Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China.

7th March 2015

9:47pm

The waiting area by the gate had quite a few people in it. Some businessman with their smart suits on, some families with their children squirming on their laps, some people waiting on their own, and some with lovers who never seemed to want to look away from one and other.

The waiting area wasn't completely packed, but there were only a few seats for me to sit on once I had gotten through the security checks. Since I wasn't with anyone, I could choose any seat without having to think about having to sit with a friend or save a seat for them.

I looked around the area and decided to sit by the huge glass window that overlooked the grounds of the airport. I walked over and sat between a young father with his daughter on his knee and a businessman who was typing something up on his computer.

I stared out of the window to the sight of the runway all lit up with green lights and the faint glow of the city in the background. The glows and coloured lights that come from a city at night never fails to put a smile on my face as I love the sight of cities at night. Obviously the nicer parts of the city at night are amazing as you have the nightlife like: the clubs, the street markets that stay open all night, the parks that are still open for a midnight wonder. However, the more uncanny parts of the city at night are not my favourite. I feel like I should up my guard when I'm in those parts as I know that I don't belong there.

I pulled my backpack onto my lap and held it close to my chest. As much as I loved being in Shanghai, I wanted to go home as I had been away from my friends since before Christmas and I missed them (plus they owe me Christmas presents), so for that, home with my friends sounded like a great idea.

It was like I was in a daydream when the chiming of an announcement being made came on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, will first class and business class passengers boarding the British Airways flight to London Heathrow please go through to board. Thank you." Said a voice in Chinese before talking in English.

I got up and swung my bag onto my back. The business man in the suit next to me also got up and grabbed his briefcase before walking over to the small queue that was in front of the gate. Before I could follow, I quickly remembered that I had to get my passport and boarding pass out. No matter how many times I did this, I would sometimes forget this crucial detail.

I went through the front pocket of my bag and grabbed my passport with my boarding pass tucked inside of it and walked over to the queue and waited my turn to board.

Once I was at the front of the queue, I was greeted by a woman with a welcoming smile on her face and a hand outstretched waiting for me to give her my passport.

I handed it to her and watched her check my passport over.

After a few moments, she teared a strip off my boarding pass and put it in my passport before handing it back to me.

"Have a safe flight." she said before gesturing me to walk through to the gate.

I walked through the gate before walking through to the jet bridge before waiting behind the businessman from earlier to get onto the plane. Once the businessman flashed his boarding pass, he was gestured to his seat.

"Welcome aboard. Can I see your ticket?" the male flight attendant asked

I pulled out the ticket stub from my passport and handed it to him.

"A4, just down the aisle and by the window," he said before letting me past to find my seat.

I didn't have to walk too far to find my seat. The first class seating area was dimly lit with cool blue lights and the seats had small cubicles per passenger. The seats were of a comfortable black leather. There was a blanket and pillow and a small lamp by the bed as well as the entertainment system situated on the chair in front of me.

I sat in the seat and buckled myself in. I wasn't going to put my bag into overhead storage so I kept it by my feet. Inside that bag were documents about the latest mission SOSO had sent me on.

SOSO is an organization that uses undercover agents to gain intelligence before eradicating any threat. SOSO agents can be sent anywhere at any time. Crime syndicates, religious cults, terrorist organizations, the list goes on as to what we deal with. I had been taken into their care when I was seven and went through a few years of intensive training.

SOSO agents can go on their first mission aged ten and can go on their last aged seventy. As long as agents are in good condition, they are fit for missions. Plus, you can still go on missions while studying at university (which is what I am doing). My university wasn't too far from SOSO campus so I didn't have to pay for accommodation as I know that accommodation in Oxford is extremely pricey. I do earn money from the missions I do and high risk ones always pay well, I'm talking maybe £200,000 minimum for high risk missions as high risk missions have a high chance of possibly causing the agent death and possibly even risking the security of a country. Only skilled agents are sent on high risk missions as no one can pull you out of the mission if you are captured. On every mission, there is a mission controller who oversees everything. They can easily pull an agent out of a mission if it goes wrong, however, on high risk missions, if an agent is captured, that's it. You're on your own.

