Golden Ice

Chapter 4

"Woof!"

"Shhhh," I admonished, rolling over with a groan. It was 7:00 AM and I was exhausted and waking up in a totally unfamiliar place.

Oh, right. The Demonclaw facility. I'm never going home.

The thought made me sad.

Goblin persisted yipping and whining.

"Ughhhhh." I dragged myself out of bed and waddled to the bathroom, throwing open the closet door on the way. To my surprise, the shelves were already full of all my clothes, and there was an unfamiliar white dress with a note attached to it.

Wear this today! -Lex

I snatched up the dress and headed for the bathroom. My long brown hair was crumpled and tangled, and I was a mess. I tossed the dress onto the counter and fiddled with the shower until hot water sprayed from the head.

After I showered, I brushed my hair back, blow-dried it (this place was equipped with, like, everything) and got dressed. I applied a touch of makeup and flounced out the door, the puppy at my heels.

Lex met me at the stairs. "You look lovely," she commented. "Come on, let's grab breakfast and head to the ritual."

I glanced at the doors near the stairs. All of them had girl's names on them. "Where are the boys rooms?" I asked.

"Alternating floors," Lex explained. "All the important girls get this floor. I only nabbed a spot because I've been here my whole life."

"What about me?"

Lex glanced back as she descended the stairs. "You're the prophecy child."

I rolled my eyes as we walked into the dining room. The long table was almost empty. I recognized Sam and Lewis from yesterday, along with a few other boys. Sam was slurping a coffee.

"Puppy!" someone yelped. I turned to see a girl with a blonde braid and dark sapphire eyes crouch on the floor. Goblin tore towards her, happily yelping.

"Jordan," Lex scoffed.

Jordan giggled. "He's so cute! What's his name?"

"Hobgoblin, but I call him Goblin," I told her.

"Aww." Goblin rolled over, snapping playfully at her wrist.

"He needs outside," I said, grabbing him. "Lex?"

"Follow me."

We headed downstairs.

"What floor?" I wondered.

"One I never showed you," Lex explained as we descended. In the exceptionally long space between the pool and the bunker, she took an unexpected right onto a small corridor I hadn't noticed.

"Where are we going?"

Lex pulled open a door. "The training room."

The place was like a gym, except hardcore. There were a few people. One was practicing knife-throwing at a rapidly moving target on the wall, and another was doing a crazy, almost impossible obstacle course.

"It's hardcore in here," Lex said, pointing to the trampoline. "See that? That's where you came in."

"So how do I get out?"

"Jump."

I broke into a run, leaping onto the trampoline. Then I jumped into the air, landed on the trampoline, and was thrown upwards.

I exploded out of the jewel weed onto the sidewalk. Goblin whined and squirmed, then nosed into the bushes. A minute later, Lex nimbly climbed out of the jewel weed.

When Goblin was finished, I scooped him up. "Any chance I can run home and grab a few things?" I asked. "My parents will be asleep."

Lex shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll take the dog back."

"Thank you," I said, handing him over to Lex. "Back in twenty."

I jogged down the street, heading for my house one last time.

...

I burst in the back door and tucked my key into my pocket. My parents were asleep, unaware that the daughter they didn't remember was breaking in to get her stuff. I snatched the duffel bag I'd bought in Ecuador and filled it with a few things. My jewelry. A few photos. Some cash and my debit card. A few stuffed animals and my carrot pillow. Notebooks and pens and markers. I had to grab an extra duffel to fit all of the books I couldn't leave behind. I also grabbed my iPad and a few chargers. I wandered around, grabbing random things and stuffing them in my bag.

Thunk.

Footsteps. Downstairs. The sound of the fridge door opening. My dad's whistling filled the house.

I was trapped.

*Note: the dog Hobgoblin is based on my dog, named Hobbins. Hobbins is a cairn terrier puppy, and I put a picture of him in this chapter*