I yawned and stretched as I woke up. The sun shone into the room. I got out of bed, and went to go look out the window. That’s when my world turned upside-down.

            Maybe I should explain my situation a little better. My name is Liz. I would tell you more, if I knew more. Somehow, I’ve lost my memory. All I can tell you is that my name is Liz, and I live in… Ok, so maybe I don’t know that either, but my name is definitely Liz!

            So like I said, I woke up and looked out the window. Nothing seemed familiar. I couldn’t even remember who I lived with. I looked at myself in the long mirror that was leaning against the wall. My reflection started back at me. Ok, I thought. This is what I look like. My own green eyes stared back at me as I surveyed myself. I had straight, shoulder length blonde hair that naturally darkened into black at the end. It badly needed to be brushed. I shook my head.

            “Liz!” somebody called. “Come and eat!”

            “Coming!” I called back. I shook my head again, and opened the door that was opposite the bed. This room was darker, and it had a whole bunch of hangers. A few of them even had dresses hanging on them. I had opened the door to the closet!

            “Liz! Let’s go! You’ll be late!” the voice called again.

            “I’m coming, I’m coming!” There was another door, opposite the window this time. I opened it and looked out. There was a dimly lit hallway, but there it was lighter at the end. I started walking towards the light. Suddenly, there was a thump coming from the direction of the light, followed by more and more. I shrunk back into the darkness as my heart beat faster, desperately hoping that whatever was making the noise would go away.

            A dark humanoid shape appeared at the end of the hallway. Even though there was a decent amount of light, I couldn’t see its face, only the black suit it wore. Fear’s dark tendrils gripped my heart as the figure came nearer. I closed y eyes and waited, praying with all my might that the monstrous figure would leave me alone.

“Liz! What are you doing? Get up and come eat breakfast!”

            I looked up into deep brown eyes.

            “Liz Kestrel, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Let’s go!”

            I shakily stood up.

            “Honestly Liz. You should treat your mother with my respect.”

            “Sorry” I mumbled to my shoes.

            “What was that?”

            “Sorry ma’am.”

            “I still can’t hear you.”

            “I’m sorry mother dearest!” I shouted sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

            “Elizabeth Nichole Kestrel! You will treat your mother with the utmost respect, or you can find a new roof to sleep under!” my mother exploded. I followed her as she started down the brightly lit staircase.

            So that’s what caused the light!

            “I work hard to support this family, and what do I get?”

            That’s when I tuned out. Ok, calm down. This is definitely weird, but I can get through this. Let me go through what I know. My name is Elizabeth Nichole Kestrel. Everybody calls me Liz. My mother is really strict. I have my own room. I live in… Ok, I don’t know where I live. I…

            “Are you even listening to me?” My mother’s loud voice broke my train of thought. “You are a disgrace to this family! You had better get an A+ on your spelling test! And if you don’t, don’t bother coming back home!”

“Pass up your papers” the teacher said.

            I groaned. I had already made a fool of myself by not knowing where anything was, but I’m pretty sure I just flunked my spelling test. I blew my bangs out of my face, and passed my paper forward.

            The teacher quickly flipped through them. Suddenly, she laughed and said “Liz, how do you spell aardvark?”

            “Um…” I stammered. “A-R-D-V-A-R-C?”

            The rest of the class laughed with the teacher. “Hey Liz! Do you know how to spell your own name?” someone shouted.

            I felt my face grow hot as everyone laughed, blinking back tears.

            “Here” the teacher said between laughs. “I graded your paper.”

            Slowly, I took it out of her hand. Written across the top was a great big F. My fist clenched, wrinkling the paper. I stood up and ran out of the room, tears streaming down my face. Standing alone in the hallway, I sat down and took a good look at my test. It looked more like a piece of red construction paper with white dots. I sighed and put my head on my knees. How will I tell my mom? Will she really kick me out of the house?

            “Are you OK?” someone asked, interrupting my thoughts.

            I looked up. There was a girl in front of me with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, and concerned brown eyes. I shouldn’t dump my problems on her. I wiped my eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” At least there’s one nice person in this school.

            “I’m Tara” she said as she offered me her hand.

            “I’m Liz.” I grabbed her hand, and she pulled me up.

            “Whose class are you in?”

            I pointed towards the door, looking through the little window as I did. I saw the word A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K written on the door, and I burst into tears again.

            “Did you fail one of her spelling tests?”

            I sniffled and nodded.

            Tara made a face. “She’s a real jerk. One time, she yelled at me for dropping my book. Then, she gave me a lecture on responsibility and gracefulness. I ended up being late to class!”

            I couldn’t help myself. I started laughing.

            “Hey, come on! It wasn’t fun!” But in a minute, she was laughing with me.