My recent mission involved a human trafficking ring that had shipped girls as young as eleven from Eastern Europe to China where the traffickers were located. Rumour had it that a government official was involved in the trafficking, which after my snooping, was discovered to be true. This mission was moderate risk, so I would say that I was probably going to get paid maybe £80,000, maybe slightly more or maybe slightly less. Either way, I was getting paid with money I wouldn't know what to do with. Put it away for the future? Go on a mad shopping spree? God only knows.

When I got back, I would have to do a full report on the notes and evidence I had on my laptop. Reports were tedious as you need to back up everything you write, plus we are given a 5,000 word limit and expect us to write up everything in detail. If I went over, the report would be put through the shredder and I would be told to redo it.

I shuddered at the thought and reached down to my bag and unzipped the front pocket and got out my phone that also acted as my MP3 player.

I turned it on and put it onto aeroplane mode before pressing the music icon and went onto a playlist titled: 'Chill'. I then pressed on the shuffle icon. Chinatown Style by HTRK started playing. The electronic sound used in the song added to the atmosphere. Dark with vivid undertones. I like it when music fits the atmosphere. It makes everything seem more defined and pronounced and that to me is beautiful.

I had stayed in Shanghai for longer than I needed to as Chinese new year celebrations were about to kick off when my mission finished, meaning that the airports were packed and I wanted to see the celebrations as I've never been in China during the new year festivities.

I could faintly hear the beep of the announcement that the plane was ready for take-off. I could feel the plane start to move before it completely stopped. It then started going again before picking up speed and then, I felt weightless as the plane started gaining height. After five minutes or so, the unfasten seatbelt sign started flashing.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned my inflight entertainment machine. I grabbed the remote and started flicking through the films and TV shows on offer. I settled for season 1 of Sherlock. I paused my music and plugged my earphones into the jack that was on the side of the armrest.

I clicked on the play button for episode one and relaxed.

An air hostess came over to me around fifteen minutes later with a trolley in tow. I unplugged one earplug and tore my eyes away from John Watson being deduced by Sherlock Holmes for the first time.

"Would madam like a free beverage before her meal?" The air hostess asked

"A rosé, please?" I replied

"Can I see your ID, please?" she asked

I bent over and reached for my passport. Once I felt the smooth surface of my passport, I handed it to her. Her eyes scanned for my date of birth before she handed it back to me.

"Thank you," she replied

The air hostess opened her cabinet and got out a small bottle of rosé and a plastic cup, she opened my tray and put them on it. The air hostess then handed me a laminated sheet.

"Here is a menu of what is on offer tonight. A vegetarian and vegan option as well as a gluten free option is also optional."

"Thank you." I replied with a smile before the air hostess walked off.

I raised the glass to my lips. The light pink liquid passed my lips and I smiled before resuming the show.

I looked down at the menu and saw Chinese characters on top of the English characters. I grabbed my bag and pulled out my glasses and put them on. As soon as I had read the menu, I had decided on what I wanted. Sweet and sour pork with rice and steamed vegetables and fruit salad for dessert.

The air hostess never came back to give me my dinner. Everything seemed to blur after around five minutes.

It got a bit bumpy which was due to turbulence. I've been on many flights, so turbulence didn't really bother me.

I looked out of my window to see dark clouds forming around the plane. I couldn't see a thing. No light from the city below could push through the dense clouds. Probably rainclouds.

I went back to watching Sherlock.

It wasn't until I heard an earthshattering crash flood through my ears that I yanked out my earphones and looked up to see what the hell was going on.

