A/N: AHHHH! LOOK! I'M BACKKK! I just finished Winter about an hour ago and my love for the lunar chronicles resurfaced and since I'm on Christmas Break right now, I'll probably be cranking out several one-shots and a few chapters to this lovely story ;) YAY LOOK I DIDN'T ABANDON YOU! SO I didn't know for sure where I wanted to head with this story and now that I've finished Winter, I have a much better idea of what I am doing, so I hope you all enjoy and don't have me for being gone for so long, I've had a lot going on, but I can't stay away from writing forever :*

I do not own the Lunar Chronicles and I apologize for any blips in here, I'm adding on to a story I started writing 6 months ago ;)

108 DAYS BEFORE

Cress was an actress.

Today, she was brave. She was a police officer on a net drama, handcuffs on her belt, a gun in her hands, ready to bust down the door and search the suspect's home. She took deep breaths and she studied her surroundings, making sure the coast was clear before she entered the hotel room that once belonged to the father she didn't know she had until it was too late.

Cress was adjusting her imaginative police hat when she heard a voice.

"A shell."

It was just a whisper of a voice, barely even audible. But she could hear the desire in that voice, and it chilled her to the bone. A shiver went down her spine, and her fearless facade had fizzled out, leaving a shaken, scared Cress.

"Is someone there?"

Her voice shook as she let go of the doorknob, turning towards the sound. The hallway of the hotel was silent, save for the wind blowing the few grains of sand around on the floor that had followed her from outside.

There was no way they could still be traficking shells here, right? was dead, and he was the one who was trying to find the shells, trying to find her, when he had been in Africa. Why would anyone else want a shell, if they could just have a human?

She couldn't help but feel nervous returning here, after everything that had happened a few months ago. It was different being here now, no one to guide her or protect her. Would it have been better if someone had come with her? When she was taken by the shell-traficking caravaners, Thorne hadn't even been able to save her. He was blind then, but regardless of that, she needed to do this alone. She needed to be heroic and brave and courageous.

Just a hotel room. Just an empty hotel room. No one was coming for her. No one was against her anymore.

It was going to be okay.

She let her imagination return, her cotton tank top and shorts becoming a law enforcement uniform once again, her breathing slowing as she turned the knob and stepped into the room, shutting the creaky door behind her.

And it was completely empty.

Barren, nothing but the white, stained curtains with holes in them, draping down from the sad excuse for a window. The wind rustled them up and Cress listened to the whiny gale, the only noise she could hear in this quiet, empty room. A sigh escaped her. She'd been in Farafrah for less than an hour and her luck had already run dry.

Cress shut her eyes and took a deep breath before she turned and opened the door again, disappointment flooding into her. She had taken one step out into the hallway when she felt a sting on her arm. Confused, she furrowed her brow and looked at her shoulder, where a dart was protruding. She didn't even have time to react before the sleepiness hit her in a wave, causing her knees to buckle under her weight. Her head knocked into the wall, a picture frame falling and breaking as she crashed to the ground, bits of glass spraying into her hair as the two fell in synchronization.

"This time, we'll get our money's worth," she heard a deep voice say, just before she had blacked out.

When Cress awoke, she was lying in the middle of the street, next to a garbage can and a run down building, a bar. It was pitch black outside, and the time seemed to be very late into the night, probably 3 or 4 in the morning, from what she could remember from her nights walking the dunes. She still felt disoriented, very unsure of how she had gotten there, what had happened back at the hotel, and where she even was. The sand that had blown all over her clothes suggested she was still in the desert, hopefully still in Farafrah, but how was she to know?

She lifted herself into a sitting position, finding her back and limbs to be achingly sore, from what she didn't know. Her head pounded and she crinkled her nose, finally getting a good whiff of the trash behind her, wanting to gag. She inspected herself, taking note of the holes now in her shorts, and the stain that was now on her tank top. Her hair was matted and in clumps, sticking out in all directions. The confusion had finally stopped and the panic set in, crawling all over her skin, giving her goosebumps and springing tears to her eyes.

She reached for her port which she had tucked into her waistband, and was surprised to find it in tact and unharmed. She stood up hesitantly, her bones protesting, and she called for a taxi to take her to the nearest airport, which was a several hours drive away in Cairo.

As she sat in the back of the cab and thought and thought and tried to remember the hours before, her mind was empty and blanked. Had she been drugged? Her kidnapper had used a tranquilizing dart to take her, but surely it wouldn't have knocked her out for 14 hours. When had she woken up? Why couldn't she remember?

All she knew was that something bad had happened. And it was eerily disturbing that she had no idea what that bad thing was.

A/N: OOOOOO FLASHBACK CHAPTERRRRR

what do you guys think happened? Sorry if this just confused you more, but you'll all just have to wait and see ;)))))

review, my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed :)