Day 8

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Day 1

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“Ahh, I can finally relax.” I thought to myself. After a long hard year of college, it was finally summer break. The pool reeked of sunscreen, chlorine, and cheap hot dogs, but I didn’t care. Today was too perfect. “Hey.” I awoke to the bright sun and this gorgeous girl standing over me. “Hey,” I replied. My voice was husky. She smiled. “ To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?” “Eleanor.” She held out her hand. I accepted. “Cory.” I noticed she had a little girl with her. Did she look scared? I crouched down to talk to her, but she ignored me. She just stared. “Lexie has been mute for years,” Eleanor told me. “Good luck getting her to talk.” “Lexie?” “Yeah, that’s her name, is something wrong?” “No, it’s just, nothing.” “Okay, wanna get out of here?” “Sure, let’s go to Shake Shack. My treat.” 

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Day 2

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I couldn’t stop thinking about Lexie. It was like her eyes had frozen into my soul. She had a permanent spot in my brain. I eventually fell asleep and had a little dream about her. She mostly just stared, but her scared stare turned into a creepy kinda happy stare. She slowly started to grin. Her face twisted into a young girl who looked like, like, my sister? No that was impossible, I don’t have a sister. But this girl was my sister I just knew. I awoke with an urge to get out of the house. It was 3 am. Perfect. The witching hour. I drove around and eventually went to my old elementary school or where it used to be; they tore down the school and built another government building. The playground was still there though. I sat on a swing and drifted off to sleep under the stars. 

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Day 3

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Birds chirping and the bright sunshine woke me up groggily. With my luck I fell backwards out of the swing and landed on my phone. Perfect, I thought annoyed. No way to tell the time I made my way to my car. Thank god that was still there. I didn’t even lock it. I was about halfway home when I heard giggling from the back of my car. Scared I pulled over. I opened the door to the back and saw no one. Weird. I was probably just tired. I made it home to find Eleanor inside my house. Lexie was there too. “Oh, hey, Cory. Nice place you got here.” “Thanks?” I was confused. Was I still dreaming? I didn’t think so, I felt awake. “What are you doing here?” Eleanor had disappeared, Lexie took her place. Wide-eyed she approached me. “Help me” she whimpered. “How? How do I help?!” “Stop Eleanor.” She whispered. Eleanor danced her way back into my living room. “What’s up?” “Nothing much. Hey, how did you find my address?” “I know people who know people.” She replied. Great. I only met this girl 2 days ago and she already knows my address. And apparently I need to stop her. This day just keeps getting better and better. 

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Day 4

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Eleanor invited herself to stay the night. I didn’t object. I was scared for Lexie. That night I had the same dream as the night before. Lexie twisted herself into my sister, after staring. 3 am. Again? How many times would I have this repetitive dream and awake at 3 am? I startled myself as I made my way into the kitchen. Lexie was sitting in the corner. That's odd. I tapped her shoulder, and she shot awake. Terrified, she relaxed when she saw it was me. I led her outside so we could talk. “So, let me get this straight. Eleanor is actually a demon named Addison and she's been keeping you captive and rewiring your brain to give you snow/ ice powers.” I said astonished. “Yep, I’m a guinea pig.” “Hey, don’t say that, you're safe here.” “You know that’s not true. She wants to take you captive as well.” “I won’t let her.” “Good luck, they have been tracking you for years. They will know every move you make.” Horrified I backed away from the child. “Can you use your powers now?” “Yes, but it’s too dangerous right now. I have a plan.” “What is it?” “I can’t tell you here, she might be listening.” The next morning Lexie and I were scrambling eggs and singing a song. “Last friday night, yeah we danced on tabletops and we took too many shots, ooohhhh.” “God, could you be any more off-key?” She laughed. “What’s for breakfast?” “Eggs and toast.” “Mmm.” “Hey, is it cool if I take Lexie out later? I want to show her this secret spot and maybe take her for ice cream.” “Yeah, I have some shopping I need to do anyway.” “Cool, we're going to head out in 20.” I got Lexie dressed in some clothes, wait whose clothes are these? Maybe Eleanor brought them, oh well guess she's planning on taking over my entire apartment. Stuffed her in the car and took her back to the playground. “Spill it all now.” I demanded like a spoiled brat. “Not yet, when the time is right.” She replied patiently. I huffed. What now I get this crap from her? No. “Lexie tell me now.” “I can’t.” “Why not!” “Because I don’t have a plan! But I need your help to formulate one.” Ughh fine. “What do I need to do?” As she explained, I kept seeing myself in her, the way she talked with her hands, the sound of her voice. “Hey! Are you even listening?! I am trying to save you here and if you don’t start helping we're both going down.” “I’m sorry, I promise to pay attention from now on.” “Good, now as I was saying-” She explained how she was taken from the hospital she was born and used for experiments. She had wires, chains, tanks and everything you could have imagined. She was so cool. In a dorky sad way, but still cool. We left the park and purchased some ice cream so we wouldn’t look suspicious. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw Eleanor sneaking out the door. Hm. “Hey, Lexie, stay in the car I’ll be right back.” “Wait-.” I slammed the door before she could finish. I tried to follow Eleanor, but she left no trail. It was nearing dark, where could she be going? I made my way back to Lexie and helped her out of the car. “What were you doing? Chasing Eleanor like that!” “It was stupid, I know, but I didn’t-” I stopped. My apartment has just burst into flames. “AHHHHHHHH” I heard Lexie scream. I looked around. No one else was screaming. No one was even looking at the fire. “Is Eleanor messing with our minds?” I asked weirdly. “She shouldn’t be able to! It took her years to get into my brain!” “Don’t you think things might be a little more developed now?” I glance back at the fire, or where it should be. “Lexie, it stopped.” “Oh, no.” “That didn’t sound good.” 

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Day 5

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“Hey, wake up!” Someone whispered from the darkness. “Mom?” I asked the mysterious figure. “No! Lexie, look we gotta go right now.” Before I could object she had pulled me up onto my feet and we were out the door. “Where are we going?!” “Anywhere, but here.” The woods started to fly by as I started running. I could see something ahead. My apartment complex? “We just went in a circle.” Lexie said with disbelief. “That’s impossi-'' I saw Eleanor floating down from a tree. “I’ve been waiting for you. It’s rude to keep your guests waiting don’t you think?” I glanced down at Lexie who was frantically looking around. For an escape route I guessed. Then she just started talking. “Look Eleanor, we were just trying to get you a present.” “Yeah, sure. And why would I believe that?” “It’s true!” I objected. “And what were you going to get me?” “If we told you it wouldn’t be special.” I replied. “Ugh, you boring humans and your need for secrets.” “Wha-” I started, but Lexie interrupted me and screamed. “RUN!” Not thinking about it, my legs just started moving. I kept glancing back at Lexie who had a devilish grin on her face. That's a new face. After I heard her scream I didn’t look back. I had gone a few miles before I stopped running. Crap, crap, crap I thought. “LEXIE!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was angry and alone. Unsure of what to do next, I found a pinecone. Just an ordinary pinecone, but it was my pinecone. As I kicked it along the street I kept thinking about Lexie and if she was my sister. It seemed doubtful, but I also felt a connection to her. I don’t know. I found an abandoned mini mall and decided to stay there. As I fell asleep, Lexie kept coming into my thoughts. And eventually, I was having that dream again. Her eyes kept staring, scared and lonely. Just as I felt. My body jerked awake. Gasping for air, I started thinking about something I had read. When you jerk awake, your brain is testing if you're still alive. Maybe I am dead and this is hell. I’d make sense, Eleanor being a demon and all. I checked the time. 3:00 am on the dot. Why? Just why. 

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Day 6

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I couldn’t stay there. I tried, but I couldn’t. Lexie was in trouble and I needed to help her. She only got re-captured because of me. I was wandering the streets, kicking my pinecone, when some blinding lights came up the hill. I tried to move, but my legs were paralyzed. I looked in the car and saw something I’d never forget. The look on Eleanors face as she pressed the gas. “NO!” Lexie jumped and pushed me out of the way, landing safely on top of me. We got up and started running, but I was so, so tired. “Hey, Lexie? I think I’m going to sit here and take a nap.” “No, that's exactly what she wants! She’s gotten into your brain, come on.” Limping all over town we made it out of the woods and came to a clearing. Pentagrams everywhere, I felt beaten. Lexie sighed. “We are literally standing on the gateway to hell.” No, no, no. This can’t be happening, we're too young to die! “Okay, Lexie, I’m gonna get us out of this. I think it's time we test your powers.” “What if I hurt you? Or can’t use them properly?” “Hey, don’t worry about that right now we need to stop Eleanor.” “Try blasting the tree with ice.” Her powers work alright. She blasted the tree and it started to snow. Faster and faster the snow started to fall. “Can you make it stop?” “I don’t know! I should be able to, but I can’t figure it out!” “We need to go, we'll figure it out later. Running away from the gates of hell, night fell. “Where are we going to stay the night?” Lexie asked. “I know a place. Come on.” It was my turn to drag her through the city. We made it to the mini mall and my pinecone was still there! I scooped up the pinecone and placed it carefully in my pocket. Lexie was walking. around exploring. “Hey, you get some sleep, Lex. I’ll take the first watch.” “Okay.” She soon fell asleep. I kept drifting off, but refused to sleep. She woke up around midnight and asked for food. We walked around and found some canned corn and chili. Even though it was cold, it tasted like the best thing in the world.  

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Day 7

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Over the past week, I have met a demon possibly found my long lost sister and basically went to hell. What a week. But it's not over yet. We still have to stop Eleanor. “Lexie, come on we need to stop Eleanor.” I jokingly whine. “Lex?” Silence. Oh no. “Lexie!” I screamed as I rushed to where I last left her. She was right there, right where I left her. Still sleeping peacefully. Odd. “Hey, Lex, time to wake up.” I tapped her shoulder and she rolled over. Staring at me. With the same stare she wore when I first met her. “Look up.” She whispered. I slowly turned and saw what she was looking at. A person. Dead. Or near dead. It smelled awful. “Comeonwegottago.” I stammered. We bolted for the door. Nearly escaping death yet again. “Alright, we can’t keep avoiding Eleanor forever. She will find us.” Lexie said. “Yeah, I know.” “Alright. What’s our plan?” 

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Day 8

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Plan, plan, plan. Prep, prep, prep. The work never ended. We thought long and hard about what would be the next best steps and had some pretty good ideas, but found a pretty rock solid plan. “It’s gonna be a long day, we should rest up.” I told Lexie. “I’m not tired, you can sleep first.” So I did. Slept like a baby, until I heard this blood curdling scream. I jolted awake and went to check on Lexie. I saw her up on a pillar above me. “Lexie! What are you doing up there?” Still she continued to pace back and forth as she hadn’t even heard me. LEXIE! I almost screamed, but didn’t. Out of the corner of my eye, Isaw something fly by. “SNAP!” Something broke. Someone screamed. Someone cackled. And just like that Lexie was gone. Again. No, no, no. This can’t be happening again. I scrambled out the door searching for any sign of her. No luck. I wandered all over town searching. It had started nearing dark when I realized where I was. Back in the gates of hell. Literally. I was about to leave when I heard Lexie scream. “CORY, OVER HERE!” I ran as fast I could and saw her in a little prison. Eleanor was nowhere in sight. I freed Lexie and we decided it was time. “Lex, are you sure you can do this?” “I have to, it's the only way.” She replied. As almost as on cue, Eleanor appeared. “Let’s do this.” The fight began. Lexie blasting left and right. Eleanor dodging the blasts easily. Lexie gave it one last blast and Eleanor had reflected it. I jumped in front of her. Frozen. Lexie whimpered as the ice covered her face. Eleanor laughed. She left. Maybe she went back to hell where she belongs. Either way she left us together, frozen forever.