When the light flickered on, I could barley make out the ghost of a figure making its way towards me. I stumbled back, my heart pounding. The things arms were wide open, as if it was demanding a hug. I bit my tongue, forcing my scream down my throat. When the creature came towards me, I looked at it carefully, and I gasped. It had fur everywhere, with foot long claws, horns, and glowing yellow eyes that seemed to follow my everymove. I had to inch away from it, trying not to startle it too much, but I stumbled, falling onto my back. The creature came on top of me, and ripped his claws into my arm. The pain was too much to take, I was gasping for more air...

My eyes fluttered open, and I looked at my arm. My little brother, with crazy eyes was scratching it like a lost puppy. I rolled my eyes, pushed him away, and stumbled out of my cozy bed. Sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I realized it was from my rather horrible experience with "The Thing."

My brother, who never talks, crept up behind me and poked me from the back. I spun around, ready to yell at him, but he had his finger to his lips, his eyes full of panic. I felt a jolt running through me, since my brother was no jokster. I tiptoed behind him, out my room, and into my parents room.

They weren't there. A note replaced them, written in my fathers messy scrawl.

Paige And Sam

I'm sorry that mommy and daddy aren't here. We left to Asia. We will be back in a month. Well, something came up, and I need you guys to be as quiet as possible. No noise whatsoever. Some men might come into the house to search for you, but if they do, I want you to hide in the closet in the kitchen. Understood?

-Dad

I felt scared. Mom and Dad were a young, fiesty couple who left us in care of Granny Nelson to go to all kinds of vacations. They travelled to South America for a month, and they came back with all kinds of cuts and bruises, and no souvenirs. Once, they left to Mexico, and when they came back, they were ghostly pale, shivering from head to toe.

I was 11 years old, and I wasnt a dummy. If you went to Mexico, you get burned. Tanned, I dont know. But if you went to Mexico and came back with icicles in your hair, I have a feeling you didn't go to Mexico.

Mom and Dad was lying to us, and I needed to find out what they were doing. And fast.