The first thing I noticed was that everything had gone silent. After such a loud crashing sound, everything was eerily quiet. I stood up and saw that everyone was sitting very quietly. Their entertainment systems had all paused, yet they didn't move. They didn't call anyone over to sort it out. In fact, they were completely frozen.

My eyes widened.

Something really wasn't right.

"Hello?" I called out

No response.

I walked out of my seating area and walked to the nearest person. A middle aged Chinese man wearing a button up shirt and dark blue trousers. I waved my hand in front of him. No response.

I put my hand on his head. No response.

"What the fuck?" I muttered to myself

In fact, the site of all of these people frozen in their seats was horrifying. It was like they were in a limbo between life and death staring at their screens or reading their books with different looks on their faces. Like they were stuck in the moment of the loud crashing sound.

"You're not going to get a response, you silly girl," a masculine voice behind me cooed

I quickly turned my head to see a middle aged man with vivid green eyes. I don't mean vivid green as in like a leafy green, but like a radioactive green that had a disconcerting glow to them.

I didn't know what to do.

"Who the fuck are you and what the hell is going on?" I asked shakily

He chuckled darkly.

"Your hero,"

I crumpled my brows.

"I asked you who you are, not for some riddle," I replied with only a slight quake in my voice.

I took his appearance all in again. He was tall and slender but a lot of his figure was hidden by a heavy black suit jacket. He was also wearing a bowler hat that acted as an attempt to hide his baldness. But he had this grin. It wasn't horrifying or creepy, it was just out of place.

"I am an auditor of death. I control who lives and who dies and who gets special treatment. Like you." He said

"What? Special treatment for what?"

He chuckled darkly.

"This plane has just collided with another which will kill every single passenger and crew member on board. You are being given a choice to stay on this plane and die or go somewhere far from here and live."

"I don't understand. Why me? Of all people who are on this aircraft. Why me?"

Another dark chuckle.

"Because I chose you,"

This man, no, this thing had the nerve to tell me that it was going to save me because it can. I could give a higher up I don't like a strong dose of laxatives in their tea, because I can but that doesn't mean I have to do it. This thing could have let me die a quick death with the rest of the passengers, knowing that I had no choice, but now with a choice, what would be the morally correct thing to do?

"Ha, you chose me? Like some kind of Pokémon. Fuck me, what's my rarity? Am I the human equivalent of a Pikachu or some shit?" I sneered

The thing before me chuckled.

"How very drole. Looks like you really are a little fire cracker, maybe it would be best to perhaps explain a few things to you before you make your decision,"

"And what would that be?"

"The place I'm sending you to is on a different timeline to the one you are currently on. You're not exactly getting sent back or forward in time, it's more that you are getting put into a different reality altogether,"

I crumpled my brows.

"I don't understand,"

The thing sighed.

"I'll use an example. Take a piece of string, be it any colour" black, white, green, blue, any colour you wish. Now wrap another piece of string around it. Now the string you are using is of a different colour. It's not the same as the first string, but it's still connected. Now, imagine multiple strings of so many different colours wrapped around this one piece of string to create almost a rope. The more far out you go, the less connection it has with the original string, yet there is still one thing in common. Can you guess what that is?"

I thought for a moment.

"They are still somewhat connected to the original string?"

"Correct. They are still modelled around that one piece of string. It still has the 'rules' of the first string. That is the explanation of multiple universes and timelines put simply. I assume know of Plato's allegory of the cave, correct?"

I nodded.

"Can you sum it up for me?"

Of all times, why was it now that this thing was asking me to sum up one of the most famous philosophical theories whilst still in a slight daze?

"There are prisoners chained up in a dark cave and they only have a fire as a source of light. There's also a pathway where every day, they are shown puppets, but because they are made to face the wall of the cave, they can only see the shadows of the puppets. Um… hang on,"

I clicked my fingers a few times as I tried to remember the allegory of the cave.

