Twelve.

Chapter 5.

I felt a cold wind against me, like someone opened a window. I decided to check the kitchen once more. Scanning the room with my eyes again, I noticed nothing different.

Except a small note laying on the table.

My increasingly fast heartbeat was the only noise in the room as I slowly inched towards the table. I put both of my hands on the table and leaned forward to read the note. It read:

Dear daughter, I apologize for the late notice, but Charles and I decided to go out of town for a little honeymoon. There's a directory of restaurants on the fridge for your dinner. Be back soon, Violit. Love, Mom.

The rage bubbled up in my chest. I picked up the note, ripped it in half, and threw it on the ground.

"How could they do this to us? They can't just up and leave us here with nothing to defend ourselves!" I shouted out of anger. Mumbling words that I probably shouldn't even know, I yanked my phone out of my pocket and dialed her cell phone furiously. It automatically went to a series of deafening beeps and tones. Then an automated voice spoke,

"We're sorry, your number is no longer in service."

I slammed my phone on the table and stomped over to pick up the house phone. Once again, I dialed the number, but I got the same result.

All of the phones in the house had been disconnected.

I sighed and sat down at the table to try and calm myself. Seeing the ripped note on the floor, I bent over and picked both pieces up. I put the pieces on the table and put them together to read the note once more. Quickly scanning the paper, I noticed something strange; Mom spelled my name "Violit". She would never spell my name wrong, my name was special to her. She named me after my great grandma, Violet.

Something was suspicious.

I stood up and moped to my room. When I walked in, the air felt dense and heavy. I started getting dizzy so I slid down my wall and put my head between my knees. I started quietly sobbing, "something isn't right," I thought to myself. Soon after that, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning sweating. I'd had my normal recurring dream, but this time it was different. This time it felt more... Real.

I didn't even worry about getting ready, I jogged straight downstairs to check if the phones were working again.

When I walked in the kitchen, a sharp ray of morning light shone from the small window above the sink. I looked on the table for my cell phone, where I had left it, but it wasn't there.

"What happened to it? I know I left it lying right here!" I said aloud.

I sighed and started looking for the house phone. It wasn't there either.

I felt tears forming in my eyes, "why does this have to happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?" I thought. With tears streaming down my face, I grabbed my jacket and prepared to walk to Jordan's house down the street.

I reached for the door handle, but before I could grab it, it started to slowly turn. I tried my hardest to stop whoever it was from entering the house but they were too strong. The door flew open and knocked me on my butt.

In the doorway above me stood a tall figure.