Around The World

Prologue

          "Does she know?" My mother talks in a hushed tone to the man, "Have you told her yet?"
          The man shakes his head. The man has white hair and a long white
beard.
          "Oh gosh," my mother comments, beginning to sob, "Not again."
          Again? What does she mean Not Again? Has this happened before? And if so, with who? And did I know what? All of this was so confusing.
          The man stands up and walks up the stairs. I gasp and press myself up against the wall so he won't see me. I feel the air rushing past me as he walks by.
          I am about to sneak away when someone grabs my arm. I am about to scream when the person's other hand covers my mouth.
          "Come with me if you don't want to die," the person says.
          The person sounds like a boy my age. I am whirled around and what I see surprises me.
           It is a boy. He has jet black hair like me and light green eyes like me, too. The only difference is that he has a face covered in freckles.
          Why does this boy look so much like me? I wonder.
          His eyes only show kindness and sadness, so I know he is not lying. I give him a quick nod.
          The boy leads me up to the third floor just as I hear the man calling my name. "LAUREN!!!" My body goes stiff.
          "Keep moving," the boy whispers in my ear, and I am suddenly jerked back into reality.
           My legs move themselves before I have any time to think. We continue up to the third floor of my house and into my bedroom. I see that my window is propped open with a stick. That's probably how he got in here. We trot over to the window and he climbs out the window, onto a tree, and he swings down from a branch. I am about to climb onto the window sill, when someone pulls me back.