Museum Discoveries

Chapter 1

I fought against my kidnapper, trying to get away. He was a bald man, and was wearing a strange outfit that made him stand out. Although, lots of people in New York stand out, so... Anyway, he was trying to pull me away to a man that was standing no more than ten feet away from us. I would not go with him; I couldn't. If I did, that would mean I didn't care about anything else, and that I was stupid enough to trust a stranger. But I knew better than to do so. I wasn't stupid.

My hair was tangled into knots, my clothes were ripped and dirty, and I was tired and scared. All I wanted was to get away from this man, and go somewhere safe. Somewhere where there were lots of people. Currently, we were standing in an alley, located behind a few shops. I had been walking down the sidewalk when I had been suddenly pulled into the alley.

I shoved the man off of me and turned and ran out of the alley. Not looking behind me as I ran, I got as far away from that place as I could. People turned to stare at me, but I didn't care. The only thing going through my head then was, Get away, get away, get away! That's all I could think.

I stopped to catch my breath, and when I looked behind me, I saw the man a few yards behind me. I quickly ran up a set of stairs and crouched behind a statue of a lion. My attacker ran right past the building, thinking I had continued straight on. My eyes found a sign on the top of the building. Museum of Natural History. As I looked inside, I saw many people, so I figured it was my best place to hide for a while.

It was mid-December and snowing outside. My jacket had been ripped off of me by my almost-kidnapper. My gloves and hat had also disappeared. So, that left me in only a short-sleeved shirt and holey jeans. My shoes had soaked up most of the snow, which meant that my feet were frozen... Great.

A blast of warm air hit me as I opened the doors to the museum. I rubbed my arms, hoping to warm them up. My teeth chattered together from being outside without shelter from the cold for so long. I looked around the lobby. People were walking around, looking at all the exhibits. There was a circular desk in the middle of the room, with a large globe of the world directly behind it.

A man was standing in front of the desk, talking to a younger boy who looked like him. Considering he looked like him, I assumed he was his son. They both suddenly looked up at me standing there, and exchanged a glance that clearly said, Who is she and what happened to her? They headed towards me and stopped a few feet away.

"Hi," The older man said. "Can I help you with something?"

I shook my head. "No, uh..." I looked behind me, to see if my almost-kidnapper had turned back and found me. I didn't see him, so I guessed I was okay. For now. "I'm just hiding out in here for a bit."

The younger boy spoke up. "What do you mean by hiding out?"

"I was almost kidnapped a few minutes ago. My coat was ripped off by the guy. I'm really just trying to avoid him. He ran past a while ago, but I am desperately hoping he won't find me," I explained to them.

The older man nodded. "Well, you can stay here for a while, if you'd like."

"Thanks."

"I'm Larry Daley, by the way. This is my son, Nicky," Larry had black hair, and was slowly going bald. He had a bright smile and bright eyes. Nicky had black, curly hair and brown eyes.

"I'm Crystal," I should probably explain myself. My hair is a light brown color, and I have brown eyes. I'm 5'9'', and am 17. I don't have any friends, and I'm all alone. There's no one to take care of me, so I live everywhere and nowhere. Which basically means I'm living on the streets. But it's really no big deal. So far, I've been taking care of myself. And nothing bad has happened to me... until now.

Larry and Nicky smiled and headed back to the desk. I decided I should at least make myself look more presentable if I was going to hang out in the museum for a while, so I went to the bathrooms to clean up. I ran my fingers through my hair, and untangled the knots (Though it was quite painful). I got all the dirt off my face, but there wasn't much I could do about my clothes. Or my shoes. So unfortunately, they stayed torn and soaked.

I headed back out into the lobby to see that everyone had disappeared, except for Nicky and Larry, who were still standing by the desk. When I walked towards them, they looked up.

Larry smiled at me. "The museum's closed, if you were wondering. That's why everyone's gone."

I nodded. "Oh. I'll just leave too, then," I started for the doors, but was stopped by Larry calling out to me.

"Wait, Crystal."

I turned to face him, my eyebrows slightly raised.

"Do you have someone who can come and pick you up?" Larry asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm all alone."

"Is your house nearby?" Nicky spoke up.

Again, I shook my head. "No. I live everywhere and nowhere."

They exchanged another look. "Are you saying you live on the streets?" Larry questioned.

"Yep. Have been since I was five," I told them.

Nicky stepped forward, looking at me closely. "You've been living on the streets since you were five?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Don't you have any parents?" Larry wondered.

"No. I don't know who my parents are. Never met them," I shrugged.

Larry and Nicky looked at each other again. It was at that moment that I saw people suddenly walking around the lobby. Looking over Larry's shoulder, I saw not just people, but animals as well. Larry and Nicky followed my gaze. I turned back to them. "I should go."

Larry stopped me again. "No, Crystal, wait. Why don't you come home with us tonight?"

I looked at him, unsure. I suddenly noticed that a man with a beard and glasses was standing behind them, and he was holding the reins of a horse. There was also a tall, olive-skinned man standing next to him, though he looked more like a teenager than anything. I assumed he was around 18 or 19. He was dressed in an outfit similar to the one my almost-kidnapper wore.

"I'd really love to, I mean I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to impose," I told Larry.

Nicky shook his head. "No, it's okay. We have a spare room you can use."

Again, I shook my head. "I'd really rather not. I just feel like I'm imposing..." I looked over their shoulders again, and noticed more people standing there. "Um... I'm just gonna go..."

Larry looked at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I just... I don't really like being around people..."

"You don't have any friends, do you?" Nicky asked softly.

The only response I gave him was silence. I turned away, inching towards the doors. When suddenly, my almost-kidnapper was standing in front of me. He grabbed my arm, and I looked up into his face to see a look of anger and a wicked smile.

Crap, I thought. This is not going to end well.