Carly

"This is going to be a nightmare." Carly sighed as she looked out the car window. It was the fifth time she said it already this morning, so her mother didn't respond to it. Carly did everything but kick and scream to avoid moving to Midtown. None of her methods worked seeing as her mom parked their car behind the large U-Haul her dad drove that sat outside a large white and black house.

"Why did you pick this place again?" She asked. It was a cloudy day, so the already depressing town looked even more gloomy as she continued to study the house.

"The price was right and its close to both your school and our new place of work." Her mom answered.

It was only the three of them in their family. Their new house was large with three bedrooms. The idea that the third room would be for guest was laughable to Carly.

She heard the rumors. She knows the stories. Everyone in Uptown had something to say about Midtown. Even people in Midtown have something to say about Midtown. No one likes to drive in this direction, much less stay in the town.

Carly couldn't blame those people though. Who would want to get caught on these streets at night? She already felt in danger, and it was noon. If she had a genie's lamp, Carly would definitely wish herself out of this.

After getting out of the U-Haul, Carly's dad went up to the house and her mother went with her to open the back of the truck.

"You don't have to be so down about this Carly. We're here so just accept it." Her mom started, "We just need to get our finances together again and we'll decide then if it would be better to move back."

Carly didn't agree nor disagree with her mother. Her parents were laid off at their old job and they were in a big financial crisis. So it was either move here or end up on the streets.

Sure, the streets of Uptown looked a lot better and were much cleaner, but that didn't mean Carly would rather live on them. So that made her keep her mouth shut this time. Before she grabbed a box to take in, she looked up and down the street.

There were at least sixteen houses on her new block but she only noticed about six or seven cars included theirs and their moving truck. It felt so empty and abandoned. By now, Carly would have at least seen her neighbor leaving, and the kids across the street playing outside if they were still in Uptown. So far, she hasn't seen any living movement.

"These boxes aren't going to get in by themselves." Her mother said.

Carly grabbed one of her boxes she could see and headed in to her new home. The newly polished hardwood floors creaked a bit after she stepped inside. The living room was spacious. The flooring was wooden and seemed almost like someone tried to polish it up.

Everything about the house seemed normal. Carly sighed a relief with the thought. But she still can't let her guard down. Normal or not, there was still something about Midtown she needed to figure out. Not even her house was a safe place yet.

Hours past before the last trip to the truck came, and all boxes and furniture were in the rooms they needed to be in. It was well into the evening already. Carly fell into the nearest chair she could find not wanting to move another thing.

"You sure you don't want to go? I'm just looking around is all."

Carly looked up and hear her father talking to her mother as he was coming down the stairs.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked.

"I just want to familiarize myself with the area. You want to take a ride?"

"We haven't even started unpacking. Shouldn't we finish putting stuff up around here before we go and leave?"

"My thoughts exactly." I heard my mom shout from upstairs.

"We're already done with the hard part of getting everything in here. Do you really just want to spend the rest of the day unpacking?"

Her dad had a point. The thought of unpacking, organizing, and arranging after several hours of moving in nearly gave her a headache.

"Sure, I'll go." Carly agreed. They both got ready to head out to explore their new town.

The further they drove, the more obvious it was they were headed away from Uptown. With every passing block, more and more stores seemed to be abandoned and closed down. Most of them looked broken in to. There were only a few cars that passed by them as they continued on.

"This looks better." Carly looked ahead seeing the depressing storm fade when they saw open stores and shops.

"Could we stop by this mall?"

"I knew you'd ask to go. We still have a little time to spare." Her dad said.

Dangerous town or not, if there was a mall, Carly wanted to go to it. Going shopping with friends in Uptown was her favorite pass time even if she didn't buy anything. If this mall was any good, she may actually forget about any rumors about Midtown.

For it to be the only lively area they've seen, it still seemed empty as they pulled in and parked. Carly hopped out of the car and fell against the door just as soon as her feet hit the ground.

"You alright there Carly?" Her father came to the passenger side. She couldn't respond right away. She stayed leaning against the door as she held on to her head as an excruciating ringing went through her ears.

The ringing was so loud she wanted to shout. But she looked to her dad in confusion as it seemed he didn't hear it. The last thing she wants was for her parents to think she's crazy, so she stood slowly and tried to get herself together.

"I just got a little light headed is all."

"Do you need your medicine?" He asked her.

"No, I'll be fine." She assured him. Holding on to her head was common since Carly often got server migraines. She knows how worried her dad gets when she's struck with a bad migraine that leaves her in bed for hours. It would be lame to go home now when they haven't even gone into the mall yet. She had to first check to see if this town has any redeeming qualities.

