The Phoenix

1

I wake up. Sunlight streams through the narrow crack in my eyelids. I appear to be in some sort of forest clearing. Where am I? The grass is crisp and tiny droplets of dew soak into my skin. It's morning.2

3

My head is aching and my brain moves at a snail's pace. I stumble over to a pond in the middle of the meadow. I cup my hands and splash water on my face before it can escape through the sieve formed by my messily laced fingers. I watch the ripples formed by my hands disappear, and the water becomes crystal clear once more. 4

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I am horrified. There is somebody behind me. I see their reflection in the water. Frozen with shock, I watch the person in my watery mirror. She seems to be young, a teenager, perhaps. Her red hair is horribly awry and one of her sky blue eyes is blackened. The sight of her is both terrifying and pitiful. What happened to her? 6

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Slowly, I turn on the spot. There is nobody behind me. I am confused. She was right behind me, so close I can't believe I didn't feel her presence, and now she is gone. I turn back to the pond.8

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There she is, still resolutely looking back. She looks like she's been attacked. I bend forward to get a closer look. A harsh realization hits me like a cement truck coming at a hundred miles per hour. My heart nearly stops and I go numb.10

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I'm staring at my own reflection. Panic grips me with steel claws. I don't recognize my own appearance. Who am I? Was I attacked by an animal? Beaten by a gang?12

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I can't remember anything. I shiver and pull my brown sweater closer. Chills run up my spine as I feel my swollen eye. There is a deep gash in my left arm and I don't know how it got there. Dried blood forms a thin film around my wrist. My head is pounding like someone smashed it with a hammer. I feel around my skull and find an egg-shaped lump. What hit me?14

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I am horrified. I have absolutely no idea who I am or what I'm doing here. I stand up and walk away from the pond. I can't stand to look at my own grotesque, mutilated appearance.16

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I trip on a bunch of knotted grass and fall backwards. Something in my back pocket cushions the fall. I take it out with trembling hands. It's a brown leather square that falls open in my lap. A wallet. My wallet.18

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Something catches my eye inside one of the compartments. I remove the shining piece of plastic and stare at the picture on it, tears welling up in my throat. 20

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Once again, I am staring at my own picture. But I look different in this one. My hair is long and glossy, and both my eyes are gleaming. My teeth are perfectly straight. I am pretty in this picture. I fight the overwhelming urge to cry. Something horrible happened to me, and I can't remember what it was.22

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I look through the rest of the wallet. There is twenty dollars in cash and a ticket to some movie I don't recognize for a theater I don't recall ever going to. I put the money and the ticket back, but continue to stare at the card. My name is Jennifer Roads. I am seventeen years old. My birthday is the twenty third of October. I live in Seattle, Washington. This is all new information to me.24

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The lump in my throat surfaces and tears fall from my eyes. I sob uncontrollably until there are no tears left. I am starving, weak, and exhausted. I pocket the wallet and the drivers license. I need to get out of this calm clearing. The serenity clashes with my feelings of terror and panic. 26

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I walk into the forest, unsure of my direction. I don't see anything on my trek except for a rabbit. I feel as if I'm being watched, and I constantly have to turn around to satisfy my curiosity. I toy with the idea that I'm an escapee from some insane asylum. I look crazy enough, but I don't think a crazy person would have a driver's license. I also wonder if I got mugged, but then the money would be gone from my wallet. Nothing adds up or makes sense.28

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The trees begin to thin and a warm feeling of relief spreads over me, replaced by a chilling spasm of fear. I am relieved that I can finally get out of this wretched forest, but I have nowhere to go, and nothing to go on except for a name. I glimpse a busy highway in between the trees.30

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I try to smooth down my hair, but it is so knotted that I finally give up and just tuck it into my hood. I shove my hands into my pockets and walk out of the forest. The sky has become steely gray since I was in the clearing. Taxi cabs and people move around me in a blur of actions and sounds. I walk across the highway in a dazed trance, people honking and yelling at me as I pass.32

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I ignore them and continue my walk down a sidewalk on the other side of the street. I look around me at the strange names of the places I pass by. McDonald's, Subways, Target, Payless. I feel as if I've dropped into an alien planet. 34

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I walk into the only sane place I can find. "Lugio's Pizza." I can understand the name. Why can't any of the other stores be so straightforward? 36

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The pizza place is small, and there is nobody inside. The old man behind the counter seems thoroughly relieved to see anyone in his restaurant, despite my somewhat frightening appearance. I hesitantly walk to the counter and stare at the less than appetizing pizza.38

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"Welcome to Lugio's Pizza, what can I get you?" the man asks eagerly.40

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"A - a slice of pepperoni," I say, shocked by my hoarse voice. "Please." I take out my wallet and pay for the food.42

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"Thank you!" the man practically screams in excitement. I chance a smile, but it feels like a grimace. I take my food and sit down at one of the booths. The cherry red leather is fading and cracked, and the glass that covers the table is scratched. I eat ravenously. The pizza tastes better than I imagined.44

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I look out the window at the people walking by. They don't even spare a glance at poor Lugio's place. A panicked looking girl runs by, looking in through the window. She's about to continue down the sidewalk, but then does a double take, looking at me with an expression of confusion and realization.46

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She screams and runs in. Lugio looks up from the plastic cup he's washing and stares, shocked by the upswing in business. "Jenny!" she yells. "Where have you been? We've been so worried! Bret said that he and you were taking a walk through the forest and you walked off! Oh thank god you made your way out and oh - what happened to you, Jenny?"48

