"So, who are we waiting for, again?" Colette – a lanky, short-haired redhead – said as she stuffed her bag in the back of Kaitlyn's father's black Toyota Landcruiser.
Kaitlyn sighed as she watched her phone. "For Caleb. He should've been here by now. We need to catch the boat."
"You do realize that this guy is pussy-whipped, right? Like, BDSM style to the extreme." Colette slammed the trunk close.
"By Mallory?"
"Mmm," Colette nodded.
"That girl is such a bitch!" Kaitlyn's face churned in disgust. "What does he sees in her anyway?"
"Well-formed boobs, ass, a pretty face. You know, the usual ingredients that turn most guys into obedient puppies."
"He's such a do-gooder." Kaitlyn tied her wavy straw-hued hair in a ponytail – accentuating her healthy bosom as her shirt pulled tight. "He deserves a person with more, you know… like depth or something."
"Like you?" Colette gave her a sly glare.
"No!" Kaitlyn fumed, pointing a finger at her lifelong friend. "Just, no!"
Both girls looked up when a burst of laughter echoed from around the corner of a barn, a feminine laughter. They watched the end of the pathway – to see who would round the bend.
"Oh… my god," Colette's lower jaw sank deep as her eyes fell on a slutty-dressed Mallory prancing with high-heeled boots. Her slender arm was hooked with Caleb's muscular arm, who was telling her something funny, apparently – as they saw her reacting with an exaggerated peal of laughter.
"You invited her too?!" Colette said.
"Of course not!"
"Well, what is she doing here then?"
"You're asking the wrong person!" Kaitlyn glared back at her friend.
Colette shifted her gaze back to the couple walking up to them – narrowing her eyes. "I'm so not going to sit in one car with that… that…"
"Haaaai!" Mallory – the raven-haired beauty – waved her hand exuberantly. Caleb followed suit and rose his hand as a wave, curtly, accompanied by a gentle smile.
As Mallory leaned in closer to Caleb, wrapping her arm even tighter around his waist, Colette recognized a flare of envy in Kaitlyn's eyes.
Both girls waved back in return, greeting them with as much courtesy they could muster.
"What's up, Kait?" Caleb walked up to his childhood friend and greeted her with a hug – which ignited a flare of envy from Mallory this time.
"Great. Great, Cal." Kaitlyn clapped him on the back. "So nice that you could come."
"Colette, right?" Caleb turned to face Colette. "Colette Glover?"
"The one and only," Colette smiled back, making a short curtsy.
"No way! Is that your dad's Landcruiser?" Caleb drools over the car.
Kaitlyn nodded proudly.
"And you have permission to use it for our road trip?"
Kaitlyn nodded again, prouder than the first time.
"Raaaad! Fuckin rad, Kait! This trip is going to be epic!" Caleb grinned broadly as he scrutinized the Landcruiser from different angles.
"Ahum," Mallory cleared her throat as a subtle reminder that she was also still standing there.
"Mallory! Yes, of course. You're also here," Kaitlyn smiled sheepishly as her eyes shifted from Mallory to Caleb – with a look that begged for an explanation.
"Yes, I am," Mallory's black leather knee-high boots clattered towards Caleb. She wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a long kiss on the lips – which he answered greedily. As the couple made out unblushingly, Kaitlyn saw Caleb's hand slithering downwards – along Mallory's half-naked back, towards one of her abundantly present but awfully perfect curved buttocks. Caleb's meaty hand started to knead it with a firm grasp.
Now it was Kaitlyn's turn to clear her throat.
Kaitlyn looked with disgust as Caleb wiped his mouth clean of residual saliva.
"Sorry girls," Caleb looked at both girls, guilt-ridden. "that was not very civilized of me. I cannot help it, though. I'm sooo addicted to this girl." He gave Mallory an amorous look – who smiled back at him before granting Kaitlyn a bitchy glare with those perfectly, piercing radiant blue eyes of hers. "Is it okay if she comes along? Please?"
"I have the necessary stuff with me too!" Mallory said while holding her bag up for everyone to see. "I heard we're going to visit Carmore Isle. How about I pay for the ship's fare, mmm?" she looked at both Colette and Kaitlyn with the most friendly face a vixen like her could muster.
"Uuuuh…" Colette brought out, looking at Kaitlyn.
"Pretty pleeeease, Kait! I really, REALLY want to go on this road trip with you guys, but I cannot survive separation from my girl." Caleb went down on one knee, acting all theatrical.
"Aaaw, you're so sweet!" Mallory gave Caleb a kiss on the cheek with her luscious lips.
Everyone looked at Kaitlyn, waiting for her response.
"You know what? Fuck it, welcome on board, Mallory!" Kaitlyn smiled.
While Caleb and Mallory celebrated with a shameless long kiss. Colette looked at Kaitlyn, forming with her lips the words' great, just great.'
"Oh my god, Caleb. This is our song!" Mallory called out from the backseat as the group of college kids kicked off their road trip. "Would you please be so kind as to turn it up, Kait?"
