Vanished

My name is Zoë Alice Haelick.

My parents were still young when they had me. Their lives were just beginning. My father had just gotten a coveted job in the government. When I was born, he and my mother had just relocated to Nevada where he'd have to work as a scientist for Area 51. Unfortunately, my mother didn't survive my birth. My father gave my name for a reason. Zoë means "life" in ancient Greek, my father choosing this because he learned that as easily as life was given, it could be taken away. Alice was the name my mother had always loved.

When I was five years old, my father disappeared. I don't remember anything but flashes of memory that they don't believe. My father giving me the key on a necklace chain and putting his finger to his lips, seeing large figures through the crack of the door, breathing as quietly as I could, hoping no one would find me hiding in the small closet under the stairs. Finally I'd fallen asleep -or fainted, I'm not sure- and woken up to nothing but myself, the key, and an empty house.

I have lived with my aunt for 10 years now. I grow more suspicious towards her as I get older. I feel like there is so much she's hiding from me. I wouldn't know how much until the day of my 15th birthday. That's when it all began...