-Location: Blacksburg Time: 8:22 pm POV: 'Amber'-

Enclosed locations were Ambers's personal hell.

The teen paced back and forth in her room. Every few seconds she'd stop to look at the clock, only to grumble at the ticking hands. So maybe she was starting to regret her decision. But, in her defense, she didn't think her parents would literally lock her in her room. Wasn't that child cruelty? Abuse? Why did she care again?

Amber tugged at her hair. Either way, she was stuck in this room till morning. Worse, she was still under house arrest for the rest of the weekend. So, the silver lining is she's not stuck in a single room. Shitty side, she's still stuck in this hellhole.

She glanced at the half-eaten dinner sitting on her desk, then towards the pile of laundry. There was a curse as Amber fell belly first onto her bed. Next time she feels like beating the crap out of someone, she's going to do so discreetly. Can't blame someone with no proof.

Flipping on her back, Amber was met with the white ceiling. To an extent, she understood why her parents went so far. For the past 3 years, Amber had been acting out more and more often. Currently, it was out of anger and confusion. Before, well, it was a lot more complicated.

She didn't remember it, but for a total of two weeks, Amber Kirk had disappeared. Her parents were hysterical, turning the missing person report in after two days and practically living at the police station till they found their daughter. The police had tried their best, searching every nook and cranny, but after the second week, they had still found nothing. Not a clue or single theory on what happened to the girl. Then, just as they were going to proclaim her dead, Amber had just appeared out of nowhere. At least, that's what it felt like. All Amber knew was that she went to school one morning, and woke up on her front lawn in immense pain.

That's when things started to go wrong.

During one of her questionings, an officer had asked if she could remember any strange occurrences the few weeks prior to the incident. Amber thought long and hard, but nothing stuck out. She went to respond and froze in place.

A tall shadowy figure stood over the officer, raising a finger against its sharp tooth smile. Out from behind its back, the creature pulled out a knife. She felt the scream loge in her throat, eyes brimming with tears. The officer frowned at her, mouth opening but no words coming out.

Amber had watched in pure horror as the creature placed the knife against the officer's neck. She jumped up, screamed at the monster to stop. But it didn't, yanking the knife across their throat.

Red had filled her vision. It hit her in warm droplets. It pooled on the table, on the ground. Only now, it wasn't the officer she was looking at. It was her own face. Eyes wide, mouth agape, Amber watched the light fade from her mirror's very own eyes.

She woke up in the hospital the next day.

PTSD, the doctors had said. From the brain scans, they had discovered her brain had a massive amount of memory missing. Their theory was the trauma from her kidnapping was so traumatic that her brain had completely shut down and blocked all memories relating to it. Of course, that didn't mean it wasn't there. That's where the PTSD came in. If anything triggered her memory of the event, her brain would freak out and end up projecting the events in its own fucked up way.

And project it did.

Amber had to transition to homeschooling for a while. The triggers had proven too far and wide, and for the longest time, she couldn't remember a single day without the shadows. That wasn't the last of it either.

Around the third month being back home, the voices started to appear.

She had been terrified at first. However, she began to realize they were nothing like the shadows. They were mostly strange sentences at the beginning. Garbled words that didn't make much sense at first. Till her first confrontation happened.

She was sitting on an old swing they had in the backyard. Her mother was inside, while her father had left for work that day. Amber had been enjoying the peace until she felt the knife against her neck.

Her attacker was a man. He was about forty, face laced with canker sores and eyes bulging from his skull. A drug addict, she realized before he started spouting nonsense. He called her the devil. Asked what she wanted from him. Why she was terrorizing him and making him do such horrible things.

Amber remembered the faint flash of fear, and then the almost unsettling calm. Even with her situation, she felt safe. Something was making her feel safe.

It was the voice.

- Elbow -

She swung her elbow full force into his abdomen.

Duck down -

She dropped to the ground just as he recovered and swung the knife at her.

- Left hook -

- Grab his hand -

- Shoulder him in the jaw -

-K nock the knife away -

- Kick him behind the knees -

- Pin him -

In seconds, she had a full-grown man disarmed and pinned to the ground. It made her sick, awed, and dazed. How, how did she do it? When did she learn to do those things? Why did it feel so natural?

In the haze of her mother's screams and the police sirens, the voice rang once more.

- We'll make a fighter out of you yet -

Even now, Amber still felt the shock and pure pride it brought her. It was the very thing that gave her the strength to fight the shadows.

- Deep breaths, you are stronger than them -

It gave her the confidence to go back to school.

- You can't hide forever -

It was how she ended up becoming friends with Cass.

- You can trust her -

It was like her brain had decided to create another defense mechanism to fight the shadows that plagued it. And yet, sometimes she questions whether it was something her brain made or if it was always there. Like distant memories.

