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her parents’ knowledge made the trip both worrisome and exhilarating.
    The clouds lumbered overhead, threatening.  It had not rained all day, but the ground was still wet and soft from last night’s deluge.  Shelley realized early into the hike that the thick mud was destroying her sneakers.  Everyone in the group seemed to be sharing her tough luck, and she was thankful that she had opted not to wear her dress flats.  She had considered it in a brief, clouded moment of vanity, but luckily, she had come to her senses when she considered the length of the hike.  She noticed that her friend Charlotte had not.
    Charlotte had flaming red hair and a thick distribution of freckles on her pale face.  Her green eyes had a recklessness to them that depicted a past about which she talked very little.  She carried her short heels in one hand, moving barefoot through the cold mud.  Her face showed a combination of disgust and determination as she struggled to lead the small group.
    Three other teenagers, two boys and a girl, followed close behind.  Shelley was not very close with any of them, although she did see them often at school.  Charlotte didn’t seem to like them much either, but she did like the attention they gave her.  The girl was short, with green eyes, a black bob, and painfully crooked teeth.  The two boys were both tall, one of them towering over the other.  Both had dark eyes and sandy blond hair.
    The group moved cautiously through the sand, and still a pair of police associates riding mountain bikes from the opposing direction caught them off-guard.  A loud whistle caused the group to stop where they were, and the police associates rolled to a stop beside them.
    “ID cards!” one of the associates barked, and the kids scrambled to find their cards.
    Shelley found her ID card and handed it to the police associate.  “We’re just headed to the beach.”
    “You know beach property is closed after sunset?” the officer asked while scanning Shelley’s card in a small, hand-held computer.  He glanced at the sun, which now barely hovered over the mountains.
    Shelley nodded.
    With his computer showing no warrants on Shelley, the police associate handed her card back to her.  “Don’t let me catch you out here after hours.”
    Shelley pocketed the ID.  “You won’t.”
    “There is a new shantytown of deviants living in the district right above us,” the police associate continued.  “There have been reports that they’re spreading down closer to us, even roaming our beaches at night.  You don’t want to get mugged, do you?”
    Shelley shook her head.
    The officers checked the rest of the group’s ID cards and then, after giving the group one last warning about the deviants and beach policies, they continued on their way.
    There was a biting chill to the windy beach air, and yet everyone in the group abandoned their shoes as they approached the soft, fine sand.  Shelley looked around.  “I don’t know if this was such a good idea,” she said, noticing a new front of clouds prematurely darkening the horizon.
    “We must be a little early,” Charlotte said, unsure of what else to say.  All eyes were suddenly on her.  She cleared her throat, getting visibly nervous.  “They’ll be here.”
    Shelley felt herself grow increasingly nervous as the minutes passed.  She had never met Charlotte’s new friends, but she knew some of their reputations.  They had a steady source of bootleg liquor, however, and Shelley’s curiosity over the intoxicant temporarily outweighed all reason in her decision-making skills.  Still, she knew she was there to break the law, and she knew the potential repercussions.  She gave an impatient huff.  “They’re not coming.  We should get out of here.”
    “They’ll be here,” Charlotte insisted.
    Shelley crossed her arms.  “I really think—”
    She fell silent as the sound of fuel-powered motors swept in from the distance.
    Everyone watched in