My flip-flopped feet slapped against the cobble-stoned road in the decending twilight. I tilted my head up a fraction to
drink the last, golden rays of the sun now sinking beneath the marshy hills. My deep, wheat colored hair rustled against my
shoulders as a warm breeze fluttered by. I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and I thought about her. I thought about her
tinkling smile and her petite nose. She was my best friend in the world, and has been for years. On the first day of pre-school
she held my hand when I cried, and the rest was history. Every touch, every word, she was there. Through lousy days, boyfriends,
and teenage dramas she was always by my side, still holding my hand.
But one day, she let go. One day, I turned around and she was gone. My hand was icy cold and empty. It wasn't the same. She
had been taken away from me. He had snatched her with his dark, cut up hands.

CHAPTER ONE
I remember destictly to this day the absence of his middle finger.
We were walking down this exact path, on a night just like tonight. A summer breeze was blowing and we were giggling about something.
It's funny how when something horribly heart-wrenching happens to you, you remember every detail of it. I remember how her curly brown hair
hair was sticking up in the back because of the sticky wind, and how we were laughing about it. It was getting dark, and we
knew how dangerous it was to be out a night. Since childhood, our mothers and fathers have cautioned us about bandits and
theives and criminals roaming the dusty road at midnight. Despite the hot air, I remember shivering at the mere thought. We
stopped laughing as we felt the darkness close around us like a tight blanket. to hide her fear, she had yelled, "Race ya!" and we had
started to run down the dusty, cobblestoned road. I was winning. The hot air sliced past my cheeks and necks as I sprinted toward my house.
That's when it happened.
I heard a long, drawn out bloodcurdling scream echo from behind me. I froze in my tracks, suffocating with icy fear.
"M-Maggie?" I called, my voice shaking. Should I call 911? Run home and get my parents?
Should I run and help her myself?
The air seemed hot and cold at the same time. She had to be joking...right?
Another scream shattered the strained silence. I gathered up all my courage and ran to the source of the scream.
I stopped in front of a large oak tree and held out a trembling hand. "Maggie?" I whispered.
Suddenly, a hand shot out from inside the branches and grabbed my wrist. Screaming, I twisted my entire body throw it off,
but I wasn't strong enough. I kicked at the branches, struggling to hurt whatever was trying to capture me. Finally, with
a shriek, I aimed a foot at the arm. I heard a sickly crack echo throughout the silence like a gun shot. I heard a low
growl sound from the eaves of the braches. I backed away, horrified and trembling. My heart pumped wildly inside my
chest. Blood came spurting from the branches, turning the green leaves a dark, sinister red. I felt dizzy.
"Maggie," I whispered. Fear surged through me like lightning. "Maggie!" I screamed. "Maggie, Maggie! Maggie, where are
you!?"
I unglued myself from the spot and searched the area. Where was she, and where was...it?
Any minute now, I knew, it could pop out of the nearest bush and stab me.
A terrifying throught pierced my paralyzed brain. A scream died in my throat.
What if it already got Maggie?
I ran and ran, screaming her name to the sky and the air, but she didn't call back. Tears fell helplessly down my cheeks.
Why, Why, hadn't I just called 911?
Because she's your best, best friend, and you love her, a voice inside me said. You didn't want to waste time.
True, I said to myself.
Another scream, coming from the distant hills.
I stopped in my tracks, and I knew what had happened and what to do. It finally hit me hard, with a wave of nausea washing over me.
It had taken her, and it tried to take me, too.

CHAPTER 2

I sprinted in the direction of the sloped hills. They weren't far, but already a stitch was forming in my side. I ignored it.
Stars were starting to appear, but what good were they when you couldn't gaze up at them with your best friend?
Cuts started oozing on my feet, but I didn't care. finally, I reached the green, marshy hills. The Hills were basically
just large, sloped bumps in the ground, but with paths leading around them.
I heard another scream; this time it was closer by.
"Help meeeee!"
I wiped salty tears off my face and ran down the narrow path to the right.
I was going to find her, and nothing was going to stop me.
A determined sort if fire resided in me, flames of courage and resolution licking my sides. I stopped to think. Mud coated my
aching feet, but the ache was dull, and my mind was blank and white. Only one thought was repeated over and over in my mind
like a record: Save Maggie.
I started running again. I reached a fork in the road, decided on the right path, and sprinted toward the source of the screaming.
My mind was wild, and I knew I was just acting on impulse and whim. what if what I was doing was wrong? what if whatever
abducted Maggie already....??
No, I decided. I wouldn't think that. Maggie couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. It would be unfathomable. It wouldn't be
possible. God wouldn't let that happen...would he?
"Please!" I shouted at the night sky. The courage was draining out of my heart, being replaced by the too familiar terror
that had recently occupied it.
"Please! Don't let her die!" I yelled. It felt as if knives were piercing my ribcage, I was running so fast. My feet
pounded the muddy ground, and I nearly slipped. In the distance I saw a small opening in the hills. Curiosity, despite
my terror, infiltrated my brain. A tiny ball of light appeared in the distance.
This is it, I thought. Everything before this is nothing compared to what was about the happen. I could die. It, whatever
it was, could murder me.
If Maggie were in my place, what would she do?
She'd face her fear and save you, the voice inside me said.
I knew that.
I summoned up my bravery and Maggie's image burst into my mind like a firecracker. I ran on my toes toward the path. Nothing
lived in my brain now; only the fact that I had to save Maggie. The sphere of light grew bigger and bigger until I was right
in front of it. It was a large lantern. Next to it, a run down hut.
I froze in my tracks. I couldn't be heard, I knew. I tip-toed silently to the carved window, only daring to peek inside.
I stifled a gasp.
Three girls lay, slumped, on a kitchen table; a crop of brown curly hair atop the head of the girl closest to the door.

CHAPTER 3
They looked as if they were sleeping. I knew they weren't dead, for they were breathing.
Relief washed over me-Maggie wasn't dead. I looked up at the sky, and sent a silent thank you to the heavens.
But fear still lived: how was I to get her out of there?
I looked at the pile of girls again. The second glance sickened me. The other two girls looked about my age; one maybe
a little older. The older looking one had straight, raven-black hair with long lashes. The one on top of her had an aurburn
bob. Then Maggie next to her.

TO BE CONTINUED....

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.06.2011

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Widmung:
For Melanie, who supports me in everyway, and whom i'd do anything for. Thank you!