As I take my first shaky step off of the vast plane and I can smell the fresh spring air. I see Jim, my father’s friend, standing next to the baggage claim, his brown hair sticking out above everyone else. I remember when my dad told me that for my birthday, the 24th, he was sending me somewhere, and then he ruined it by saying Tennessee. He sets his ebony briefcase down when I arrive, makes a joke, and then pulls me into a tight embrace. He lets go and I grab my rosy pink bag before walking to his car. We drive home and he shows me my room. He leaves and now that I finally am alone I let out a sigh and take in the room. The walls are covered in a pattern of criss-crossing greens and daffodils. The flowers are a buttery yellow and they have smears of gold, they are so vividly detailed that I can almost smell the inviting, fresh smell of the sickly sweet flowers. The greens go from emerald green, to olive green in intricate patterns. I close my eyes and lay down on the bed that’s covered in a coral feather-stuffed comforter. I feel the ripples beneath me as the water bed sways from my body falling onto it. I open my eyes to see that the ceiling is painted a crisp azure, with wisps of a pristine white. I look through the window and see that the actual sky is shadowy and turning a deep indigo. The high moon is pearly, ice white and completely full. I lay down, book in hand, and after a short time of hearing the soft flip of the pages my eyes begin to droop and I turn off the bright light and close my eyes.

After what feels like seconds, I hear a rhythmic thump going up the stairs and I lay still with my eyes wide open. I hear a quiet screech as my door slides open spilling light into the room lighting up the walls, now eerie. I see a man in all black approach my bed stealthily and I feel a strong hand cover my mouth, just as a scream struggles to escape. He looks down at me, but all I can see is the ocean blue of his eyes, the rest of his face is shrouded in black fabric. He whispers that his name is Tyler and that I had to go with him, and that once we got down there I shouldn’t talk. He leads me down the carpeted steps, tickling the soles of my bare feet. We head out the back door stopping only so I can put on my shoes. I walk into the night and see a group of men in all black bathed in moonlight. They walk up to me like wild boars charging, I take a step back and shake my head knowing that they are just men. I feel a wave of heat and feel disappointed knowing the summer heat is coming. One of the men approaches me and I see the glint of a knife, filling me with fear. I swallow and close my eyes waiting for the worst when a bright light floods past my eyelids and I feel myself being pushed behind a bush. I open my eyes and once they adjust I see 5 black figures staring at me.

One of them speaks up and the silvery voice of a woman fills the air, she asks me in a hushed voice about my father. I take Tylers advice and say nothing. She takes three long, sure strides up to me and whispers into my ear.

“Tell me it’ll be easier, or we will trap you until you do” she whispers in a low, threatening voice.

I pinch my lips and she snaps her long fingers, then the men push me forward. I stumble forward and then after what feels like an eternity, we stop walking. They strap a harness onto my back and Tyler whispers into my ear as he draws me to the edge of a pit. I look down and can not see the bottom. I feel my heart rate pick up. Tyler tells me that they will come back and question me again after I’m weary. He pushes me off the edge and after I feel like I’ve been falling forever I feel a jolting stop and put my feet on solid ground, unclasping the harness. The woman's voice tinkles down to me and I listen, straining my ears. She says they’ll be back at sun-up. I look around the cave I just got dropped into and can’t see anything except for a deep darkness. Fear fills me and all I can taste is the dank air and all I can feel is the damp rocks beneath my bare feet.

I fall asleep on the cold floor and when I wake I see a pale light trickling in, the first sign of sunrise. I try to look around the cavern, but it’s too dark, I realize how important it is that I hurry to get out, they should be back momentarily. I feel along the cold wall with a frightened urgency and when I feel the small crack I can only feel relief. I put my frozen fingers into the crevasse and begin to crawl in only to feel the area expand around me, its a tunnel. I take a few steps into the tunnel and stop, I hear voices, muffled, and take quick steps away from the entrance, away from the sun.