********

            Finally! My last class! The bell rang just as I slid into my seat. Luckily, the room was right next to my locker, so I didn’t have to search too hard for it.

            “Take out your books class!” the teacher called.

            I reached into my backpack and grabbed the novel I “remembered” to bring (meaning I happened to have it with me). I opened it, but all I did was stare at the words. I had no intention to actually read. Instead, I thought back through my day, trying to memorize my schedule and the locations of my classes. After my spelling fiasco (or is it fiassco?), I had a pretty normal day. I got to all my classes on time, nobody asked for my homework, and no one else laughed at me. Maybe this school isn’t so bad after all.

My good mood lasted until I got home. If I can get home first, I can tear up the test and tell my mom I didn’t get it back. Thoughts like that ran through my mind, along with a few other excuses. But no sooner had my hand reached the door knob when a car pulled into the driveway behind me. Crap.

            “Liz!” my mother said, completely forgetting this morning’s fight.

            “Hey mom!” I replied as cheerfully as I could.

            “Come help me with the groceries.”

            I followed her, thankful that she hadn’t asked about the test. Grabbing a bag of food, I headed towards the house.

            “It should be open!” she called after me. “Your father is home.”

********

            I set the food on the table, and headed towards my room. Up the stairs, all the way in the back. Looking around, I saw a small trash can under the window. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the test. Goodbye grade! Just as I had ripped it in half, my mom walked in. Today is not my day.

             “Liz, I need your…Liz! What are you doing?” she shrieked. She snatched the test out of my hands and pieced it back together. “An F?!” She paused to look over it. “You spelled aardvark wrong?”

            I shrunk back into the corner of my room. “I’m sorry” I squeaked. “I’m not very good at spelling.”

            “Elizabeth Nichole Kestrel!” my mom screamed, using my full name for the second time that day. “Get out of this house! I never want to see your face again, you thief!” She stopped quickly and covered her mouth with her hand, as if she had said too much.

            “Thief? When have I ever stolen anything?” is what I wanted to say. What actually came out was “Well fine! If that’s the way you feel, I’ll leave!” I ran out the door, almost falling down the stairs, and out of the house, slamming the front door behind me. I don’t need them! I can manage on my own. I’ll live life my own way.

Not only did I lose my memory and my house, but it started raining as the sun went down. Great! Now I’m cold, wet, hungry, and homeless! I ran down the street with my backpack over my head. A car drove past, splashing water all over me. Mentally, I groaned as I slowed my pace.

********

            I walked aimlessly for a while, not caring where my feet took me. I wound up at the park. Perfect! I can sleep under the playground! I ran again, excited at the idea of shelter. After I spent about 20 minutes searching, I found it. Sliding under the slide, I dropped my bag and checked my watch. It was 9:00, and pitch black. The only source of light was the full moon behind a few misty clouds. I stretched out on the ground and closed my eyes.

Before I could actually fall asleep, I heard mulch crunching and I saw a flashlight’s light shine on the ground.

            “Turn that off!” someone hissed. “Do you want to be seen?”

            “Sorry boss” said a female voice.

            Wait, I know that voice! It’s Tara! What’s she doing here? The light went out, but not before I saw a pair of shoes. What do I do? Someone out there doesn’t want to be seen, but if they find me hiding, they’ll think I was spying on them, and that would be worse.

            I had just decided to wait and see if they would go away when a third voice said “Wait. Somebody’s under the playground.”

            I froze. How could they hear me? All I did was breathe!

            “Go get them Corey” the first voice said.

            I heard two footsteps, and then I felt a hand over my mouth, and a knife at my throat.

            “Don’t make a sound” the third voice whispered. He moved the knife and his hand. “Now get out and stand up.”

            I did as I was told, putting my hands above my head as I emerged from under the playground. I could make out Tara’s figure, as well as another human figure about a foot taller standing next to her. The knife went back to my throat and I swallowed hard.

            “Liz!” Tara exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

            “I was…um…” I stammered as I tried to come up with a good excuse.

            “What are you doing here?” Corey growled into my ear.

            “I was…sleeping” I eventually said with a sigh. I kept my eyes on the ground, unable to look at Tara.

            “Who are you?” Tara’s “boss” asked.

            “I’m Liz Kestrel.”

            “Kestrel?” he questioned. “You’re Kestrel?”

            “I told you” Tara said with pride in her voice.

            “Corey, tie her hands and blindfold her. She’s coming with us” the “boss” said, completely ignoring Tara.

            Without another word, I was blindly being pushed along by Corey.

When the blindfold had been removed, I found myself in a giant underground cavern. “What’s going on?” I asked.