She shook her head, eyes focusing on the ceiling once more. Thinking about too much never ended well. She'd just give herself a migraine.

Instead, the ceiling brought forth an older memory before the chaos. She had to be six or seven years old, her older brother was watching funny animal videos with her. Amber had somehow managed to go into the comments and find some chain messages. It was the one where if you didn't repost the same message in 24 hours you would wake up to a dead girl or monster on the ceiling.

Amber couldn't help laughing. She had cried for hours about how she had to send the message or the dead girl would come and kill her. Her parents had tried to calm her down but months later she was still staring at the ceiling. As if it would make the ghost stay away. Sleep would win over every time, but Amber still remembered that twinge of fear. The way her overactive imagination would create faces in the shadows. The white eyes and gaping mouth of some evil spirit, or the claws reaching out to tear her in half.

Her heart clenched.

'No' her eyes widened, ' No, no, fuck no. Not now.'

She jumped up, ready to book it to her attached bathroom for a freezing shower. But it was too late. She had been in her head for too long. Had thought too much about 'them.'

The shadow was already in her room.

Body a rotting black sludge, its stench burning her very lungs. Bulging blue eyeballs squeezed on by half-moon glasses. An all tooth grin that glowed as bright and sharp as the scalpel in its dripping hand.

Such a beautiful pair of :ôçæļ čœŕ# -

She held her breath, willing the scream down her throat. Staying calm was her main priority in these situations. No matter how real it felt, she knew freaking out would cause the trigger to get worse.

Instead, she turned her back on it and walked to the bathroom. Amber even managed to close the door in a civil manner. Once inside, she wasn't as docile.

The shower curtain was thrown to the side before she jumped into the shower. Clothes and all. The water was barely turned on, spraying Amber in shocking levels of cold water.

She sits there, head in her shaking hands. It wasn't real. Just another trigger. She was going to be ok. Just, don't think about that memory again. Deep breaths.

She inhales. Hold four seconds. Exhale. Three seconds. Inhale. Hold two seconds. Exhale. Repeat.

For a while, Amber just sits there. She holds her head for a bit, then switches to gripping her arms. Nails digging into the skin, leaving a faint and familiar burning sensation against the freezing cold. She doesn't let go until the tremors start to die down. At which time she takes one last deep breath and stands up.

The water is shut off. She grabs her clothes and peels them off. Then, grabbing a towel, she peeked out the door.

It was gone.

Not wasting another second, Amber grabbed the nearest hoodie and pair of jeans and threw it on. She rummaged around for her backpack before shoving her phone, headphones, Id, and some cash and a switchblade she hid in a loose floorboard. With that, she hooked her arms through the straps and proceeded to grab and put on her socks, combat boots, and beanie.

She walked to the window with a thin piece of metal. The pathetic lock almost made her laugh the first time she saw it, but she needed her parents to think it could keep her out of trouble. If they knew, Amber's parents might just buy a high-grade alarm system. Too bad for them, as in a blink of an eye the lock clicked open, and Amber slipped out onto the roof.

'Sorry, Cass.'

Another thing her parents didn't know was that Amber could get down from the second story window easily. All she had to do was jump on the branch nearest to her then clamber down. The teen thanked the stars that her parents' room was on the other side of the house. Jumping into/off of and climbing trees was not an easy feat when you had to be silent.

Once down, she plucked a few stray sticks and leaves from her hair and hat. Satisfied, Amber scanned the surrounding area. The neighborhood on her left was dead, fluorescent lights chasing the heavy shadows away. The forest to her right…

It seemed off.

Usually, she would go through the forest when sneaking out. It sat between her neighborhood and the town itself. It was the perfect route to take when you didn't want to be noticed. Yet, the very moment she saw the forest edge, she froze. Hands shoved deep within her hoodie pocket she stared into the dark woods. Her brows furrowed in confusion, as she cocked my head to the side. Something really wasn't right.

It may not seem strange Amber thought something was off. A young teenage girl goes to walk through the dark spooky forest. Most people would get all kinds of bad vibes immediately. But Amber wasn't like most people. She found the forest to be exactly the same at night as it was in the day. Maybe it was her overflowing confidence in navigation or gut instinct that told her she was safe. Amber was capable of handling herself. Yet, it was the same gut instinct that made her pause.

The longer she found myself staring into the forest, the more uneasy she began to feel.

- Don't risk it. -

- Somethings wrong -

- Danger -

"Fuck it, I'm not taking any chances tonight," she spun towards the light washed neighborhood and walked off. Even so, her stomach continued to churned and twisted itself into knots the whole way to town.

-Location: Blacksburg Time: 9:36 pm POV: 'Amber'-

A loud yawn rang through the air. Amber stretched her arms stretching over her head. A decent amount of the town's other night owls were out as well. Uncommon, but not strange.