While walking in the tunnel I begin to get bored by the slowness of walking. A crack above lets a ray of light seep in and I begin to run with a renewed sense of urgency. I sprint, hurdling icy streams and ducking under huge, coarse rocks, until the sunlight fades away behind me. I slow down and then I see a light bounce off of the dripping stones. I know the source must be behind me and keep walking. I am tired, my feet are frozen and worn from walking, the pain is excruciating and it has been days now since I have last eaten. I hear voices behind me, slowing, only to hit a stalactite. Pain courses through my body as the days without food hits me, I fall to the ground and hold my head. I didn’t hit it that hard and usually I’d be fine, but the days without any nutrition makes my energy seep away quickly. Time passes and I wake on the cold floor weak, my only fear that I will die alone. I think aimlessly of the other time I thought I might die, the day I almost fell out of the roller coaster at Six Flags. I drift away again the thoughts ceasing and this time am awakened by a firm hand on my shoulder. I look up to see a man with blonde hair, shining in the light of his lantern. He tells me it’s okay, that I’ll be okay, even though I know he’s lying. I recognize his rich, strong voice, and his eyes, it’s Tyler! I smile a faint smile knowing that I will not die alone at least even though dying with the person who took me isn’t much better, and I hear voices coming up the tunnel.
Breathing is becoming hard. On that damp, freezing floor I take my last breath as they arrive. They begin to yell at Tyler for not questioning me before I died and I feel my own heart beat slow. My eyes flutter open and closed until they still, until my heart stops and my breathing ceases.
I wake up in my bed, my hand flying to my night stand where the tickets to Tennessee my father gave me for my birthday were laying, they’re gone, it must have been a dream. Even though I can vividly remember the excitement of holding them in my hand and the disappointment that they were to Tennessee not Paris, or London. I stand up in my room and take in the familiar blue walls, the cat bed in the corner, and the softball medals hung on the wall. I feel peaceful as I stroll out of my room into the hallway, until I see my mom, and she doesn’t see me.
“Mom?” I ask when she walks by without a hello.
She continues walking even when I stand in front of her, instead she goes through me, it tickles. I stifle a scream and run to the mirror, I can’t see myself, I look and look in the mirror looking only for a small sign that I am there, that I am alive, but alas there is no sign. I stumble down the stairs and stop in front of our catendar looking at the date, I left for Tennessee a week ago. I had my birthday ten days ago. It’s only June third. I hold back a scream of frustration and then let it go when I remember no one will hear me anyways. I wonder where my mother is while holding back tears.
I see my mother come down the stairs in a simple black dress, her face a mask of despair. I follow her to her car and climb through the back door. I sit on the leather seats, unable to feel the smooth material. She comes to a jolting stop at a small, brick building, she parks behind my fathers Lexus and when he crawls out she pulls him in for a long hug. Both of the are crying and soon I figure out why.
I walk into the building and right in front of me is a sign, and written on it in bold white letters are my name and the words, may she rest in piece. My world begins spinning as I step into the room and see a sight that fills me with anguish and with fright. Around the room are scattered pictures of me. I see one of me as a little kid, my hair in brown pigtails and my narrow arms wrapped around a tiny cat. I see pictures of me, a 24 stamped on my back, in my softball uniform hitting a home-run. I turn towards the back of the room and see my father talking to a old man.
“I was trying to protect her, Jim failed me” I overhear him say in a miserable voice.
“Don’t blame Jim,” the old man says in a wise voice, “and don’t blame yourself”.
I watch as the man blends into the shadows looking right at me, his gray eyes sharp. His mouth twitches into a slight smile as he fades away, I know he can see me. I turn away confused and watch as my friends and family approach the large black box in the center of the room crying and realize, it’s my coffin. I approach it cautiously and stare down at my frozen face. I look at my brown hair combed carefully out behind my head, and my makeup done to hide the look of death. The body no longer looks like I was ever there, it looks… empty. The service begins and I walk to the back of the room as they begin. I look around at all of the people present pick out my mother and brother. Once I find my father I see three men in all black creep up behind him. They pull him out of the room their hands over his mouth and his hands behind his back. I run to the door and the men are gone, and so is my father...