'So well, uh, are you coming today?'

I chuckle at his message. As if he did not get the information from his sister.

'Yup I am. Are you gonna come?'

'No. I am kind of busy with a project.'

I frowned. He was not coming? Weird.

'A project? What project? Is it something I have forgotten?'

He replies after a while. I guess he is thinking about how to reply.

'Ah no no. It's not a project of school. It's something else.'

I was about to pry more on it because it was very unusual for Martin to not go to a fair or worse....do something not associated with school.

And not tell me what it is about.

I heard the door bell ring. I assumed that mom would be down there to attend to it so I went back on my phone.

I had written half of a sentence to send back to Martin when unexpectedly it rang again. Frowning, I proceeded down to attend to the door.

A man in a red coloured uniform greeted me. With a parcel in hand.

"Ma'am this is to be delivered to you. Please sign here." He informed pointing to a place on a sheet of paper.

After the man left I saw the name on the parcel and surprisingly it was my name on the parcel.

It was a parcel for me.

I went up to my room and unboxed the parcel to find a letter and a necklace inside it.

Why is all the wierd shít happening with me?

I opened the letter to find a few words on it leaving me in much more of a confused state.

Dear Clarissa,
We know times have been hard on you but please accept this necklace and wear it everywhere you go. It is for your safety.Whenever you feel there is trouble, just push the pendant and we will know where you are and hence can come to your rescue.

Your well wisher.

Are you serious?

Are you--whoever it is-- really really serious?

How do I even believe that this is my well wisher and not my doom wisher?

I take the necklace in my hand and inspect it.
It was a simple silver coloured necklace as well as a silver pendant.

The pendant was moon shaped.
A crescent moon.

It was nice. I am really tempted to wear it but my brain thinks otherwise. I just can't trust them. I can trust no one.

So I put it back in the box with the letter and crouch down to get my trunk from under the bed.

I still remember the first thing I put in my trunk was a single stud earing, I had lost one in my classroom.

I was so fascinated by those two simple diamond studs that I used to wear them every where. Even thought they were imitation, I used to imagine them as real.

Kevin had got me this trunk. And after I put the stud in it, I named it as my Treasure Trunk.

I put the box containing the necklace in the trunk after writing today's date on it. It was my habit.

Anything that goes into the treasure trunk will have a date.

I picked up a white shirt and some faded jeans and got into it.

It was just a fair so there wasn't any need to get too much ready, so I just combed my hair back in a high pony tail, donned a watch on my left hand and grabbed a pocket knife.

Just in case.

Considering the normalcy of the recent events. Note the sarcasm.

☆

Colours and noises great me the moment I enter the fair.

There were many youngsters and children running around towards stalls they were attracted to. Smell of sweet and salty delicacies hit my nose.

I follow the smell of food as my stomach already started rumbling at the mention of it. After walking a few steps I spot Laura at a tattoo store. Ofcourse.

I run towards her ignoring the pleas of my always empty stomach.

"Hey wassup?" I hit her back in a friendly manner and peek at the piece of paper she was holding.

It was a dagger facing downwards with veils and stems climbing spirally around it. It had leaves and some small flowers on the climbers.

It was totally her type.

Her face broke into a grin and she plastered that paper into my eyes.

"How's this? I saw atleast 1000 tattoos but this is the one that has my heart captured."

"Ah well for me to have a look at it you need to keep it at an appropriate distance," I guided her hand a bit away from my face and commented, "And yes it's amazing! I really like the way they have portrayed the shackles of society through the stems."

She stared at me as if I had grown two heads.

"Claire it does not portray something that deep. It's just the mingling of violence and nature. Or maybe nothing."

I don't care. I really thought it meant that. Or maybe I should major in sociology.

So I just simply did a one shoulder shrug and she bought that tattoo. It was a temporary one and she applied it on her forearm.

After that as we were trying to find Suzanne's stall, my eyes fixated upon a hair stall. I strolled towards it while I glimpsed at all the things that were really displayed there.

