CHAPTER 1: Letters to Fabian

Dear Fabian,

I miss you. It's been too long without you - three months exactly - and I just can't do this anymore. Every day I get up for more testing and poking. I'm not sure exactly what they want from me, but they seem so intent on finding it that they won't let me go. And I just really need to see you, or hear your voice or something. It's so hard to sit here every day and know that I could be at Anubis with you. That you could be holding me right now, but you're not. I need you. I love you. I'm sorry I can't be there right now.

Love always,

Nina

"Bring her in here." the head member of testing said. The guards that had my hands brought me into the same white room I'd been led into every day for three months. They sat me in a chair and ripped hair off, stuck needles into my arms, and ran scans over every part of me. It hurt terribly, but I just kept thinking about the letter I had written Fabian that morning - another letter that would never get sent.

"We're done for today." the head member finally declared. I was sent back up to my house, where Gran was waiting in the kitchen with hot coffee and Christmas bread.

"Did it hurt bad today?" she asked me when I entered.

"No."

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"Nina, aside from this testing, what's wrong?" Gran wondered.

"I miss him." I said simply, a tear sliding down my cheek.

"I know, dear. I know you do. But you have to find someone here for now."

"No one can replace him!" I shouted. Gran shook her head sadly, and I got up and ran to my bedroom, where I frantically began throwing clothes into my Anubis suitcase.

That night, I crawled into my bed knowing full well I wouldn't still be in it the next day. Of course, no one else knew that. At around eleven, when everyone was asleep, I slid out of bed and into a warm sweater and skinny jeans. I brushed my hair out so it looked presentable, but put off the makeup. Making sure Gran and Aunt Elizabeth wouldn't hear me, I threw my packed suitcase out the open window, where it landed with a soft thud that was definitely inaudible from my family's rooms down the hall. I grabbed my wallet, which contained all of my licenses, several hundred pounds, and a hundred dollars, shoved it in my pocket, and left, hailing a taxi cab as I ran down our busy street. When one stopped for me, I got in and requested the Portland airport, clutching my plane ticket to England in my hand.

When we pulled up to the airport, I paid the driver, got out, and ran to my plane, passing security in a heartbeat. I was ushered to seat 13 and given a wifi password and menu. Nothing appealed to me, as my stomach was still churning from my quick escape. But I pulled out my laptop and began breaking through the disabled websites as Maine fell back in the distance. The "testers", as I called them, had blocked off Facebook, Twitter, the school connect called Anubook, Tumblr, and virtually any other type of communication website. Luckily, when I was far enough away from them, the connection was easier to break. I killed firewalls and figured out the passwords they'd put up to keep me off easily. Mainly they were things like "ninamariemartin" and "testingroom82". I guess you could say they were all very invested in the experiment.

Once I was finally able to log onto Anubook, I checked my messages. There were over 1,000 of them! Almost every one said, "I miss you, come back!" and were from my Anubis mates. But Fabian had sent some too, telling me how much it hurt to be without me and how he loved me. Just before the tears started falling, the flight attendant announced that we would be landing in Liverpool shortly. I cheered silently, and packed my things.

The whole half hour train ride from Liverpool to Wallasey, where Anubis House is, my heart was pounding. Images kept flashing through my head, fears of them not caring that I was back, especially Fabian. But I remembered how one of the messages he sent me was from just the day before, and exactly what it read.

Neens, please come back soon. I can't bear being without you anymore. I love you. Fabian.

That kept my hopes up the rest of the ride, and when we reached the train station and my taxi came, I was relieved. I would be seeing my friends soon! The taxi driver opened his door and yelled, "Miss Martin?" in the thick English accent that I missed so terribly.

"That's me!" I yelled back happily, rolling my suitcase to the car and feeling a little bit of deja-vu.

"Alright, well, throw your things in the back there," the driver said, pointing to the open trunk, "and climb right in." He held the door open for me, and I slid into the car, taking in the smell of cinnamon air freshener and his cologne, which, strangely, smelled nice.

"So, is this yer first time to England?" the man asked nicely.

"No, I go to school here." I responded quickly, a smile spreading quickly across my face.

"Oh. How come yer coming in the middle of the year then, miss?" he wondered in his gruff voice. He reminded me of Hagrid from Harry Potter, and this conversation reminded me of my first ride to Anubis house two years ago.

"I um - I had some things to take care of back in America." I answered quietly. The driver nodded, changing the subject to something even more awkward.

"Are ya nervous to be goin back?" he asked.

"No."

"Ya don't think anybody's gonna wish ya hadn't come back?"

"No, my friends miss me."

"A'ight, glad to hear it, missy." he smiled, showing off a few missing teeth but a happy grin. Until a cow from a nearby pasture decided to cross the road. I think he had gotten out of his pen, as the gate to the pasture he came from was wide open.

"Oy! You over there!" my driver yelled, "move outta my way!" I laughed quietly. It was amusing seeing the man get angry at a cow. The cow looked at the driver, looked back to his pasture, looked back at the driver, continued chewing his cud, and walked across.

"F***ing cows." Mr. Charles (his name plate was propped up on the the dash) muttered when he thought I couldn't hear.

Five minutes later, we showed up at the Frobisher-Smythe school. It was just how I remembered it, but nicer because I was excited to get there. The iron sign above the old brick entrance read, "Frobisher-Smythe Academy" in big, bold letters. Trees and flowers lined the gravel drive, and the grass was bright under the still present half-moon, and coated in dew. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I mentally squealed of excitement. We pulled up in front of Anubis house, (which looked creepier at night than it did during the day) and I almost screamed.

"A'ight, missy, here we are." Mr. Charles smiled. I handed him money, thanked him kindly, and pulled my things up to the door.

I hope you guys liked it, I know I said I'd be uploading a new story soon ... this is it! Look out for chapter 2 by next week! - Sydney