Azalea

A Ruined Home (Again)

**AZALEA**

   After Duska had gotten back into the car, I turned to Collin expectantly. He looked up from fidgeting and caught my gaze.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"It's your turn. What do you do?" I asked, crossing my arms over my stomach. This whole thing made me feel terrible. Collin looked down.
"I'm undetermined. That means I don't know." He said. I nodded. Maybe he was like me, maybe he was kidnapped and brainwashed into whatever creepy cult this was. Finn shook his head slightly. I could tell he was not trying to be in my thoughts, but couldn't help it. Suddenly, he straightened and looked at Duska, nodding. Duska looked at Collin.
"I think it's time to take her to her home, to grab some... things." Duska said quietly. Collin started the car and pulled onto the dirt road, turning right. My heart raced. I was confused, they took me and now they were going to drop me off?
"Not exactly." Finn answered for me. I tried to clear my mind, thinking of puppies and cute things that would make me happy, but as we got closer to home, it got harder to concentrate on not concentrating. We pulled into the driveway, which was useless since we didn't have a car. Collin pulled in slowly, and I noticed that all of the lights were on. That's weird, usually dad liked all of the lights off and the tv running. Collin unlocked the doors and I nearly fell out opening the door as fast as I could. I ran up the steps and threw open the front door. I ran into the door. Now, before you judge me, it only opened a little bit before stopped moving. Something on the other side was stuck between the door and the wall. I wiggled my way into the room, and nearly started screaming. Everything was a mess. The lamp that sat next to the door was on the ground, broken. Couches were moved, the cupboards were open and plates and bowls were broken. The tv was on, static filling the room creepily. I stepped over the lamp, and over sheets of paper scattered everywhere. I called for my dad, but there was no answer. I ran to his room, nearly tripping over a ripped apart book. I stumbled into his room. His lights were on, but he was nowhere. I hurried to my room, opening the door. The first thing I noticed was that the lights were off. The only room in the house that wasn't lit up. The second thing I noticed was that there was definitely something in the corner. And the third, the scratching noise was louder than it had ever been before. I screamed, and the thing turned around, it's yellow glowing eyes widening. He turned into wisps of shadows, disappearing in the wall. The scratching had stopped. I flicked on the lights, walking over to the corner and looking for scratches. Instead, I found a weird design I had never noticed before. In a way, it looked like a candy wrapped in plastic, or moons. A full moon with crescent moons facing away from the center. There were scratches all around the symbol, but about a quarter inch around the mark, the wall was in perfect condition. I was too focused to hear the boys rummaging around the house, calling my name and searching for me. They ran into the room, asking if I was okay. They looked at what I was tracing on the wall, and Collin gasped.
   "I recognize that... I don't remember, but I've seen that." He said, getting a far away look in his eyes. Duska kneeled down next to me and traced the design, muttering to himself. Finn looked at me concerned, and I knew he saw what I saw. I secretly begged him not to tell anyone, and he reluctantly didn't say anything.
"I think you're right. She's not safe here, we need to take her to the school." School? What? I was about to get up when Finn looked at me.
"We should talk about your... thing." I knew immediately what he was talking about. The weird yellow glowing eyes thing.
"We can research it, find out what it is. I think it'd be best to tell someone." He said pointedly. I shook my head. I knew more about this thing than anyone here, except for Finn, but he didn't count. I had to figure out what it was, what it was doing in my room. Collin suddenly started jumping up and down excitedly.
"I don't know what it is, but I know where I can find it, maybe... if we can.. yeah, yeah!" He said, jumping tracks so fast I had a hard time knowing just exactly what he was thinking. I figured that was never a problem with Finn. Duska stood, his hand hovering over his chest. I felt kind of bad about stabbing him, but then again, I was scared, and it was self defense. Duska regarded me with his cool eyes. They were bright, with flecks of hazel in them. They were beautiful. Duska nodded.
   "You should gather some supplies. The school is about two to three days away. We wouldn't want you to be short on supplies." He said. I nodded, standing up. Unlike the rest of the house, my room was fine. It was just like I had left it. I started filling an old backpack I found with pairs of clothes, including the ones Sarah had bought me. Duska had gone out to the car and got them for me. As I was packing, Finn started investigating. He left my room, and I heard him almost trip over something in the hallway. Collin had already headed out to the car, muttering about some books. I assumed that Duska was already out in the car too, but I didn't know for sure. I finished packing, zipping the backpack up and heading out. I had packed extra clothes, a brush, some makeup and wash clothes. I had also packed a ziplock baggie full of money that I had been hiding under my bed for years. I had always planned on running away, not like a little trip into town, but like a full on trip to another town. I had wanted to run away ever since my mother's accident, and every day after when things just got worse and worse. Sometimes, you plan things, and everything just doesn't go accordingly. To me, that's everyday of my life.