Note: Add prologue of elise's dad escaping hospital to go to magician world.
The Discovery
I was in a strange house. Suddenly, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. In the movies, when people realize they're being watched, they act extremely cool, strolling casually as they carefully plan their next move. I did not act cool. I turned around and looked around wildly. Nothing out of the ordinary. There was a staircase going upstairs. There was a sofa near the door. There was a kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. Now, I thought, how did I get- but before I could complete the thought, I felt ice-cold fingers grip my waist. Before I could move, I heard a malicious laugh, and an awful, high-pitched scream. Screaming... screaming... screaming...
I bolted upright in my bed, my body covered in cold sweat. Looking around frienzedly, I saw things. Familiar things. Familiar closet. Familiar dresser. Familiar computer. Familiar blue-painted wall. I looked out the window. Familiar streets of Redwood, California. I relaxed into my bed. A dream. "Just a dream, Elise," I told myself, trying to still my nerves. But it felt more real than any other dream I had ever had. And the scream...it seemed so...familiar. I quickly threw on a T-shirt and jeans, then headed downstairs to eat breakfast. "Hey, Mom, I had the weirdest dream..." I faltered. Mom wasn't there. "Mom?" I called out. No one answered. I began to get worried. What if I lost Mom as well as Dad? He had died of lukemia when I was barely three weeks old. Now I was thirteen. If I lost Mom now, I'd be an... an orphan! Mom's probably still asleep, I thought, trying to push my former one away. But Mom's always up early! I considered going upstairs to check on her, but Icaught a glimpse of my watch just as I was about to go her room. 8:22! School starts at 8:30! If I didn't run, I would be late for school, and first period is Mr. Ian's class, and no one ever gets away with being late in his class. I completely forgot about Mom in my rush, and practically flew out the door to get to school. Then I came back in, sheepishly got my backback, and ran back out the door.
Soon I saw the school building. On my way towards it, I saw Linsay. Not only is Linsay my BFF, but she's always late for school. The day Linsay goes to school early will be the day aliens invade the world. Linsay has tan skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. I have brown hair, white skin, and light brown eyes. "Linsay, wait up!" I cried. She slowed down so I could catch up. "Hey, guess what?" I asked breathlessly. I told her about my dream. "...And then I heard this horrible scream..." I stopped suddenly. "Th-that scream I was I was telling you about? It- it was my mom's." I stammered. Linsay laughed at my sober expression. "Chill out, Elise. It was just a dream." I relaxed. Of course. Just a dream. I shook off the feeling that something bad was gonna happen. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
"Hey, Mom, I'm home," I called as I went into the house, thinking about my narrow escape from detention given by Mr. Ian for being late. It was terrible.
"Miss Barnett, please explain why you are two entire minutes late to class." He had said two minutes like two millenia. "Ummm," I had stalled, trying to think of an answer. Suddenly, Linsay flounced past me and settled into her seat. Mr. Ian completely forgot about me and turned towards Linsay to lecture her. Good timing, Linsay, I had thought, as I settled down into the seat across from her.
But instead of getting a reply when I called out to Mom, silence met me."Uh, Mom?" I tried again. Nothing. "Mooom," I yelled. Still nothing. I raced towards the kitchen. I frantically scanned the fridge looking for a note that explained Mom's absence. I-it's probably nothing, I told myself. She probably went to the grocery store or something. But there was no note. Mom always leaves notes on the fridge. I scanned the fridge again. Nope. Wait! There was a tiny scrap of paper that I hadn't noticed before. I squinted to read what it said. It was only one word. Help. A wave of nausea overcame me. Help, the note had said. Help. I did the only thing I could. I ran out of the house and into the closest house. It was Mrs. Wilson's home. I had never been in her house before, so it should have seemed strange to me. Instead, it was vaguely familiar. I tried to remember if I had ever come here before, but I couldn't. Suddenly, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and looked around wildly. I sighed with relief. Where's Mrs. Wilson? I wondered. Then, I realized one thing: Mrs. Wilson was on vacation. Just then, ice-cold fingers gripped my waist.