Arelle

It had been half an hour since Lizzy had stormed away and in that time I had thought about what she had said, and decided to ditch and try to catch up with Lizzy to apologize; though I doubted it. (Saint Joan's was huge! Everyone in the past five hundred years of Crestwood's history was buried here.) I guess it was kind of immature of me to make stupid bets like that.

I had just finished packing up my bag when I heard an ear splitting, "RARR!"

What was that? I thought.

"Ahh!" Just then, I heard a sickening scream that I was sure came from my best friend. Lizzy! I thought, as I ran to what I hoped would be her rescue rather than our deaths.

I ran, and I didn't stop running: I just kept following the howls and screams on my way to save my friend. I didn't think, I just ran; though I could feel my energy and strength leave me as I started to slow my pace.

"Come on!" I cried, frustrated with my sudden lack of energy. I was almost there! I could hear what sounded like a fight raging on just beyond my sight.

And in that moment, as I stretched my muscles to make the final sprint; I asked myself: what am I running to? It's most likely dangerous and I'll probably get hurt. Is it worth it? Do I care enough about my friend to risk my safety to save her from who-knows-what? I halted to a stop as I observed the miniature battle: two boys fighting a monster with a bull's face and legs and a man's upper body. The first boy I noticed had dark hair and sea-green eyes. He wielded a sword and was thrusting and slicing at the monster. (Probably a college kid) The second boy I recognized as Lizzy's classmate; Nico, or something like that. Getting crushed in one of the bull-man's meaty fists was my best friend.

"Lizzy!" I cried, trying to get her attention. "What's going on?"

"Arelle… is that you?" Lizzy wheezed.

"Lizzy, I'll get you down from there!" I shouted, while I got distracted by the two really cute guys who were trying to save her.

"No, Arelle!" Lizzy commanded me. Suddenly my head jerked in her direction and I wanted nothing more than to obey her every command. "Run home and don't look back!" Even though I didn't want to leave her, Lizzy's words were too hypnotizing. I knew I might regret leaving her here, but what could I do but run and hope that monster didn't follow me?

My heart pounded as I opened the front door of the abandoned apartment building that I had been calling home for three years. By now, the feeling was gone. Even still, I didn't need Lizzy's words to make me want to hide in a corner. I rushed up the rickety stairs and dashed to the attic where my bedroom was. I dove for my bed and was under the covers in a flash.

I had spent the past half hour under the covers. Nothing had happened and I found myself in an awkward situation: I was a terrified girl, afraid to leave her bed and I had to go pee. After a couple minutes of being uncomfortable, I finally worked up the nerve to crawl out from the safety of my covers to head to the bathroom. I was on my hands and knees crawling to the door when I noticed a bright glow coming from the other side of the closed door. Before you could count to three I was back under the covers, trembling like crazy. (Why was I always such a wussy?)

When I peeked over the edge of my covers I saw a floating envelope with my name and address scrawled neatly on the front. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. Then the envelope turned around and I saw a seal stamped in red wax. Then the wax parted and formed a mouth. Suddenly I didn't have to go pee anymore.