Prologue

The wind was rushing around me. Dogs were barking behind me. This is it, I thought to myself, I'm done for UNLESS I get to the hang-glider. I stepped on dry twigs and got even more scratches on my bare-feet. A bullet whizzed past me. Great, I sighed, they brought reinforcements. Soon more bullets were fired. The pine trees seemed to get closer around me, trapping me, and being lost didn't help. Of course, being lost wasn't on my mind, being chased was.

Why was I running? Who was I running from? Am I in some kind of trouble? No idea at all. How did I know that there was a hang-glider? No idea either. From ahead, I could see the faint line of the hang glider. Yes! I screamed for joy, inside of course, and I stopped and jumped for joy. Another bullet reminded me about the run and I started again. By now, about 10 men and 7 dogs were chasing me. I thought about the odds of beating them as they started to come in from all sides.

Before I knew what was happening, I saw the ground rushing toward me and sheer pain was in my ankle. I turned over and groaned. In the distance, the dogs were barking louder, just about to gain their supper. Yes, me, not regular dog food. These dogs were trained to smell, hunt, and kill. I jumped up and ran, ignoring the pain. Quickly, I climbed into the tree and onto the hang-glider. For a second, I'm being shot at in a tree, but then I'm flying. All of a sudden, I heard a loud ripping sound and I started to lose altitude. A man was waiting there for me at the bottom, just standing there.

"I was waiting for you. I told you to listen to me, but you didn't listen. I told you that you need help, but you didn't listen. I won't let you hurt anymore people. I cared about you, I WANTED to help you, but why do you have to be so stubborn? You should've listened. Because my secret is, I love you. I always have, but…I….I have to do this. I'm sorry." he whispered as he rolled up his sleeves. There was something on his right hand that I couldn't really see but I knew that it was a symbol of some sort. Then he pulled out a gun, held it to my chin, and……………

I woke up, cold sweat dripping down my face. Slowly, trying not to wake up my family since the sun wasn't up, I got out of bed and looked through the window. I kept telling myself, trying to convince myself that it was only a dream. But it was hard to believe. Why did that mans voice sound so….familiar? Now that I set my mind on the problem, I couldn't go back to sleep. I had to know. So, doing what I always did, I turned on my laptop. Just then, the door opened just a crack, I saw two blue eyes appear.

"Can I come in?" a low, rusty voice asked. A smile appeared on my face and I started to laugh as my brother played one of his fake voices.

"Of course, Rowan!" I responded to my older brother. He slowly opened the door and slipped into the room, without making a sound. Rowan and I were brother-sister even though we don't look alike. Rowan has blonde hair and I have blue. He has blue eyes and I have green. Neither of us have freckles, though. Rowan was 6 years old and I was 5 ½. Yes, I was 5 ½ and I had a laptop. But I only got to use it for games and other things.

"What are you doing up so early Rebecca?" He asked gently, "Is it that dream again?" Again, he always knew what was bothering me.

"Yes. It's always the same one, the chase, the hang-glider, and…..and that man. I don't know who he is but he is familiar." I softly replied. Tears formed in my eyes as I told him about it. When I started to sob, my brother just held me close and said, "Its ok. It was only a dream."

"What is that entire racket!?!?!?" a woman yelled from outside my door. My brother and I glanced at each other quickly. The door started shaking and the floor was also. Someone was stomping down the hallway. We both knew that if we hid we would get into big trouble but we did it anyway. Hands pounded on the door and the doorknob slowly turned. "Where are you little runts?" Rowan and I didn't like our mom. She had the worst temper ever, and it was mostly because she gets woken up early. On the other hand though, we had our dad, who was the best.

Our mom and dad have been divorced for a few years now but he still comes by to see us. Our mom gained full custody for us but she needs someone to keep us busy while she is planning what the new house would look like for the people buying it. Her clients this year is Mr. Dawfield and Mrs. Dawfield. Both of them hated children and whenever the saw us, they looked away, disgusted.

Our dad was a techno pro. He can fix computers within minutes. That's where I got all my games from. Some are education and others are mystical creatures. Anyway, my dad is brilliant. He always lets us come with him when he has something to do.

