized I must look like some beggar lying lazily in their path. I sprang to my feet and of course tried to explain to them what happened and that if one of them would be so kind as to lend me his cell I could calmly dad to prove my story and to come collect me. However, when one of them spoke it was not to reassure me.

“Ivory Firen?” he said.

I froze. “Um excuse me?” Yes I know. You should never say excuse me to someone you’ve never met who happens to know your name but sorry I was a bit disoriented.

“Ivory Firen?” he said again, taking a step forward.

It was then a little voice in my head started screaming, “Run! Run! You fool!” But I wasn’t listening. I’d never heard this voice before so I had no reason to trust it. Instead I went, “Um who are you?” Yes I know I am an idiot please don’t rub it in.
The guys just stood there for a moment and then the one who had spoken took out his cell phone.

I sighed in relief because really they had started to scare me, I mean who expects some dude you meet on the street to know your name. “Oh thanks. I’m sure my dad will be really grateful for what you’ve -”

The guy wasn’t paying any attention to me at all because he was too busy talking lowly into his cell phone but his friends were still watching me. Suddenly the first dud hung up his phone and gave me this look. I don’t know what it meant but the next second he was saying, “Ms. Firen I’d like it if you came with me.”

I know so far I’ve not displayed any signs of being a genius or of being remotely smart because probably I’m not. But if it’s one thing about me I’m not stupid, well not as stupid as I seem. So I smiled and nodded my head and said “Sure.” Then I turned and ran.

Okay I know it seems unlikely but I can run really fast, you have to be able to when you get picked on a lot and attract a lot of trouble like I do. Just the Friday I’d had to race out of the locker rooms to get to the track and run like five laps around it just to keep out of the hands of the cheerleaders. I mean seriously just because I’d bumped into them and caused them to drop and break a bottle of really, really expensive perfume is no reason to kill anyone. Besides I’d thought I’d done them a favour because that perfume was really rank and we all know that now because the smell filled the locker room in like seconds.

Anyway here I was running down a really unfamiliar street while these four guys were chasing me. Usually I can out run anyone but this time I saw they were catching up quick and I was really getting scared you know. So when I came across this narrow entrance way into some alley I ducked into it thinking they wouldn’t be able to follow me because I’m really skinny and it was still a tight squeeze. The alley opened up a little way in but I couldn’t collapse onto the ground like I wanted to because a quick glance behind revealed that the men were slipping into the alley behind me with virtually no problem.

Now that is some serious shit but of course I had to run and not dwell on the embarrassment of being upstaged by a bunch of bulky men. Unfortunately for me the entire alley idea bombed. The alley was really dark if I hadn’t mentioned this before and there seemed to be no end to it. Added to the fact I’d had no breakfast and that my legs were screaming at me to stop, it was no wonder these guys were right on my tail. Then suddenly a terrible thing happened: I tripped.

I did not just trip, I tripped over my own big feet and I went sprawling flat on my face on the ground. Did I mention that this alley smelt really pungent? No? Well it did and I sat up fast because it is so not cool to be face down on the ground where someone did God knows what only like maybe minutes before. The men’s footfalls stopped and I froze as I realized they were right behind me and I was just sitting there with my back to them. I tensed waiting for them to grab me or to say something but they didn’t instead I heard another voice a really deadly sounding voice that I know did not belong to any of the men because it belonged to a girl.
“Hasta la vista…o no.” she said with a Spanish accent. In another second the alley was suddenly illuminated and the men started screaming and then stopped as it went dark again. “Come on we’ve gotta go they’ll recover.”

I looked up and saw a girl a little younger than me. She was very pale with long dark hair and those dark eyes that Spanish people always have. I reviewed my choices; either I go with this little girl who’d somehow taken out the four guys or sit here and wait for the guys to snap out of it. I took option numero uno and got to my feet and the girl nodded and took off with me fighting to keep her in sight even as she disappeared behind an old dumpster.