Hi, my name is Lucy Zipperman. I’m 14-years-old and my family is as normal as a 14-year-old girl’s family can be, or so I thought. This is about me, my family, and what should have been  a normal family vacation.
                It was a chilly day with air whipping my face in every direction, the last day of school before winter break was always cold and miserable, but no one cared because all they could think about was leaving town the next day. This was never me, I was always left in the dust when my friends went on vacations. My family called it a “stay-cation”. When it came to money my family was so cheap. They couldn’t even think about going to the store without bunches of coupons, which basically meant, NO vacations.
            This year was different. My parents decided to take us on a family vacation! Of course my dad found some deal that flew us to a far off island for free. The fact that it was free didn't matter to me, as long as I could brag about it to my friends. Which I did!
          When I walked into my last class of the day, I was so excited that all I could do was stare at the clock. Finally, after what seemed like days, school was over! I hopped out of my chair and sprinted out the door. I was ready to rush into the plane, but I was forgetting two small details: My flight was the next day, and I had to walk to Wallenburg Elementary to pick up my nine-year-old brother, Watson. He was the brattiest fourth grader I knew.
          By the time my brother walked out of school, he was just as excited. We rushed to our ranch style house to settle in for the night. We were asleep by 8:30 pm and woke up rejuvenated at 4:30 am. Not clarifying the time, my family prepared breakfast, packed the car, and headed to the airport. We arrived at 5:25 am, finally looking at a clock only to realize how early we had left. As the time ticked past, we waited for our 10:00 a.m. flight to arrive.
           I should have suspected that this trip would go bad from the time we got on the plane with NO other passengers. Yet, I had no clue what I was in for. When the plane landed, I felt an awful sensation in my ears. Maybe the troubles of an airplane passenger? As I reached the sliding doors at the end of the airport and noticed there were no workers… and nobody else there, I knew something was wrong. My family hadn't been paying any attention to me at that point because I stopped dead in my tracks and there I stood, wondering why, oh why no one was there. Suddenly, it occurred to me that this plane ticket and trip was free for a reason. This thought nearly scared me half to death.

               We walked out to the street to find no cars, no people, and no civilization. Stranded, on an island, like one of those action storybooks. We decided to pass through a few streets to see if anyone could be found. As we walked, even though I knew we were in trouble, I felt somewhat calm. We stopped at a few shops as we passed by, all of them with doors swinging wide open. This made me realize that everyone who was one on this island must have left in a hurry.
               Oh no, I thought. Soon I figured out it was not long ago that the people fled because at the corner of 12th Street and Grand Blvd. there was a market. Fresh fruit galore! My parent’s eyes widened knowing that they didn't have to pay. We walked through the aisles looking for fruit with the most protein since we didn't know when the next time we would eat. As we scrounged around, my brother wandered off, only to find a large amusement park on Grand Blvd. My parents and I raced after one another to reach the  park. We all had wondered why Watson would bring us to this dump of an amusement park until he said, “I've brought us here because it will keep us occupied, and there are many food stands which I assume will be open.” If you didn't catch it from that last statement, my brother was very wise for his age, or some may say “gifted”. Which in comparison to me is sad, I'm just normal.
           We roamed throughout the park as the sun began to disappear along the horizon. As the night grew, my family gathered at a Ferris wheel, which was then considered our new home. I woke up with a terrible stomachache. Soon, I came to the conclusion that I forgot to eat all day yesterday, oops. My mom, Linda, gave me a guava to fill me up with its protein. After midnight passed my calmness turned to fear. I didn't know why or how this was happening to me, but I needed to figure it out soon before something very tragic happened. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. Instead I counted the stars over and over again.
         Once dawn broke, I scanned the horizon to find an even more frightening sight than the night before. My mom was gone! I first thought that she had just left on a stroll. Then I saw the blood. This made my stomach growl even fiercer than before. Suddenly, I realized the people didn't leave.

I woke up screaming, hoping it was only a dream and realized I must have passed out when I couldn't find my mom. When I fully came to, I found myself near a cotton candy booth with my hands all sticky, hair tied back, and my shirt all sweaty. I thought to myself, I must have been sleepwalking again. It scared me a lot that the past few hours were a blur. I decided to go out to search for my dad and Watson. Once I made at least three laps around the park, I came to the conclusion that they had left or that they were taken. Either way, I was alone. I tried to figure out how in the world I would survive without my parents to make wise executive decisions.
After a lot of thinking, I scurried out of the park and down the street determined to find my family. I went in and out of shops that were conveniently left open by the people who I have now figured out, were kidnapped.
I was very mad at myself for not realizing sooner that blood was on the floor, just as it was when my mom was found missing. I felt so stupid, just like when I walked straight onto that airplane with no other passengers! Wait, was there even a pilot or was it automatic?! It scares me to think about! Anyway, I needed to find my family, and soon!
Since I was on Grand Blvd. I decided to go to the Grand Hotel. I walked through the spinning door, spiraled around in circles a few times, and then entered a hotel that looked like none of the town buildings that I had yet visited. The red carpet, fuzzy green pleated seats, and gold edging really complimented all of the wooden furniture. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen, until I saw yet another trail of blood.
Scared just as much as I was getting off of the plane, I reluctantly followed the trail. I rounded a few corners slowly creeping backwards until I spotted the end of the trail. It was near a large green door with a big gold plaque stating not to go in under any circumstance. I knew this was the place I needed to be. I slowly approached the door, placed my shivering hand atop the handle, and slowly began to turn the knob. Once the door was halfway open I poked my head into the room. It was pitch black other than one light on a table in the center of the room. The light was pointed to something, Perhaps it is a note, I thought. I tip-toed over, slipping my fingers underneath the folds of the envelope, and pulled out a letter.

