1 hour passes. 2 hours pass. And yet another hour passes Then mother “dearest” slams the door shut behind her and walks up the stairs. Not that I remember what the stairs look like, I mean the last time I was out of my room was when I was four. I remember the week where I could see things happening before they happened; my mother thought I was crazy, but after a few times that I predicted her future (such as the time she slipped on that ice) she believed me. I have been locked in my room ever since. Nobody knows I exist. I am just this. Beatrice, never to be seen by the living again.

“BEA!” my mother yells with impatience in her voice.
“Yes, mother?!” I yell back at her but not with the same hard tone as her.
“I brought you dinner.”

She slips the plate under the door like usual and moves her hand away quickly as if I am some disease. I am tired of it. Tired of being nothing. I know what I have to do. I have always been too scared to try and go out the window and run away. I was always afraid of my mother catching me. Not anymore. I would miss Val (a LOT) and I know that this will hurt her. She is the only person that ever understood me, the only person who ever cared about me. Going into the forest would hurt her for sure (which is why I never left before), but she could survive. I’m not sure if I would, I’m not sure if I want to. I can’t even decide if I am going into the forest to die or if I will try to stay alive. I close my eyes and look to see what I would decide. I couldn’t see anything though so I gave up and decide to make my room neat before I left.

My room usually on the verge of messy but somewhat neat. Like there isn’t a bunch of random things everywhere but more like there are some things that are messy. My tiny bathroom is very neat, though. I have a bunch of board games and I play with my old teddy bear, it’s pretty sad but it’s really all I can play. I have a bookshelf which actually has many books and also held my diary which I try to write in daily.

There isn’t much to do. I fix the blankets that are on top of the bed in the corner of my room and put the books that are scattered around my room back on the shelves. There is nothing more for me, the disease, here in this house. But before I left, I rip a sheet of paper out of my diary and start writing a letter to my dear sister Valerie.
“Dearest Valerie,” I write pained.

“I will miss you every second of my going and I will always keep you in my thoughts. But you understand why I must leave. I can’t stay here and be treated like  some villainous disease! I wish you well and I am very sorry. Give my best regards to mother. I love you.

Bea 
I leave the note on top of my bed and went over to my window to be free. I pull back the curtains and use my nails (and a dinner knife) to claw at the wood that covered the window. I knew it would work and I am very glad for that. As I pull the window up I never look back. I know that I will get hurt in some way but that doesn’t stop me from climbing out of my window and dropping down from the top of the house (I live in the attic). I am sure I will have lots of bruises but I get up and start running. It was a short time before I reached the town and I realized that there was some sort of event happening. I run through the people dressed in colorful clothes and some with masks but I see the faces of the people without.

Some people gasped and others just stared at me wide-eyed. I see some people that look about my age and some that I even recognize from before I was trapped in the attic. Even those people who I had gone to preschool with didn’t seem to recognize me. It was as if I had never existed. I keep running hearing more gasps but not looking at all of the stares because I know they would be painful and that’s the moment when I reach the edge of town.
There are many guards surrounding the thick wall that stops people from going into the forest. It is HUGE, mossy, and gray and looks like it has been there for hundreds of years. But I guess today was my lucky day because I had seen that the guards had to all gather in a hut and discuss the new places for wall guard. They all gather in a line and started to go to the hut that is waiting for them. I glance over my shoulder to make sure they were all gone and it’s clear. I run over to the wall and grab onto the vines that are growing off of its big gray boulders. It is a long climb but I make it to the top before my arms can give out. I swing my legs over the top of the wall, take a deep breath and drop down into the forest.

When I open my eyes I pull back my sleeves and see the bruises that I expected but as soon as I look up I also remember that there are no vines on the inside of the walls. There is no escaping. There is nothing else to do so I make a camp after going deeper into the forest.

The fire blazed brightly in my eyes as I sat before it and tried to keep warm. There was absolutely no way that living here would be easy which I already knew but I honestly don't mind right now. Then my body stiffened and I stared off into the trees as the vision flooded my sight. What I saw was terrifying and I couldn’t move but I could hear the noises now. The monster was coming for me, the big ugly monster. I knew that I didn't have much time now. I started running looking behind me every once in awhile but the sounds were getting closer and I couldn't ignore it. Then I saw it.

