Passages

Chapter 1

Baylee looked around nervously.

Everyone was running around, scared about something and leaving her confused.

"Kiddo, you gotta hide. They're here!"

Who are they?

She followed the crowd.

"Love, are you lost? Go right, quick!"

Baylee sighed and walked tight. The snow was falling on her, covering her whole body in the white mass.

"Sorry, there is no space in here for you. Go to the Middle Passage."

Something exploded, causing Baylee's reflexes to force her into falling on the ground. Someone tugged on her collar. She jerked out and ran.

The Middle Passage.

She followed the large, noisy group of people into a hallway.

"Warning! If you belong in the Middle Passage, please enter. The doors are closing in three... two..."

"Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

"There was no space in my Passage," she replied quickly, without understanding what was going on. The last thing she needed was to explain her story to someone.

"One!"

The door was shut with a thud.

The man who announced it went down.

"Everyone follow me. We'll be safe."

It was winter, the time that magic was supposed to awaken.

How was Baylee supposed to practice magic in this basement?

She chased the crowd into a hallway.

"Where are we going?" She asked a woman.

"Somewhere safe."

Not a very useful answer, she thought.

The snow melted in the heat of the underground pathway. Soon Baylee needed to take off her jacket.

She carried it in her hands as they moved through the seemingly endless path.

What has she gotten herself into?

But she was promised that it would be safe. Maybe it really would.

Soon Baylee's legs hurt. She was almost falling now.

Way too much walking for a ten-year-old girl.

"Okay, we're stopping."

The man opened a door, letting the crowd in.

It looked like some kind of creepy shelter from books about wars.

Only it was real, and Baylee was no hero.