"Come out, Come out wherever you are", our mom said, "Someone is going to be in trouble…" My brother and I held our breath as she slowly walked over to our hiding place. We both were hiding in the closet and I think that it wasn't the best choice. Maybe we could hide underneath the clothes and toys that were stuffed in here. No, that would make to much noise. We backed up as she walked past the closet. BANG! Hangers fell to the floor, crashing into it.

"I know where you are now, you runts!" Our mom said as she rushed over. My eyes were wide with terror of what she might do to me and my brother. I glanced over, my brothers eyes were wide too. The doors banged open, snapping me back into reality. She grabbed our arms and dragged us out. Our mom dragged us to the kitchen and set us down on stools. Behind us was a wooden board, as she has done this many of times.

"I told you; don't wake up at 6:00 a.m. I am sick of it. But no, you didn't listen. So, you first, you little runt." She said as she pointed to my brother. Now his eyes were so wide, they were probably a golf ball. She grabbed his arms, pulled him over to the stove, took of his shirt, and turned up the heater. I started to cry as she pushed my brother onto there and as I heard his screams of pain. I wanted to stop it but I couldn't. Then she stopped, looked at me, tied my brother back up, untied me and dragged me over to the stove.

"Mama, please! Don't do it!" I begged as she took of my shirt. I looked around trying to get something that would distract her, nothing, not a single thing. Then, what I feared most, she pushed me onto the stove. I screamed in pain. I scratched, I bit, I kicked, but nothing would work. I felt like someone was stabbing me with a thousand needles, it hurt so much. I screamed out again.

"Scream again and you will have another 5 minutes on there" she growled at me. I stopped but the tears kept coming. My brother yelled something in the back round but I couldn't hear him. Flames engulfed me and I guessed the house was on fire. I tried to get up, and found out that my mom wasn't holding me down anymore. I jumped up onto my feet as I desperately looked around for my brother. Slowly, I started to walk forward. All around me the house was collapsing, so I slowly made my way. I heard the house start to tumble and I tried to dart out of there. Sirens were in the back round. I turned around, but I didn't see anyone so I thought that they must be outside. When I turned back, I saw something black and I got knocked out.

When I woke back up, I saw a blur of white, blue, and gray around me, a small figure and someone else where standing there. Quickly I jolted up. A pain in my head dizzied me and I passed out again.

"Honey, please wake up. You've been out for three days now. Your brother is here." A coaxing voice told me gently. I opened my eyes but the bright light made me shut them again. "I'm sorry. Would you like me to turn down the lights?" I gasped as I remembered everything,

The nightmare, me and my brother hiding, my mom pushing me and my brother onto the stove, the house starting on fire, and…………me getting knocked out.

I asked all the questions I could. Where is my brother? Where is my father? Where am I? What happened? And….where is my mom? The person I soon came to know as Doctor Jane Semor looked sad when I said the last one.

"I'm afraid that your mom and dad weren't saved from the wreck. Only you and your brother could be found. Now, I need you to answer a few questions. Ok?" I nodded my head. "Ok honey, how old are you?"

"5 ½ years old"

"What is your name?"

"Rebecca Elizabeth Thomson"

"Good, good, and one more thing, Where did you get those burns on your back?" This last one made me stop for a second. I couldn't tell her the truth and I couldn't tell a lie. She must've known that this would bug me and said, "Please, we need to know. Those aren't ordinary burns."

"I uh………I need to use the restroom please." I said, hoping I could distract her long enough to look at the burns.

"No problem. There is a mirror in there to see the burns." She forced a smile, understanding. I rushed to the rest room. Sure enough there were burns on my back, but they didn't look like ordinary burns like Doc. Semor had said. The design looked like:

I gasped as I saw it on my shoulder. The rest were burns from the stove. Slowly I walked back out, took a deep breath, and said, "The four burns were from my mom pushing me onto the stove and the other one on my shoulder is my birthmark." Ok, so I lied about the last one. True, I have never seen it before, wait…..maybe I have! I quickly remembered my dream from last, I mean, from a few nights ago. Of course! How could I be so dumb! The symbol or unordinary burn was on that mans right hand!

