Revive

"Margret! Wait up!" Josa shouted at me. I was running, my heart thumping. I was out of breath. I had to make it home before mom did. I couldn't let Josa catch up, I had no time. My backpack smacked against my frail back. My worn sneakers thudded against the concrete sidewalk. My thin legs shook. I only have two minutes. Josa's shouts grew faint. She, like me, wasn't built for running. I ran harder.

I peered at the sign as I past. Baker's Street. The second turn.

After a few minutes, I turned down the next road. The sky was creeping into darkness. I ran harder. Exhaustion was clinging to me.

I tried to get a glimpse at the houses which were blanketed with a shadowing darkness. Their shadows didn't match the houses of my street. One, I realized, was practically cracked in half. I slowed. I must have taken a wrong turn. I groaned in fustration.

My sister was going to kill me. By the time I find my way back, it will already be late and I'll have to lock myself in my room just to get peace and quiet from my four brothers. Ugh. I trudged back with reluctance. I watched as my shadow walked beside me. It was tall and thin that stretched far away from me. I watched as it lined up in between the crack of the split house.

Suddenly, a shriek cut the air. I saw a tall man figure fly out of the house. I turned to see the man fly up and crash to the ground. I ran to him.

"Are you okay, sir?" I asked, shocked. The man turns over. Scratches fill his sunken face. A rueful grin appears to revel a set of gleaming white teeth with bleeding gums. He reached his grubby hands to my face. I froze. I stared at his hand. A Dragon curled around his middle finger and a tree from his pinkie.

"ENOUGH! TAKE ME BACK! I DO NOT BELONG! I DO NOT BELONG!" Bellowed a woman. The man looked back to the house then at me. Then he vanished.