Dear Visitor,
You shouldn't be here! Leave or ELSE. If you speak of this to anyone, I will come and find you. I promise you don't want to be in that situation. Don't mind the dark red stains on the carpet....... We had an accident. Deeply consider this letter before taking ANY CHANCES. Thank you.
        Sincerely, ANONYMOUS

Who wrote this, I wondered, and who else is here other than my family? Who took them? I hope I'm not being watched. I found a hatch door underneath the table and within it I spotted a key. Wondering where it would lead me, I snuck back into the hallway.
Squinting through my adjusting eyesight, I saw the number 222 engraved into the key. I wiped my eyes to make sure I saw the number right. My birthday was February 22! The key was for me. They knew it was me. They were coming for me. Again, I asked myself, Who are they? Why do they want me? I wanted to know so badly, and planned to find out. But first, I needed to follow the blood back to where I started, and find what the key was for.

Following the splattered blood trail, I dragged my feet almost tripping myself every five inches in the long luscious green carpet. Once I reached the lobby, I came to the conclusion that I was going to go to the second floor and find the room that I needed to reach my parents and brother. I hopped into the elevator located to the left of the lobby and realized there was another problem. The elevators had stopped midway between the floor I was on and the floor that I needed to get to.
          I slapped all of the buttons in a panic. Including the fire alarm! My ears began to scream as the alarm blasted from the speakers hidden within the elevator. Water started shooting out of the sprinklers, and suddenly I remembered how everyone gets out of elevators in the movies! Jumping up to the overhead grate, I curled my fingers around the frame and ripped it off it's hinges! I felt like an action movie star as I crawled out of the elevator but I had no one to share the experience with. I was alone, all alone. No one to watch over me and make sure I was all right. No one to comfort me in hard times. No one to just laugh with at random times, I was alone.
            It was time to voyage to room 222. After about an hour of walking up and down the hallway I reached the large green door with a very similar engravings that said, "Do not enter under any circumstance." In what seemed to be fingernail scrapings under the message it said, "Lucy come I knew you would soon join me." That gave me the shivers. I slipped the key into the hole and slowly turned the doorknob... There was no going back.

When the door creaked open light flooded into my eyes blinding me for the near seconds to come. My 20-20 vision left quickly and all I could see was white. I felt that I had died in that moment, and was drifting towards the heavens.
Returning to my body, I realized in the center of the room that there was another note, but this time it was splattered red. It seemed that this note was out of place in the majestic white room, as if it wasn’t supposed to be there. Tip-toeing towards the tattered sheet, I reached for the paper and read the scribbled writing:

HELP US PLEASE! This darked haired, tall creature has taken us in as prisoners! I don’t have much time, but we are in the kitchen and dining room. Come quick or else we may no live!

It was time for me to be the hero, not Watson
        In front of me were the beautiful brown wooden doors that would lead me into the blood bath. I wondered what I would see if I opened the door, maybe a two-headed goblin, or a hairy werewolf, or even a creepy old man. To stop my imagination, I placed my shaky hand on the finely-crafted wood and slid it against the floor. What I saw was even more frightening than I had imagined. My dad was sitting there with a gun in hand. At first I thought he was asleep, but at second glance I saw blood dripping down his forehead. Whoever did this had gone crazy. I hoped it wouldn't be too late to save anyone else. I creeped up to my dad's forehead and carefully wiped my dad's blood on my shirt, telling myself it would all be okay.
         When I pushed my way into the other room, I found myself in a waiting room, the transformed dining room. Everyone shuddered with fear as I stepped into the room. The fear soon perished as they realized I was not the man. Then they all ran towards me, asking if I had defeated the creature. They said he had left about two hours earlier and hadn't been back since. One person described him as having a gun on hand. Oh my gosh, I thought , it couldn't be.
We walked back into the kitchen and I screamed out, “Why dad? Why?!?” I immediately realized that this was wrong when I felt a circular object press against my head. This was no ordinary vacation.
         I realized it was the barrel of my dad's gun. I heard the man whisper in my ear, “Your dad may have taken his own life, but we are taking yours. Just in case.” Next there was a loud boom. My life flashed before my eyes, I saw hidden clues about my dad. When I had asked him why we needed a gun on the trip, he said for safety; he was the only one in my family who didn't leave blood when they disappeared; and this vacation was specifically planned to a “work” place. I just didn't know why. Then I felt my life slowly being drawn out of me, starting at black and slowly draining out to that majestic white room again. I heard in the background what seemed like an officer saying that my father was mentally ill. I couldn't believe him. All I could do was go over my story in my head and now I am at the end. I’m done. A delightful destination? More like disastrous. Goodbye.