The Invitation

Micheal Peterson:

"Micheal," my mom asks as she pours Henry and Alex a small bowl of cereal. "Are you okay?"

A bunch of coughs force their way up, I cover my mouth and turn my head. The coughs basically kick my throat as they escape, I turn and grab a cup of orange juice.

Drinking it as fast as I can, I seal my mouth but the coughs still escape. This time, through my nose. However, the last few coughs bring up with them a little bit of juice.

"Ouch," I think, rubbing my burning nose. Smelling some oranges now, I hit my chest and clear my throat.

"I'm fine," I say, waving at my Mom as she also pours me a bowl of cereal. "Thanks, Mom."

Switching the empty cup for a spoon, I see my hand and notice brown dust on it. The second I see the brown dust, I think back to last night. More specifically, I think about when Vengeance kicked me into the T-Rex fossil and practically buried me alive.

"I guess I still haven't gotten all the dirt out yet. I should be thankful Ace was there. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened?"

I start eating my cereal but as I eat, I can't stop focusing on Ace.

"Ace. Ace. Who is Ace? I know this sounds weird but I swear, I've heard that voice before."

Ace's voice was clearly disguised, most likely with one of these voice changer things. I really should buy one myself.

"No. Micheal, focus! Even with the voice changer thing, Ace's voice sounds oddly familiar. But who could it be?"

I ask myself who Ace could be over and over again, only to stop when I hear my Dad's angry voice.

"I can't believe this," my Dad yells. All of us turn to him as he walks down the stairs, he shakes his head as he walks into the kitchen. "Helen! Helen, you're not going to believe this! There's another one!"

"Another one," my mother repeats. She sighs and shakes her head. "Johnathan! I knew this would happen. I told you I don't want snacks in our bedroom."

"I'm not talking about that," my Dad says, putting up his hands. "And I got rid of the cookies. There are no more ants in our bed."

My Dad sighs as he looks at the three of us.

"You three are not going to believe this," he says again. "There is another one! Another vigilante!"

"What," Henry says.

"There is," Alex shouts.

"Can someone please hand me the Captain Crunch," I ask.

I try to grab the box of Captain Crunch but the box is just out of my reach.

"According to some of my friends on the SWAT team," my Dad says, his hands shooting up and down. "Thrill Rider was at the Natural History Museum last night. He and someone else in a white hood attacked them before escaping!"

As Dad goes on, I step up and grab the box of cereal. Quickly pouring myself another bowl, I start eating again.

"They broke half the exhibits in the museum and ransacked the director's office. I can't believe this. Thrill Rider's 'influence' is spreading like a virus. Now other people are following in his footsteps. No, this had to stop. I need to talk with Captain Raymond."

As soon as I hear this, I start coughing again. Choking on a Captain Crunch square, the thing getting stuck in my throat, I force myself to swallow the thing.

"Micheal," my Dad says, "Are you okay?"

Wrapping his arms around me, my Dad is about to get me the Heimlich maneuver but I stop him in time.

"Nope," I say, slapping his arms. "Dad! I'm fine. I'm fine! Just need to chew my food better."

Quickly finishing the rest of my cereal, I thank my mother and say bye to my parents and brothers before quickly leaving home to go to school.

Driving a little faster than the speed limit, I get to school with extra time. So I pick an empty bench and sit down on it. As I sit down on the bench, my thoughts go back to Ace.

"I don't know who Ace is but if my Dad really is going to talk with Captain Raymond, then I need to give him a warning. We may have more police encounters."

Looking to the right and then the left, making sure that no one is paying too close attention to me, I reach into my pocket and pull out the note Ace gave me.

"Santa Monica Pier at 8 pm," the note reads. I shake my head after reading the note for what feel like the 100th time.

"How am I supposed to find Ace at the Santa Monica Pier," I ask myself. "Hundreds of people go to the pier every night. How I supposed to find one person at the pier?"

I tap my head for any possible way. As my head bounces up and down, I open my eyes and see a bunch of other students looking down at their phones.

Normally, I wouldn't give this a second thought, because this is quite normal, but judging from the audio I can hear, it seems everyone is watching the same video. And it's about Thrill Rider.

Getting up, I look around again and see everyone is indeed on their phones. Not only the students but also the teachers, the proctors, and even the janitors. They're all looking down at their phones. Thankfully, I see Cameron walking by.

Grabbing him as he walks by, I pull Cameron in.

"Hey," Cameron shouts. "Easy, Micheal. I'm holding a can of Peace Tea here."

"Sorry Cameron," I say, "But what are you watching? What is everyone watching?"

"Are you kidding me? Here."

Cameron shows me his phone. Restarting the video, I freeze when I see Vengeance standing beside a tied-up Mick. Mick looks beaten up. He has one black eye and there are countless bruises all over his face and arms.

"Hello Thrill Rider," Vengeance starts. "I hope you're watching this. Considering this a courtesy since you seem so determined to save this piece of trash!"

Vengeance grabs Mick's hair and pulls it back. This forces a scream out of Mick. Letting go of Mick, Vengeance then points at the screen with a machete

"I am giving you one chance, one chance, to save Mick. We'll be in a familiar spot. The house where we were supposed to work together to find and murder this man! I hope you remember the address"

Lowering his machete, Vengeance then looks at the screen. Despite Vengeance's face being hidden, the way Vengeance is looking at the screen is still enough to make my spine shiver.

"One chance," Vengeance repeats, putting up a finger. "But know this. If you do choose to save this heartless animal, then you and I are officially enemies. And the next time I see you, I will kill you. You have until 10 o'clock tonight."

The video then ends, and I am left speechless.

"Scary, right," Cameron says, taking gulps of his Peace Tea.

"Yeah," I say, clearing my throat. "Scary."