They were even doing temporary highlighting so I chose purple and bright red streaks to just try a new look.

"Do you think they will look nice on my hair?" I enquired to both the lady in the stall and Laura.

"Yeah we would like to see someone being baffled all around to find you."
Laura spoke and suppressed a laugh trying to escape her throat.

"Who are you talking about?" I seethed while glaring at her.

At last she burst out laughing.
"You---you wi--will see" She spoke in between laughs.

I huffed a breath and let the lady take charge over my hair.

It was some kind of new technique of highlighting ones hair. When I enquired she told me it were temporary paints she had prepared from eyeshadow.

Atleast that is what I could comprehend.

I gave a one shoulder shrug internally and waited for her to finish.

After 15 minutes she completed and I had a look in the mirror.

I would not say that I was looking lovely but yes it was something worth a try. After paying her I left with Laura when I saw something.

Or rather that someone Laura was talking about.

I saw Martin a few meters away from me bobbing his head side to side while narrowing his eyes due to the heavy sunlight falling over him.

He turned around and muttered his friend something and went back to resuming --what I assume is-- his hunt.

Hunting for me.

An elbow nudged me in my sides and I turned to her with an alarmed look. With wide eyes.

"So, maybe now you get it why I was so positive about that someone not finding you." She wiggled her eyebrows with a smug smile on her face.

I could not digest the scene.

After all he did say me he wasn't coming.

"He is looking for me?"
I breathed in.
I breathed out.

"He is looking for me. He is looking for me! He came! He is here!" I was so ecstatic that I didn't realize I was bracing myself unconsciously to sprint towards him.

Laura held me back by my arm "Ah ha. No you are not going there like a moth towards the flame. Stay back and enjoy." He had turned to the other side and was going towards a stall.

Laura had yet another smug smile on her face.

"No. Whatever you are thinking is not gonna happen. Think something sober." I warned.

Her ideas would always create a crowd.

So I followed Martin and dragged, literally dragged Laura with me.

He turned a left and so did I to meet with my bestfriends stall.

"I take the lead now." As soon as these words reached my ears I was pulled behind another stall.

We could overhear what they were conversing.

But we already knew what it was.

"Hey Suzy. Have you seen Claire?"

"She is your girlfriend, why are you asking me? Go move your butt and find her yourself." She did not look upto him because she was busy pouring some icing on one of her doughnuts.

I was reminded of my hunger again when I saw the doughnuts.

Doughnuts.

"Yeah I know and I did search for her, but I thought maybe you know. It's really not appropriate to leave her around alone, you know?" I could see that he raised one of his eyebrows.

But what came next was not expected.

Suzanne's head snapped up to Martin's. It was filled with concern. Extreme concern for such a petty thing.

Laura and I exchanged confused looks accompanied with frowns.

"It is unlikely for Suzy to, you know, be...worried that much." Laura leaned in closer to my ear and whispered.

I just nodded in response not wanting to distract myself.

Both the siblings shared a knowing look and then Suzy freaked out.

"Shit! Oh shit! You idiot Martin! I told you to come with her but no! You want to give her this crazy surprise!" She gritted her teeth and almost yelled.

Both of us sensed the growing anger of Suzanne and Laura just gave a crazy shriek. I don't even know why.

All the three heads, Martin's, his friend's and Suzy's snapped towards us and we both were left to give sheepish grins and back off from the situation.

Martin sighed audibly and looked up to me with a small smile which later was replaced by a frown.

At first I myself was confused but then I was able to place a finger on it.

My hair.

"Ooooh you both were there in the corner doing what!?" She pointed her laddle which was dripping with icing towards us.

Laura playfully wiped one of the drops with her fingers and stuck it in her mouth seductively.

"Can you not guess?" She said in a whisper.

"Who am I lecturing?!" She curled her hands in fist while they were suspended in air.

"Don't be so angry Suzy, c'mon  I'm  am hungry, give me my doughnuts. Pretty please?"

