As I sit in my murky dark cell, I trace the purple lines running up and down my blue skin in swirls, lines, and a whole bunch of different designs, (I didn’t mean to make that rhyme) while counting the seconds till I die. I’ve only been here for three days and I already feel like I’m dying slowly as time ticks by. Suddenly a clicking sound comes from the door making me jump slightly and it creaks open as someone walks through. Right, I must have a visitor.
 

Wait! You must be wondering why and how I got here, huh? Well, what if I just bring you into my point of view from the beginning? Sound good? Good. Be warned! This will have A LOT of drama, action, a little romance, and fantasy! Don’t say I didn’t warn you, now let us get into the story…

I take a sharp turn down a long, narrow, dark, and dense alleyway as a pair of footsteps are chasing after me. The moon is glowing above me, making the purple lines on my skin glow, making it easier for me to be spotted.

 

The person from behind me yells.

 

“Esta! Wait up! I only wanna talk about this please!”

 

“Go away your dirty old con artist! Cheaters don’t get a chance!”

 

I slide into a door that leads to my basement from the outside and locks the doors, sitting in the dark only making out my purple lines. Suddenly I can see a slight figure in the dark with me, so I quietly grab some sort of cloth that is next to me and wrap it around myself to hide my lines and slowly crouch down in the corner. All of a sudden this figure jumps on me making me screech! Then the lights turn on and I see my father’s playful grin spread across his face.

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“Dad! You scared me! I thought you were some random dude in our basement,” I say, rolling my eyes and pushing him off, making him laugh.

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“Oh, alright, I’m sorry, but doesn’t change the fact that your expression was priceless. I could see the fear spread across your face,” he laughs more. “Well, you were just in time for dinner. Wash up and come eat.”

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I nod and wait for my father to leave before stretching up with my arms, then I walk up the stairs and to my room. I change and wash off the dirt and grime that is plastered on my skin, then I walk down to the kitchen and plop down in a chair and wait for my mother to set the plates in front of me and my two other brothers.

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“How was work today papa?” my youngest brother says, smiling widely.

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“It was good Abner, thanks for asking. How was school for y’all?”

 

“It was good, nothing new.” 

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My oldest brother leans back in his chair as he responds, his eyes closed and jacket almost falling to the ground, clearly tired.

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“It was great papa! I met some new friends. One was a very pretty girl around my age,” Abner says, smiling and blushing, as always when he talks about a new girl he meets.

 

Father looks over at me waiting for my response but I just sit there. How could the one who said he loved me flat out kiss a guy, and where everyone can see! That was one jerky move if you ask me.

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Father pulls my chair from out of under me, making me fall hard to the ground, and I squint, rubbing the back of my head as everyone else chuckles under their breath. 

“Earth to Esta, how was your day?”

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I grumble and get up rolling my eyes. “It was fine,” I groan and take my chair back and sit. “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

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“Alright hun, know I’m here if ya need to talk.”

​

All of a sudden somebody knocks at the door. Shocked, I look over, as I didn’t expect anyone to come over, and clearly everyone else thought the same.

Who is at the door? How does Esta wind up in that cell, waiting to die? Read Chapter 2 to find out!
 

The knock startled all of us. My father gets up and tells us to stay at the table before walking to the door and opening it. My mother and siblings look at each other before I slowly get up and walk to the door frame, listening in to see who it is.

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“Sir, Does Esta Ajambo live in this building?”

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My father answers hesitantly. “Yes, why?”

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“We are here to take her. She is part of Alien lifeform and needs to be taken into custody by government order.”

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“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to do that.”

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I peek around the corner to see two police officers trying to push through the door, but my father is blocking the way, growling. He swerves his head around and screams to me. “ESTA RUN, RUN NOW!”

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“But father!-” 

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He gives me a tear-filled stern look and I hesitate before turning around and sprinting down to the basement and out the basement door and down the alleyway to see my ex standing by the door. I stop for a split second, giving him enough time to look up at me, and I start sprinting again. 

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“Esta, wait! Where are you going?” he yells, and starts chasing me with loud footsteps. 

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“Kalen, not now, it’s not the time.”

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He grabs my arm and spins me around. “Listen to me, Esta. Give me another chance, please!” 

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Tears roll down his cheeks slowly one by one, and his lip is quivering. I look at him, trying to ignore his tears, and see a set of officers running down the alley, so I grab Kalen’s arm, groaning, and start running down the alley away from them.
 
“Just be quiet,” I sigh, and take a sharp turn, then hop into a taxi that someone else was going in. “I’ll pay double. Just drive.” 

 

I pull the random person in and the driver looks at me scared before obeying. The Police shoot a tire, making the taxi swerve, and the world goes black and all I hear is screams.

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Find out what happens when Esta regains consciousness in our next edition of The Paper!

I start to hear a faint sound of my name and then I hear a groan. Realizing the groan came from me, I open my eyes a bit, then squint in pain as a shooting ache runs through my head. I slowly start to get feeling in my legs and arms, but not enough to move around, so I just look around squinting.

 

“Esta! Babe, you're awake,” he smiles widely and sighs lightly in relief.

 

I look over at him, his brown hair covering his green eyes as he stares at me. I groan and push myself up, ignoring the huge amount of pain coursing through my body. 

 

“Where are we, Kalen? I wasn’t planning on being kidnapped.”

 

He rolls his eyes and answers with a slight annoyance in his tone, “I didn’t kidnap you, Esta, there would be no need for me to. We are in an abandoned building not too far from the border of the town. Why?”

 

“You’re telling me that you carried and brought me miles away from home! How long have I even been out for?! There isn’t any way you dragged me hundreds of miles.”

 

“Just a week, nothing too long. Plus it wasn’t hard. A few friends from the street helped me out, too. Hey, Caroline, while she is awake can you grab somethin’ for her to eat and drink?”

 

The girl that I saw kissing Kalen walks out with a glass of water and all of a sudden I feel heat rise to my face in anger. I stand up and throw the glass out of her hand, and she stumbles back, gasping.

 

“Is this a joke!” I laugh in pure anger and spin around toward Kalen. “The girl you clearly kissed is here! I’m done. Where is the damn exit before I choke the hell out of you.”

 

Caroline walks over hesitantly and puts a hand on my shoulder, and I growl, feeling the anger coursing through my body, and I slam her into the wall. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

 

“Babe, calm down..” Kalen says, walking over. He tries to calm me down, but I just drop Caroline and I push Kalen out of the way, walking out the door and down what seems like an endless hallway.

 

I hear a light pair of heels hitting the ground behind me and I growl a bit, stopping and spinning around, getting ready to scream at Caroline. But a guy in heels is running towards me. 

 

“H-hey, wait! You're wounded.” 

 

He stops in front of me and pants lightly, then grabs my hand. I stand there shocked. He grabs me lightly by the arm and pulls me to a separate room, then wraps up my wounds that I hadn’t noticed before. 

 

“The name’s Kevin,” he says, reaching out his hand and smiling widely.

 

Where is Esta, really? Is Kevin as nice as he seems? What happens next?