            “Not now” Corey snapped from the corner where he and the others were sitting. “We’re busy.”

            “Oh relax” Tara scolded. “Come on over here” she said to me. “I’ll introduce you.”

            Slowly, I walked over. Corey glared at me as I sat between him and Tara.

            “Why is she here?” he snapped.

            “Because she’s the…” Tara started to say. But before she could finish, her boss elbowed her in the side. “Hey! That hurt!” she protested.

            Turning to Corey, he said “you know very well why she’s here.” There was a long silence as they glared at each other.

            “So…” Tara said loudly, breaking the spell. “Anyways… That’s Corey” she said pointing. “He may seem grumpy, but he really is a nice guy. On the inside that is. He won’t admit to it.”

            I had to clamp my jaws shut to keep from laughing as an image of Corey rescuing a cat from a tree popped into my mind.

            “Shut up” he growled.

            Quickly, I stopped laughing.

            “And that’s…” Tara said. But, for the second time that night, she was elbowed in the side. “My boss” she finished lamely, shooting her own glare at him.

            “Is your name really Tara?” I asked.

            She smiled and giggled. “Yes, it really is.”

            “Now that that’s out of the way, Beyond and I have some work to do” the boss said.

            I looked at Tara with some confusion as Corey the boss left the room.

            Without me having to ask, Tara answered my question. “His name is Corey Beyond, and I’m Tara Bellark.”

            “So he uses last names?”

            “Yup! But only when he’s frustrated or mad. So don’t be surprised if he calls you Kestrel.”

            I eyed the passage Corey and Tom (as I have now dubbed the boss) had exited. I got up to leave, but Tara grabbed my arm and held me back.

            “You’re not going anywhere. Now sit.”

            Something in her voice made my cringe and obey. I sat down, and she let go of me.

            “Sorry, but you have to wait. I’m not allowed to let you leave.”

            “That’s what I thought” I said with a sigh.

            “Why don’t you get some rest?” Tara suggested.

            I looked at her skeptically. “Right. I’ll sleep in my kidnappers’ lair. That’s a great idea.” I rolled my eyes to show I was being sarcastic.

            She looked at me with serious eyes. “No harm will come to you while you sleep. I give you my word.”

            I had no reason to distrust her, so I put my head down on my arms, and fell asleep.

I heard whispering as I opened my eyes.

            “…can’t tell her who she is.” It sounded like Tom.

            They must think I’m still asleep. I snuck a look at my watch. It was 2:00 AM.

            “Why not?” I heard Tara whine.

            “We would no longer be ignored. We would have no safety at all.”

            “So? We’ve already been exiled. I keep expecting to see my face as a mug shot!”

            “Keep your voice down” Tom scolded. “You might wake her up. She’s a really light sleeper.”

            I could feel their eyes on me, waiting to see if I stirred.

            “Well, why can’t we say your name?” Tara asked, her voice back down to a whisper.

            “It might jog her memory. Until we are absolutely sure she knows everything, we can’t say anything.”

            “Fine. I’m going to bed.”

            “Whatever.”

            “Hey boss!” Corey’s voice came from my right, where the exit tunnel was.

            “I’m coming!” Tom whisper-shouted, aggravation in his voice. He sighed, and I could feel his hand brush over my shoulder as he walked past.

            What are they working on? Who is Tom? Who am I? Why won’t anyone answer my questions?

The next morning, my entire body was sore from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. I was alone in the cavern. Looking around, I noticed several entrances to different tunnels. It was dark last night. That’s why I didn’t notice them. I stood up and stretched. As I did, Corey came in from the tunnel in front of me.  “Hi” I said quietly. He just glared at me.

            I used the awkward silence to study him. He had shoulder length black hair, and stormy gray eyes. He wasn’t overweight, but he wasn’t skinny either. He actually looked pretty strong, but his skin was pale. He had on a black T-shirt and dark jeans, making him look a little like a ghost.

            “I get the feeling you don’t like me very much” I said bluntly.

            “I never said that.”

            “But you never said you did like me.”

            “Look” he growled.

            “Corey! That’s enough!” Tara called from somewhere behind me. She walked into my line of sight and put her hand on his shoulder.  “…think she’s ready” is what I heard her whisper to him.

            “Yeah. We finished last night” Tom said as he walked in.

            “Ready for what?” I asked.

            “How hard did you make it?” Tara inquired, totally ignoring me.

            “What did you finish?’ I tried again, a little louder.

            “As hard as possible” Corey said, making a point to stare at me.

            “Hello?” I said, practically screaming.

            “We made it easy for a Kestrel” Tom said, shoving Corey.

            “SOMEBODY ANSWER ME!”

            The three of them stopped talking and stared at me.