The horrid beast suddenly came into view, it was large and it looked like a skeleton with pieces of skin and fur growing back in patches. It had long claws though and furry ears which made it look even uglier. I would have screamed but I knew that would take up oxygen so I just kept running. I guess that I shouldn’t have glanced behind me, that was a very stupid thing to do. The beast was right behind me screeching as it extended its long claw out to rip me to pieces but I was lucky. The beast’s claws ripped claw marks into the sleeves of my flannel shirt as I rolled to the side and backed up into a tree.

That’s when I remembered that there was a tree right behind the monster. I knew that it was risky but I waited for it to get closer to me, close enough so that I could kick. It took slow steps but they were fast enough to make me dizzy and then I decided that it was close enough. It leaned over me and I struck it hard in the chest with my foot. It went flying backwards and smacked hard against the tree and then collapsed on the hard, dirt floor. Now was my only chance so I gripped the tree for support and lifted myself off of the floor. But before I started to run again I noticed the monster bleeding and it started to rot away. I stared at it in horror as it turned into a rotted corpse, it looked like a human corpse that was rotting too. I screamed at the thing in front of me and turned around and started running again.

My first night in the forest and I almost died, what a great start. I was able to run for a little while longer as I finally stopped to take a break for a sip at a tiny lake surrounded by weird plants that I didn’t know anything about. I scooped some water up into my hands and put it up to my mouth, surprised by the pleasure drinking brought to me, probably because I was extremely thirsty from all the running but I really didn’t care enough to think about it.
I think I walked for about an hour or so but soon I reached a clearing. My body stiffened yet again and I saw a girl. She had dark hair (basically black), tan skin and she faced away from me probably not knowing I was there. Or that I existed, much like everyone else. ‘I know who you are’ I told her and then she spun around with a shocked face on and stared at me before the vision ended. I knew that I only had a few minutes until that girl would be there and I took a step back staggering as I moved and turned facing away from where the dark haired girl would be standing.

I breathed in and out slowly trying not to make noise because it might scare her. Minutes passed before I finally heard a slight rustling of leaves and an intake in breath. The girl was probably standing the same way she did in the vision and I guessed that I should probably start talking.

“I know who you are,” I told her trying to sound as calm as possible.

She turns around quickly and waited a few seconds before replying “Wh-what? You… know who I am?”

I turned slowly and looked at her confused but straight face. She had dark brown eyes that were so dark they almost matched the color of her pupil. Her hair was black and wavy (almost as if she had curly hair and straightened it) and it went down to her elbows. She was wearing clothes that left me to guess she was from the other village. It was poor people clothes which made me immediately feel bad for this girl. But then I remembered she was wondering how I know her.

“I saw you,” I replied trying to make it sound like I wasn’t a freak.
“Saw me? How… Who are you? DO we know each other?” she asked questioning me.
“Well, no. You don’t know me- but I saw you.”
“Are you… like, a monster?” she panted.
That hurt so much because I have been treated like one my entire life.
“No- well, my mother might think so, but... “ I was about to continue before she interrupted me.
“Who’s your mother?” She asked also thinking in the process.
“You wouldn’t know her- we live in…”
“Oh,” she said but she sounded mad.
“How do you know where I live? Why does your mom think you’re a monster? Why-” she questioned me again after pausing for a few seconds.
“I have these powers, I… can sort of see the future.” I looked at her warily to see her reaction.
“Are you serious?” she asks and I nod sadly because this power cost me the chance to be normal so I looked down.
“Of course you can” she mumbles angrily again as I looked up from the ground.
“What?” I asked her wondering why she was so angry.
“Of course you can see the future. I bet everybody in your village can- do you fly too? Become invisible? Ex-ray vision?”
“Uh, no. Just the future. And it’s just me who can see the future if that’s what you’re trying to say.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“I know what you’re feeling, and you don’t have to be so mad. My name’s Bea, and no, I’m not some machine, I’m a person- and it’d be nice if you treated me like one.”
“I was locked in my room for all my life!” I said and she jumped.
“You can read my mind?”
“I figured it’s what you’re thinking. Look- unless you want to die- we should really find a way out. This was a terrible idea, anyway.”
“Fine. Help me out and maybe I’ll like you.”
“‘Kay, let’s go.”
We kept traveling throughout the day and whenever there was a monster nearby, I would see it and me and the girl (I can’t believe I didn’t ask her name yet) would be able to avoid the monsters.
“Not that way, this way,” I said pointing in the opposite direction of where she was heading.
“I’m hungry- so hungry” she complained.
She complained about being hungry often but she managed to hold herself up for another day. I was used to little food so it wasn’t as much of a pain for me.
“I saw a little girl, wearing a mask, is…. she…… one of them?” she asks.
“Yes, I think. Also, I saw a  creepy monster and when I killed him, he turned into a rotting corpse” I said feeling awkward as I remembered the moment that I tried so hard to forget.
“That’s……. not good. Wait- what if………”
“What?”

