Alita's POV:

I had managed to lose the specter in the woods.

I moved quietly among the trees, not feeling safe enough to risk walking along one of the trails. He was still out here, somewhere, waiting for me…

Despite all the time I've spent walking through these woods, I wasn't really sure where I was. I had managed to get turned around during the chase.

A twig snapped, & I froze. After a few long seconds of silence, I glanced down. I was the one who had stepped on a twig. I carefully continued on my way, being careful where I stepped.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Jeremy.

"How's it going?" he asked. "We could really use your help on Lyoko."

"I lost him." I said. "I'm making my way to the factory now, but I'm not sure how long that'll take…" I trailed off, hearing another twig snap. I glanced down. This time it was not me.

"Jeremy, I think he found me." I said. I hung up & started moving as quickly as I dared. I saw a path through the trees. I would be out in the open, but the ground was flat. Maybe I could put some distance between us before hiding among the trees again…

I sprinted along the path…& the specter stepped out of the woods in front of me. I tried to stop, but I slid instead. I tried to get my feet back under me, but he grabbed my arm & my vision swam. He was taking my codes!

My vision started to darken. I had to fight against passing out. I couldn't let XANA get any stronger!

I fought back, trying to twist out of his grip, but he was too strong. I could barely move.

"I've just given her a sedative." a voice said from somewhere nearby. That was weird. XANA's new specters didn't talk. "She should settle down soon."

I didn't know who he was talking to, but I had a pretty good idea who he was talking about. I wasn't going to make this easy for him.

"Let…me…go!" I said, twisting this way & that, trying to break his hold on me. It was no use. He was too strong for me, & it felt like more than one was holding me. How many were there?

I tried to look behind me, to see how many I was up against. Instead of the woods, I saw that we were in a small white room with very little furniture. Everything was a blur, but there were at least two specters holding me.

How did I get here?

Where did the other specter come from?

My legs gave out from under me, & I knew there was no hope. I kept struggling, but my movements were slow & sluggish. The specters caught me as I fell. I caught sight of the logo on his shirt.

Kadic Mental Health Facility.

That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

After taking about a month off from the end of my last story until now, it feels good to be back!

I'm writing this as part of our annual Writing Month over on XANA's Lair. The challenge is to write a story with 25,000 words during the month of July. Those of you who know me know that that's not likely to happen…but I'm going to do my best, & hopefully we'll have a lot of fun along the way!

Please review!