Taken Away

Prologue

A/N:

Date 4-2-17

Hey everyone! So here's the beginning of my story, the place it all began.

The chapters in this story will not be all the same length. I can already tell :)

Word Count: 3747

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Prologue: The Flashback

I'd known for a while that I wasn't a regular kid, but until today I hadn't known to what extent my irregularity was. I figured it out when I was eleven years old, and I was forced into a situation that made me question my whole life.

5 years ago...

Little eleven year old me stood with my little sister Lucile (we call her Lucy) in the living room, staring up at our mom with big smiles. "Remember, be back before dark. Come home when the streetlights are on." Mom was firm in instructing us. We nodded and replied, "We promise."

I scrambled out the door before Lucy did out of excitement. I loved going on walks with only Lucy as company. Our older brother Jake, who's two years older than me, was upstairs watching TV. He would always rather stay inside than go outside.

I calculated that we had around 40 minutes before dark. That meant I could take the long route. I told Lucy so, and she was just as excited as I was. We really were nature people. Hurrying along our safe little neighborhood, we crossed a couple of streets to enter the neighborhood next to ours. It didn't take too long because we were practically sprinting.

Slowing down to a fast walk, I had an idea. I thought it over for less than a minute, my decision made. "Lucy, do you want to go to the street across from here?" Her eyes widened in worry, although her tone conveyed excitement. "We've never been over there alone though." I turned my head to hide my grin and went for a casual shrug. "I've been there enough with mom to know the way around."

Lucy nodded, seeming relieved that I'd come up with something logical. Lucy never did something she wasn't supposed to unless there was logic behind it. She was a smart little kid. Apparently so was I, because I hesitated before we took off. "Are you sure you want to? I don't want us to get in trouble and you be mad at me cuz it was my idea." Lucy, suddenly unworried, nodded once.

As we ran to our newest destination, I realized we both carried a trait in us that held determination. Adrenaline coursed through our bodies as we turned the corner to the next street. Here was what me and Lucy called "the Other Land." This was different from our street because the houses were much farther apart. Me and Lucy barely had a yard, while the house we were approaching had the largest yard we'd ever seen in our town.

The sun was setting, making the trees behind the last house on the street appear darker. The trees cast their shadows across the yard, making it seem as if the trees were looming over us. I had to admit it creeped me out the closer we got, so I pulled my shoulders back to stop myself from cowering in the slightest way. I was reminded that it was getting darker by the second.

I've never really liked the dark. I just don't feel secure knowing I can't see everything around me clearly. Most people call me paranoid because of it, but I've never really cared what people thought of me. I care about what I think, and I don't think I'm paranoid, I'm just cautious. Which is why I was definitely not extending my walk to include the woods.

"Let's turn around up at that house, okay?" I suggested to Lucy while pointing so she'd know what house I meant. The house looked plainly ordinary, just like other houses in the neighborhood. It was a small one story house with bushes sitting neatly in a row under the windows.