“What? Oh, nothing- it was a stupid thought. I was just trying to figure out why there are seemingly two types of monsters in Gejastera- those human-looking monsters wearing masks and the ones that looked like beasts.”
She paused thinking and now I kind of wish that I knew what she was thinking because she looked very uncomfortable.

“Well, anyway, we should, you know, continue talking about the food,” she said hurriedly. “ I went to camp one summer- my uncle forced me too- so anyway, we learned all these useless archery and hunting skills that I never thought I’d need- but maybe…..” She said interrupting the awkward silence between us.

“Yeah, good idea!” I said interrupting her now.

We said no more as we went and searched the forest for food, hoping for mushrooms if we were lucky. I decided to stay behind and guard the camp and whatever amount of food that we have. After about 15 of waiting, I got so bored that I started talking to myself just like I did when I was trapped in the attic.

“Stay calm, there isn’t anything coming.” I tried to tell myself even though I know that it was true.
Sitting here waiting for Meghan to come back was one of the most boring thing and this is coming from a girl who hasn’t been out of her room since she was years old.
“This is the most boring thing EVER” I complained to myself.
Then I almost had a heart attack as I heard a faint scream coming from the woods. My body froze but this time it wasn’t because of a vision. This time, I was horrified. I could have sworn that the person who screamed was Meg. Was there anyone else out here anyway? Maybe I am just going crazy from boredom. Maybe I am just hearing things. It couldn’t be Meg.... could it?
It wasn’t until another 2 days that I found Meg on the floor all bloody and unconscious. I gasped and prayed that she was still alive. I guess I should have never let her go alone so this was my fault. Everything is my fault.
“Meghan,” I asked her with no emotion.
She sits up as soon and I say “Oh gosh.”
“Who are you?” she asks me, her voice hoarse.
“It’s me, Meghan. It’s me. What--”, I choked up, “Wh-what h-happened to you?”
“Why are you…” she said and looked down to see her clothes all bloody.
“What do I look like?” She asks me and I frowned unsteadily at her.
“Well, um. You’re… cut.” I said as she looked at the deep cuts on her arms.
“You’ve been gone for two days, I was searching. What happened?”
“I… fell. I fell from a tree. I thought I saw berries. There was a plant under the tree… I guess I fell onto it and it scratched me.”
I frowned, not believing her. “Where’s the tree?”
“I… it’s not here. I walked away from it and passed out here” She replied.
I nod but a weird expression came onto her face, “What’s wrong, now?” I ask her.
She moans in pain and then says something but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
“What?” I ask her.
Then she snapped at me. “My head hurts!” She said.
“Oh. Sorry. Um. do you want, like, a warm cloth, or..” I asked but I didn’t exactly know how to find any cloth out here.

“No. I’m dizzy” she replies annoyed.