"Oh, they play this game as to who can guess the closest as to what the puppets represent. Then, um, one of the prisoners is set free and he has to go up a steep incline to get out of the cave. Once he's out, he's blinded by the sunlight but then his eyes slowly adjust to the sunlight-"

"You forgot something before the incline," The thing interrupted

I scoffed.

"Oh, right, I forgot. I'm stuck on a plane trapped in time with some… whatever the hell you are trying to remember a bloody philosophical story, I apologize if I miss out a few minor details, really, I do. Let's just cut things short. What are you trying to get at?" I snarled

The thing looked at me carefully.

"You missed that before the prisoner is-"

"For God's sake, forget the story, what are you trying to get at?"

The thing stared at me and narrowed his eyes. He bared his white, pearly teeth in annoyance and took a stride towards me. I gulped and gritted my teeth as he was now irritated. I didn't know what to do. It was like his radioactive green gaze held me in place so that I couldn't move, making him more intimidating and scarier than ever.

"Now, listen here, girl. It's important you understand the layers of the universe. As an auditor of death, I have control of your material universe and if the string your reality is based upon were to be cut because I lost my temper, I could lose my title and possibly be banished, but it can be done. Now, shut up and listen.

I nodded.

Fuck me, he was scary.

His eyes widened slightly and he gave me a grin.

"Anyway, before you had to interrupt, the prisoner is made to stare at the fire and the puppets and the prisoner has to come to realise that the shadows that he thought was his reality was a mere illusion of what his true reality was. However, those puppets are only a mere copy of the real form of things. Rather than getting out of the incline by himself, he is dragged out and is blinded by the light. Care to carry on?"

I nodded.

"Um, he finds that once his eyes have adjusted to the light, he can only look at the shadows of the objects around him. Then he starts looking at the reflections, then he looks at the real things casting the shadows and reflections and he realises that they are more real than the puppets. He then is able to look at the sun and he realises that it is reflecting all of the things around him. He wants to tell the other prisoners what he has seen in the world above, so he goes back into the cave, but he finds that the cave is too dark as his eyes are so used to the outside world. Once he finds the prisoners, he attempts to play the game with the puppets with them, but he finds that he can't even see the wall properly. He tries to tell them of the world outside, but they refuse to listen and end up killing him,"

There is a silence between us.

"Now, you understand the outside of the cave represents the world of Forms, correct?"

I nodded.

"The Forms are like um traits, like beauty, there can be things that are beautiful, but that thing can be destroyed, yet beauty cannot be destroyed," I replied

"Now, the string that is in the centre. That is the true timeline of forms. That is where everything you know exists. Now, you are on an outer string that never touches the original string in the centre, yet from other strings, you have a similar timeline and you have shadows of forms in your timeline as your timeline touches ghosting strings. Only through astral projection can you find the true world of forms or if you are an auditor of death, like me. I needed you to understand this because where I am sending you is similar to your timeline, yet very different,"

"How so?"

"Now, where I am sending you is like the cave. People may not understand you, and you may have seen more of the true world than they have. Now unlike the prisoner that was set free, I want you to play along with the game of shadows. You may not see the shadows, but pretend you can, there may also be a few things that are like the outside world to you, but I want you to keep pushing into the outside world. Don't drag your heels in, explore it. Go outside the cave and become the philosopher, but don't preach to others to become philosophers too as that would tick people off,"

I was now completely lost as to what was being said.

"Now, will you go face the wall or are you willing to explore the cave before seeing the true world?"

"I guess I want to explore the cave"

The thing clapped its hands.

"Excellent, now grab your bag. You might need it for later on,"

I strode over to my seat and grabbed my bag. I quickly remembered to grab my phone and earphones and shoved them into my pocket.

I didn't know what I was doing. It was like I was acting on impulse. I needed to explore this so called cave. I was curious and I guess I wanted to strengthen my knowledge of the known universe.

"What now?" I asked

"Come over here,"

I swung my bag onto my back and took a deep inhale of breath before striding back over to the thing.