I tried my best to woo her which considerably worked.

Martin looked at my hair curiously when I spoke.

"We were right in front of you, you idiot, and you couldn't even guess that it was me."

The truth was that we were at a fair distance and he wouldn't have been able to know it was me.

"And yet she, like an idiot was so chirpy and happy that she was ready to jump in your arms, there and then."

I glared at Laura while she just stuck her tongue out.

He was about to speak something when his friend-- Jason I think-- nudged him with his elbow and tilted his head in a direction.

Martin groaned and took ahold of my hand, squeezing it before leaving it making my hand miss his warmth.

"I'll be right back."

Laura giggled next to me and I turned my head towards Suzy to inquire about their crazy outburst a few minutes ago.

Before I could speak anything she stuffed a doughnut in my mouth.

Wide eyed, I was about to remove it when again she slapped my hand away.

"Why can't you just enjoy the doughnut, eh? We have a lot of time later for questions." Her eyes roamed around everywhere indicating that asking here was not safe.

I just nodded solemnly and concentrated on enjoying my doughnut.

Laura found an old friend of hers and Suzanne got a bit busy with customers.

Not wanting to bother either of them I searched for Martin. I spotted him a few meters away hence I treaded towards them when the sight the in front made me hault abruptly.

A man held a girl about my age next to him, who could barely walk.

She was about to collapse but he managed to somehow half carry half drag her to what looked like a temporary storage room.

I tiptoed towards them but kept enough distance so that I am not noticed.

The area where I was hiding was not much crowded.

I then see another man carrying a girl the same way but then after a while he hoists her up on his shoulder and races towards that store room.

The frown on my forehead vanishes and is replaced by the look of horror when I see two more men carrying one girl each.

But what sent my heart beating wildly and pulse rising high, was the fact that all the girls had somethings in common.

The were approximately my age.
The were all girls.
They all stayed in the vicinity of my neighbourhood.
And lastly,
They all had some shade of chestnut brown hair.
Like mine.

It was as if they were trying to get similar looking girls.

Or just one girl looking like that.

I looked at my hair.

I had purple and red streaks somewhere.

Maybe that can distract them for a while, but not more.

It's not enough.

How can you hide your own hair?!

I was not even wearing a hood.

There was this one more girl who was struggling at his grip and she bit at his shoulder. He abruptly threw the girl on her feet and whispered something in her ear.

The girl went pale.

I stood my ground, my legs not able to move an inch.

There should be atleast someone who saw this? Who will come and object to something this absurd?

I look around when I see a middle aged man running towards them, face filled with rage towards the malice in front of my eyes.

"What the fùck are you trying to do?" He yelled.

This would surely attract people. And so it did.

People around which did not notice this stunt were starting to come forward, fathers and mothers shoving their children behind their backs.

"You think you could just do anyth-"

He stopped abruptly.

And who wouldn't when a gun has been pressed at your forehead?

"I did not want this to happen. No one would have been harmed. But as you have pulled a string, Everybody stays on their ground. And. Nobody. Moves."

A guy in the midst of everyone came into picture, as he uttered these words, who I would never guess would be the leader. So plain and typical like the others.

The girl who was struggling was just behind the leader, with a steel grip on her hand by the man holding her.

The guy thought holding her hands would be enough.

But she was smarter.

She kicked the leader in his groin and bellowed one word, giving rise to havoc and tumult.

"RUN!"

I took this note for the best and raced towards where I last saw both my friends.

Laura was a blonde but Suzanne wasn't. She did not have a chestnut shade but I could not risk her on the basis of my observations.

I wouldn't risk Laura either; who knows for sure what they want?

But deep down inside, I knew.

My conscience was screaming just one phrase in tripedation;
They want you.

___♡___

So hey guys what do you think of the story so far?
I would appreciate your views on it.
Be ready for some action and drama to be coming soon.

Let me know what you think will happen next!
Bye xoxo
~Sakina