Mia's POV
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The next morning I wake up to my alarm blaring at 7, just like every other morning ever.
Ugh.
After shutting my alarm off and nearly falling asleep again, I finally push myself up with a yawn, running my fingers through my hair. After throwing on a pair of joggers and a tank top with a black hoodie over it, I go to the bathroom to brush my hair. When I look at my reflection, my eyes widen so much I'm surprised they don't pop out. My hair was not this blond last night. Instead of the golden-brown my hair has always been, it's now more of a golden blonde, with new light streaks peeking through. Okay, what the hell.
I shake my head, deciding my hair must be getting blonder because of how blonde my dads hair was. That happens. Hair changes over time. My mom seemed pretty interested in my hair yesterday, so I pull it into a single dutch braid behind my head in hopes of hiding it before heading downstairs.
"Morning," I say as I enter the kitchen, giving my mom a hug.
"Morning hun," she replies with a smile as she hands me a plate of pancakes.
"Thanks."
"Of course. Oh, I'm working a little late today. Meetings- bleugh." She makes a gag face, to which I smile and let out a quiet laugh.
"Ok," I reply, finishing my pancakes quickly and glancing at the clock. I'll be late if I don't get moving. I put on sneakers, grab my things, and give my mom a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, love you," I call as I open the door, abruptly blasted with freezing cold air.
"Love you too!" She sings. I smile as I close the door, sealing myself out in the cold. Luckily, no kid bikes past me this morning. I also make no move whatsoever to step on any snow.
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Only 5 more minutes, I tell myself as I rest my tired head in my hands. Not gonna lie, school has drained me today. I had two tests, one essay assigned, and lots of homework.
Joy.
The class is buzzing with noise as we finish our lab for today in bio. Our teacher mostly lets us loose to do it with whoever, so there are basically cliques scattered across the large, bright classroom.
"Hey," Lizzie says from her spot next to me, "did you dye your hair?"
I sigh, pulling my braid over one shoulder. "No, it just... is lighter. I think because my dad had really blond hair."
Lizzie shrugs and nods, running her hand through her frizzy red hair.
"What did you get for c?"
"Uh... Glucagon."
"Ohhh right."
The last few minutes are actually really productive, which is surprising considering I'm in a group with Lizzie. We usually spend alot of class laughing at eachother...
Finally the bell rings, and the class rushes for the door, ignoring the teacher's orders to put our chairs up. Sorry Mr. Bardot.
"Oh, Mia!" Lizzie exclaims as we walk to the main door, our footfalls echoing with everyone else's in the huge main hallway of cheap tile flooring. "First of all, we need to go shopping for the winter dance this weekend, and second I will be facetiming you when you get home about the math. I cannot wrap my head around stats right now."
I laugh, sharing Lizzie's amused smile. "Sure. And yes, definitely need to go shopping. Ok, see ya later!" We split up once we get outside, Lizzie going to her car and me going down the sidewalk to our house.
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Green sidewalk salt crunches under my feet as I make it back to my house, pulling out my key and taking my shoes off once I get inside. After taking my makeup off, putting on some slippers and getting cozy, I make myself hot chocolate and head upstairs to do homework until Lizzie calls me.
Flopping down on my bed, I turn on my computer, glancing outside as my computer starts. The clouds are still there. I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to my computer, my fingers flying over the keys to log in.
I'm really over this whole cloud-circling-my-house thing. I'm making way too big of a deal about it anyway. It's not a tornado. Right?
I'm just about to pull up Google Classroom when I hear an aggressive knock at the door, followed by some muffled talking. I nearly jump out of my skin in surprise. Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I walk silently down the hallway to the top of the stairs. I hate being home alone, and this is why. It's probably just a mailman, but still. I would love for people to leave me alone when my mom isn't here.
From my spot at the top of the stairs, if I lean past the hallway wall I can just barely see the door, which has a stained glass window in it. Bracing myself so I won't fall, I lean over the stairs and peer at at the door. Through the stained glass I see two figures, distorted by the glass. They are dressed in all black, looking inside. From what I can tell, they are both men, with... Long hair? Ummm, ok. Weird. Definitely not mailmen.
My heartbeat triples in time as I back away and rush silently back to my room. Oh. My. God. Someone is going to break into my house. It's happening. Ok. Ok. Ohmygod. My thoughts are going crazy, adrenaline kicking in as there are three knocks so loud it echos through the whole house. I mean I've seen the news, but I never thought it would happen to me.
Tears well in my eyes, which only makes me mad. I quickly wipe my eyes, telling myself to get a grip. My breathing is coming out harder and faster as panic sets in. I grab my computer and slide it into my backpack, shoving it under my bed and covering it with blankets. I would bring it, but I won't be able to run as fast with a backpack bumping against me.
Oh my god. I can't believe I even have to think that.
The minute I grab my phone to call 911, I hear a buzzing sound and a gust of wind. Then the voices clarify, and I feel a sudden chill. A chill other than the cold that settles into my bones.
They broke the door. Silently.
OHMYGOD.
I zip my phone up inside my pocket, cursing at myself for not calling right away. I can't now, or they'll hear me.
The voices clarify.
"Is this the right house?"
"Of course it is."
"Well then, where is she?!"
Where is she? Are they talking about me? Or my mom? Why? Why would they want me or her?
