The numbers were part of your destiny. There was no changing them and there was no exceptions… Well that’s what it was like in the beginning, but now if you had the money, your number could be switched so that it matched the “person of your dreams”. Of course if you weren’t in the upper circle, then you were out of luck. Our world is called heaven, yet it feels like hell.


Rose glanced around the corner before running away. Her footsteps were silent and she dared not to breathe. One mistake and all of it would come crashing down upon her. Her muscles ached and strained, her breathing was harsh and labored, yet she still ran. It was crucial that she get there by midnight and god be damned if she was even a second late.
As she ran, she stared straight and refused to look back. Just one glance at her home would shove the guilt even farther up and eventually it would spew from her mouth like bile. Every fear, every secret, every regret would be thrown from her body until all that was left was the trembling, frightened girl that she once was.
But now she was stronger, steadier, and dare she say, more courageous. That girl still sat just underneath her core, just waiting to pounce upon her weakness. That wasn’t important now though; all that mattered was running into his strong, safe arms, smelling his sweet, steady scent and saying damn it all to everything else.
Finally she saw the sign for Correl’s Café and slowly her pace lessened. She didn’t dare stop for a second to catch her breath or rest her aching bones; she just dragged her feet on forward. Eventually she reached the door and quietly pulled the door handle and opened the door.
Just as her first foot stepped on the slightly old tile, a body sprang forth from the dark and pounced upon her. She opened her mouth to shriek for a hand was placed gently on top of her mouth. The person whispered, “Please Rose Petal, just keep quiet.”
Her heart rate slowed and her fear decreased by tons. It was just Correl; just normal Correl. Rose lightly gripped Correl’s hand and raised it from her mouth before replying, “What’s wrong Correl? Where is he??” Correl shook her head and said, “They found out Rose, somehow they found out. You have got to run home, grab your family and escape. They’re coming and I can’t hold them off forever. Leave the town and head for the forest. Just outside the forest there should be a small tree stump. Go to the stump and sit on it. Once it starts shaking, stand up and wait. That’s all I can say right now, just go.”
Correl shoved her from the café and slammed the door shut. Rose jumped slightly before catching her breath and beginning to sprint towards her home. Her feet slammed upon the concrete and even though she knew that silence was of the essence, she couldn’t bring herself to care. All she could think of was keeping her family. The Fortunates would have to kill her before she would let them harm her family in any way.
Though the journey seemed to take years, only 12 minutes had passed when she finally reached the front door of her quiet, normal, little home. Rose quickly threw the door open and let the loud bang as the door hit the wall echo throughout the house. She needed everyone awake anyways.
It only took a minute or so for her mother and father to race down the stairs. They slammed to a stop when they realized that Rose was standing in the door way with a frightened but determined expression. She refused to let them speak as she quietly explained. Various emotions shadowed across their face until finally their expression matched hers. They would rather rot in hell than let anyone touch their children.
Her mother raced upstairs to pack bags while her father gently moved Rose from the doorway and quickly shut and locked both front and back doors. Once she was removed from the doorway, Rose jogged upstairs to her little sister’s bedroom and gently shook her awake. She mumbled, “Rosie, what’s wrong?” Rose only shook her head before gently picking her sister up and moving towards her closet.
After about 13 minutes, the bags were packed, the people were dressed and the fear and tension was at its highest. Rose could tell that her parents were angry at Rose, but Rose refused to let them center on that right now. Just as Rose quietly slipped the secret doorway open, a noise rang throughout the house. It was like a shrill cat’s shriek as its tail is stepped on by some oblivious human.
A man’s voice rang through the noise, “Roes Nicklen, if you value your family’s life, you will remove yourself from this house and walk out with your hands up and empty.” Rose rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the doorway. She ushered her family inside and motioned for them to walk forwards, silently praying that they would just trust her with no questions asked.
The man continued to repeat that Rose should remove herself from her home, quickly changing from asking to demanding to pleading to threatening and finally to bribing. Rose shook her head at his ignorance before quickly crawling into the hole. She quietly slammed the wall shut once more before crawling towards her family, not noticing the one thing that she left behind.

Meanwhile….

Colonel Jargon’s eyes glinted with glee as he picked up the cellphone. It was a normal cellphone for their world, but it became extraordinary because of who left it behind. Rose thought that she had escaped, but she would quickly realize that the Fortunates were called the Fortunates for various reasons. Jargon quickly flipped the cellphone opened and entered the emergency access code. He maneuvered his way to the GPS section and pressed enter….