Chapter One
She couldn't breathe. Someone was hastily tying her mouth shut with ropes. They were hard and severely tightened, the rough surface scratching against her cheek. It seemed like someone, at the same time, was binding her hands together in one swift movement as she struggled to free herself. She wriggled in her seat, struggling to take the fastenings off of her mouth and arms. If she could see, it was definitely hard to do. A faint vision of an old and empty room came to her eyes, but it left as soon as it came, and her eyes seemed to have a piece of cloth or a bandana over them. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud, spitting out bits of rope that had gotten tangled in her tongue. There was a scurrying of feet but no answer came from the other side of the room. She blinked hard, as if attempting to get the material off of her eyes, but it was hopeless. There was some strong bond that would not allow any force inside of the cloth to free itself. The girl was angry now, and she began to scream. A bustling of feet told her that someone was approaching. They did not reveal who or what they were, however; they simply walked towards her and stood at alert watch or guard. It was becoming clear that the girl was in some sort of prison, a dungeon stalked by hundreds of busy lookouts on patrol. She sat for a moment in deep thought, the bindings cutting off her circulation quickly. If she was being held captive, and watched, there was simply no way to get out. It seemed as if the world would end. "Fetch Nagini," came a cold voice from a chair near the hearth. "It is time for her snack."
Cooper Springer bolted up in bed. She was breathing very hard, as if she had just run a mile, and her hair was wet with perspiration. Cooper wriggled her feet, as if to check if they were not bound together, and gave a look of relief to her ceiling. It was all a dream, she told herself calmly. There is nothing to worry about now. But it had all seemed so real, said a voice in the back of Cooper's head. It had felt like it was actually happening. Cooper sat in the silence of the night for a minute, waiting for the voice to come back, but there was only stillness. She glanced to the luminous alarm clock that stood on her nightstand, angrily puffing up her pillow as she realized that it was just half-past-twelve. It would be six more hours until Cooper would be allowed to get up; six long hours of fear, nightmares, and sweat. After about a half hour, when it was just past one o' clock, Cooper flung back her sheets and walked over to the desk that stood stationary by the window. She pulled out a sheet of parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill, and scribbled something down very quickly. Cooper had always been told to write down her dreams after having them, if she could remember the details at all. So as she hastily wrote the lurid terror that she had been experiencing, Cooper did not notice a small brown owl tapping at her window.
She couldn't breathe. Someone was hastily tying her mouth shut with ropes. They were hard and severely tightened, the rough surface scratching against her cheek. It seemed like someone, at the same time, was binding her hands together in one swift movement as she struggled to free herself. She wriggled in her seat, struggling to take the fastenings off of her mouth and arms. If she could see, it was definitely hard to do. A faint vision of an old and empty room came to her eyes, but it left as soon as it came, and her eyes seemed to have a piece of cloth or a bandana over them. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud, spitting out bits of rope that had gotten tangled in her tongue. There was a scurrying of feet but no answer came from the other side of the room. She blinked hard, as if attempting to get the material off of her eyes, but it was hopeless. There was some strong bond that would not allow any force inside of the cloth to free itself. The girl was angry now, and she began to scream. A bustling of feet told her that someone was approaching. They did not reveal who or what they were, however; they simply walked towards her and stood at alert watch or guard. It was becoming clear that the girl was in some sort of prison, a dungeon stalked by hundreds of busy lookouts on patrol. She sat for a moment in deep thought, the bindings cutting off her circulation quickly. If she was being held captive, and watched, there was simply no way to get out. It seemed as if the world would end. "Fetch Nagini," came a cold voice from a chair near the hearth. "It is time for her snack."
Cooper Springer bolted up in bed. She was breathing very hard, as if she had just run a mile, and her hair was wet with perspiration. Cooper wriggled her feet, as if to check if they were not bound together, and gave a look of relief to her ceiling. It was all a dream, she told herself calmly. There is nothing to worry about now. But it had all seemed so real, said a voice in the back of Cooper's head. It had felt like it was actually happening. Cooper sat in the silence of the night for a minute, waiting for the voice to come back, but there was only stillness. She glanced to the luminous alarm clock that stood on her nightstand, angrily puffing up her pillow as she realized that it was just half-past-twelve. It would be six more hours until Cooper would be allowed to get up; six long hours of fear, nightmares, and sweat. After about a half hour, when it was just past one o' clock, Cooper flung back her sheets and walked over to the desk that stood stationary by the window. She pulled out a sheet of parchment, an ink bottle, and a quill, and scribbled something down very quickly. Cooper had always been told to write down her dreams after having them, if she could remember the details at all. So as she hastily wrote the lurid terror that she had been experiencing, Cooper did not notice a small brown owl tapping at her window.