I stared into the open fire wondering what was wrong with her and why was she acting like a spoiled brat. She seemed… different. But what would I know? I just met her a few days ago, I mean, I’m probably making something out of nothing. I looked for her future now as something to distract my mind but nothing came up. Her future was blank. I couldn’t see her future anymore and I have no idea why.

“Meghan?” I ask her confused.

“You can call me Meg, you know. Everybody does” she said, and I heard in her voice that she was trying to hold the bratty part of her back.

“Oh, okay,” I said trying to get to my question, “So, um, Meg? I can’t see your future anymore…. Do you know why?”
“No. I don’t get your….. power, thing. Does….. that mean that I’m going to die?”
I paused but then gave her a serious answer. “Everyone dies. You don’t know when but it will happen.”
“Soon. Am I going to die soon?” She asked me.
I didn’t answer her. Without being able to see her future, I didn’t know anymore. Not only did I not know her future, but I didn’t know how to answer. I don’t know what’s happening but I feel that something bad is coming, but I didn’t know what yet. I stayed looking down but I decided to start talking again.

“We need more food,” I told her.
“What? Oh. I’m not hungry” she said to me. But since when?
“I’m hungry” I argued.
“I never said you weren’t!” She yelled at me which left me stunned.
“Can you just search for me? I don’t know which mushrooms are poisonous and which aren’t!”
“Fine, fine. Sure.”
“Thanks,” I said as I started following her through the bushes.
I stiffened and yet another vision flooded my mind. I need to tell Meghan. We need to get out of here and we needed to go now! She leans down as I gasp, finally breaking out of my trance.
“Meghan!” I gasp with fear filling my voice.
“Meg. Call me Meg.” she insisted with annoyance leaking into her tone.
“There’s a monster!”
“Oh, yeah. I see her.”
“Her!”
“Yeah,” she says as she stared off towards the beast. Her eyes were glassy and she stood in place not moving. She seemed not afraid at all almost as if that was someone she knew from a long time ago. Why, though? Why wasn’t she moving? She might die if she doesn’t move and yet she is just standing there!

“Meg! RUN!” I yell at her.
I see the thing nod towards Meg and just vanished, leaving us alive in the process. Weird. What was happening? Is this that bad thing I sensed before? Is SHE going to come back? Will we die? So many unanswered questions.
“Wh- what just h- happened?” I asked fearfully that the monster would come back.

“I found mushrooms” she replies almost casually.
“That was unbelievable! We could’ve been killed! Why did you just sit there!” I yelled at her furiously.
All she did was sit there and stare at the mushroom in her hand. I stormed off furiously muttering some things that probably wouldn’t be called nice. I walked, stomping until I found a nice little clearing where I decided to make some weapons out of the rough tree bark. I couldn’t, I just couldn’t let the monsters get to us again. I was successful with making a few wooden stakes and I decided that Meghan, er… Meg was worried about me. I’ve probably been gone for around an hour or maybe two but I don’t know. I followed the trail I left myself to find my way back to Meg and the trail was hard to follow, but I did it. When I reached Meg she stared at me weirdly and I didn’t know why.

“Phillis? What are you doing here?” Meg asked me with a confused tone.

“What? Why are you calling me that?” I ask her wondering what she was thinking.
“How… are you here?”
“Um. I’m… back?”
“Why did you come after me?”
“I’m so confused here,” I mutter.
Meg stares off for a little bit then gasps,  “Bea??” What!! “What happened?”
“What happened, is that you are delusional!” I said not quite sure if I was coming off upset or enraged.
“I’m not!” she tried to argue.
“Yes! You called me ‘Phillis’, who I know is your cousin! I’m not her!” I complained.
“Wait-- this is just.. so confusing. I don’t get it. I saw Phillis, Bea. She was…. like, right where you are standing” she said trying to make it sound like she wasn’t going crazy.
“Don’t you get it? You’re ‘seeing things’” I told her yet irony still fell into place at my words.
I couldn’t take this anymore so I shut my mouth and the awkward silence started as we walked towards the exit of the forest.

