June 8, 2017
"Are you sure this is the right spot? It's disgusting!" Toni looked at me questioningly with an arched eyebrow. We had been participating in a radio station contest since mid-morning, trying to win tickets to a Paul McCartney concert. As close as us two cousins were, Beatles was the only thing we could agree on music-wise as being a great band.
The contest's treasure hunt directions had led us to a pretty grimy looking alleyway. We weren't sure this was correct, as our directions looked smudgy and scribbled upon, but the DJ had assured us we would be alright.
The two of us were just about ready to turn around, but before I could blink, a massive white light appeared in front of us. It was sparkling and captivating, but by far not correct for an alley in Los Angeles. I felt a tingling sensation and Toni appeared frozen in place. There was a suction as I felt myself being pulled closer and closer, until it seemed as if I were inside the light, and it was filled by a mystical nothingness, like I was in a different reality. I couldn't tell if I was sitting, standing, floating, or flying. Suddenly, like a light switch had been shut off, I was thrust into an overpowering darkness. When I stopped holding my breath, my lungs already felt like they were burning. I felt around for Toni, but was only lightly able to feel her shoulder as we seemed to be pulled apart from one another in some odd vertigo.
Time Unknown
I slowly eased my eyes open. My senses felt jumbled and I was crazy dizzy, so it was hard to notice my surroundings. I started falling forward, but was caught by a wall. I saw Toni leaning on the same wall a few feet down, looking pale and nauseous, and her thin frame trembling.
Slowly, I began to lift myself off the wall, stumbling to stand on my own two feet, and gave a prolonged blink to steady my vision. Seeing clearly now, we were in the same place as before, but it looked… different. What was that light? It looked so captivating, and suddenly it felt as if we had been plunged into zero-gravity. How was that even possible?
I had a sickly feeling growing in the bit of my stomach, and it didn't go away with the sound of a voice standing near us. "Hey girls," his voice was silky smooth and quiet, the kind that knew how to not attract attention. Pivoting, the two of us came to face a man of about 5'10" with greasy, slicked back dark hair. I try not to judge a book by its cover, but this was a fairly sleazy looking cover.
Toni eyed him cautiously as he took a few steps forward, closer to where we were standing against the wall. Another frame stepped out of the shadows of the back of the alleyway. "You have some chicks there, Drake?" These were definitely thugs, and we appeared to be trapped.
I tried my best to look menacing to make them think we were not a force to be reckoned with, and Toni did the same. We tried walking out into broad daylight, hoping to be left alone. No such luck. A hand connected to the wall in front of my face, causing Toni to slam into my back.
The one called Drake sneered at us, "Oh, you ain't getting' away so easily ladies, are they Jace?" I still couldn't stand straight from what had happened, what seemed like ages ago. That light had been so blinding… Jace seized Toni by the wrists, yanking her arms behind her back, and she looked like she was about to faint. I felt pretty close to unconsciousness myself, too. My eyes began to flutter shut. Before I could completely black out, I could hear footsteps and a new voice entered the conversation. "Hey what do you think you creeps are doing!" I heard a fist collide with Drake's temple.
"Beat it, brats." Jace hissed at whoever the newcomers were. Was it possible we could be rescued?
"Then le' 'em go you punks." Another voice, it sounded English, cry out. By this point, it was a near impossible fight to try and keep myself awake. I had no clue where Toni was, or if she was alright. I focused on trying to keep myself conscious. There was yelling going on around me, and I could hear punches, kicks and groans . My legs inevitably gave out underneath me, and the concrete enveloped my body like a distant, cold friend. The world went dark around me, and my head spun with a million different shades of grey, before everything became completely black.