A dragonfly pendant was face up on the counter. Small rubies were in place of it's eyes, and the dragonfly itself was made of gold. As I turned it over, a bit of writing was scribbled on a sliver of paper.

I stared, confused at the message. Whoever had placed the pendant on the counter had been in here after I captured that girl. It had to have been. I can clearly see the kitchen counters from the stair rail and the pendant would have been in my direct line of sight. And it couldn't have been the girl. She only knows French (I should know, I have insight on everybody at my school. I even know where she keeps her lock to the secret box in her closet).

I clutched the pendant and turned around, surveying the bottom floor. The house is pretty wide open, so I can almost see everything from the kitchen. I checked everywhere somebody could possibly hide, I even went through the upstairs. No one. Whoever had been here certainly wasn't here anymore. And they were smart. If I had found them, I could do unspeakable things. No one would find out. With a predatory glare I grabbed the Nintendo and went to my room.

My room is neat. Organized, fresh-smelling, clean. I'm not a minimalist though, you won't catch my walks bare any day of the week. Drawings and paintings almost completely covered the walls, washing the room in pastels, ocean spray, forest glades, and still life's. One bookshelf stood fully stocked next to my twin sized bed, books like The Illiad and Moby Dick and The Odyssey and Sherlock Holmes the most worn of them all.

Other than that, it wasn't anything extraordinary. There wasn't much room for anything but the bookshelf and my bed, but I managed to squeeze in a small desk in the middle of the far wall. I flopped down on my bed and held the DS above my face, concentrating on running from the mushroom men.

I knew it was midnight when I woke up. I always wake up at midnight, that's when mum and dad come home. I swung off of bed and skipped a few steps on the stairs, swinging towards the door. The lock clicked and the door opened. I ran to mother and threw my arms around her, comforted at the familiar scent of cinnamon she radiated. Father was going to be late, she told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Something came up. I'm sure he'll be home soon, honey."

There was something strained in her voice though, like she was hiding something about father.

"What happened."

"Hm?" She looked alarmed.

"What happened. I know something happened. Father never comes home late."

"He's fine, sweety, he just...needs to take care of something." She rushed.

"... I know you're lying to me."

"I—honey, I just—"

"Please just tell me what's going on, mom, please!" I asked desperately. I was worried for my dad. He's super strict about being on time for things, and even on dangerous jobs he still comes home to say goodnight.

She looked reluctant to say anything but finally gave.

"Fine. Your father is in contract with...let's just say an old acquaintance. He's not in the country right now." When she said that she looked like she regretted it, but she didn't say any more. Fear swelled up in my stomach and I could t push it down. Out of the country? Old acquaintance? Not even a goodbye..?

"We...you do know what country though, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Er, no. The information was strictly confidential. Only your father knows what's in it."

Damnit.

"What if we're in trouble and we can't contact dad?"

"I-"

"What if dad gets hurt and we don't know!" My vision started to get a little blurry and I rubbed my eyes. "What if he never comes back!"

"We can take care of ourselves!" Her voice boomed, and the tears stopped. I don't even remember the last time either of my parents raised their voice like that. Her eyes brimmed with tears and her red lips trembled as she spoke.

"We are more than capable of taking care of ourselves. Don't think I missed the stench of blood when I walked into this house. Somebody was here."

"Yes! Yes, somebody was here! But that doesn't matter! What matters is father!"

"He's only been gone for a few hours!" She clenched her hands before enveloping me in a hug once more. I clutched her back and I mumbled into her chest.

"I just... I was scared."

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