I was locked in a dark, concrete room as I had been for days. I was weak from hunger and my body stiff from the many hours spent on the cold, stone floor. As I sat huddled in the corner, my arms wrapped around my knees, my teeth chattered both from the cold and from fear. My mind kept replaying the day my life had been turned into hell…


My parents, Robert and Karla Robinson, had locked the doors before going to bed as I had watched them do most every night for seventeen years. Krystal, my nine-year-old sister, had gone to bed already and I said a quick “goodnight” to my parents before heading upstairs and going to bed myself. I had flipped off the light switch and crawled under the covers as was my routine. I had woken up around 1:30 in the morning to the stairs creaking and had gone back to sleep, thinking it had been Krystal going to get some water. Little had I known that falling back asleep was the biggest mistake I would ever make. I had awakened hours later to cold water being splashed on my face. After a few moments, my eyes had focused and I stared at the two masked men in front of me. I had tried to move my hands in front of me for protection, but had found that they were bound behind my back and my mouth was gagged. They had dragged my family and me out of a white van, through an abandoned building and down a stairwell to a concrete room. They had thrown my parents and me in, locking the heavy door behind them, and taken Krystal away while she screamed. That was the last time I had seen my beloved sister, screaming for help in her captors arms while I stood watching helplessly. I didn’t know how long it had been before they came back and took my parents from me, leaving me alone in the dark…scared, and alone.


It was as though I was watching a movie over and over again in my head. I stared across the room, not really seeing. I didn’t know how long I’d been down here, but I didn’t care either. Never before had I felt so hopeless. A key turned in the lock and my eyes shot to the door. It opened slowly and two words shattered the silence.


“It’s time.”



I woke up, screaming. Someone knelt next to my bed, taking my hand.


“Amy! It’s just a dream. Shhhhh, it’s just a dream.” I turned my head and looked into Sarah Wilson’s soft brown eyes and she smiled at me. I relaxed, my breathing slowing.


David and Sarah Wilson and their two kids Luke, who was seventeen and only a few weeks older than me, and Lindsey, who was twelve, had been my second family and next door neighbors for fifteen years. Luke was my best friend and we did most everything together.


When my parents and Krystal hadn’t come home three days ago, I had run over to the Wilson ’s in a panic. Sarah had calmed me down and told me I could stay with them for as long as needed. I had taken them up on that offer and was currently staying in their spare bedroom. My family still hadn’t come home and my nights had been filled with nightmares.


“What time is it?” I mumbled.


“It’s around 4 in the morning.” Sarah replied. I groaned.


“Crap, I’m sorry for waking you.” I apologized.


“Don’t be, it’s fine, I promise. Want some tea?”


“Do you have peppermint?” Sarah laughed softly.


“Of course, it would be a tragedy if we didn’t.” I crawled out from under the covers and pulled my jacket on. I followed her downstairs and into the kitchen. I had just collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs when Luke walked in.


“Is everything okay?” Luke asked sleepily.


“Yes, want to join us for some tea?” Sarah replied.


“Sure.” He walked over and sat down in the chair next to me.


“Did I wake you up?” I asked.


“Yes, if you were the one screaming.”


“Oh, I’m sorry!” I was just waking everybody up. Luke smiled and poked me in the side, causing me to jump.


“It’s alright, I don’t mind.” Sarah set down our mugs of tea on the table and then sat down across from us.


“Thanks Mom” Luke and I said together. Sarah laughed.


“No problem. And yes, Amy, I am very sure it’s fine that you woke me up. I was going to have to get up anyway.” She said before I could open my mouth. Luke choked on his tea and I stared at him.


“What? It’s funny that she knew what you were going to say.” Luke said defensively.


“That’s because she’s practically my mom!” I exclaimed.


“I know, I was just saying that I found it funny!”


“Oh…”


“Amy, I have a question...” Sarah said. I looked at her, hearing the seriousness in her voice. She stared at her mug, tracing the rim with her finger.


“Yes?” I asked.


“Was the dream you had tonight similar to the ones you’ve had for the past few nights?”


“Yes, very similar. Why?” Sarah hesitated.


“Mom?” Luke inquired. I glanced at him and saw a worried look on his face. His gray eyes turned to me as he ran his hand through his short, wavy dirty blonde hair. He looked so much like his mother, except for his eyes. He had his father’s eyes. I looked back at Sarah.


“What if, and this might be totally ridiculous, but what if they are true?” I froze.


“Like, in your dreams, you’re actually there. But what if that’s what actually happened to your family and you’re just seeing it?” The possibility of her being right surged through my mind.


“That’s an interesting theory.” Luke said, saving me from having to say something.


“It’s probably really far fetched…” Sarah said.


“What if it’s not? Far fetched I mean.” I asked quietly. Both Sarah and Luke glanced at me, neither of them responding. I stood up and washed and rinsed out my mug, placing it in the dishwasher.


