Existence

Chapter 2

Upon reaching her house, Sarah quickly shut the door in Casey's face. His muffled goodbye rang out as she dashed up the stairs to her room. She didn't bother closing her door as she sat down on the bed and took out the notebook. Examining it, she concluded that it was more than two weeks old. Definitely not Casey's chemistry notes. Why did he take it then?

Curiosity overtaking her, she flipped open to the first page. As she did so, a cold draft blew into the room and Sarah's attention was momentarily diverted. A sort of dull zipping sound echoed down the hallway.

"Mom?" Sarah called out. No answer, which was just as well. Her mom was out working and wouldn't get home until seven. Dad was at a convention until the weekend and as for Jed, he did say he'd be out late.

Shrugging the noise off as her imagination, Sarah directed her attention back to the notebook. The first page was blank, save for the words 'This is the property of Skywalker. Shifters beware.'

Shifters? What were those? And Skywalker? Was Casey a Star Wars fanatic or was this a friend of his?

The sound of creaking floorboards snapped her out of her thoughts. It had come from just down the hall.

"Mom? Jed?" Sarah tentatively stood up, clutching the notebook in one hand. The creaking continued, getting louder and closer. Could this be why Jed wanted her to go home early? Did they have a guest or something?

The creaking suddenly stopped. The house was silent once more. No, Sarah couldn't pass that off as her imagination anymore. She carefully tiptoed to her doorway and peered outside, retreating back a few steps seconds later. In the dark hallway, a silhouette of a man was lurking by the stairway, taking a look at the pictures on the table there.

Heart pounding rapidly, Sarah moved back to her bed, putting the notebook under the blankets before reaching for her phone. No, it couldn't be a guest. Jed would've told her or at least her mom would've sent a text.

Dialing a number, Sarah snuck another peek out the hallway. Her heart just about stopped. The man had disappeared from the stairway. She glanced the other way, but he wasn't there either. Taking a deep breath, Sarah silently walked down the hallway. Staying close to the wall, she peeked out at the stairs expecting to see at least a shadow of the stranger.

A voice suddenly crackled in her ear, making her jump. "City Police Department. This is Officer Higgins."

"Hello, Officer?" Sarah whispered into her phone, still scanning the area. "This is—" A drowsy feeling suddenly overcame her. Eyelids drooping, she lost her grip on her phone and let it fall to the floor with a 'PLUNK!'

Sarah shook her head, trying to snap out of it. Instead, she lost her balance and slowly pitched forward, the stairs coming up to greet her. She was falling, falling... and everything went black.

~

Sarah heard voices arguing nearby. Without opening her eyes, she discerned that she was lying down on a soft mattress— hopefully her bed. What had happened? There were no ropes around her, no gag, nothing. So she wasn't being held captive. That was good.

Still trying to remember how she had ended up in her bed, she focused on the voices coming from near her feet. They were all male.

"He told me himself," one voice whispered angrily.

"Why are we here then? She must have called us," A calm voice replied.

"No," the first voice, which Sarah recognized to be Casey's, said. "There has to be another explanation. Shifters, maybe?"

"Always quick to suspect, eh chameleon?" A deep accented voice said.

'Now why would they call him that?' Sarah wondered.