Chapter Two!

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Ainsley

Two days later

 I slowly wake up with a huge yawn, I listen to the faint sounds of birds outside. The breeze pooling in from the window, the curtains flying away. Breaking my peaceful moment I hear the chirp of my ringing door bell, Who could that be? I ask myself. I jump out of my warm bed, tossing my blankets to the side. Who could this person be, no one ever comes to our house when my parents aren't home. Maybe it's my parents. They can't be back from their business trip this early. They're in Ireland for God’s sake.

Maybe it's one of the girls, checking if I'm okay. Or could it be them. These people who are trying to control us; trying to make us do whatever they want.  These people who like to threaten us with death, and then makes us do whatever they say. Like every things okay. By the time they're half way done with us we’ll want to be dead. We'll want to have the quickest escape from life. The quickest escape from our masacers. Maybe they want to scare my friends even more. They know I'm nothing special. I'll fly off the handle at any moment. They know they don't need me. They'll kill me as soon as they get the chance. They'll make it look like suicide, just like Sabrina.

I stand at the top of the stairs and stare down at the small mudroom in front of the door. A shiver goes down my back as I take a deep breath.

It's okay Ainsley; nothing can hurt you.

I walk down the old stair case, my feet squeak on the floor boards. I place my cold hand on the railing to keep myself from falling down the stairs.My thoughts overwhelm me making me tremble. I feel dizzy, knowing that this can't be the girls it has to be him. Maybe it's the first task we have to preform.I might want to call Dev and Caleb, at least by the time that they get here the paramedics might possible still be able to save my life. I come to the end of my staircase and land on the wooden floor. I look to the door that stands in front of me. I slowly make my way towards it, bracing myself for the worst. I stand on the tips of my toes and look out the small peephole.

I see nothing. No body there to encase the cold with their own warmth. Maybe just a fedex man sending my father another package for being, well, himself. I tie my fingers around the golden doorknob and slowly turn it. The cold metal freezing my hands. I open the large door and look to the ground. At my feet there is a wooden box. I gasp, I see it’s made with Sabrina’s door, and on top is a note that reads: Girls, here is your fist task. Read when together, and don't tell anybody about it. .

I carry the small box into my living room and set it on the glass coffee table. I sit on the edge of my teal couch and the grey walls scream back at me. They tell me not to open the box, I mean even the note said not to. But I have to. I think about Pandora and how she might have felt in this situation. I slowly take a breath while I open the small box. A small note lies on top of the red silk that hides a secret beneath.

The note reads:

This is your first task:

You must cut out a human heart with the knife at the bottom of this box. Place the heart in the box and leave it on the corner of Maple Drive. The deadline is Sunday at Midnight. No later.

 "That's tomorrow," I whisper to myself. Why do they want this? Why did they send this to me? Do they know how weak I am when it comes to things like this?

I feel weak just reading this letter, it makes me feel worse about everything. My emotions become one big ball in my throat, I'm scared.

I scramble to my feet, but once I get to the hall, I slip and land on my butt. I try getting up again, but I just keep slipping. I crawl on all fours to the kitchen. When I get there, I use the counter to lift myself up. Success! I grab my phone and unplug it from the wire it was connected to. I slide my thumb across the screen to unlock it and type in Caleb's number. It's ringing.

 "Hello?" Devon says groggily. She must have been asleep. I can't blame her; it is five in the morning.

 "Hey, I need you and Caleb here now," I tell her, with a shaky voice. She doesn't respond.Did she fall back asleep? “Hello? Devon?"

 "Yeah, we'll be on our way. I'll call Caleb to pick me up. Just don't do anything until we get there." She answers me and I hear her scramble in the background for clothes and maybe... Supplies?. "I'll be there in five. Longer if Caleb won't wake."

 "I'll see you then." I say and I hang up. I walk into the living roomm again where the box sits calling to me. I feel more alone now than I've ever been before. But the problem is, I'm not alone. They're always watching.

I blankly stare at the small box, it's just big enough to hold my fist, but just a bit bigger. I think about where it used to be. Where it should be. On the hinges at the Marks' house. I open it once more and I peer inside. I carefully move the letter onto the table. I pull the silk out of the box, feeling it's soft material, and place it next to the letter. A silver dagger lies at the bottom of the box. I pick it up from its resting place. What if I just kill myself now? They could use my heart and I wouldn't have to deal with life anymore. All would be well, I think to myself, No. He can't win.

The doorbell chirps at me again, I have a feeling that he heard my thoughts and is back to kill me. I place everything back in the box, making sure that it looks as if I didn't read it. My heart pounds through my chest and I feel unstable, this keeps me from getting the door. It chirps again, this time more insistant, I breathe in and get up. My heart pounds as my feet slap the cold wooden floor. On my way I look every where, I see the pictures on my walls, eyes staring at me, they know my secrets. I'm in front of the door now, heart pounding harder than before. It's hard to breathe. I look through the small peep hole whilst on my tip toes, and I see my two friends bouncing up and down from the cold. I open the door and they come in quickly to get out of the excruciating cold that is Washington. 

 They give me hugs as I close the door and I rush them into the living room where the box sits. They both look at the letter. Their facial expressions change from a worried look to a scared look as they read it. They become more uneasy and feel unsafe here, I can tell from how they look. As they read and re read it, I think of how to get a human heart without killing anyone. I rack my brain, trying to think.

 "So, how are we going to pull this off?" Devon asks with her eyebrow arched. She looks more challenged and ready for this. Maybe even excited; like how she gets when she's in a race at her track. I don't like it when she gets like this.

"Well, an idea just struck my mind while you two were reading," I pause, "You know how people donate hearts at hospitals after they die? We can just steal one tonight." I say, but I instantly feel nervous. Like how I feel right before I go on stage for a performance.

"That's a really good idea." Caleb chimes in, "One problem. How do we do it? It seems pretty impossible." Caleb says, she acts more scared, or frightened. Maybe she's thinking about her family, maybe she's thinking how easily it would be for anyone to take them. 

"Good point." I sigh and sit on the couch. Think Ainsley… while you still can!

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