Screaming, I bolted awake. I sighed with relief when I realized it wasn’t real. The worst part of my nightmares was how realistic they were; as if they had actually happened. My vision adjusting, I figured out I was in a pitch-black room. I patted my pockets and realized they had taken my phone. Did they take anything else? I wondered as I checked my other pockets. My wallet was gone… I cringed as I touched a tender spot on my neck. Wait a second… my necklace? They took my necklace! What did they want with it? That was the most valuable possession I had. Hot tears stung my eyes as I thought about how much I hated my life. Why me? Why had all this happened to me? I brushed away the tears with my sleeve and forced myself to stop crying. I swore that I would never let my feelings get in the way of my life when Daniel died.
I got out of the bed I was in and slowly felt my way around my room. It was a small room; the only furniture was a twin-sized bed and a small nightstand. I ran my hands against the walls until I found a light switch and flicked it on. The light blinded me as it reflected off the stark white walls and furniture. As my eyes adjusted, I looked around the room. There were no windows and only exit to the room was a door, but it had no doorknob. I was stuck in here, with no phone, no idea where I was, and no way out. I sat back down on the bed, feeling defeated. I leaned back on the bed, closing my eyes, when I suddenly was seeing my brother. He was in a dark alley, but kept looking behind him as if he was nervous. While he was looking behind himself, someone jumped out of the shadows and tackled him to the ground. Daniel fought back, kicking and punching but otherwise remained silent, until there was a small spark of light and he stopped moving completely. Did he just die? Was I witnessing my brother’s murder? I tried moving towards the attacker when I remembered that I couldn’t move. It was as if I was paralyzed. Another stranger appeared from the shadows and prompted to grab my brother’s limp body and swing it onto his shoulder. Both of them made their way to a black van parked at the end of the alleyway and tossed Daniel in the back before driving off. Out of nowhere, there was a large commotion and a lot of yelling. I was pulled away from the alley and was back in the prison room. I lay there with my eyes closed, hoping they’d shut up quickly until I heard something large hit the door to the room. I sprang out of the bed and pressed my back against the wall furthest away from the door. I was certain someone was coming in to kill me. I heard male voices and something hit the door twice more until I heard a body fall to the ground. What was happening? I tried to recall everything I knew about self-defense. Was I supposed to tuck my thumb in or not? The door burst open and I found myself face to face with a guy a little older than me. He had tousled black hair and a cold expression, but the most prominent feature about him was his gorgeous dark blue eyes. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“Gwendolyn Carter?” he asked me. I was so entranced by his eyes I could only nod in reply. Was that what it was like when people talked to me? “Come with me,” he motioned for me to follow him and began to stalk out of the room. When he didn’t hear my footsteps, he turned around. “Do you want to get killed or not?” I rushed behind him. The hallway outside of the room was also impeccably white and clean, which was actually a bit unnerving. Beside the door to the room was an armed guard, lying unconscious on the floor. I quickly forgot about him when the guy started making his way through the maze of halls.
“Uh, aren’t you afraid of people catching us?” I asked tentatively. He seemed to be preoccupied with something else.
“All the guards are unconscious. The boss isn’t here; he’s across the country.” He knocked out all the guards? He seemed to be alone.
“Can you at least tell my your name?” I sped up so I was walking next to him, although it was hard to keep up with him because he had longer legs than me.
