Alex Johnson –Uinta Mountains, Utah
Alex was really starting to hate this wall climber. He had just climbed down his third cliff of the evening and followed the wall climber's trail across the little valley only to realize that once again he just had to climb up another cliff on the other side. It had already been dark for at least an hour and so Alex decided to set up camp for the night at the bottom of this cliff that he was going to have to climb in the morning.
Mark Smith and David Jacobs –Uinta Mountains, Utah
Mark and David continued running up the mountain following Alex's trail. They had been going for around an hour and a half, an hour of which had been in the dark. It was going a little quicker because David had been up there before, and knew exactly where the hiker had been rescued, but even so it was a little slower than it might have been had it not been dark. David knew that they were getting close to the cliff that the hiker had fallen down, when suddenly Mark and David both ran straight off the cliff.
Rafael de Souza –São Paulo, Brazil
Rafael had been sitting in the tree for what felt like hours, waiting for the power to come back on. He just sat there, unmoving and unblinking, staring at that VCRs, until finally the streetlights lit up and the VCR started flashing 12:00. Strangely, after hours of not blinking, Rafael's eyes weren't even dried out in the slightest, nor did he feel wet at all, though a light rain had continued the entire time.
Rafael climbed down the tree and walked over to the payphone where he made a collect call to his parents' house. His dad answered the phone, sounding tired, but clearly awake and alert. Upon realizing that it was his son on the phone José said, "Meu filho, tu tá bem? Eu estava tão preocupado. O que aconteceu? Onde está?" My son, are you ok? I was so worried. What happened? Where are you?
"Eu tô bem, pai. Me sequestraram, mas rapei fora. Eles não saibam onde eu estou, já faz um bom tempo, tenho esperado a força voltar pra te ligar." I'm OK, dad. I was kidnapped, but got away. They haven't known where I am for awhile now, I've been waiting for the power to come back on so I could call you.
"Tu sabe onde está," Do you know where you are? José asked, glad that his son was OK.
Rafael ran over to the corner of the street and looked at the sign that said Rua Duque de Caxias. He ran back to the payphone and told his dad, but this didn't help his dad much, there must be at least 50 streets named Duque de Caxias in São Paulo. "Rafael, qual é o número da orelhão?" Rafael, what's the number on the payphone? Rafael looked at the payphone and read the number to his dad. "Tá bom, fica aí meu filho e vou estar aí logo." OK, stay there son and I'll be there soon.
About 20 minutes went by before a police car came by. A police officer got out and started calling Rafael's name. Rafael climbed down the tree he was once again hiding in while waiting for his father. "Seu pai está chegando. Vem esperar no carro pra não ficar na chuva." Your father's on his way. Come wait in the car to get out of the rain.
Rafael climbed in the police car and waited another 5 minutes before he saw his father's car pull up right behind them. Rafael jumped out of the police car and ran over to his father before he was even able to get out of the car. José gave him a hug, holding him close and said, "Tu deve ter pegado febre da chuva, tá quentinho." You must have caught a fever from the rain, you're burning up. Rafael looked at his father oddly and looked back down at himself. He didn't feel like he had a fever, he felt just fine.
Half an hour later Rafael and his father were walking into the front door of their very large house. José turned the lights on and Rafael flinched in pain from the sudden brightness. Before his eyes even had time to adjust to the bright light he was being smothered by hugs from his mother, two younger sisters, and younger brother.
Though Rafael was glad to see his family he was tired and had a headache from the bright light, so he went upstairs to his bedroom. Before climbing into bed, Rafael went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He noticed that his pupils were very small and narrow, barely a slit, but that as he looked at them they dilated back to their normal shape and size, and the light didn't seem to hurt his eyes as much.
Rafael climbed into bed, no longer thinking about the kidnapping, but wondering what was happening with his body. Wondering how he was able to see in the dark so well, and how he saw that VCR from across the street, and why his body was so warm when his dad found him, and why he barely even got wet while in the rain for hours. He drifted off into strange dreams while pondering over these things.
Melissa Dalton –Los Angeles, California
Melissa was in Elysian Park running. She always liked to go running in the morning while it was still cool outside and there weren't many people out yet. She liked the peace of the early morning and the time to think about things while running before she had to start her day. As she was running around the pond a man in a black hoodie jumped out in front of her and tackled her. He picked her up and started to drag her over towards the trees. She kicked and struggled to get free, but he was much larger and stronger than her and just continued to pull her into the park forest where nobody would see them.