"Good, now grab my hand,"

He held out his hand and I tentatively stretched out my own and took his hand.

"Now, remember to stay alive as you explore the cave, understood,"

I nodded.

Was this a messed up dream or some weird twisted reality?

Before my questions could be answered, I felt my feet buckle as it felt like the floor had given way. The hand that I once held was gone and replaced by the air and then I felt the sensation of falling. Where was I falling from? How was I going to land safely without a parachute? Where did the thing disappear to?

"No," was all I could squeak out as I felt an immense pressure surround my body. All of the air in my lungs had been forced out and my ribcage had tightened by tenfold. I could only close my eyes as I could start to feel my whole body start to spin uncontrollably, making me feel sick.

I then landed on my stomach with a thud.

I felt around to make sure that I had landed on a somewhat flat grassy surface. My chest had less pressure surrounding it, but I still felt nauseous. I tentatively opened my eyes and was almost blinded by the sunlight. Like the philosopher.

It took a while for my vision to clear and my hearing to start letting sound in. I could hear the twitter of birds and the soft hum of a conversation.

"Think she's waking up yet?" one voice asked

"Dunno, maybe," said another

"Maybe she's dead," gruffed another

"Shut up, Carlos. Nobody was asking for your opinion,"

I opened my mouth and the only words that came tumbling out of my mouth were:

"What the fuck?"

"See, she is alive," a male voice said

I heard the scuffling of feet coming towards me and I felt the slight pressure of a hand resting on my back. I tensed up and gripped the grass between my fingers as I attempted to find an outlet for my nausea.

I then came to the uncomfortable realisation that whatever contents was in my stomach was going to make a surprise reappearance as I felt my stomach start to constrict and my throat tighten. However, I felt like I didn't have the strength to sit up properly as my face was pressed up against the ground. Meaning that whatever was coming out of my mouth was going on to my face.

I took a few deep breaths before I heaved noisily and I felt a rush of warmth exit my mouth.

"Sit her up!" a female voice said

I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders and pull me back as I heaved again, making me vomit on my thighs.

"Fucking hell," I burbled

I felt soft hands rubbing soothing circles on my back. I started breathing normally once I realised that I was no longer going to throw up.

Once I regained some of my strength, I turned around to see a man of Asian descent kneeling next to me. If I were to put an age on him, I'd guess around 21, maybe 22. He wasn't scared of me. He was more interested into the fact that I was there. He was wearing a flowery shirt and three quarter length beige trousers.

"I guess you're the last one." He said

"The last one where?"

The guy looked around nervously.

"I don't know,"

I huffed.

"Helpful," I muttered

So were they in the same situation as I was? Had they somehow cheated death and were now wondering where the hell they were?

"What's your name?" I asked

"The name's Peter. Peter Jung. Over there are Carlos de Santos and Carmen Owens. Oh, and to your left is Terrence Baker. I guess you were saved by the Minute Man too." He said

"The Minute Man?" I asked

"He saved us from death at the last minute. Hence the nickname." Peter said sweetly

I smirked.

"You consider that thing a man?" I asked

Peter furrowed his brows.

"Well, he was in the form of a man,"

"What about his eyes?" I asked

"What about his eyes?" Terrence questioned

"They were a weird colour. They were almost unsettling,"

The girl, Carmen nodded.

"I know what you mean. It was like his eyes were able to read me like a book. They were so vivid, it was almost unearthly,"

I shuddered and the group almost fell into a deadly silence when Peter piped up:

"Can we have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Charlotte Hill," I replied

He smiled.

"It's a pretty name. You're British right?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Was my accent that obvious?" I asked sarcastically

As we chatted, I started to notice the appearance of the people around me.