Kaitlin looked askance at Colette, sitting next to her on the front passenger seat. Colette merely shrugged, so Kaitlin pumped up the volume. The whole car vibrated heavily, bouncing on every beat blasting out all of the car's many speakers. Kaitlin glanced through the rearview mirror and saw Mallory singing along, oscillating her body on the beat. It was an awful song – both Kaitlyn and Colette hated it to the core. The only saving grace was that they did not have to listen to Mallory singing due to the high volume. Not that she had an awful voice – no, on the contrary even. Heck, the girl already looked so insufferable perfect, it was merely reasonable that God gifted her also with an angelic voice, right?
Kaitlyn looked away with distaste when Mallory mounted on top of Caleb, wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him in a most vulgar manner. As Kaitlyn focused on keeping her eyes on the road, she could not restrain herself from peeking at them from time to time. The scenery displaying itself in the rearview mirror was like watching some erroneous soft porn movie. Mallory's tight ass came in full display as Caleb's hands had their way with it – rubbing her firm buttocks, shoving her mini skirt to the side so that the girl's bright red g-string became partly visible.
"WATCH OUT!" Colette screeched as some illuminated spectacle shot down from the sky, crashing right in front of them in the road. Kaitlyn yanked the steering wheel to the side. The car screeched as it was barely able to evade the crater in the road. All four college kids screamed their lungs out as a large oak tree came into display in front of them, becoming larger and larger. The car screeched to a stop – right in time, roughly three inches away from the oak tree.
"Everyone alright?" Kaitlin's voice still shivered from the shock.
"I think I have to… yeah, I have to barf," Colette said and shot out of the vehicle.
"Baby? Hey, baby? You okay?" Caleb checked his girlfriend, who lay still draped over him on the backseat, sitting on his lap.
Mallory said nothing. She merely nodded meekly.
Kaitlin got out of the car and inhaled deeply through her nose, almost tasting the fresh, moisty cold air of the night.
"The heck is that?" Colette moseyed over from behind a tree, wiping her mouth with her forearm. Her finger was pointing at the hole in the road further behind them. Something luminous was lying in there, bursting its ray of lights outwards like some supercharged sky beam – lighting up the branches and leaves of the oak trees standing adjacent to the road.
"Wanna check it out?" Kaitlyn asked.
Colette shrugged, "Sure thing."
A faint humming was heard, becoming increasingly louder the closer the girls came.
"Its so bright!" Kaitlyn complained.
"You've got shades?"
"Uhuh," Kaitlin acknowledged.
"Well, I'll be…" Colette gawked – with a pair of shades resting on her nose – as she could not find the right words to finish the sentence.
Following her friend's example, Kaitlin fished out a pair of sunnies of her own and gawked at a most breathtaking spectacle buried an arm length deep in the ground.
"What is it?" Kaitlin gaped at an apple-sized rock firmly fastened among a mishmash of half molten asphalt and dirt.
Colette shook her head, "Haven't the foggiest."
"Its beautiful!" Kaitlin's eyes scrutinized the rainbow-like glow radiating from it.
"It definitely is," Colette acknowledged.
"Let's grab it. Maybe it's worth a ton!" Kaitlyn crouched down and was already reaching her hand out until someone grabbed her wrist.
"We don't know what it is," Colette looked at her all earnest. "or where it came from. For all we know, this thing might give you cancer when touching it. Or worse, explode in your face."
Kaitlin backed down, touched by the wise advice of her friend. Still though, there was something about this rock. She needed to touch it. An inner voice begged her to do it.
"Be a darling and score me a loose, please?"
Both Kaitlin and Colette turned their heads by the sudden sound of Mallory's voice in the distance. They saw Caleb lighting up a cigarette for Mallory. The couple came ambling up to them.
"Wooow! What the hell?" Mallory rose her arm in front of her narrowed eyes as she was nearly blinded by the rock's brightness. Observing the other girls wearing sunglasses, she turned to Caleb. "Got a pair of sunnies?" she asked, blowing out a puff of smoke in the midnight air.
From behind his arms, shading his eyes, he nodded. "Only one, though. Shall we take turns?"
Mallory did not answer his question. She merely held her hand out. Caleb placed the sunnies in her awaiting hand and decided to just turn around, for now, not wanting to be blinded. He was unable to see what was lying in the crater anyway.
Mallory put the shades on and walked up to the crater, crouching down in front of it next to Kaitlyn.
"So beautiful!" Mallory said in deep awe while looking at the magical stone.
"I know, right? Like it's calling for you to take it," Kaitlyn said.
"It's calling for you too?" Mallory asked.
Kaitlyn nodded.
"Well, what's it doing there still then?"
Kaitlyn gestured towards her friend, Colette.
"We don't know what it is," Collete said. "I suggest we call the authorities to let them investigate it."
Both Kaitlyn and Colette flinched when Mallory burst out a peal of scornful laughter, cutting through the peaceful night. "Fraidy cats."
Kaitlin watched as Mallory sank down deeper – sitting on all fours – as she reached her hand out. The inner voice in Kaitlyn's head became stronger now, screaming for her to stop Mallory – to be the first one of touching it.
Kaitlyn did nothing, though. She merely gaped breathless as Mallory's fingers closed in on the stone, making contact with it.
A high-pitched shriek followed, coming from Mallory's mouth as she flew backward like some strong force heaved her away. She lost consciousness when the back of her head slammed hard against the asphalt.