Chapter 4

Chapter 4
What? Is that a, a, wire?
“What are you looking at?” Luna asked.
Oh, crap! She caught me; I hoped she wouldn’t see me staring at her neck. But I could swear I saw a wire coming out of it.
“Nothing,” I answered, “Don’t you just love this song?”
Good, change the subject; distract her.
“Oh yeah, definitely the best song they’ve ever written,” she answered coolly.
Yes! My plan worked, she forgot.
“Oh, hey, it’s six. I better get going before my parents call the police.”
“Oh, okay, see you at school tomorrow,” I said calmly.
“Yeah, definitely,” she said.
“Bye.”


I have no idea what’s wrong with her. She just seems… I don’t know, just odd. And I know I’m not supposed to judge, but she seems different. Not skin, not religion, but the way she acts. Not challenged, but more like programmed. I know that seems strange and impossible. But, that wire, just, makes me think she’s not real. She’s a robot, or something. Maybe she has a robotic brain, I don’t know. But I definitely need to keep an eye on her.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
“Hi, I’m Carla Dale, I live next door,” Carla told the new neighbors.
“Oh, hi, I’m Lucinda, this is my husband Mac we’re the Armsrtongs. Our daughter Luna is at a friend’s house, I wish you could meet her,” Lucinda said.
“Oh, I met her, she’s listening to music with my daughter,” Carla explained.
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Please come in.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“So, my brother tells me this is a nice neighborhood, what’s your opinion?” Lucinda asked.
“Oh, he was right, the town very peaceful. Everyone follows the rules, so everything goes smoothly,” Carla explained automatically, almost like a robot.
“R... r... rules?” Mac asked sharing a look of terror on his face.
“Of course, without rules people would run around like a bunch of barbarians,” she answered still with the robotic voice.
“Oh, okay, thanks again, for stopping by. May we offer you anything to drink? Soda, coffee, tea, water, oil?” Lucinda asked whispering the last word so only Mac could hear.
“Oh, no, I came over here to invite you’ll to have dinner tonight,” Carla said dropping the automated tone.
“Okay,” Lucinda said uncertain, “What time?”
“Well, my husband doesn’t get off until five, so, six-thirty?”“ Good with us,” Mac answered.
“Well, I’ll go get cooking, wait, do you’ll have any allergies I should be aware about?”
“No,” they answered at the same time.
“Well that’s good, see you at six-thirty,” Carla said her farewell.
After the door closed, Lucinda turned to her husband and looked him in the eyes…
“I can’t believe our daughters over there. I sure hope the rest of the family isn’t as strange as her,” she admitted.
“We can only hope,” is all Mac said.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Lizzie, who’s your friend?” my mother asked happily.
“Mom, Luna, Luna, Mom,” I introduced them.
“Nice to meet you Luna,” Mom said.
“You too, Mrs. Dale,” Luna replied.
“Mom, do we have any cookies left?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry honey. Your father took the last to work,” she said, “but I can go bake some more.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, Luna, where did you move from?”
“Russia.”
“Oh really, you don’t have an accent.”
“I only lived there for three years.”
“How interesting, where did you move to?”
“One house over.”
“Oh, I didn’t even know we were getting new neighbors. Was your house even for sale?”
“No, my uncle used to own it, but he got married and was moving away, we needed a house, so he gave us his.”
“Oh, well, that worked. I might just go over and greet your parents to the neighborhood. Would you’ll like to come?”
“Mom, we were just going to listen to music.”
“Oh, okay, I’m going to put the cookies in the oven and head over to Luna’s house. Keep an eye on the oven.”
“Okay Mom.”

“Sorry about that. It’s just, I’ve never actually brought a friend home. So that’s why you got the twenty degree.”
“It’s okay,” Luna seemed like she didn’t mind.

Prologue,and Chapter 1

Stranger than Town

Prologue
This town has never changed. Now it’s changing drastically. Not for the better either, but for the worse, everyone in town says it’s just becoming one giant hellhole. With the devil changing it himself. No one knows why and no one knows how or who. All I know is that it’s up to my new friend and me to stop it.


Chapter 1
“Class, we have a new student today,” Miss Chelvokia announced. “Would you like to introduce yourself?” she asked turning to the new student.
“Hi, my name is Luna Armstrong,” she said with complete confidence. And the whole class cracked up, with the exception of me.
“Behave yourselves!” shouted Ms. Chelvokia. “Why don’t you sit next to Elizabeth,” she suggested.
Luna sat down and introduced herself, again, “ I’m Luna Armstrong,” she said offering her hand.
“Elizabeth Dale,” I replied taking her hand.

At lunch instead of sitting by myself, Luna sat with me.
“Your favorite color?” she asked
“Red,” I answered her question, “yours?”
“Blue,” she said, “band?”
“American Rejects.”
“That’s my favorite too!” Luna exclaimed, “What song?”
“It Ends..."
“Tonight!” she finished for me.
“Yeah!” I exclaimed, “Okay, so my turn. Your favorite movie?”
“That’s easy, ‘National Treasure,’” she said.
“I love that movie too! Wow! We have so much in common.”
“I know!”
“Hey, do you want to come over to my house today and listen to music?”
“Sure, I just have to ask my mom. Hold on while I call her, kay?”
“Of course.”

“Hey Mom, do you think I could go over to a friend’s house after school?”
…
“Hold on, I’ll ask,” she said into the phone. “Where do you live?”
“20360 Oak Lane,” I answered her.
“20360 Oak Lane,” Luna repeated to her mom.
…
“Really?”
…
“Okay, thanks Mom, b home at six, ‘kay?”
“She said I can come, and apparently were neighbors.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah, I live at 20362 Oak Lane.”
“Wow! Hey, we better get going.”
“Isn’t school still in session?”
“No, we get out every day after lunch. See?” I said pointing to the leaving students.
“Oh,” she seemed surprised.