Entranced

Chapter 1 The Beginning

I woke up to the sound of a car backing out of our driveway. My eyes flew open, and my first thought was: must escape! I rolled around on my bed trying to break free of the twist of blankets that trapped me in place, until I finally felt the covers snap away. OOF! I tumbled out of my bed and fell flat on my face. Rubbing my head, I stood up and got ready for the day.

I flipped the lights on and looked into the mirror. A tired figure of myself stared back at me. I have golden-brown hair and blue-green eyes. Freckles are splashed across my nose and cheeks. My hair gets messed up easily, so I eventually gave up trying to fix it and just pulled it into a ponytail.

My family had decided to go to the Capital Building for summer vacation. We were about to leave, taking the loooong drive to DC.

"Grace!" My dad shouted up the stairs, "Hurry up! We're leaving in ten minutes!" I dragged my suitcase down the stairs. Step, thud, Step, thud, you get the idea.

In the car, my younger sister Skylar was rapidly becoming annoying.

"Grace, wanna play?" she asked for the hundredth time. Is it just me, or was she getting louder and more annoying by the second?

"No, Sky." I answered calmly. "I don't. Please stop nagging me." See? I can be a good sister. Sky took a bite out of her sugary, makes-her-bounce-off-the-walls, fluffy pink cotton candy.

"Pleeeeeease?" she asked again.

"Skylar!" I yelled. "Give it a rest!" Uh, never mind. In my defense, you try to deal with her, see how you like it.

I watched out my window as the landscape sped by, feeling every bump, pothole, and rock that we passed over. I pulled my eyes away from the scenery and opened my sketch book to a new page. Did I forget to mention that I like art? Okay, well I like art. I slipped a pencil out of my bag and started to draw.

Finally, we were there. I stared up at the huge white building in awe.

My mom said, "Okay girls, stay in sight." Normally, I wouldn't be able to walk around a gigantic tourist attraction alone, but it was late in the evening. Most people had gone home. I wandered around making faces at the security cameras, my shoes tapping against the floor.

The sun was completely down now, and most lights had flickered off a while back. As I scanned the area around me, I noticed a faint glow coming from the wall a few yards away. I knew I would investigate it, but I wanted to do so alone.

"Hey, Sky. Why don't you go over by Mom and Dad?" I said. This kind of thing used to work on her all the time, but she had grown since then.

"Why?" She asked, suspicion ringing in her voice. I thought fast, racking my brain for a good excuse.

"Because, I think the gift shop is about to close." I said quickly. I held my breath, hoping it would work. Skylar looked at me again, then walked away. I hoped she couldn't hear my breath as it all rushed out at once.