Liam and Diana Wallace are not criminals, that’s why I’m determined to find them one way or another. There is a very slim possibility that they miraculously got themselves in enough trouble to end up in the poorest and most filthy grade there is. Grade Five. It’s a really disgusting place, or at least I’ve heard. My parents are extremely distinguished individuals who rely on our government and swear by them.  My mother: five feet, six inches, flowing and long black hair, always wears dresses and heels, hazel eyes, and never smiles. My father: six feet, one lousy inch, bald, a few freckles, green eyes, and always wears a suit. I usually agree with them on everything, but ever since their disappearance, I would have to disagree on this aspect. I’ve had too much exposure to government snobs to think of them as “saviors” or “heroes”. 

I have faith that my parents are in Grade Five. Yesterday morning, I received a letter from one of the guards who deliver mail to each “apartment”. I say that with sarcasm because the prisons they call “apartments” are far from, well, apartments. I had to kill three rats and a decently-sized mole in the past week. Back to the letter; after I opened the soggy envelope, I pulled out a wet piece of paper and noticed a black outline of what looked like an oddly familiar blob. I wondered where I had seen it before, and then it dawned on me. 

When I was younger I would lull myself to sleep by tracing the huge and distinct birthmark on my forearm. No one I know has anything like it. I’ve examined my parents, old friends, and even some strangers to see if they have one, but no luck. My mother told me to forget about it but I can’t. I feel different somehow with it. The birthmark stands out no matter what I do, and it bothers me. 

The soggy island on the map was the exact same shape as my birthmark. The ink bled from the back of the letter onto my hands. Blair… okay… here. The words were difficult to read as they ran off the page. Tomorrow… see you… rust bridge… green tr-... Love Mother and Father. 

That's it? I thought my parents would be more sentimental in a letter proving their living. 

Curiosity swirled in my head as I tried to make out the remaining words. 

Blair, okay, here, tomorrow, see you, rust bridge, and green tr-. What the heck? Trying to understand this blob of words was worse than trying to sneak past a night guard on parade day (That’s hard). Realization hit me. I could escape and risk never seeing my family again if they aren’t in Grade Five, or run away to this island and probably lose them and a home forever. Downgrading seemed like the only option. 

I’m insane! I’m literally debating whether to risk my life adventuring to this random place that I’ve never heard of before to find someone who may or may not be my mother or father or to escape one last time to finally see my parents in Grade Five.

 I was kidding myself if I even contemplated what this letter was telling me. I tried to fall asleep, but visions of my family kept me awake. Their arms open calling my name with a forest of green behind them. Sleep overcame my body with the darkness of my corridor as I closed my eyes.

“Blair!”

“Blair, help!” A lady in a green suit held two captives, hostage. 

“Don’t listen to them. Trust me!” The lady in the green suit stared down at me. Sun rays reflected off of her glasses to blur my vision. The two hostages stared at me in a blur. Knees on the ground, hands tied back, and clothes shredded. Their eyes and mouths seemed familiar. 

“Mother?”

“Father?” I called.

The lady in the green suit nodded her head while pointing to a map. The map was identical to the soggy letter I opened the day before. Everything went black. I sat up and looked at the shattered clock next to me.

“Three-thirty?” I said to myself.

“Who was that?” 

Sweat beads rolled down my forehead as I grabbed the damp letter from my nightstand. 

“Rust bridge. Where is the rusting bridge?” Talking to myself didn’t seem to help me solve the mystery of who that lady is and where my parents are. 

“My parents are on that island. My parents are on that island!” I exclaimed.

My feet thumped on the floor as I rose out of bed. Grabbing my coat, torn shoes, and the map, I crept out of the door trying not to wake Mrs. Norris, the old lady who lives on the corridor stairs. 

“Where are you going at this late hour?” 

I froze.

“Nowhere. Just… couldn’t… um… sleep.” Hoping she would believe me I strolled past her.

She nodded her head and mumbled something I couldn’t understand. The next step to escaping Grade Four is to distract the guards so I don’t get downgraded. Okay, Blair, you’re almost clear. Just over the wall and you're on your way to your parents. I thought that running away wouldn’t be this easy considering my experience, but I was wrong. A guard emerged from the darkness of the shadows above as I began my climb over the dark wall. 

“Who’s out there?” His booming voice called. He was looking out into the black corridors and a few lamp lights sparkling in the night, so I was relieved he didn’t see me.

The guard walked back into the wall tower after scanning the perimeter. I let out a sigh, “This isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.”

Finishing my climb over the dark cobblestone wall went swiftly. I adjusted my coat so it could be used as a parachute and stepped my toes off the edge. Breathing heavily, I scanned the rest of the wall and jumped. Gliding through the air felt calming and easy, almost as if there wasn’t any ground coming closer to me by the second. The breeze flowed around my body and fluffed my long blond hair as I fell to the ground. Ouch. I thought it would hurt a lot more to fall from a thirty-five-foot wall that surrounded a city of poor people. I took a final look at my “home” dazzling in the darkness with ember lights and cooing owls flying above and began the trek that would hopefully lead me to my parents. 

