"We left no footprints."

What? "But... We ran through mud, how could our boots not leave prints?" I looked around the door to see Elle was right. The forest beyond the door looked smooth and untouched. The ground in front of us was mud for a good three yards... but there were absolutely no tracks. Nothing. It was as if we never stepped foot on it.

"This is really not cool." Elle whimpered.

I had a theory. One I hoped was wrong. Slowly, I cracked the door open just a tiny bit and peered through. "My god..." I breathed. The mud now looked jagged and kicked up, just like you would expect it to look after people ran over it. "Elle, look at this."

I stepped back and Elle hesitantly looked through the open door. "Let's go home now Maggie." Her voice shook and her bottom lip quivered. She looked close to tears.

"Yeah, let's go." I agreed quietly.

Elle shut the door and we silently walked back down the path.

I tried not to think of what had happened. I was sure it was all just some weird nightmare. At least, that's what I told myself. Doors do not lead to other worlds, video game characters do not come to life, and none of it was real!

When we stepped out of the woods, Elle's mother rushed out the back door to us. "Thank goodness you're alright!" She cried, pulling us both into her arms. "Where have you been? Elle, didn't your father say to be back before sundown?" She scolded.

"Sorry Momma." Elle apologized. "We just got a bit turned around."

Mrs. Carter sighed, "What are we going to do with you girls? You've been playing in that forest since you were what? Seven? How on earth did you manage to get lost?" She led us into the house.

Dinner was quiet. Mr. and Mrs. Carter chatted about the grocery store in town going out of business, Elle and I just sat silently, neither of us eating very much.

After dinner, we helped Elle's parents clean up. Once the table was cleared, Elle announced that she was tired and we went upstairs to put our pajamas on. We didn't say anything about the door the rest of the night.

Hours later, I lay in my sleeping bag still wide-awake. It was well past midnight and Elle was snoring lightly in her bed. I had pretty much given up on falling asleep, there was just no way. I had too many thoughts running through my mind. So, I just lay there in the silence, until I heard a sound from downstairs.

The backdoor opening.

I thought little of it at first. It was probably Mr. or Mrs. Carter letting Swoofy (Elle's cat) in, but when a few minutes passed and I didn't hear anything else I got a little worried. Oh god, what now?

My worry got the best of me and I quietly, so as not to wake Elle, sat up and slid out of my sleeping bag. I tiptoed out of Elle's room and down the hall. I moved extra quietly past her parent's room. They were both sound asleep. So who opened the door?

I slunk down the stairs to the kitchen. The lights were all off except for the one above the stove, which always remained on. I scanned the kitchen, the back door was closed... but the refrigerator was wide open. Swoofy was perched on the counter next to it, watching me intently. I smiled, laughing at my foolishness. The sound I'd heard must have been Swoofy opening the refrigerator. He'd done that a couple times before.

"Did you open the fridge, silly Kitty?" I scratched Swoofy behind the ear and swung the refrigerator door closed, shrouding the whole kitchen in darkness.

"Nope, but I did." A man spoke from behind me.

I yelped in surprise and spun to face the stranger. I couldn't really make out his appearance in the darkness. Seriously? As if this day wasn't bad enough already, now we're being robbed! "Who... why are you... what?!" I gasped, unable to form a coherent sentence. My heart was pounding like the energizer-bunny on steroids.

"Sorry if this is a little sudden, Blondie, but it's time to go. Boss's orders." The stranger apologized to me, though, in all honesty, his tone didn't sound very apologetic.

Before I could get out another word, the stranger grabbed me roughly around the waist and tossed me over his shoulder.

Oh. My. God. Am I being kidnapped? Really?

I only found my voice long enough to scream at the top of my lungs, but then the stranger reached back and clamped his hand over my mouth, silencing me.

He carried me out the back door toward the forest. No.

I begin to panic. Is this stranger taking me back there?!

No no no no no, I can't go back there! Superior and Tiny were there, and they wanted to kill me!

And then realization hits me. That's why I was being taken there! So Superior could kill me!

In my panic, I did the only thing I could think of. I bit down as hard as I could on my kidnappers hand, and when he tore his hand away from my mouth, I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow.

"I wish you hadn't done that, Blondie." The stranger sighed as if he were talking to a five year old.

He reached back over his shoulder and covered my mouth again, but this time he held a sweet smelling cloth in it.

Oh crap. I realized too late what the cloth was, and as the sweet scent invaded my nose, my thoughts began to slow and blend together as my vision blurred. No matter how hard I fought it, my mind went blank and I slipped into unconsciousness.