“We’re almost to the gate. Do you think you can make it?” I asked her now worried.
She seems horrible… I wonder if she is in shock from that monster thing… It was pretty scary well, at least, it was to me. I still don’t understand why after I found her from whatever happened to the monster and then she saw one and was still calm! Like seriously, how is she even alive! I have been asking myself these questions over and over but I stopped when she started throwing up. Maybe that monster gave her a virus and wanted to watch her die slowly instead of killing her themselves. That wretched beast.
“No. but I have to, right?” She asked and I nodded.
There was nothing else to say. Soon I would be going off to face the wrath of my seriously outraged mother and my devastated sister. This is my final moment before me and Meg have to part ways and I will never see her again. I may not have known her for long but I will miss her. But I guess a news flash to me is that 1) we may be dead before we get out and 2) my mother might just kill me herself. Would Valerie let me die? Would she allow mother to do that to me? Did Valerie even love me? I have had a lot of time in this forest (too much if I do say so myself) and I have been thinking about these things. But the truth is, I have no idea if she cares about me or not. I shook it off and kept walking towards my fate.

“It’ll be a long walk, we need food. I’ll go and you stay here because you’re sick, okay?” I told her worried. She was getting worse but she just stared up at me.

“If you see a monster, hit him with…This.” I said dropping one of the wooden stakes I made next to her.
She looks at it disgustedly and kicks it away, “Ew, no. Ants.”
“Fine. Just find….Something to hit him with” I told her, not wanting to argue as I turned away.
“Or her,” she said reminding me of the latest weird monster thing that happened. I turned back around again to frown at her. I was trying so hard to get it out of my mind! I couldn’t speak for a while, not knowing anything to say.
FInally I say “Yeah, I guess. It doesn’t really matter.”
“It matters. Don’t you think they could have feelings too?” She says trying to protect them even though they didn’t deserve it. I thought that she (almost being killed by it) would be the one to understand.
“I guess. I’ll be back” I said, desperately trying to escape this awkward conversation.
I ran to the bushes and pushed them out of the way as I searched for some more disgusting mushrooms.

It took forever but I finally find more fungus growing beneath the trees, and rip it from the ground and it looks more disgusting than ever. But the disgusting mess in my hands falls out when I hear a scream echoing throughout the forest. I close my eyes and clench my fists as I muttered to myself “Damn it.” I get up off of my knees and then I start running as fast as I can but I reached the wall of the forest and there was a giant hole in it. That isn’t the only thing I see. I see a body. Not just anyone’s body, but the body of my sister. I fall onto my knees and clutch my hands tight against my chest as I start sobbing tearful, dirty sobs. I can’t get the strength to stop sobbing so I take a quick look around for Meg but she isn’t here. I use my last bit of strength to drag myself over to Val and I see that her heart has been ripped from her chest and blood stained her beautiful white lace dress. I rest my head on her bloody chest and I continue to sob until I fall asleep.

I wake up only to remember what happened but I can’t focus on that while I hearing snoring is the distance. Wait… snoring… snoring… SNORING!

“Meg! Meg! Meghan” I scream towards the snoring and start running, tears still slipping down my face.
“What is it?” She says sitting up and groaning.
“She’s dead,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“Who’s dead,” she asked completely confused but also worried.
Some more traitor tears roll down my face as I replied, “Valerie, my sister.”
She stared at the ground as I realized there was blood on her shirt and face but I couldn’t ask about it, I would break for sure.
“Sh-sh- she’s g-gone forever! She’s n-not c-coming back-” I sobbed some more.
“Bea… I know… well, I don’t know. But…. I’m guessing there are no words... “ she says trying to comfort me.
“What happened.. where… how do you know….” She continues.
“I……. I was coming to find you… and….. her body. Her chest… Was… ripped…. Open… blood….everywhere-- I hate blood-- smells so… rusty….” I try to say but can barely get it out. She just stared at the ground not saying anything.
“You don’t understand!”I scream at her, “She.. was all I had. My sister…... “
“I know. I mean… I know that… you love.. loved…. her. A lot. And she loved you.. Also” she said clearly trying to help.       
“She……… she was the only one who did……” I sobbed my tearful, heartbroken sobs.
“That’s not….” I knew she was going to say it wasn’t true, but it is.
“She was the  only one who loved me,” I said clutching my hands to my chest again and I fall back onto my knees.
“Bea..?” she says weirdly as I stare at the ground.
“She…… she’s gone. My life….I’ll never be happy again…”
“Bea,” she says in a way that almost made her seem like she was in pain. But I couldn’t look up.
“Bea… I don’t” she starts to say but doesn’t continue.
“Bea, I’m sorry,” she says with a dim tone.
“It… I never spent that much time with her….. Mother kept me locked up…..” I choked out.
“I know Bea… sorry. I’m sorry. I… can’t stay. Just run, okay?” I lift my head wondering… why is everyone leaving me?

