Frights and Fights

Maddy laid on the couch watching an old movie on her plex. With Zoe's blanket wrapped around her Maddy grew sleepy. Her eyes had started to close when she heard a creak from the floor behind her. Her eyes had widened with fear and she froze, listening intently. When there was another creak she flew off the couch quickly spinning around. She got tangled up in the blanket and fell narrowly missing the coffee table. Looking up she saw a certain blue-eyed boy standing with his hands over his head, posed for attack. Unable to control his laughter anymore it burst out doubling him over.

"I'm sorry Maddy," he barely choked out. He bent over her and helped her out of the blanket (Which she had been ferociously fighting with ever since she had fallen). Pulling the blanket to eye level Mark amusingly looked it up and down. The baby blue blanket was covered in cute cartoon dinosaurs that were various colors. "I love it, it is just so you," Mark teased.

"Oh shut up Mark you know that it's Zoe's," she justified slapping his arm with every word. "Plus you nearly gave me a heart attack. Wait. How did you get in here without opening the front door? The front door has an undeniable squeak that you could clearly hear from anywhere in the house."

"Your window was open," he smiled.

"That's because it was a nice day out. NOT because I wanted you to sneak in here and almost kill me."

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Mark pouted. She looked at him questionably then smiled.

"How could she stay mad at that face?" Uncrossing her arms she wrapped them around his waist and pulled him close.

"Wanna go for a walk?" At that moment she knew exactly where he was suggesting. Her muffled response was like music to her ears and he smiled into her hair.

"Always."

It was nearly ten when Maddy opened the front door to her beautiful home and nearly skipped inside. She had been out with Mark all day and was happier than ever. They had spent the day in the orchards and she had pointed the different species of plants and explained them. No matter how long she ranted about the flora he had listened intently and smiled. Opening her eyes from her daydream Maddy spotted her mom and dad silently discussing who knows what. She could hear the faint strumming of Josh's guitar through his door and his low hum.

"Good night sweetie," Her mom said as Maddy walked into her room.

"Good night mom, 'Night dad."

"Good night Maddy," her father joined in.

Closing the door behind her Maddy knelt down beside the sleeping form of her sister. "Mark told me to give you this," she whispered. Kissing Zoe's forehead and wiping the dirt from her sister's cheek. Apparently dad had once again forgotten to get Zoe to take a bath. Maddy suddenly grew very tired and she slipped into bed without changing out of her clothes.

Maddy woke up early (as she always did on a Saturday morning). Her father had already left for work and her mom was getting ready to head out as well.

"Morning sweetheart," her mom said Dr. Shannon grabbed her lab coat leaned over the table and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I won't be back until later tonight because of a surgery so you have to take Zoe to the park to play with her friends from school. Okay Maddy?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Bye."

"Bye mom." She couldn't quite get over this feeling that she had in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head, "Probably just another Shannon hunch" she jokingly whispered to herself.

After she had dropped Zoe off at the park Maddy was once again alone. She had gotten accustomed to it, after all those years in 2149 when nobody talked to her or invited her to sleepovers. Her hand reactively traced the scar that she had on her hairline. You could barely see it, but of course Mark had noticed it and practically interrogated her for the answer. Once again like the many times in her past Maddy found herself studying ahead in the textbook. She heard the same exact creak on the floor she had heard yesterday afternoon. "I would have thought you would have learned after yesterday." She smirked at her comment waiting for Mark to answer. When she didn't hear one she turned around to see if anybody was there. She tried to scream, but a hand closed around her mouth. With a quick jab from a sonic pistol Maddy was knocked out cold.

The youngest Shannon pulled open the clinic doors and stomped as loudly as she could up to her mother.

"Hey sweetheart. Where's Maddy?"

"How would I know?" Zoe complained,"Maddy left me at the park." Her mother looked at her with wide eyes and her mouth open.

"She left you at the park. " Zoe crossed her arms and nodded her head ferociously."That doesn't sound like her," Dr. Shannon mumbled to herself."Come on Zoe we will go home and see if Maddy is ok. Katherine, would you fill in for me while I'm gone?" Her fellow colleague smiled politely.

"Of course Elisabeth."

It was silent as the two Shannon girls made their way home. Unlocking the front door and stepping inside everything looked the way that Dr. Shannon had left it this morning.

"Maddy. Where are you? Maddy?" Elizabeth called. She walked all throughout the house and looked in every room. Maddy was nowhere to be found. She saw that Zoe had grabbed her dinosaur blanket from off the couch and was getting a snack from the fridge. Something didn't look right she did not remember there being a red dinosaur on the blanket. Getting a closer look she knelt down behind Zoe and gasped."Zoe pumpkin don't move."

"Oh no mommy is it a bug? Go away spider GO GO GO. We don't like you NO NO NO!"

"Zoe!" Elizabeth interrupted.

Taking the blanket from a reluctant Zoe she laid it out on the table and hurriedly walked to Taylor's office.

Mark was in the middle of his shift when Taylor commed for him.

"Reynolds we need you in my office immediately."

"Yes sir." Mark had to suppress the urge to run to Taylor's office. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be good news. When he burst through the door to Taylor's office and was met by the eyes of four worried Shannon's his fears had come true.

"Where is she?" He immediately demanded.

"We don't know." Taylor replied calmly.

Maddy woke up to being thrown around in the back of a Rhino. She tried to sit up, but when she did her head exploded with a white light. Very slowly she laid her head back down on the floor of the Rhino.

"Here take this it will keep you from jeering your pretty little head."

Maddy looked up to see who had said the voice and saw Lucas handing her a backpack. Roughly she grabbed it and slowly laid her head on it. It felt so good to be keeping her head off the hard metal floor of the Rhino. Maddy let out a sigh that was loud enough that Lucas heard it. The Rhino hit a hard bump and caused Maddy's head to be jostled roughly. Grimacing at the pain Maddy grabbed her forehead.

"You know I didn't want to hit you, but I also couldn't have you ruin my plan. Here take these."

He handed her two small purple pills that Maddy recognized from the internship that she had with her mother. It was a powerful pain killer that frequently knocked people out. After mulling it over in her head Maddy decided to take them. The pain seized and she off in her own perfect dream world.