Doc. Jane Semor smiled but when Rebecca left the room she frowned. She knew that Rebecca was lying somehow. She didn't get much from Rebecca's brother either. Oh well, she will keep trying hard though. They are little kid's right? Still, Jane was worried. What if they didn't behave? Would they have to get the answers by force? Or worse, what would happen after they got out of the hospital? Jane tried to focus on them but kept worrying on where they would go, who would take care of them and who would love them like their parents did. Of course, Jane didn't believe Rebecca when she told her that her mom pushed her onto the stove. Either way, she had to get answers from them…..

"How did my dad die?" Rebecca asked softly. Her question had moved Jane and Jane felt like she had no choice, she would get the answer sooner or later.

"Your brother called him when you were on the….stove. Your father came, hoping to save you in time, but he came when the house was almost in flames. He called 911 and rushed into the house, hoping to save you two. He pulled you both out, you being unconscious and your brother coughing from the smoke. He didn't see your mom and even though he didn't agree with some things that she said, he still loved her. So he went back in, but when he finally found her, she was also unconscious and the way out of the house was blocked. Then he made one last phone call to his sister, your aunt……….me." The way Jane saw her gape at her made her wish that she didn't say anything, but it was needed. Then Jane saw something she expected, Rebecca started to cry.

"He never told us that we had an aunt. Maybe if we knew, we would've called too." Rebecca said as she curled up against Jane. The soft sobs quieted down after what seemed like hours to Jane and Rebecca fell asleep again. Slowly and quietly, Jane put Rebecca's head on her pillow. A strand of Rebecca's blue hair fell onto her face and Jane gently moved it. Sighing, Jane left the room, totally unaware that she was being watched.

As soon as Doc. Semor left the room I woke up. I put my hand on my right shoulder, hoping to believe that it wasn't real but it was, the symbol was still there. I flung my head back and landed on the pillow, thinking of what was going to happen. My parents were dead, Jane was my aunt, and my brother is the only family that I have known my whole life. The reason I didn't involve Jane was because I just found out and I didn't think that she was. She didn't look anything like my grandma or grandpa on my dad's side and didn't look like my dad at all.

A sudden knock startled me and my brother walked in. His face was pale by otherwise he looked fine.

"Hey sis. How are you?" he asked hoarsely.

"I am recovering, you?" I replied carefully.

"Me too but I also have something else to ask," he hesitated, "Do you have a "burn" on your back, preferably on your right shoulder?" I sighed in relief but I wondered how he knew about that.

"Yes. Do you have one also?" I answered with a question. He got paler if that was even possible. My brother looked like a sheet of paper in this room, and he hoped on my hospital bed.

"I have one too, but mine is orangeish-reddish. How about you?"

"Mine is like, rainbow color. Weird, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. I wonder what it means….." He trailed off at the end, thinking.

"Maybe it means that we have something wrong with us and that's why our mom was so mean to us, I mean I have blue hair. Blue!!!" I started to cry when I thought about it.

"Naw, I think it means that we are special in every single way. The way dad wanted to show us that we were." Rowan said, trying to encourage me. I looked up and asked,

"Do you really believe that?" He nodded, "Then I'll believe that too!" All of a sudden, a flash of bright blue light appeared and blinded us for a second. As soon as it came, it went. What I was a piece of paper and on it, it said:

Αν θέλετε η θεία σας πίσω, στη συνέχεια, ακολουθήστε αυτές τις οδηγίες. 1. Πηγαίνετε στο γεύμα δωμάτιο του γιατρού και περιμένετε για περαιτέρω οδηγίες

I looked at my brother and I said, "I can't read it."

"Let me take a look at it.", after he looked at it he said, "Oh, that says: If you want your aunt back, then follow these directions. 1. Go to the doctor's lunch room and wait for further instructions." He explained to me on what that means and how someone kidnapped Doc. Semor.

"We have to do something about it, I mean; we can't just leave her there! We have to follow these rules. Do you know where the doctor's lunch room is?" My brother sat in silence for a while, thinking. Finally, he spoke.

"You're right; we can't leave her out there. I may not like her but she is our….family. I also know where the doctors go for lunch because I followed one." He said as he gave me one of those mischievous looks.

