“I’m running away,” Madison announced defiantly.  She chomped a cheese stick in half.
Mike looked up at her.  He had been absentmindedly staring at a poster with brainwashing colors while she complained about her Aunt Lucia and Uncle Gary, which she had been doing for the past hour.  “You’re what?”
“You weren’t listening, were you?”
“Actually, I was.”
“Then repeat word for word what I just said.”  Madison tucked a loose strand of her long red hair behind her ear so it wouldn’t fall into the ocean of marinara next to her cheese sticks.
“Well, you said… uh…” He coughed, then glanced around the diner, hoping for inspiration or a way to change the subject.
“I told you.  So either you come with me or you stay here and die with this crummy town.”  She softened her tone.  “If you plan on tagging along, meet me at 10:00 pm at the college.  I’m going whether you show up or not.”
Madison returned home to bathe and pack.  She did not want to take a bath, but it seemed to be the only way to soothe her frayed nerves.  She was angry with Mike for not agreeing to run away with her.
Madison ran the water, and it roared into the tub.  She wiggled her fingers under the waterfall to test the temperature, then pinned her red locks up in a bun.  She cautiously touched her toe to the water.  She climbed in and stretched her long legs as far as they could go.  She put her head back and let her thoughts run wild.
Would Mike meet her?  No.  Why would he?  His life is perfect.
She looked across the still bath water.  Though she had not moved, the bath water rippled as if someone had tapped the side of the tub.  It settled again.  She pushed a stray lock of hair away from her eyes and slid deeper into the water.
As her mind continued in rapid motion, she began to feel tense.
Had she been wrong?  Would running away really make matters worse?  The first cracks of doubt had started to appear on the surface of her determination.  Did she really know what she was getting herself into?
Suddenly rough hands grabbed her, hard fingers wrapped around her throat, pressing tight, pulling her beneath icy water.
Madison gasped and opened her eyes, startled and alarmed. She glanced around.
Where had that come from?  She wondered, now breathing heavily.
She tried to reconstruct the image in her mind, but it was a blur.
She glanced down into the bath and instantly jerked her legs up with a shriek.
The water was filthy brown with bits of grass and sludge floating on top as if a sewer had backed up the drain.  Her stomach turned and she grabbed the sides of the tub to pull herself out.  She pushed up but could not get her footing on the slick bottom.  Her body crashed downward, sliding toward the front of the tub.  Her head dipped under the water and hit against the curved bottom.  She thrashed out, her hands clawing at something, anything.  With all of her strength, she grabbed the edge of the tub.  Pulling herself up, she catapulted over the side and on to the cold tile.  The water spilled with her, splashing all around.  She lay on her side, coughing and sputtering.
She managed to get her breathing under control and on unsteady legs, stood up and pulled a towel from the rack.
Still, the violent image of rough hands strangling her flashed in and out of her mind.
She turned to the small shelf next to the sink where she had placed clean clothes.  They were no longer there.
“Hmm.”  She thought out loud.  “I know I brought some in.”
She went to grab the robe she had placed on the bathroom door handle.  Gone.  Something was wrong.
Wrapped in only her towel, Madison went to her room in search of clothes.  As she was getting dressed, she heard faint footsteps.  As the sound grew louder, she noticed a shadow from under the door on the opposite side.
“My parents are supposed to be at the concert…” she thought.
The door knob turned and into the room entered a man.  Madison put a hand over her mouth to quiet the scream.  The stranger glanced toward the bathroom and then suddenly snapped his head in her direction.  His eyes grew wide.
They both screamed.