            “Ok ok” Tara said. “No need to shout.”

            I glared at her.

            “C’mon outside” Tom said. “We’ll show you.”

            Corey moved to grab my arm. Instinctively, I moved away from him.

            “Either I can hold you, or I can handcuff you” he said angrily.

            I reluctantly let him grab my arms.

            “This way” Tom said, heading out.

            I followed, unsure of what was coming next.

The bright light forced me to pull my arm away from Corey to shield my eyes. He yanked my arm back, forcing the brightness upon my.

            “Now now” Tom said. “Be nice Corey.”

            He grumbled something inaudible, but he didn’t let go of my arm.

********

            When my eyes finally adjusted, I looked around. I was facing a field. Tara was sitting on the ground next to me.

            “My feet hurt” she complained. “It feels like we’ve been walking for hours!”

            “It’s been ten minutes!” Corey snapped.

            “I know. It just feels like it’s been longer” she pouted.

            “Where are we?” I asked, breaking up the mini fight.

            “A place” Tom said vaguely.

            “Ok… Why are we here?” I tried.

            “For your training” Corey said.

            From the way he was grinning, I could tell this wasn’t going to be fun…or easy. I gulped. “What do I have to do?”

            Tara stood up. “Basically, there are a few tests we want you to take” she said.

            “And why should I? You did kidnap me.

            Tom sighed. “We can help you get your memory back. But first, we have to see what you remember.”

            “Oh, that’s easy! My name is Liz Kestrel, and aardvark is spelled                 

A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K!”

            Corey laughed. “She’s hopeless!”

            “Oh boy” Tara sighed. “This’ll be interesting.”

“Ok” Tom said. “Test one. Memorization. You’re going to run through an obstacle course. Timed, of course.”

            “Sure” I said uneasily. Tara put a blindfold over my eyes. “Hey! What’s this for?”

            “It’s so you don’t see the course before hand” she explained. She guided me over to the “course” and pulled the blindfold off.

            “GO!” Tom said, activating a stopwatch.

            Tara pushed me forward, into my obstacle course: a playground.

            I started running, following the orange cones Tom and Corey had apparently set down for me. Is this what they finished last night? I could have done this! Even a toddler could have put cones in a line!

            I swung across the monkey bars, and raced to the final slide. This is it!  I slid down and stood up. “Done!” I announced.

            Tom clicked the stopwatch. “2:13. Not bad. But now it gets harder.” He nodded to Tara. She started to collect the cones.

            “What, I have to do it from memory now?” I asked sarcastically.

            “Yup” Tom said.

            My smile dropped from my face and shattered on the ground.

            Corey started laughing, again.

            “You can do it” Tara said as she rejoined us. Just trust your instincts!” She led me back to the start, without the blindfold.

            “GO!”

            I started running again. Am I supposed to go right or left? I decided on left.

            “Stop!” Tom called.

            “Did…did I go the wrong way?”

            “Yes.”

            Corey’s laughter increased. “Try it again!” he said. “But this time, fall off of the monkey bars!”

            “Beyond! Stop it!” Now it was Tom’s turn to snap.

            “Come on. You can do it. Trust your instincts” Tara repeated.

            “Alright” I said nervously.

            She gave me a death stare.

            “I mean… I’ll try my best!”

            “That’s better.” She smiled.

            I took a deep breath, and headed back to the starting line.

Trust my instincts. My mind was racing, trying to remember the way through. Then, a new idea popped into my head. Close your eyes. I must have jumped, because Corey started shouting.

            “Are you ready yet?

            “Hang on. Give me a minute” was my reply. I started having a mental argument with myself.

            Close your eyes.

            No, that’s a stupid idea.

            CLOSE your eyes.

            But what if I fall and get hurt?

            CLOSE your EYES.

            No, it’s not sensible.

            CLOSE YOUR EYES!

            Ok ok! I’ll try. Just stop yelling at me.

            “Ok! I’m ready!” I called, shutting my eyes.

            “GO” Tom said for the third time.

            I started walking forward, and an incredible image painted itself in my mind. It was the playground, complete with the cones! Left, right, stairs, monkey bars. I felt myself sliding down, and then my feet hit the ground. I stood and opened my eyes. “Done!” I looked at Tara, and smiled. “Thanks a lot!” I said.

            She just stared at me.

            “What?” I asked nervously.

            Tom turned the stopwatch around so I could see the time. The number “1:53” flashed on the screen. Even Corey was silent.

            “Oh my god” I said quietly.

            “That…was…AMAZING!” Tom said. He smiled. “C’mon. Let’s go back and celebrate!”

            We walked back through the tunnel, laughing and chatting the whole time.

            I told you so my brain said.