The next time I opened my eyes, I was staring up at blue sky. I sat up and looked around. The playground was desserted. The sky was clear and the sun shone through the trees. At first, I didn't know where I was, then I remembered: Mom and I fought about Dad and I had to clear my head.

"Oh man! Mom!" I thought.

I ran down the street as fast as I could. Mom was gonna kill me! She would yell at me for leaving the house without her permission and then she'd start crying, telling me how worried she was.

When I got to the house, I stopped dead in my tracks. The door was wide open. At first, I was scared to go in. What if there was a burglar in there or something?

Mom and Grandma are in there. I told myself. If someone's in there, you have to save them.

I cautiously walked through the door. The whole inside of the house was trashed. Pieces of furniture were on fire and debris from the ceiling was scattered all over the hardwood floor. I walked a little further and heard a crack under my shoe. I lifted my foot to see that I'd stepped on a picture that had fell off the wall. I picked it up and examined it.

It was my school picture from third grade. My black hair was in pigtails, I wore my old reading glasses, and a Hannah Montana T-shirt. Some of my teeth were missing and you could see some coming in. God, I looked like such a dork back then. I set the picture on the tableand crept into the livingroom.

"Hello?" I asked. "Mom? Grandma? Anyone there?"

I heard a groan. I looked in the corner to see my grandmother unconscious on the floor. I ran over and knelt beside her. At first I thought she was dead, but she opened her eyes and groaned again.

"Grandma, are you okay?" I asked filled with worry.

She fixed her eyes on me and gave me a gentle smile. "Maria, thank goodness you're alright."

"What happened?" I asked, looking around the room. "Where's Mom?"

"They took her," she told me. "They were looking for you."

"Who took Mom? Who was looking for me?"

Grandma smiled and put my hair behind my ear. "I'm afraid there's no time to explain. Listen. Trust the campers. They'll help you. They'll take you to your father."

"My father?" I asked. "Why would my father help me? He's never helped me. Not ever."

"He'll help you the best he can. Believe me, he will."

Grandma began to glow in a golden light. I covered my eyes. When I looked back, she was gone.

"No!" I yelled. "You can't leave me! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

I heard glass break behind me. I turned to see an African American girl standing there. She looked about fifteen and wore a black tank top and jeans. She kind of freaked me out because I hadn't seen or heard her come in.

"Such a shame," she sounded sorry for me. "A poor little girl with no one to turn to."

I stood. "Who..who are you?"

"Kelie," the girl said. "I was sent here to get you."

"Can you help me find my dad?"

"No." Her eyes suddenly turned red, which gave me the sense to run. She moved with amazing speed. She tackled me and slammed me into the wall. "I'm here to help you meet your doom. I would kill you right now, but you have to be alive for the plan to commence. Believe me, dear. You look extremely tasty."

She suddenly yelped in pain and dropped me to the ground. I looked at her, to see an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. She turned around and growled at something. I looked and saw a hooded figure standing there, bow in hand. Kelie ripped the arrow out of her arm and chuckled. "This should be fun."

The figures bow disappeared and a golden sword took it's place. He raised his weapon, challenging Kelie to make the first move. An evil smile appeared on her face. Her fingernails turned into two-inch long claws. She made a purring sound and lunged. The figure blocked her claws with his sword and pushed her to the ground. Kelie swung her legs around as she fell, tripping him. He tried to get up but she put her stelleto heels on his chest.

She laughed. "Just like old times. Huh, Jackson?"

The figure grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the ground. He quickly got up and put his sword to her neck. She chuckled. "Not bad sweetheat. But I'm afraid you're efforts won't stop me this time."

She disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. The figure sighed and his sword disappeared from his hand. He turned his attention to me. I was huddled against the wall, terrified of what I just saw. He undid his hood. Only "he" was a "she".

The first thing a saw was a mane of beautiful blonde hair. She looked like she was in her early 20's. I noticed that she was wearing some kind of armor under her robe. She looked at me with concern and held her hand out to me. "It's okay. I'm here to help you."

"Yeah. I've heard that one before," I said.

"I'll prove it." Her sword reappeared in her hand. She held it out to me. I hesitantly grasped the handle. It was warm. The girl offered me her han again. "Please. You have to trust me."

I went for her hand but pulled back. Then I remembered what Grandma had said. Trust the campers, they'll help you. Was this girl one of the campers she was talking about. I didn't know for sure. But I didn't have much of a choice. I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up.

"What was that thing?" I asked.

"An empousa," the girl explained. "You're lucky she wasn't in her full form. She would've killed you. I must say, I'm glad you're not hurt Maria."

"How do you know my name?", I asked.

She smiled. "I'm an old friend."

Now that I thought about it, the girl did look some-what familliar. I just didn't know where I'd seen her before.

"Common," she said. "We better get out of here before more monsters show up."

"Wait," I said. "You have to tell me what's going on first."

The girl looked at me with sympathy. "I promise I'll explain everything once we get somewhere safe. Or the closest we can get to safe."

That didn't make me feel any better, but I followed her towards the gaping hole she'd entered through.

Before we went out, the girl stopped. "By the way, my name's Lilly."

A/N Hope you guys liked it! Please review? :)