After what felt like an eternity, I laid down to rest until sunrise. 

“Must be four-thirty.” I yawned and laid my head on a large rock and closed my eyes which wouldn’t open until the golden sunrise lighted the sky.

Rustle. My eyes shot open and I lifted my head to survey the area. Rustle. I sat up. 

“What the-” I grabbed a stick a few feet away from me and clutched it tight. 

“Come out!” I called to the bushes surrounding me. Something would leap out to end my curiosity. 

Finally, a small brown lanky thing emerged from the darkness. I let out a small sigh and approached it. The poor thing rolled over and wagged its tail. 

“What are you?” Talking to an animal seemed foolish but that’s all that would come out of my mouth.

“Hello! My name is Dot. I am what most humans call Dog.” The thing sat up and revealed its second tail. I stood in astonishment. 

“How- wha- huh?” My brain could not process what I was staring at a small elongated animal that had four brown and gray legs, two fluffy tails, limp ears, and the face and torso of a dog. 

“I’m the result of a freak government accident. I was taken from my family when I was a puppy. Shortly after the experiment, I ran away from the lab and ended up here. I think I have been in these woods for about one year.” ‘Dot’ stood up and continued talking to me, “I’m commonly known as a Dachshund, but I clearly don’t look like one. I have been waiting for a friend for a long time and here you are!” Dot sat down and watched me as I laid back down. 

“Okay, well I’m going to bed. So you can go now.” I rolled my eyes and backed away slowly and closed my eyes. It was just a dream I told myself.

 Chirping robot birds woke me up. The sun was way past sunrise, Must’ve slept past it. I scanned the map and traced it with my fingers. 

“Okay, so I’m here,” I pointed my finger to a spot on the map that was remotely close to me. 

“It looks like I have to go three miles west and then I’ll be at, what looks like, a rusted bridge!” Knowing I was on the right track, I stood up and gathered my things.

“Mother and Father, here I come!” 

Dot stopped me in my tracks. I took a total of three steps from my camp and I was stopped.

“What are you doing?” My foot lifted and stepped, but was halted by Dot’s paw. 

“I’m coming with you!” Dot wagged her tails and spun in a circle. “I’ve been very lonely out here and am in need of a friend.” She declared her position in my trek and walked alongside me. 

“I don’t think so. It’s too dangerous for a dog to come with me.” I rolled my eyes and kept walking, but I stopped. Dot was whining and barking for me to bring her. 

“Oh, how pathetic.” I walked back to her and ripped a sleeve off of my jacket and cut two holes in her arms. 

“Alright, fine. If you slow me down for a second, you're gone.” Dot nodded and followed me. 

“So what’s your story?” Dot trotted alongside me as I began to explain my story to him. This is gonna be a long day. I thought. 

After two hours of walking and talking, we made it to the rusted bridge. The beautiful colors of brown and red sparkled with the river below. Green crisp vines wrapped the bridge about ten feet away from me. This was the first time that I actually realized that I successfully escaped from that horrid country. I felt sick. 

“What’s wrong?” Dot laid a fluffy gray paw on my foot. 

“Nothing, I just need to lay down.” Within three seconds of laying down, everything went black. 

“Blair!” Dot’s face went blurry and I couldn’t see anything. 

Maybe I won’t see my parents after all.

“I’ve got a heart rate! Eyes opening!” My eyes blinked open. A lady in a green suit was examining my body. 

“I need twenty ml of saline!” People scurrying around me were yelling. I started to cry, but I couldn’t control it.

“Why- whe- where am I?” The lady in the green suit spun around and held a light to my eyes.

“We’ve got movement!” I looked at the room around me, swirls of gray and silver blobs came into view, but weren’t focused. I finally sat up and ripped the IV out of my arm. 

“Whatis goin’ oonnn?” My words slurred together and the room around me spun. I went to stand up but instead, I threw up onto the floor. 

“Okay. Just relax. You’re gonna be alright.” The lady in the green suit was trying to calm me down, but I was anything but calm. I sat back down and laid my head back. The lady in the green suit called for someone by the name of ‘Kelsey’ to “Come and clean this up.” I closed my eyes and suddenly remembered; 

“Dot!” I exclaimed. 

Panting, I sat up. I looked around at five startled faces that stared at me. 

“Where’s the green suit lady? Where’s Dot? Mother and Father?” I scanned the room looking for anyone who would help me. Suddenly, the lady in the green suit came busting in. 

“Everyone out!” She pointed at people in white lab coats and directed them out of the huge silver doors. Making sure we were the only two left, she sat down at the foot of my “bed”. 

“Blair. I’m Doctor Jane McCormick, and I am, well, your mother.”