The Monarch Lives

Prologue

 "Oh I'll use you as a warning sign

that if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

And I'll use you as a focal point

so I don't lose sight of what I want

And I moved farther than I thought I could

But I miss you more than I thought I would"

I pulled into my parking spot in my driveway and turned off my Toyota, cutting off the song. I pulled my backpack onto one shoulder from the passenger seat and got out, looking for my house key in the smallest pocket of my bag. I grabbed it and walked up the stone pathway to the door. Today was such a slow day at school, especially with all the boring notes I had to take for History. I just want to relax and get inside the house to finish the Maze Runner book I was reading. Sifting through my key ring I found my house key and tried to unlock the door but for some reason it was already unlocked. Mom must have forgotten to lock it when she left this morning which is unusual for her...even if she was going to leave for a meeting with her employees at her law firm. I mean it sucks that she's always away from home because so is my dad. He travels for his profession as a journalist.

But back to the topic of the house being left unlocked...that's weird because even if we do live in a nice neighborhood, my mom is a stickler about locking the door after leaving. She is always working whether she is at home or at the office but she never forgets to lock the front door before she leaves and also check the back door that stands near the swing we have in the backyard. She's just a stickler about that stuff so this is kind of unusual but she must have really been in a hurry. Shrugging it off, I pushed open the door and walked into my house...except it wasn't.

Did I walk into the neighbor's house or something? I couldn't have, I know that this is my house, or at least it was on the outside. I was too stunned to move for what seemed like minutes. What the hell happened? Everything looked different: the decor was completely changed and there was trash scattered all over a coffee table that stood in front of a huge TV and a worn couch. There was an xbox in the corner next to the TV. This couldn't be my house, it looked more like a frat house than an actual home. As I slowly moved forward I noticed a large black object on the table. When I looked closer I realized it was a freaking gun!

I didn't waste any more time exploring my surroundings as I started backing up toward the door I had gone through. I didn't know where I was but I wasn't going to waste anymore time trying to figure it out. I opened the door and stepped through the threshold and saw nothing but tall trees and a long driveway. This could not have been the driveway I had walked up less than a minute ago. I pinched my arm to make sure that this was not just some jacked up dream that my demented mind would come up with and was hit with a hard gust of wind. I closed and opened my eyes numerous times but the scene in front of me remained the same.The orange fading into yellow ombre effect the dying leaves on the trees and the frost bitten wind seemed to scream fall but I knew it was winter, it was only January for crying out loud! I mean California gets cold but just something about this place seems different. It still looks like California but...it doesn't feel like it. It's already colder than it ever gets during the fall back home and that's saying something. At least 30 degrees colder.

I didn't know what to do. This is a fucking nightmare. I feel lost, yet I know where I am...but I don't. I don't understand how this is at all possible but I know that I have two options: 1. Go back inside where someone carelessly left a gun on the table or 2. Take my chances out here where there wasn't a soul in sight and the dark clouds appeared to be getting thicker, making the air more humid with each passing second, a claustrophobic feeling beginning to creep up on me. This fucking house was in the middle of nowhere. Where would I go if I decided to not go back inside that house? I don't even know where I am! I could feel a panic attack start as I quickly looked around trying to grasp where I was.