Carmen was very pretty. She had dark brown hair that was curled and just touched her waist. Her eyes were a pretty shade of green. Not like the radioactive disaster of the eyes of the Minute Man, but like a subtle green with flecks of brown patterned around her iris. Her skin was tanned and she had a skinny figure. She looked slightly younger than me, although I don't think I'd be able to give an age.

Carlos had black hair and tanned skin. His eyes were brown and his dark hair was in a messy tousled style. His figure was athletic and he looked cool in denim jeans and a white shirt. I assume he was maybe eighteen, but again, I couldn't be too sure. His head was in his lap and he looked angry and upset at the same time. I guess I couldn't blame him. Losing friends and family in a blink of an eye is traumatic within itself, then being snatched up into another universe, it must have hit him badly.

Terrence had pale skin and grey eyes. His hair was in a mop style and was dark blonde in colour. He had a more solemn look on his face and what struck me was his very muscular build. It was almost like he had injected muscular implants into his arms to make them large and bulky. He had a slight stubbly beard which made him look like he was going through some sort of midlife crisis.

Peter had lightly tanned skin and brown eyes. He had his dark black hair in a taper cut. He had one of the widest smiles I have ever seen which didn't look fake. He had a regular build with maybe a bit of muscle coming through.

"Peter, what he told you since he gave you money." Said Carlos in a low mumble. South America. Columbia

"He gave you money?" I asked

Peter nodded.

"He said the same thing to me as he did Carmen. All he said was that we were somewhere in the future but it had been broken up and humanity was now cowering behind walls." Was Peter's reply

"The cave," I murmured to myself

Was this wall supposedly surrounding us the cave? Something that humankind would live in and only call truth?

"What was that?" Peter asked

"Have you ever heard of the allegory of the cave?" I asked

Everyone except Terrence shook their heads.

In all honesty, I didn't want to retell the story so I waved off the idea.

Hang on.

Why would this Minute Man, this thing tell me something and not them? No, something really wasn't right. Surely, this Minute Man would want us to all be on the same page once we got here, right?

"Ok, so how did you all come to get here?" I asked

Everyone looked down as if they didn't want to speak about it.

I instantly felt terrible. We had just had in a near death experience and they probably didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" I gushed before Terrence cut me off.

"It's fine. I was in a hiking around the base of the Andes when I came across a bear. I guess I made too much of a racket and the thing was hungry and pissed off. It started chasing me but I tripped and twisted my ankle. It was about to pounce on me until 'he' showed up and I woke up here."

There was another silence before Carmen piped in.

"I have an allergy to wasps. I was out with friends in the countryside when I was almost stung. I have a severe allergy so if it did sting me, I would've died as there were no payphones or service in the area. Before I was stung, he appeared and Bing bang boom, I arrived here."

We were looking around our group to see who would talk next.

Silence.

So I broke it.

"I was on a plane to London from Shanghai after going on holiday to see some friends for New Year. The plane collided with another plane and the whole thing was going to go down in flames until this Minute Man arrived." I said

I had to lie. These guys couldn't know who I really was. I don't know how well they'd react if I told them I worked for a spy agency so I decided to tell them half-truths.

In all honesty, I was still slightly shaken. I have been parachuting out of a plane before but never had I been in a plane that had crashed and been that close to death. I have had guns pressed to my head and knives to my throat but I knew how to get out of that situation. Never have I felt so powerless that some entity that was out of this world have to help me.

"I was cliff diving with friends. It was in an unknown place so we wouldn't have known that the water hid some pretty sharp rocks. Anyways, I went face first towards the rocks when... you know what happens next." Said Peter quietly.

I noticed Peter give Carmen a slight nod before looking to Carlos.

We all turned to Carlos who we expected to start telling us his story. Instead, we were met with a timid looking guy. He had tucked his head into his knees before looking up with tears in his eyes.

"It's weird how we're just talking about our near death experiences like nothing happened. How can you guys do it?"

