Serena

Instead of crying about Eric for the rest of the day, I make myself useful. Apparently I have a great, yet shameful talent. I'm a great pickpocket. It's not honorable but we are in desperate need for money. I climb down the stairs to lobby to find the first wave of tourists checking in. I find a lean blonde woman with rings covering her fingers and bracelets creeping up her arms. She wears a short red dress and red stiletto heels. Her husband, tall and blonde like her, waits in line for check in. Three blonde little girls run in circles around the woman, screaming happily.

"Girls, please behave!" the woman shrieks and sends the girls off with a weary looking woman in maid clothes. I make my way causally to the woman. She spots me and gives me a look of disgust.

"What happened to you?!" she smacks noisily on her gum. I sigh and make small talk with her. The girls come running back and the woman throws her purse in my arms.

“Anna, please don't hit Jenny! No, you may not hit Rose either!" she cries in exasperation. She chases after the girls and I casually slip my hand into the bag. I gently pull out a few bills from her wallet and place them in my pocket. Her husband runs over to me and grabs the purse from me.

"Thank you for keeping this safe," he murmurs to me. I smile at him and search for my next target. I feel a bit guilty, but that might be my growling stomach. I spot a younger woman around the age of 24. Her red curls stand out in the full crowd. Her backpack pocket is open so I move around behind her. Inside, I see a small wallet stuffed with bills. I pretend to bump into her and quickly grab the wallet. I apologize and she turns back around. I pull out two bills and place the wallet back as gently as possible. She doesn't notice and I waltz off to count what I collected. I pulled three hundred from the wealthy blonde and one hundred from the young one. Four hundred total! I race back upstairs and enter our room.

"Guess who just scored us four hundred dollars?!" I grin.

We each get fifty dollars spending money each leaving one hundred dollars for food later. Down at the store we separate and promise to be outside at 2:45 sharp. I go looking for shoes first. I find a simple pair of tennis shoes, great for lots of running. I grab a pair of light blue jeans and two black sweaters. Fall is going to be cold wherever we go. Finally, I buy a new black backpack and head outside. When everyone pays, I realize we all bought similar clothes. Black shirts, jeans or leggings, running shoes, and equipped ourselves with new black backpacks. We head back to the hotel to change and shower. I braid my wet hair and examine myself in the mirror. I don't look too bad now. My ribs still show but the sweater I bought hides them a bit more. Eric and Dawson run down the street to grab some food at the market. Kathryn sighs and throws herself onto her bed. Kylie stares at me.

"You ok?" I ask her worriedly. She snaps out of her daydream.

"Oh, yeah," she says dreamily. "I was just looking at your necklace." I look down and see the necklace Eric had given me. I remember the promise I made him and I feel angry. I take it off and hand it to her.

"Are you sure?" Her eyes were wide. I nod. She thanks me and I plop down on the couch. On the table next to me a black phone sits in silence. An idea pops into my head and I dial my friend Aly's number. The phone rings twice, then she picks up.

"Hello?" her voice asks confidently. Tears rush to my eyes. She sounds sad.

"Aly? It's Serena."

"YOU'RE ALIVE. I WAS SO WORRIED. I MISS YOU SO MUCH. WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED TO COME WITH YOU!"

"I missed you too." I grin, "But you can’t come with me. People have died."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. How are they?" she asks. I feel like I should lie to protect Aly, but there is no use with her. She wants to know the truth even if it hurts.

"We've met new friends. I actually had a boyfriend... but he isn't very happy with me now," I say slowly.

"That's great! Not the boyfriend thing though."

"I guess."

"How are Megan and Riley?

"Dead."

"Dawson?"

"Completely mental."

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

"It's going to be alright," I try to reassure her.

"You sure you're ok?"

"I don't think I'll ever be ok," I say with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"You heard about your family?"

"Sadly."

"You heard about Trenton's?"

"WHAT?!"

"They died the same day. I'm sorry." Her voice turns thick from tears.

"At least he's with them."

"Where are you?"

“I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"I don't want you hurt." The line is silent again before she finally speaks.

"Be careful and come home soon, alright?"

"I’ll try," I say and the line goes dead. I put my head in my hands. I miss her so much. She would know what to do right now. Aly would be able to help. I can't risk her getting hurt though. I stand up and head to my bed to take a nap. Kathryn is sound asleep on hers. I don't blame her. I fluff up the pillows and lay down. On the ceiling above me is a huge brown hairy spider. I stare at it in awe. Spiders are my biggest fear, but this one mesmerized me. It quickly spins a web with one single word.

“HELP”

Everything spins and the world goes black.