At first it seemed impossible by then I started to realize that I could do it. Even though I knew little about who kidnapped our aunt and why, I faced the facts. I needed to save her, no matter what. I lost enough of my family lately. In truth I don't know what came over me. I guess I had one of those days when you decide that you would like to be a leader for something.

"Ok. Let's do it." I nodded my head and got out of bed. Quickly and silently, we sneaked down the hall. When we came to the desk, I accidentally stepped on a piece of paper. The receptionist looked down to see what the problem was but strangely enough, she went back to her work as if she didn't see anything. We started to go again and soon enough, we got to the doctor's lunch room.

It was quiet in the lunch room, so quiet like I-bet-that-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop quiet. At first it kind of scared me, but I got used to it. Before long we saw another flash of light, this time purple, and another note.

Bun, deci aţi urmat instrucţiunile mele. Acum, deschis la frigider şi mă uit în spate foarte. Veţi găsi o modalitate de pasaj secret. Deschide-l şi du-te până la capăt de drum şi sala aşteptaţi noi instrucţiuni.

My brother was the one to pick it up but I could tell that he couldn't read it. I grabbed it from him and started to read it.

"This is so easy. It says: Okay, so you followed my instructions. Now, open the fridge and look in the backs. You'll find a secret passage way. Open it and go to the end of the hall way and wait for further instructions," I went right ahead. "Let's go!" Slowly we made our way to the fridge. All of a sudden a nurse came in and started to walk to the fridge. We watched her and hoped not to be seen.

You can't be seen and heard. Move forward.

Ok, so this is when I sort of freaked out because I've never had a "voice" in my head but I got a feeling that "it" was telling the truth.

"Rowan, move forward. No one can hear and see us except each other" I expected him to reply with some worry in his voice but he also seemed to realize that we couldn't be heard. He nodded his head in acknowledgement, and stood up. Quickly I stood up and went straight to the fridge. The nurse was standing right in front of me.

So I was a little childish but I am 5 ½. I took a chair, stood on it, and screamed in her face. Also, I waved my hand. Rowan on the other hand was just standing there, amused. Finally, the nurse started to move out of the room. I stopped and looked at the fridge.

Rowan opened it and looked in. When I put my hand back there, since mine is the smallest, I felt a little knob and turned it. A small black hope appeared at the back of the fridge. I squinted my eyes to get a better picture of the place. Sure enough, there was a door at the end of the hallway. There wasn't much in the fridge but it was enough so that Rowan and I could squeeze through to the other side.

It was dark on the other side and made me grab Rowans hand. Then I saw a flickering light at the end of the hallway start and make its way toward us. The light was a flame. Someone or something was in the hallway with us. We were not alone.

"Come on. Let's go." Rowan said as he started to walk forward.

"How are we going to see when we go into that room? There isn't any light the note said." I questioned. Rowan shrugged in reply and didn't answer. I followed his gaze. In front of us there was a wooden door.

Suddenly there was a flash of green light and another note. Gosh, I thought, these notes just keep coming. My brother and I looked at it.

Ок, сада да сте га направили овако далеко, нема повратка назад. Кроз врата ћете проћи, видећете само црно. По соби је још једна врата, објекат је да се на тај врата. Али пазите, постоје рупе у поду. Једна мала грешка кошта вас ваш живот. Будите опрезни!

Together we said, "Ok, now that you have made it this far, there is no turning back. Through the door you are going to go through, you will see nothing but black. Across the room is another door, the object is to get to that door. But beware, there are holes in the floor. One small mistake will cost you your life. Be Careful!"

"Oh great. How are we going to do that?" I said sarcastically. Rowan looked like he was in deep thought.

"Well, we'll figure that out when we get there huh?" He said, joking around.

"Yeah, I guess so." I murmured in reply. Anxious, I slipped further down the hall, wanting to see what this person intended to make them do. Rowan had to run to keep up with her. Finally, they got to the door.

"On the count of three, open it." Rowan informed me, "One…Two….Three!" I turned the door knob and everything went black. A cold wind came from the door, blowing the candles out. Rowan held me close as I shivered.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what the cold wind was from.

"I don't know. But I guess we'll find out." He said as he took my hand and we took a step inside.