"You don't have to tell us if you..." Terrence started

"Us? We've only just met and already we're playing happy families?" Pah. Why do I need to tell you? I don't even know you!" He yelled

"Calm down. I know we've just seen the impossible but-" Peter tried to reason

"But what? I want to go home!" He yelled

That made us all go quiet.

We were all trying to make everything better by making friends just to make this whole experience less painful than it really was, but now Carlos had hit us with what we were all thinking. We all wanted to go back to familiarity but it was like a mission the Minute Man had set us, well, me on. To explore this place. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it was either this or death and I made that decision and I had to stick with it.

"Fine. I'll find my way around without you fucking morons!" Carlos snarled before standing up and walking off.

Carmen went to stand up and go after him but Peter shook his head.

"Let him," Peter said quietly.

"But-"

Peter cut her off with a look.

I just watched the scene unfold.

Then it hit me. I wasn't going to see my friends ever again. Marie, Mark, Clara, Gina, Thalia, Zack, Ellen. They were too far from my reach.

The work I had just done, the people I have saved. Gone.

University. No more.

That cute guy who sits behind me in lectures. Gone.

All of these emotions started welling up until I couldn't take it anymore.

As a spy, you get used to grizzly sights and the feeling of always being in danger, but there was always a comfort in that danger. It was knowing what was dangerous and what was not and finding that out in a somewhat controlled environment.

We are told that emotions aren't damaging or something that we should hide. Emotions are key as to what makes us human and lack of makes you an empty vessel. As a spy, you are encouraged to get rid of your pent up emotion through sport, or art, or whatever as long as it wasn't destructive. If it became destructive, it became a problem which made you less capable as a spy.

All I wanted to do was lie in my bed whilst listening to music and staring at the blank canvas that was my wall. I would imagine all sorts of things, imagining I was a book character, imagining I could play a musical instrument decently and maybe performing it.

I would then get my laptop out and watch a series on Netflix with a side of microwaved nachos with warm cheese sauce with grated cheese on top, then I would raid the cupboards for something else. Crackers, chocolate, cup noodles, crisps, maybe even left overs in the fridge.

After I finish watching whatever I was watching, I would go into my en-suite bathroom and run a hot bath. I would put my hair into a bun and put scented oils and maybe a bath bomb in. I would then light a few candles. I would get into the bath and relax and I would only get out once the water went cold. Once that happened, I would dry myself off and put on a fluffy dressing gown and surround myself with warmth. I then go into the kitchen and make myself a cup of green tea before going back into my room. I would put my mug onto the bedside table and take off my dressing gown and get into bed.

To lull myself to sleep, I would read a classical novel (as quite a few are dull and pretty boring) whilst taking sips of tea. Once I considered myself tired enough, I would fold the corner of the page, turn off the light and go to sleep. I would have my alarm set for maybe 5:30 the next morning, so that I could exercise and get rid of all of the junk I had eaten the day before.

I must have gone into some trance like state as I suddenly saw a hand waving in front of me.

"Oh sorry," I murmured

Terrence was standing before me. He grinned before offering me is hand. I took his hand and he helped me up and gain my balance.

"You alright, love?" he asked

I nodded

"Yeah, sorry I spaced out a bit," I replied

Terrence chuckled.

"Nah, don't worry about it. We're all gonna go and explore the place, you feel alright to walk around?"

I nodded.

I felt around on my back and noticed my backpack wasn't on there. I widened my eyes and looked at the spot where I was once lying face down and saw that my backpack wasn't there.

"Where's my backpack?" I asked

Terrence jumped.

"I have it, sorry. I wanted to take the pressure off your back." Terrence said as he handed it to me

"Thanks," I said carefully

Please don't tell me he went through my bag. Fuck fuck FUCK!

I swung it onto my back and saw that the three people were waiting for me.

"You ready?" Carmen asked

I nodded.

"I'm ready," I replied

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

A/N:

I started a new account as I was having problems with my last account.

Sorry for the inconvenience.