10 days

Sign up

     As I'm sitting in class, I just keep daydreaming about the new trend going viral on twitter, you risk your life for 50 million dollars, but you only have 10 days, and everyday is a new survey to take. If you choose the wrong answers, you're slaughtered. So many people have been signing up, but I would NEVER even think about doing that nonsense. I don't even know who invented it, it's just...well, you know-DUMB!! I don't know anyone who has that kind of  confidence.
       Just then, Mr. Oxe breaks me out of my daydream and says,
     "Hannah, how would you solve this problem? Come up and show the class please, let's see how well you were listening"
     He smirks with his evil grin, and chuckles as I get up. I don't even know what's on the board yet, but if it's a word problem, my dyslexia won't help.
     "Hannah?"
     "Oh sorry"
     I was going the wrong way! Stupid me, but when I go to turn around, I notice that Natalia is gone, and the boys who sit around her desk who all have a crush on her, are all stone faced, pale.
"Natalia?" I ask,
     They swipe their hands across their necks, gesturing death.
Natalia was my best friend since kindergarten, and.. I can't force myself to believe that, but she's been gone for a couple weeks now that I think about it.
     I feel tears drip down my cheek, and I notice Mr. Oxe is still creepingly staring at me. I start running to the door of the classroom balling my head off while the class is watching. I run out the door into the hallway, and dart for the driveway outside the school. She did it, she risked her life for that stupid trend. That stupid sacrifice for money.
      I'm still running, but slowly loosing speed. The school hasn't sent any teachers to get me, so I think I'm good.
     "Hannah, right?"
I stop quickly to realize it's Drake. Drake is the biggest jerk and bully, I have ever met. He always makes fun of me, and apparently I was rude to him, so he hates me. There was a rumor going around that I had a crush on him, and when I denied it, he said that he would get revenge because apparently I was lying and being "totally rude".
     "Oh great, you again, shouldn't you be in school?"
He smiles as I suck in my tears,
     "I could ask you the same question, except you don't have a reason and I do."
     "And what is that?  I have a reason too you know!"
He smirks almost as Mr. Oxe did, I still can't believe they're related.
     "I just wanted to wish you good luck"
I'm confused as I look around,
     "Good luck on what exactly?" I ask.
He smiles harder with his death eyes, and runs off. It was probably another prank, like he does all the time.
      I continue walking toward home, keeping my tears sucked in, and getting ready for my dad to yell at me. But when I walk in my house, he's gone too, maybe in the shower or working extra time at his factory, but my mom would've been here.
     "Mom!?"
I yell. No answer. I start running around my house like a psycho, looking everywhere for my parents, but there's no sign of them. Not them too! I keep looking until I find a piece of paper on the table- its from mom. I read:
     Dear Hannah
Me and your father know you have been having trouble with your life, and part of that is from us, your parents. We haven't been all the best to you, and we know you deserve better, so we have signed up for the 50 million, if we don't make it, we left for you some money, and a locket with our pictures inside so you will never forget us, and then, you can live with grandma Jane. We love you so much, and we wanted to give you a big hug, but you were already out the door to school, and the programmers had already picked us up for the survey of ten days, we wish you the best of luck.
                    Sincerely, mom and dad

     I finish reading the letter as my knees fall to the carpet, everything about today is leading to an awful life ahead. And I finish the day sobbing in my cozy pajamas, with hot chocolate, and warm blankets. All alone. With that spooky sentence of Drake saying over and over "good luck" as if he already knew my parents were going to dissappear.

    I wake up feeling a cold breeze hit me in the back of my neck through my long hair. My eyes are being blinded with the awful morning sunlight, and I'm moving quickly. Except it's not me that's moving. I jerk my head up to see that I'm being carried on a stretcher like bed. I'm out in public wearing my pajamas, and still in my blanket.
    "What are you doing?" I say calmly to the men carrying me.
    "It was pick up day, it was on the notice of your receipt like ten times" one of the men says.
    "Pick up day? For what?"
I try to move my feet to where I could jump off and run, when I notice my feet are clipped down on the bed thing, I can't get up.
    "Excuse me? Now I have two questions, what the heck is going on here! I'm calling the police!"
One of the men chuckles and looks at me while holding a badge-"we are the police"
Then I realize, "am I being arrested!? Oh please I never did anything wrong!"
    "Honey" the other man says, "you signed up for this!"
I shake my head
    "For what!?"
    "Ten days! You were the last one to sign up last night, remember, you were the person that told us your luggage was already packed at the office?"
This time I'm practically screaming
    "I never signed up for this! I quit! I quit! Please don't make me do this! That wasn't me, you got the wrong address! Leave me alone!"
    "I'm afraid I can't do so, you are Hannah right? Hannah Jones? The girl who ran out of school yesterday?"
I nod my head hesitating to do so, "yes, but...I never in a million years signed up, I swear to you on my life! I'm not even ready, I'm gonna die of starvation! I have dyslexia too, please can you check your papers I'm sure it was a misunderstanding! Please!?" They set me down and look on their paper
    "Yeah, it says right here, Ms. Jones, Hannah Jones. I'm sorry but it's against code to let someone go"
     When they pick me up I fall back down shaking at the thoughts surrounding my brain, mom wouldn't have done this to me, neither would dad. I don't want to die! Then I look over to a group of kids laughing at my public embarrassment. And I see Drake saying the words again, but this time I understand.
"You monster!! You stalker!! How would you get my personal information!? Why did you do this to me!? You're such a jerk, idiot, and a word I'll never get to say because I'll be dead!! You did this to me and you won't forget what I'm gonna do as a spirit... I'll haunt you forever!!"
     Then he does the worst thing, he smirks and yells to me,
    "I want you dead Hannah!!"
I look up to the men again and point over to Drake with a face full of tears,
    "I told you!! It wasn't me, it was him who signed me up!"
    "Then he was nice enough for the luggage"
Then they drop me on a conveyor belt, and from that, I fall into a chair, suddenly free from those clips.
    "What luggage!?"
I scream in terror
    "I don't have anything!"
    Then I look to the side of me, and there's a suitcase clipped to the seat. It feels like an adult version of a baby swing, except we are literally chained to the seat, hanging over rugged rocks and glass 200 feet in the air. My chair is being held up with chains, and my seat is moving in wide circles, probably to get me dizzy. I'm scared as heck.
     Steam. It's really hot in this place, I can feel it shoot up my nostrils, where is it coming from? I look around to see a little light far ahead of me, but I can't quite see what it is.
     Just then, my seat jerks forward with a hard pull, and then goes slowly around and around, it probably takes four hours to go around once, but five minutes and I'm over tons and tons of molten lava. That was the light. Yes, there's millions of other people ahead and behind me, but it's still so dark and steamy, that I don't reconize anyone. We all stop suddenly and quick before little computers pop out of the front of our seats. The survey will begin now.