I can't believe this is happening. Hopefully this is just a lucid nightmare because holy hell. I'm scared out of my mind.
But I decide to think about that later. I need to leave. Since there is no back door on the second floor, I climb onto my bed as silently as possible and click open the lock to my window. It sounds so loud to me, but the talking downstairs clarifies that I was the only one to hear it. Once the window is open a crack, I look down. I know the window squeals when it opens, so I have to be fast. I want to cry. I might cry. I might not look like it- well, I do look like it. My entire body is trembling in fear. I'm on the second floor! How the HELL am I supposed to get down?!
Well... There is a huge snowbank right below my window. Another wave of terror slides through me as I realize I have to jump. I have to jump two floors down into a snowbank. I could break something. I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't want to feel pain, don't want to hurt myself just to get away. I don't want to do this. There's nowhere to hide in my house where someone wouldn't be able to find me.
I have to do this.
I take a few deep breaths, biting my lip to keep from screaming as I hear crashing downstairs.
Just do it. I pull my window open quietly, until I get to the point where I know it will squeak. I close my eyes for a split second. Do it. My heart is pounding so hard and fast my ribs feel bruised.
I open the window fast and swing my legs out. A horrible squeak sounds, and the crashing downstairs stops.
"Upstairs!" I hear a yell and footsteps come up, surprisingly gentle. I crawl out of the window until I'm hanging from my hands. I hope I don't break anything. Please.
I let go.
Cold air whips at my face as I plummet two floors down. I look down at the rapidly approaching snowbank, and brace for impact.
It happens in less than a second.
One second I'm flying, the next I'm in the snowbank up to my thighs, perfectly fine. Scrambling out of the snow agonizingly slowly, I do a quick scan for injuries, and realize I'm not in pain. Anywhere. Even with a two or three foot snowbank, I should've hurt something. Sprained an ankle, hurt my knee, something. Not that I'm complaining about being fine. But still.
I don't have time to think more about it, because the second I reach semi solid ground I hear a yell and whip around to see two young, strong looking men with long black hair glaring down at me. If my nerves weren't so insane, I would shrink into a tiny ball from the loathing of their gaze. But after a split second of taking in the fact that I am actually getting chased by people who look like they want to hurt me, the one with darker hair growls, and they other one yells "Get her, go!" And that breaks the tension. I take off in a full out sprint that my track coach would be very proud of. I'm glad I run in the off season.
My feet, now only protected by socks, pound against the leaf and snow-covered path through the woods behind our backyard, the trees a blur around me. I already hear the shouts of the men behind me. How did they get close to me so fast? Actually, I don't care. I'm sprinting as fast as my legs will carry me, all of my focus on the path ahead of me and not tripping. One trip could be fatal right now. I have no clue where this survival instinct part of me is coming from, but it feels like it's always been in me, just buried deep. I guess a possible death threat will do that to a girl. I can't believe this is happening. I feel like I'm in an action movie. When I pictured being in a movie scenario like this, I thought it would be exhilarating.
Movies are nowhere near as scary as this.
I have no clue why I'm running to the river, but I know if I follow the river I can get to the center of town, and the police station. It's quicker than taking the sidewalks. But it's still a mile, and there won't be any people there most likely. I don't think I can run a mile in wet socks and a light jacket.
The cold air is starting to hurt my heaving lungs, and the panic of realizing I won't make it has my throat closing up as I fight not to cry, and soon it's hard to breath. The fear of not being able to breathe finally opens up the fear clogging my throat.
Fear, fear, and more fear. It's the only thing I feel right now.
Looking up for a second, I can see the river through the trees as I hop over the roots on the path I've known since I was born.
After another half a minute of sprinting, which feels like an hour, I make it to the clearing of the river. I risk a glance back and realize that the two men are not visible yet. They must be on the other side of the hill peaking right before the clearing. I try to be as quiet as possible as I sprint to the left, hoping I can hide in a thicket of brambles I know is over here. I get to the bushes with no time to spare. I bend over and pull my shirt over my nose to catch my breath- a cross country trick for cold air- and watch through the bushes as the two men burst into the clearing, not even out of breath.
"Damn it!" One yells furiously, eyes like a hawk as he walks in a circle, scanning the area. I crouch until I'm sure they can't see me, balancing on the balls of my feet even though my calves and quads are burning from my run-for-my-life sprint. I try to keep my breathing shallow and silent, which is next-to impossible.
"Find her! NOW!" The other one yells, and I swear I can feel him looking through the trees. Ridiculous, I know. But considering the fact that I am running for my life from people who sound like they want to take me, it doesn't sound all that crazy. I really don't know. What I do know is that I can't stay here, and I can't run either. Staying will ensure they will find me, but me taking off won't be quiet, and I don't think I can outrun them this time, considering they aren't even out of breath and I feel like I just ran the 400. Twice in a row. Not to mention I can barely feel my hands and my feet are wet and cold due to me losing my slippers when I jumped two freaking stories into a snowbank. And left unscathed.
But I need to leave.
My legs shake as I rise into a crouch, ready to try to slink away. But before I can take off, a warm hand clamps down over my mouth.
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And so the action begins...
AH I loved writing this chapter so much. Sorry for the action so soon, I was really excited about the real stuff to start:)
Who do you think grabbed Mia..? Swipe up to find out;)
-Avery<3