“What are you talking about?” I ask her confused but tears still rolled down my face.
“Just run. When I leave. Actually no-- don’t wait… Run, Bea okay? Run now.” She tells me in a tone that is almost… angry.
“What? Wait-- don’t go Meghan-- Meg… please, don’t…. I… I can’t do this…” I miserably attempt to pull myself off the ground but my legs collapsed under me.
“Seriously Bea-- I’m really serious. Go” she starts backing away as she says this.
“What do you mean, ‘go’. Go where? Wait…. Do you mean leave, like, Gejastera? But.. what about you?” I asked confused and trying to stand up again. Fail.
“Bea! Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be coming after you. Don’t wait for me. Okay? Don’t. Go, Bea. Go now” She snarls.
“But…. no…..” I try to argue in my frail voice. But before I can see her leave, she’s gone.
I pick my limp body off the ground and stared off towards where I think Meghan escaped off to, but she was nowhere in sight. I dragged my feets along the dirt of the forest floor and leaned over my dead sister. I move my shaky hand to Valerie’s pale face and I am startled that it still has the slightest bit of warmth in her. I tried desperately to pick her up but failed multiple times. I don’t even know why I was trying to pick her up… what would I do? Bury her? Throw her body in a lake? Yeah, I couldn’t do that. I slowly leaned up and started moving backwards from the body. I walked dragging my feet towards the exit from the forest, too lazy to wonder why the government saved me (only they could break the walls). I hear a growl from behind my and turn around. It is a disgusting beast. It was terrifying. I guess since I was too focused on my sister’s dead body, so I blocked out the vision… or maybe my loss of sight… Am I going to die? My eyes froze and shock and I heard Meg’ voice in my head… “RUN,” the voice told me. I start running and the monster soon starts coming after me. I run as fast as I can and wasn’t even halfway to the exit as I look back and almost tripped. The monster is right behind me. Goodbye world, see you in the afterlife. The monster claws at my tattered and dirty shirt and it touches my skin causing pain throughout my arm. I try to speed up as much as I could but my whole body ached. I turn around again but this time, the monster isn’t there. I desperately search around me for the monster and suddenly see it charging at me from the left and it suddenly bangs into me with a such a big force that it knocks us both down.
My ribs ache in pain but I saw this as my only chance to escape. I pull myself off the ground and start running again but the monster made a strange noise and got up too. I look through the hole and bars of the gate covering it and see a village that is not mine but I see guards and that is all that matters.

“Hey!” I scream at them while clutching my ribs, “Open the gates!”

I swear that a the guards see me and that they are talking but I am not exactly sure. I try to blink the tears out of my eyes to see what exactly is happening.

“Hey! There’s a girl!” One of the other guards speaks softly to the one talking, “No, she’s human. Open the gates. Open the gates!”

The gates start opening so I decide to speed up.

“Not too much! She’s being chased!” I heard a different guard say. I am getting closer to the gate, but the monster was gaining on me-- very fast. I trip, and while my hands are dangling, I quickly take off my shoe and throw it behind me. I speed up and collapse right in between the two open gates.

“Miss! Miss! Move, the gates are closing-- move.” A guard yelled and started to close the gates.

That’s when the monster approaches me the most strange thing happens. It stares at me and walks away, leaving me alive. And that is the last thing I see before I collapsed, not knowing if I would survive.