Envelope Challenge

Chapter 1 - The stranger

Polly jumped in her chair as something moved on her butt and cast a look around her. No one noticed her moment and, for that, she was grateful. Trying to be discreet, she fished the phone out of her pocket and checked the text message waiting for her.

MEETING @ STARBUCKS. U IN?

She gently thumbed YES back and was about to slip it into her back pocket when her hope of getting away with it was dashed.

"Pollyanna, what do you think you are doing?" her mother screeched and stomped over to her daughter. She snatched the cell phone away and threw it across the room, where it hit the wall and shattered. Three months of salary, literally shattered. "I am talking to you and you will not ignore me!"

"Sorry, mother," she mumbled in reply and looked down at the floor. This angered her even more and the back of her hand went stinging across her cheek. "I'm sorry," she repeated, this time to her mother's face.

"That's right. Now, listen to me!" That said, she stomped back to the front of the room and continued writing on the board at the front.

After the death of her father in a drive-by, her mother had decided that the world was too cruel for her to live in. She started homeschooling Polly and only let her go out at specified times of the day or for work. It had taken days of fighting on Polly's part to convince her to let her work. The lectures started soon after his death about anything she did wrong to the slightest degree. This latest lecture was due to her not sweeping under her bed. According to her mother, it was a complex felony and required a very detailed diagram explaining exactly why it was so awful.

Seconds turned into minutes that transformed into hours before her mother eventually released Polly from her prison sentence and she fled from the room. Once she got into her room, she contemplated not sweeping under the bed to spite her, but common sense told her not to. She finished in ten minutes and pulled on a jacket.

"Mother, I'm going out," she called out.

"Wait right there, young lady!" she yelled down the hall and started towards the door.

"Bye!" Polly replied and flew out the front door.

The streets were busy when she got down from their tenth floor apartment. As she blended into the crowd, she lost herself in the thoughts, the loneliness, and the fears she felt at home. She was so lost that, when something pulled her arm, she merely took it back after assuming someone walking by caught it accidentally. The next tug on her arm was unmistakable. She turned around to face her mystery man and came face to face with a man who could be the antagonist in a horror movie. A full face, featureless, white mask completely obscured what would be any distinguishable features. However, he was dressed in what looked like an expensive suit, complete with a red tie and even loafers on his feet. Obviously, he instantly set her on guard.

"Can I help you?" Polly asked with caution lacing her voice. Then, realizing he still held her arm, she wrenched it away from him and took a step backwards.

"Are you Pollyanna Mendle?" he asked her. He had a very faint accent she couldn't determine the origin to, but could tell by the way that he enunciated each letter he wasn't a native English speaker.

"Who are you?" she snarled.

Instead of a name, he shoved an envelope into her hand with a wax stamp sealing it closed with an intricate, original crest pushed into it. The crest was a lion with a snake wrapped around its neck, almost as if the snake were strangling the lion. "These are your instructions. Once you open it, you cannot go back. Should you find where these instructions lead you, there will be new instructions waiting for you. If you manage to finish the game, your eyes will be opened to the truth of the world. Good luck."