This is a fanfiction of Took by Mary Downing Hahn. It's written for a project in school, a Partner Novel Study. It's basically a sequel.
Erica stood in a dark, shadowy forest, sheltered from a growing storm by a large, looming tree, shivering from the cold. She brushed her red hair from her face and slunk down to the ground, wondering why she was in this forest of all places. Erica developed a fear of forests and the dark since her dream about that old witch and her dog. She wished she could be home, in her comfy bed, snuggling with her teddy bear.
Speaking of that, why wasn't she in her room, and instead here? Was this a dream? It felt so real though, she could feel the wind and hear the thunder… but then again, she could hear, smell, feel and taste in her dream of Old Auntie. She shivered, that was the worst nightmare she ever had. Plus, she woke up with her hair matted and her skin dirty, and Daniel was actually being nice to her after he saved her in her dream. It was so weird.
Erica let her pride get the better of her, and she stood up and started to walk away from the tree. The noises in the dark seemed to get louder now, she could hear the rustling of bushes and the hooting of owls. She looked behind her ever so often to see if anyone was following her, just in case. You could never be so sure, could you? Again, her pride made her pretend to be brave, so she was in a very uncomfortable pose of cowering uncertainly and walking proudly.
She stopped short when she heard the pounding of footsteps behind her and a scream of "Let me go!". It was an idiotic thing to do, she knew, and she probably should have ran away as soon as she sensed something was wrong… but the voice was so familiar and her curiosity led her away to the source.
When the voices and screaming became louder, Erica hid behind the nearest tree, shaking. She had never been this close to danger in her life, and her parents had always been there to protect her if she was. When she looked into the darkness, she caught the eye of one familiar face, one that she saw almost every single day.
"Daniel!" Erica cried, reaching forward to grab him, but it was no use as the darkness pulled him away. Why was her brother here, about to be eaten up the night's forest. She hated her brother, of course, but she had to admit, she was scared for his safety right now.
"Help me! Erica… Erica… Erica!" Daniel repeated her name over and over again until he was lost to the shadows.
Erica woke up with a jolt, crying and screaming for Daniel. Her mom sat on her bed, stroking Erica's hair gently and comforting her with soothing words and whispers. She told her it was okay, and that Daniel was sleeping in his room, but the red-haired girl was not convinced. She demanded to see her brother, and her mom, begrudgingly, agreed.
Her mom led her away from her room to her brother's one, and she slowly opened the door. What they saw made Erica's mom gasp in shock and Erica cry harder. Daniel was not his room, and the window was open—and broken? Fresh blood was spilled around the side of her brother's bed and the window, and a note was left on the windowsill.
Erica's mom ran to it and started reading aloud, "This is revenge. Say goodbye to your son." Her mother then proceeded to start crying, while Erica thought back to her dream. Was that what happened to Daniel? Would she ever see her older brother again?