“Thank you for the tea, Sarah.” I said, then turned and went upstairs to my room. I sat down on the bed, propping some pillows up behind me and pulling a blanket over my legs. I grabbed my laptop off the dresser and opened it, setting it on my lap. As it opened, I plugged my headphones in and then scrolled through my music, selecting a playlist to listen to. I turned the volume up and closed my eyes, letting the music push my thoughts away. After the first few songs, I started to doze off and didn’t bother to fight it. A few hours passed and I slept peacefully without any dreams. I finally woke up, but didn’t want to open my eyes. I groaned. Reality was waiting for me.


I crawled out from under the blanket, setting my laptop down on the dresser and untangling the headphones from around my neck. I walked downstairs and found Luke in the family room, watching a movie. He looked up when I entered the room.


“Mind if I join you?” I asked.


“Nope.” I sat down on the couch and faced him. Luke reached for the remote and turned the volume down.


“What did you think about what your mom said?” I inquired. Luke stared at me, shock registering in his eyes.


“You’re joking right? Come on, Amy, let the cops handle this!”


“The cops aren’t having the dreams, I am. It’s my family.”


“I know it’s your family, they’re practically my family too.”


“Then help me!” Desperation edged my voice.


“What are you planning to do? You don’t even know where they are, let alone if they’re still in Nevada .”


I sighed, playing with one of the rings on my fingers.


“Why do you have to be so logical sometimes?” I demanded and he grinned.


“Why do you have to be so irrational sometimes?” He replied. I smacked him gently.


“It’s not completely irrational!” I protested.


“Not completely…just ninety percent.” I gave him the look.


“What? It’s true!” I rolled my eyes.


“Whatever. Anyways, do you think that if I continue having the dreams I’ll figure out a better idea of where they are?”


“I don’t know. You might, but we still don’t know if the dreams mean anything.” I sighed and nodded, letting the topic go.


After a long day of doing basically nothing, we sat down with Luke’s family for dinner. As I sat down, I glanced through their dining room towards my house. I stopped. Something was off but then it clicked. My bedroom light was on…I had made sure all the lights were off when I left. I saw a man step behind the window and quickly draw the curtains.


“Amy!” I jumped, coming back into focus.


“What?” I asked.


“We said your name like a gazillion times!” Lindsey exclaimed and I frowned.


“Sorry.”


“You okay?” Luke asked, studying me.


“Yeah, but I’m going to run over to my house…” I turned and jogged upstairs to my room. I grabbed my dagger off the dresser and slipped my phone into my pocket.


“Where’s my shoes?!” I exclaimed to myself loudly. I hurried to the closet, flinging it open. I saw my boots and sat down on my bed.


“Why are you going to your house?” Luke asked, standing in the doorway.


“Someone’s over there.” I said, yanking my boots on and pushing past him into the hallway.


“Wait.” Luke said.


“What?” I practically yelled, my patience coming to an end.


“I’m coming with you.” He replied calmly. He disappeared into his room and came back a moment later, pulling his shoes on.


“Well hurry up then!” I exclaimed, exasperated. He stood up, placing his hands on my shoulders.


“Chill out, Amy.” He said, but it wasn’t rude. I frowned.


“Let’s go.” I ran down the stairs, out the front door and across the street. I tried the front door. Locked. I yanked my keys out and undid the deadbolt. Luke opened the door and stepped inside, me right behind him.


“Mom? Dad? Krystal?” I yelled, running through my living room and into the kitchen. No response. I ran around, checking the bedroom, bathroom and closets. Luke followed me upstairs. Krystal’s room was untouched. I opened my room and saw a disaster. Nothing was upright. My bookshelf, bed, dresser and nightstand were all tipped over; books were scattered everywhere and feathers from my pillows covered everything. I walked in slowly. Luke picked up my lamp and plugged it in, light illuminating the room.


What in the world was happening? Where was my family? Who was the man? What was he searching for?A billion questions surged through my head, and I wanted to cry. I went over to my bed and picked up my favorite, soft blue blanket, wrapping it around me. The familiar smell and feel were comforting. Luke stopped behind me and I turned around, looking at him, at a complete loss for words. Luke wrapped his arm around me and guided me out of the room. He flipped off the light and took my hand as we walked down the stairs and out the front door. I quietly pulled my keys out and locked the deadbolt. We walked back to Luke's house and re-joined his family at the dinner table. The food looked amazing but I had lost my appetite and pushed the food around on my plate.
"What did you guys do?" Sarah asked.
"We, uh...Amy wanted to see a few things." Luke replied.
"Oh, okay." She nodded and resumed eating.
"How come you aren't eating?" David asked me.
"I'm just not hungry." I replied quickly. He studied me.
"Are you okay?" He asked and I didn't blame him, considering he was my second father.
"Me? Oh, of course," I said, a bit distracted by my thoughts. Had Luke asked, my answer would have been different.
"Thank you for dinner Sarah." I said standing and placing my plate on the counter.
"You're welcome, Amy." Sarah smiled gently and I hurried upstairs, retreating to my room.