Lena Matthews

I adjusted myself awkwardly on the couch. No one has entered the office yet, and I was alone and a bit confused. If there really were monsters living here, they were some really obsessive ones. Despite the fact that Ivy Scott was up to date on all of her vaccinations, she was still being subjected to a checkup. I gave a small sigh, wondering if anyone could hear it. Probably not. I wasn't sure which rooms everyone else was in, but we were all separated within the building. I couldn't wait to leave and get pizza. It was the least I deserved for my boredom.

The main office was only about the size of a suburban house. Almost immediately after we arrived, we were split up and placed into small rooms. I cleaned my glasses and started examining my cuticles. I had already investigated every inch of this place. There was a couch, a desk with a leather work chair, and a fireplace. A chilling thought entered my mind. What if we were split up so we could be killed by the monsters that lived here? Had the source given us away?

I looked around the room wildly until I spotted a fire poker neatly hung up by the fireplace. Carefully, I lifted it from the wall and tucked it in between the cushions of the couch I was lying on. I made sure to put it where it couldn't be easily seen, but also where I could snatch it quickly in the event of an attack. It was a delicate balance that I wanted to get just right. I heard the creak of an opening door and jolted straight up. Since I looked suspicious, I decided to examine the blank ceiling, feigning fascination with its beigeness.

The door opened all the way to reveal a tall and slender woman with jet black hair and olive-toned skin. She could have been either fifty or twenty-two, but I couldn't tell which. She was certainly beautiful. The woman looked at me, a sense of shock in her eyes. I stared back at her, confused.

The woman's eyes were locked on me, and I could follow each stage of grief dance across her face. I adjusted my glasses, unsure if I was seeing this right.

"Sorry." the woman whispered breathlessly as she turned to go. She slammed the door behind her.

"Wait!" I protested, still perplexed. I didn't even do anything, and I've already upset the first person I'd seen. What was wrong with her?

I placed my ear on the door to hear what was going on.

"Get ahold of yourself." a voice hissed. It was Makaya. "There's like five of them. We need to make this fast if we want to get them all done today."

"I don't know," said the woman. She sounded scattered, like she was struggling to find the right words.

"Honey, I am sorry if it jogs a bad memory or two, but we have to get through it. We're professionals, okay? Let's act like it." said Makaya.

The woman didn't say anything. "Just give me a second," she said finally.

"I don't want to play this card, Jessica, but one mom to another, I need you to pull yourself together," said Makaya.

"Okay," said Jessica. I could hear her take a deep breath, and quickly scrambled back to my original position on the couch so that Makaya and Jessica wouldn't know I had been spying.

The door opened once more, revealing a smiling Jessica, with Makaya close behind.

Makaya was wearing a short blue silk dress despite the cold. Her silver bracelets chimed against each other as she walked into the room. Makaya didn't say anything to me as she sat herself down at the desk.

"Sorry about earlier," said Jessica. "I just had a moment. My name is Jessica Reynolds. I'm a nurse over at Atalka General, and I'm here to help with your checkup today. I know that this is a little unconventional, but Atalka is a very special place. By performing these checkups on every new resident, we are able to keep our high reputation and property value. So, let's begin." Jessica had a clipboard at the ready, while Makaya was making herself comfortable, her legs lounged across the desk.

"Okay," said Jessica, snapping my attention back to her. "First thing's first, Rosie." Jessica stopped cold, noticing her mistake. Makaya sat up in the chair, taking her legs off the desk. Jessica covered her mouth, horrified.

"Are you okay?" I asked Jessica. I was genuinely concerned.

"Fine," said Jessica, although her tone conveyed the exact opposite.

"Okay, I'm taking over," Mayaka announced. "Jessica is just really under the weather, and she probably shouldn't have come in for work today." I looked over at Jessica, who looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"Listen, Ivy." said Makaya, turning my attention back to her, "We have this thing in Atalka called the family rule. It's really simple. Everyone who moves into Atalka has to move in with their complete family. It sounds weird, but that's what keeps our property value so high. Since Atalka is such a desired residence, people are not above lying. We're just here to make sure that your family isn't fake. To start this off, I'm going to need you to answer some really easy questions. As you answer, make sure that you're making eye contact with me so I know that you're telling the truth."

This was officially the weirdest thing that had ever happened to me. I thought monsters were bad, but high society was way worse. I focused my eyes on Makaya's brown ones, prepared to get this over with. In my head, I ran through my fake story.

"Name?"

"Ivy Scott." I let myself have a mini celebration for answering that so quickly.

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"Birthday?"

"April 7, 2003."

"Fear?"

"My dad gets killed while he's away."

"That's specific."

"He leaves a lot for work, and he has to be alone. There are bad people in this world and I get scared for him."

"Don't need to defend it, honey. It's just specific. Now, can you count to ten for me?" Makaya asked.

"What?"

"Just count to ten."

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." The entire time, I was making eye contact with Makaya, which was becoming less and less weird. I felt myself relax, and soon enough, her eyes were all I could see. I was lost in stripes of brown and gold until the entire world turned dark. Maybe I was asleep.

