I was in Hell. Literally.
I fell asleep after finishing my homework. It wasn't much—just a few equations and a research assignment on how global warming affects each organism and their habitat in the environment. For once I wanted to use Trent's brain for something and get the answers from him. He knew more about this stuff than anyone I knew, and he could offer more than enough information for me to get a passing grade. Instead, he said that global warming was bogus but lent me his laptop and said that I could get my "facts" from one of the hypocrites whom believed in it. The research didn't take as long as the essay; creating new statements that differed from the original ones wasn't easy.
Skipping school might not be so bad after all. Yes, I still had to do my own homework about stuff I didn't know, but that beat wasting my days away listening to boring lectures and writing useless notes.
I was exhausted, but sleep was the last thing on my mind. I feared that dreaded dream and knew that as soon as I closed my eyes I'd witness it again. I fought it as long as I could, but sleep won over. I waited for the horrendous creature to appear, but it never did.
"What the..."
The setting of this stupor was unlike the one I had grown accustomed to. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything, not even my hands, and the silence was eerie. My soft footsteps were the only sounds to be heard.
"Where am I?" I stumbled in the dark, arms outstretched, hoping something familiar would appear soon.
A small light finally emerged from the darkness and I crept towards it and crouched beside it. It was a flashlight. Someone had laid it there recently. It rocked back and forth. I shined it around but revealed nothing except black walls and a stoned floor. It resembled a chamber of some sort, but it didn't feel hot enough to be the place of my memories. The temperature was neither hot nor cold; nonexistent.
Something darted past me and I spun, shining the light. A small piece of paper laid on the floor. It was a picture of some kind of beast drawn with a purple crayon. It had the head of a buffalo and stood on its hind legs. A cape hung over its shoulders.
Giggling.
I shone the light in front of me and slipped the paper in my pocket. The beam flickered, and I silently begged for the batteries to last. There was no way I was going to be in the pitch dark again. I smacked the end of it with the palm of my hand until the light was steady.
A small girl stood a few feet away. Her hair was braided into pigtails that hung past her shoulders and fell onto her brown sweater. The material was thick and looked like it would make you itch. She was probably fighting the urge to scratch her arms and chest and back. The bottom of it landed just above the buckle of her plaid skirt. It had been worn so much that the colors were faded. Lastly, her legs were covered with black tights, and there were tears on her black boots. She was shielding her eyes from the bright light.
I waved slightly. "Hello. I guess you are the one who gave me this flashlight. Were you just laughing?"
She shook her head and began to cry. Small sobs escaped her tight lips and tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Shh. Don't cry. Everything's okay."
"No! I want my mommy and daddy, but he won't let me see them."
I walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She fell into my chest and sobbed uncontrollably. "You look like her," she finally said. "Are you my mom?"
"No. I'm sorry, but I'm not. But I will help you find her. Come on." I shrugged out of her embrace and walked away, shining the light around. There was nothing to see. There were no corners or turns. Where had she come from?