Blacksburg wasn't huge, but it wasn't a little 'hometown' either. Many shops on the more 'touristy' side of town closed around six or seven, but coffee shops and a few dinners stay open late for those with graveyard shifts or sleep-deprived college students. It was a blessing when Amber needed an escape. She could get some coffee to worsen her already insomnia ass while allowing the night air to relax her usual tense self.

This night was particularly pleasant. The storm had settled, leaving the air crisp and chilly. My hair wasn't helping keep it away, but I found it had an odd calming effect. Her movements were a little sluggish as well, but the scenery was beautiful. The scent of wet earth hanging in the air.

She may have regretted (getting caught) punching Hector, but she sure didn't regret this.

Amber's eyes flickered to the side, catching a familiar sight.

In the dim light of a diner window, Cass sat with Jenna and her group of Reid corp lackeys, laughing and smiling as if friends since birth. Amber felt a pang of jealousy and loneliness at the sight but quickly dismissed it. She shouldn't feel like that, Cass could have friends outside of her. Even if they were from Reid corp. It's not like they were going to try and ruin their friendship. Besides, her father was part of the corporation now, it's only natural that they were trying to be friends with her. With their stupid cult ways, and all.

Amber shook her head and snuck away before they could notice her. Before walking away for good, she took one last glance at the blond. The girl had placed a hand against her lips, giggling uncontrollably at something the group had said. A ghost of a smile appeared on Amber's lips.

"As long as she's happy, that's all that matters." She whispered. Puffs of her breath twirling through the air. She spun around to continue her walk.

'To continue' meaning she was cut short.

Amber felt her shoulder collide with another one. She jumped back, more surprised she didn't hear someone behind her than the actual impact. The man, she came to realize, gave her a glare.

"Watch it," he snarled his words, a cigarette barely hanging on his lips.

Without thinking, Amber gave a glare of her own, "Says the one who saw me coming."

His eyes twitched, "Excuse me, princess."

- Don't -

Amber was too far gone to consider the voice's suggestion. For some reason, this guy got on her nerves in only a few seconds. Must be a new record.

"So not only are you blind, but deaf too."

The man went tense. He looked as if he was going to make a retort, but it was cut off by a laugh. It was then that Amber realized there were two other individuals behind him.

The man with the cigarette turned his icy stare on the younger laughing companion. All the while the third just stood and stared at Amber behind his hood.

Her stomach began to tighten, heart-clenching an unbearable amount. This didn't feel right. She should feel fine. But she didn't.

She knew if they tried anything she wouldn't go down without a fight. Not to mention there were enough people where at least someone would hear the commotion and jump in. Still, her hand itched to feel the cool metal of her switchblade. Damn, if only she had put it in her hoodie and not her backpack.

- An armed fool is still better than a dead fool -

"Forget it," Amber shrugged her shoulders, doing her best to keep a relaxed posture, "I shouldn't have gone to la-la land in the middle of the sidewalk. Been a bit of a shit day, so apologies on my part for not paying attention and being snarky." Amber stepped around him while creating a decent distance between herself and his companions. After three steps, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"What, think that's just going to fix everything princess."

And then, the voice hissed louder than ever.

- Get the fuck out of here. -

It took everything for her to not go out balls blazing.

Amber craned her head, meeting the cigarette guy eye to eye. He was way too close. It made her hand twitch, so she gripped her leg. Because of the situation, however, she got a better look at his face.

He had to be at least two to three years older than Amber - 'twenty or twenty-one' she noted - with brown eyes that reminded her of dead birch and the cold wind that whistled through dying tree branches. Not only that, but he was built like a freaking brick house. Normal height, with broad ass shoulder and square jaw.

'Wait' her brows furrowed.

The man's glare deepened, "I asked you a question princess," the pressure on her shoulder grew, "so what's the hold-up."

At that moment, she did something none of them saw coming.

See, Amber is a smart individual.

Except when she's not.

"Do you seriously have sideburns?"

The tension evaporated, replaced with stunned silence. The hood guy and man holding my shoulder just stared in a mixture of uncertainty and disbelief. Even the individual who laughed earlier seemed unsure of what reaction to give.

And that was her cue.

Amber grabbed the hand and pulled it from her shoulder. She then placed it back to his side, all the while staring at him dead on. She made a quick turn, willing her legs to walk, not run in a full fucking sprint. A good few feet away, and not hearing or seeing them following her, she raised a hand and waved back at them without looking.

"Have a nice night fellas."

There was no response. Just the pinprick feeling of eyes watching. It followed Amber until she turned a corner and was out of sight. Even then, the ghostly feeling of those eyes didn't leave her. Not until she was home and fast asleep.