The darkness stretched out as far as I could see, and I felt lost in the barren emptiness. There was nothing except for a weird song coming from every direction at once. Pretty soon, the singing faded to the peripheral, but I still wanted to find where it was coming from. The music was the only thing inside the nothingness. I walked into the black, but the song didn't get any closer or further away. I looked down, realizing that my bare feet were walking across grass. Light flooded around me, and I started running in excitement.

I sprinted up a grassy hill breathlessly, feeling the sun and gentle breeze on my skin. I laughed out loud, feeling like a nine-year-old that didn't know that monsters were real. My laughter echoed, as if I were in a small stone chamber and not an open field. The laughter almost drowned out the song, but it persisted. I held my hands out by my sides, feeling like a bird soaring through the wind.

At the top of the hill was a tree. I was excited when I finally reached it, eager for the shade it provided. When I glanced up at the leaves, I could spot Aurelie at the top, crying out for help. The branch that she was precariously balanced on was fragile, and I immediately leaped to her rescue. Aurelie continued to yell, but her screams sounded like they were coming from everywhere, not just above.

I grabbed a branch to climb higher, but it turned black and molded around my hand. I screamed in panic and tried to free my fingers, but the black branch had turned to tar. As I pulled my hand away, the black tar stretched. I finally managed to force my hand to the next branch, but it was shockingly hot. I took a deep breath and hoisted myself up. When I managed to get higher, I looked down at my hands, which were covered in blisters. I looked back at Aurelie, still screaming for help.

I kept on climbing.

I focused intensely on the next branch and tried to keep the pain at bay. As Aurelie came into view, something about her shifted. When I reached her eye level, I was looking at someone else entirely, with short black hair and catlike green eyes that matched a memory I had tried very hard to forget.

"Lena." A voice whispered. "Why would you chase the thing you'll never have?"

"What?" I whispered. The branch I was balancing on broke with a deafening snap, sending me back into freefall.

The fall felt like it lasted forever, and I could see the sky change to night. When I fell back onto the grass and looked around, I was back at Oak View, by the crumbling tennis courts. When I laid back onto the grass, I felt all of my injuries heal. I sat up, and spotted Finn waving at me from a distance. I waved back and got up to join him. As I moved, I could feel my injuries come back. I wanted to stay where I was, where I couldn't feel the pain anymore, but my voice was gone and I couldn't tell Finn that he had to come to me. Suddenly, the entire tennis court erupted into flames. Behind the curtain of fire, I could see the silhouettes of my parents.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled, my voice returning in a surge of panic. Mom vanished immediately, Finn following soon after. All I could see was my father calmly staring at me through the blaze.

Without thinking, I leaped into the fire to find him. The moment I stepped through the flames, they disappeared around me, giving way to darkness.

"Okay, that's about everything," said Makaya.

"What?" I asked, confused. I blinked at my new surroundings, trying to piece together what I had seen a few moments ago.

"We're done with the checkup." Jessica clarified.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What do you mean, honey?" Makaya questioned innocently.

"There was fire, and the tree..." I trailed off. The memories were fading quickly, like a dream.

Makaya frowned. "Not sure what you're talking about, but that sounds interesting. You can go to the lobby and wait for everyone else. Your mom already finished her checkup."

"Okay," I said awkwardly, still disoriented. I stood up, but instantly felt dizzy. Jessica had to help me stand. When she realized she was touching me, she backed away apologetically. I walked out the door and closed it behind me, feeling disconnected from my strange experience. I put my ear to the door to see if I could hear anything else.

"So, did she pass?" Jessica asked. She had taken on a much more authoritative tone now that I was gone, revealing the real power dynamic between her and Makaya.

"With flying colors. So did Rebecca. And they don't seem interesting. I'm almost disappointed, but Atalka could use some normal once in a while." said Makaya. "Are you okay?" Makaya added, her voice turning gentle.

"Fine." Jessica nearly snapped. "I was just a bit surprised, that's all. Let's just get this over with and report everything to Mrs. Pearce."

"Okay," said Makaya, her casual demeanor unchanged by Jessica's mood. "After you." I rushed to the lobby before anyone could realize I had been eavesdropping.

"That was weird," I told Mom as soon as I saw her.

"What do you mean?" Mom asked.

"It was -" I hesitated, not wanting to sound crazy. "Never mind."

When everyone returned to the lobby, we were given Atalka ID cards, which had to be presented to security every time we wanted to leave. However, Makaya quipped that they weren't necessary considering she had everyone in the town memorized. If we decided to bring any guests to Atalka, they had to endure a checkup first, so it was recommended to only bring guests when necessary.

As promised, we all went out to eat after everything. By the time the smiling waitress provided everyone with the much-anticipated pizza, I could barely recall what had happened before. I couldn't remember anything weird from the checkup, only Makaya asking me a few basic questions. That, and a strange memory of fire engulfing my father.

It probably didn't mean anything.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took two years for me to get this chapter out. I just moved into my dorm and am beginning my next phase of life at college! It's a lot to get used to, and let's hope that cases don't spike here. Stay safe!

QOTD: What is the best and worst pizza topping?