Daredevil

“What do you think you are doing?” I screeched as someone dragged me down the street. A few seconds ago I had been about to step into a building to complete another task on my list and then the next thing I knew, someone was pushing me away from where I wanted to go.

“Saving your ass, what does it look like I’m doing?” The strange boy snapped back. I couldn’t get a good look at his face because it was nearly midnight and all the lights on the street had suddenly shut off... but the boy sounded familiar.

“Saving me from what?” I yelled and a split second later, my question was answered.

The building that I had been standing in front of a few seconds earlier suddenly exploded and with a start I realized that this was no longer the harmless game I had thought it was...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was on my seventeenth birthday that my life took an unexpected turn. I hadn’t heard from my sister in years ever since she had ditched college to go travel the world and suddenly a letter arrived in the mail for me that was from her. I had insisted on reading it later, still angry that she refused to talk to me, despite how desperately I missed her. I knew that she had some problems with our parents but that didn’t mean she had to shun me for it!

The day had been going so nicely too. My best friend had been over in the morning and I had spent the day baking cakes for the charity event my school was hosting tomorrow. And then out of the blue, I received a letter from my sister and I was too mad to open it. Whatever my sister had to say now was too late in any case. It would take years for me to forgive her and that was being generous. She had promised me that we would be best sisters forever... and then she didn’t talk to me for three years in a row? Yeah, I had a reason to be angry.

It was nearly midnight now. The tradition was that on my birthday I would stay up until one minute passed midnight to mark a full twenty-four hours of my new age. I no longer stayed up with my parents - it had been a long time since I had - but the tradition had been kept up with my sister. Still maintaining the tradition now reminded me of her and today was when I especially wanted to remember her. It did - after all - mark the official third year since we had lost spoken to each other.

Sighing, I decided that there was no point in holding it off any longer. I might as well see what my sister had to say after all of these years. I pulled out the letter from my dressing-gown pocket and ripped it open, expecting to find a birthday card inside of it. Instead, there was a three page letter. I might as well see what it has to say...

Dear Alicia,

You know I didn’t want to leave you, right? I’ve thought about you every day since I ditched college. And I’m not even going to refuse to admit it. I know that I basically threw away my future by making that choice but every minute has been worth it. I’ve been travelling the world, meeting many new people that have really influenced me in so many ways. I’ve been to all fifty states in the USA, I’ve been to China and Australia and Ireland... I’ve picked up jobs throughout my journey to keep generating the money I need to keep travelling but I think it’s really worth it now. I have so much fun helping people and... well, it makes me feel better since I can no longer help myself.

I know that it’s been three years. I know that you are probably beyond angry with me and that I’m lucky if you decided to even read this letter... but this is my way of saying sorry. I’m going to tell you what really happened. What our parents refused to tell you even after I begged them to explain everything. I would have told you sooner but... you’re old enough now to understand.

I was still seventeen when I started at college. I was immature. I was innocent and I didn’t know any better. And no, I didn’t fall in with the wrong crowd but I also didn’t fall in with the right crowd, if you know what I mean. My new friends were kinda iffy. They didn’t do drugs or drink illegally or anything, they just... were in this club that did daring things. We called ourselves the Daredevils. Of course it started out harmlessly with a simple game of Truth or Dare but eventually things got slightly out of control. I started inventing more and more games that became more and more dangerous until... I came up with one that I called “The Daredevil List”.

The object of the game was for each of the players to create a list of challenges that another team member had to complete. The first one to complete all the challenges wins. It was harmless, really it was! But then people heard about the games Rose, Loki, Lilly, our new friends, and I would play and they wanted to join our club. Soon those people started making it really competitive... too competitive. One day I heard that they were going to force the players to do a horrible thing to the head science teacher. I didn’t want to be a part of it but they wouldn’t let me back out. This group of boys surrounded me and wouldn’t let me go until I agreed to do it. That night I ran away and I haven’t been back since.

I’ve been so scared. I couldn’t return home because they might come and hurt you guys and I couldn’t contact you that much because then they might know where to find me. Yes, the game got that competitive and yes it truly was terrifying. I was protecting you, don’t you see? You can still be mad but you need to understand that I didn’t willingly abandon you. Best sisters forever, right?

Well, Happy Birthday Alicia. I’m sorry that I told all of this to you on your special day but I wanted you to understand. Hate me all you want but this is the truth.

Your sister always,

Patricia

P.S: Please be careful, Alicia. Not everyone is who they say they are.

How could she do this to me? Did she think that horrible story would make me feel better? Did she think that I could somehow learn from her mistakes or something? This didn’t make sense. I was never going to get involved with people like that anyways, so what was the point of all this? If she wanted to make me feel upset well she had succeeded. She hadn’t even properly apologized!

I crumpled up the letter and threw it into the corner, not even caring anymore. My clock struck midnight but I hardly noticed as I curled up on my bed and lay there thinking, silent tears trickling down my cheeks.

I was officially done with my sister. I didn’t want to talk to her anymore. I didn’t want to think about her anymore. I never wanted to see her again. Her story only made me hate her even more because she had basically admitted that everything was her fault. She claims she was trying to protect me but seriously? Years had passed by now! There probably was no more Daredevils club at her college and besides, the people in that crazy club would have forgotten about her by now. It was obviously all just an excuse to cover up the fact that Patricia didn’t have any need for me anymore.

I cried myself to sleep that night and every night for the following weeks. Each morning I would wake-up from the same nightmare over and over again. My letter lay forgotten in the corner of my bedroom for months and months until finally one day everything became clear once again...