They went on in to the mall and saw all the stores and booths set up. The only thing missing were people. Or at least people Carly's age. So far, it seemed like only people her dad's age were here. There were at least one or two kids her age she saw on the drive there so they do exist in the town. It must be senior day at the mall and an all teens party somewhere else.

"Guess this is more of an adult mall."

"Maybe the kids are partying somewhere." Her dad was obviously thinking the same thing. That must be one amazing party if everyone is there. It was Friday evening and hardly anyone seemed out so the thought seemed plausible but also unlikely.

Right now, if Carly were back home, she would be at a real mall or movies with her friends. But now she's just hoping she's not the only person still going through puberty here. Even the videogame store they just walked passed had someone's father walking through the place and not their child.

The mall was definitely not the redeeming factor of Midtown. They left after seeing it wasn't going to get much better than that. As they were walking out the door, Carly noticed someone double over by the curb. No one was around and it seemed like the person was in pain. Carly took it upon herself to check on them.

"Are you alright?" She asked when she walked over. She could hear her dad coming up behind. He hates whenever she stops and goes to random people. But not only did this little girl seem like she needed help, she was the first person she's seen not close to retirement.

"They think I'm going crazy." She finally spoke. She looked like she was crying, but there were no tears. "Don't you hear it? It's driving me insane. It's so loud." She was holding her ears. Carly looked back to her dad, who seemed extremely confused and was looking at her as if she really was crazy.

"What are you talking about?" She calmly asked.

"This unbearable ringing. It's so loud, how can't you hear it?" She was speaking loud as if to talk over the noise she heard.

"Carly, maybe we should just go," her dad whispered.

"B-but I hear it too. I also hear a ringing in my ears. I've just been ignoring it." She turns to him.

"I think this move is just weighing on you. Come on, let's get back to your mother." He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her along. Carly wanted to talk to the girl more, but they were already back in the car. She looked back and saw the girl with her head down again. She looked over and saw her father was looking back too.

"Why did you pull me away? Are you telling me you don't hear that sound?" She really didn't intend to say anything, but seeing as the girl was hearing the same thing, it seemed alright.

"Carly, you don't have to pretend. There's no sound. I don't hear anything. that little girl probably just had an infection or something. Those can be quite painful. If there was some loud ringing or noise, I would've heard it too."

"And that made it alright to just leave her?"

"As you've pointed out, there were plenty of adults there that could helped her. I'm sure her parents were somewhere close too." He stopped and sighed.

"You aren't the only one who heard the rumors Carly. There's no secret this place is a bit sketchy. This is our first day here. Let's get used to our new environment before we go around being superheroes." He pulled out of the parking lot. She suppose he's right about that.

But she still heard it. The sound wasn't as bad inside the car, but there was definitely something going on. There was something going on because that little girl heard it too.

Midtown's second most popular rumor. There was always something strange happening. She would definitely categorize this as strange and something weird happening.

They pulled back up to the house from that awful and depressing visit to the mall. After rubbing her temples a bit, the headache Carly was getting was subsiding and the ringing was gone.

"Your mother will be happy we came back early." Her dad said as they got out. Carly stood and stretched her arms out when she noticed someone passing by her.

"Oh, sorry. Did I hit you?" She asked looking at him.

"No, you didn't. I should also say sorry. I shouldn't have been so close." He told her. She wasn't too bothered that he was a bit too close to be walking pass. She was more shocked to see someone her age in the area.

"Oh, are you the ones that moved in here?" he suddenly asked. "This house has been vacant for a while until I noticed the for-sale sign disappeared."

"Yeah, we just moved in today."

"That's cool. Welcome to the neighborhood then. My name is Nathen. I live in the house next door." He pointed to the all white house next to theirs then extended his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Carly." She went ahead and shook it. It wasn't every day you go to a rough looking town and see people welcoming you to the neighborhood in such a friendly way. She observed this Nathen guy as he seemed as regular as they get. Blue graphic shirt and jeans didn't completely scream dangerous.

"Where are you moving in from if you don't mind me asking?"

"We're coming from Uptown." She answered. She waited for a smart comment about being from Uptown since that's usually what she gets when telling people she's from there. But he simply nodded.

"As strange as it sounds, I've never been there. We came from another state a few months ago. So in a way, I'm kind of new too." he said with a chuckle.

Nathen seemed alright from how he talks. Carly was surprised he's never been to Uptown even though it's the next town over. Who could stay here and never go out the town's limits?

"Unfortunately, I'm a bit busy today, so I have to keep this short and get going. It was nice meeting you though. I hope to see you around." Nathen said and waved. She watched as he took off and went up to the house that was next to theirs.

"There you go Carly, a nice young man your age." Her dad said. He was nice and young indeed, but somehow, she just couldn't shake the idea that he was just a little too nice.