The morning light glistened through the bedroom window, birds sang and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect, thought Alice as she slowly awoke from her sleep. It was a Saturday, and after a week of: maths tests, English reports and piles of homework, she needed a break.

She slowly sat up, and turned the television on, still half asleep and drowsy, then suddenly, WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

"Oh, Jinx!" She cried, suddenly completely alert.

She jumped out of the bed, and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

The Great Dane was sitting in her basket by the door, head raised in the air, staring at nothing in particular.

"What was that all about?" Alice asked as she slowly stroked the dog's huge head. "Do you wanna go outside?"

The dog did nothing. Her tail gently wagging too and throw.

Alice quickly unlocked the back door, then pulled it open,

"There." She said with a huff.

The dog slowly plodded outside, without a backwards glance. That's gratitude for you, she thought , switching her attention to making coffee. As she fetched herself a mug from the cupboard, she realised she felt different. Her skin was tingling slightly, as if she had pins and needles. As the bubbling of boiled water filled the air, she realised she was getting Goosebumps on her skin, I'm probably just cold, she thought to herself, I'm in my pyjamas. Excepting this fully , she quickly made her coffee, then headed back upstairs, careful to make sure she didn't spill it, and with tingle continuing.

At about 10 o'clock her mum practically dragged her out of her room, saying she needed to come down. Reluctantly she pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and her mums reason for making her do so soon became clear,

"Will you pop round the shop and get some milk?"

So off she'd gone, and now she was back, eating Frosties at the dining table.

"By the way," said her mum, as she wandered into the kitchen, "me and your dad are going to be out late tonight."

"Yeah Ok." Alice replied, her mouth still full of cereal,

" We'll be on our mobiles, if you need us."

"Gotcha."

"Also," her dad added as he ate away at his own breakfast, "don't burn the house down."

She laughed at this, and within a second, her cereal was all over the table.

The day went by as usual: Homework, T.V, Computer and drawling over John Barrowman, but still the tingle remained, by now though she'd put it down to having a cold coming on. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, it was 10pm and Alice was lying on the sofa, half asleep, still waiting for her parents to return.

Jinx plodded in and rubbed her head against her arm, bringing her back to reality,

"I know they said late," she complained, "but this is just ridiculous."

Outside the window, it was pitch black and empty, not car or a person in sight.

"Oh, I'm going to bed." She announced, jumping up, and gently pushing Jinx out of the way.

She let the dog out for the toilet, then locked the back and front doors, making sure they were secure as she went.

So, once she'd finished, she plodded upstairs, and changed into her pink PJ's. As she did the front buttons up, a sudden shock seemed to go down her spine, as if someone had walked over her grave…

Suddenly, everything went white. She couldn't see. She couldn't feel. It was like she didn't exist, like she was in limbo. Then in a blink of an eye she was falling, colours flashing past her and muffled voices all around. Then, CRASH! She was flat on her back, lying on a cool, stone floor. Every inch of her was tired, and all she could see were coloured blobs flashing infront of her, and muffled sounds all around. Then suddenly a voice broke through the others, causing complete silence.

"Rodney, what happened?" Shouted a women, her voice was steely, and seemed to demand authority,

"I don't know!" Replied a man, evidently called Rodney, he sounded Canadian, from what she could hear.

Then, all of a sudden, there was someone leaning over her, their hand slowly feeling her body, examining her,

"You OK?" It was definitely a man, probably American by his accent, though she wasn't the best judge.

She tried to focus. Tried to move, but she couldn't. She felt exhausted. Every muscle in her body was stinging, as if screaming at her. Then the man over her spoke again, but it wasn't directed at her,

"Medical team to the control room." He said, to no one.

Her mind and body throbbed with each ragged breath, and as the noise around her began again, she couldn't hold on. Slowly, unconsciousness over powered her, as darkness pulled her into it's silent embrace.