She woke up shaking. Ha. She looks around wide eyed, seeing her surroundings her eyelids droop back to their normal positions. Her ragged blanket was wrapped around a small lump at the end of her small bed. Oh, it’s her beast. Knox she calls it. A stupid enough name for a cat. She looks chilled to the bone yet she favors his life over her own. Good choice. Her cat is young and has a chance for a happy life; she’s 12 and never has a chance of making anything of herself. Ill see to that. She won’t need much of my help though. She’s never been to school and knows nothing. Her only job pays 15 cents a day. She lives in a 1 room apartment with 6 kids, soon to be 5 kids. I would never stoop that low. She has to though.


After the bombing of New York City by West America in 2100, many kids were orphaned and brought to one of the created neighborhoods on Long Island. Lanima, her name, was an unlucky one. She got sent to GHA, the scariest of areas and to add to that, kids disappear every day. Lanima can handle it though. She’s going to go through worse.


Its dark and boring in this alley but I have to wait. She’ll come by this alley any moment now. Ah here she comes. “Lanima.” I call out, sweetness dripping. “Yes?” she answers. Idiot girl. Didn’t your parent’s tea- oh right hehe. A shadowy figure turns the corner. She swings her head back and forth “here are you?” I lunge. Yes! Got her. Remember the procedure, attach the chip to her heart, and calibrate it, done. I sneak to her house and place Lanima in her bed. She’s ready to go. She’ll be a star piece in my collection, well, if it works that is.

Today is her turn to go. I sneak into her room happy that everything was going right. Then I step onto a floor board that lets loose a shriek. Then a new shriek joins the chorus, “What are you doing in my room? NO NO!” She screams. I can’t answer. What would I say? Great she’s running now. Even in her 2 sizes too small rain boots she can still beat me. Especially with her new changes. NO. Where did she go? Oh well.



RUN RUN RUN! That’s all I can think. The man from the nightmare is here. That’s not possible. It was just a silly dream. Right? Knox tucked under my coat I bolted around cardboard boxes and curved towards a corner. A large ware house appears at my right. I swerve and run up the fire escape. He stopped chasing me. Whew. It looks like ill be spending the night here. I go to a window. Wait, what’s that. No boats leave Long Island. But there it is pulling out if the bay.

I have to find out what’s going on here. Ill follow it.


Blast. She spotted me. If she knows what’s good for her she will stay where she is. AAAARRRRGGGHHH. Why does she do things like that? I have to speed up on my delivery time now. Kids, in the boat hurry now. She’s coming closer. I should have done her right when I had the chance. That would have made my life easier. Too late now.

She can’t come on my boat. She can’t jump that far. Wait I gave her the engineering so she can. I am so stupid. Well just have to keep driving.


Whoa, did I just do that? Did I just jump twenty feet into the air and land on my feet? Yep I did, cool.

IT’S HIM. Its dream man. He’s on this boat. Oh why did I ever get myself into this? I duck behind a sail. Squatting, I see him scolding a young child. He pulls some thing shining from his back pocket. I have to turn away. I hear a squeak. Silence. Then came the voice that I never want to hear again. Like a chainsaw on steel. “Hey you, behind the sail. C’mere.” It pauses, thinking. “ Or else..” I step out from behind the sail, what other choice do I have? “OH hoho Lanima, look who came aboard the S.S. I don’t care.” He says in a bored voice. “My name is mister by the way, don’t mess with me.” I spot the weapon in his back pocket. I shift away from him whimpering. All of the sudden the young boy I saw him kill walked out of the cabin and started swabbing the deck. Okay something is seriously wrong here. I have to get off this boat.
I run to the railing and look overboard. The too blue too light water looks inviting. The mutated frog and fish with 5 too many eyes do not. “Ha Ha. You saw my little pets. He says. “Gorgeous aren’t they. You’re not going anywhere.”


I have her now, she’s too afraid to do anything but sit in that dirty corner with her cat and cry. Weakling. Ah here we are. Attention arriving at New York City, home of the Beginning of the End. “Children.” I call. “Time to dock.” My creations lead sniffling boys and girls of onto the still smoking ruins. Everything’s running perfect. I here bawling from the back of the line. It’s a small girl. “My mommy is waiting at home. I miss her!” She says. Perfect, a wonderful chance to show everyone who’s boss. I draw my dagger and descend on her. I love the way their eyes widen in horror as they see my intentions. I swiftly slice my knife through the air. A small yelp. Gasps of horror. There, shouldn’t be much more trouble.

We marched down broad way. The old tattered signs advertising shows and movies are paving the street. Many theaters are falling to the ground. In one you can hear the hissing of an animal. Then we make are way to central park. The birds are lively, screeching for their mates who will never be found. A dark warehouse approaches us. Heading inside I see a doorman checking his watch. “Go right in.” he says without looking up. We stuff ourselves into an elevator. Our leader fidgets and keeps his eyes on the floor. He scans his retina and jams a button. We shoot up. Ding. I hear moans and creaks. The space looks way too big to be at the top of this building.

A woman is sitting in a cage. She screams and growls. I want to do something but a guard grabs my neck. I’m marched off to a lab. Kids line the walls. A scientist is making rounds and each time he steps up to one of the kids they flinch. He makes notes and he moves on. I am pushed up to the wall. This is too much, my instincts are screaming to bolt for the door. I do.
Quietly streaming down the hall, I see an angry scientist chasing after me. I turn down a hallway. There, a door! I slam the door behind me. Inside a horror movie is being played. Inside the movie was a small child screaming at a ghost. She then turns to face me. It was the girl Mister killed. “Hey, y” I couldn’t hear the rest. I was already half way down the hall by then.

I rushed through the halls and into another room hanging on the walls were models of animals. Their heads lifted up and they started talking. “Lanima join us.” They whispered. This time I was too entranced in their whispers to hear footsteps
slowly coming up behind me. Large arms wrapped around my neck. A muzzle of a gun was the last thing I saw.

She woke up shaking. Ha