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I stare incredulously at the girl. She has short brown hair and a tight tank top with hearts on it. I choke on my own words, and manage only to stutter. 50

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"Who? What?" I stare stupidly at her.52

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"Jenny, are you okay?" she asks. "What happened?" I can only shake my head.54

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"Whatever, just, come on. Everyone's looking for you." She grabs my arm and pulls me out of the restaurant, my half-eaten pizza left on the table.56

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"Come again!" Lugio yells.58

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"I thought you said you'd never be caught dead in that dump," she says, pulling out her cellphone. "Annie, I have her," she says to someone on the phone. "Yeah, tell Bret. We're in front of the McDonald's on seventh." She pauses for second. "I think she's okay. She seems kind of confused. Okay, bye."60

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"Annie and Bret are coming," she explains to me. I nod, overwhelmed by this avalanche of new information. The sun comes back out from behind the clouds. The girl talks again, but she seems to be talking for her own sake, just to hear her own voice. 62

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A car pulls up in front of a parking meter on the side of the road. A blonde runs out of the door, coming towards me. She holds me in a suffocating embrace. I can only assume this is Annie.64

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"Oh Jenny!" she yells, her lipstick giving off the scent of strawberries. Her curly blonde hair blocks my vision. "Where have you been? We have all been like so worried! Where did you find her, Racquel?" She turns to the other girl.66

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"She was eating pizza in that one run-down place. Luigi's or something."68

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"What were you doing there?" Annie asks, stepping back a pace. "Whatever, what happened to you? Did you fall off a cliff or something?" I shake my head. 70

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"I - I tripped, and I fell out of a tree," I lie. I don't want to admit that I have lost my memory. What if they throw me into a hospital or an asylum or something? I can manage fine.72

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"What were you doing in a tree?" Racquel asks. Before I have the chance to fabricate an answer the driver's door of the car Annie came in swings open. A tall guy with short brown hair comes out. 74

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He opens his arms and smiles as he comes towards me. He pulls me close to his chest and kisses my neck. My face burns and I try to push him off of me. He's like a rock. A thought flashes across my brain. Is he my boyfriend???76

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"Where did you go the other night?" he asks, looking meaningfully into my eyes. I don't understand what he's trying to tell me and just give the same excuse. 78

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"I fell out of a tree."80

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"Jennifer," he laughs. "What were you doing in a tree?"82

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"Ah, be nice Bret," Annie says. "Look at her, she must have been so scared." 84

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"Get in the car, babe," Bret says, smiling wolfishly. "I'll take you home."86

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I don't like these people. Racquel is stupid, Annie seems fake, and something about Bret frightens me. Why was I friends with these people? I try to catch my breath, but before I can answer Bret lifts me up and carries me to his car, opening the door.88

89

I am apprehensive. I know better than to get into a car with a stranger, but if I used to know him then he must be alright. Bret doesn't wait for me to decide. He picks me up and places me on the seat. "What's wrong?" he whispers into my ear. "Something get you in the woods?" He laughs and climbs into the car. 90

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"I'll call you later, Jenny!" Racquel yells, waving her arm at me. Annie smiles wide, rubbing invisible tears out of the corners of her eyes. I turn away and look around the black car. There are fast food wrappers on the floor. He smells of cologne and some other musky scent I don't recognize. I feel the warm leather seats. It is uncomfortably silent.92

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"Fell out of a tree," he mutters, chuckling. He seems to know that I'm lying, but how could he? I look over at him, the stubble on his chin looks like a forest of razor sharp points me.94

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He turns down a street and pulls in front of a big brown house. The driveway his empty. "Your parents aren't home," he comments in a tantalizing voice. I realize that this must be where I live. I must be wealthy. The house is nice, a big two-story castle with a lot of windows and a big green yard. 96

97

Bret leans over and begins kissing me. His cheekbones are hard on my face. I don't appreciate this. I try to pull away. He just holds me tighter. "Stop!" I yell as he takes his lips off mine to take a breath. I push on his face.98

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He recoils, a glint of fury in his eyes. He smacks me hard on the face. All of a sudden the pieces fall into place. I suddenly know why I woke up this morning broken and bruised. I try to unlatch the door, but he holds on to my arm, twisting it. 100

101

I manage to unlock the door with my free arm and I fall onto the pavement. I hear something crack. My wrist is broken. I hold onto it and sprint away as fast as I can. 102

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I hear a shout of anger and a car door slam behind me. I increase my speed and, gasping, I turn down a different street. Where are people when you need them? I stop in front of an old dilapidated house with an elderly woman in front of it.  104

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As I try to catch my breath I hear the footsteps. I turn around. Bret is raging after me, his feet pounding on the cement. I run onto the lawn of the woman, trying to scream at her to call the cops, anything.106

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"Help!" I scream. "He's - he's coming!" The woman jumps to her feet with surprising agility and, instead of running for the door, runs out onto the sidewalk.108

109

"Stop!" I yell, amazed by this woman's stupidity. "What are you-?" But I shut up. For the woman has seen something I haven't. As if on some magical cue, a police car is parked across the street, a police officer running out of it as the elderly woman waves him down.110

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Bret is stupid. He is momentarily halted in his tracks as he watches the elderly woman wave her arms around and yell. He doesn't realize what's going on until the police officer jumps on top of him. He struggles to get away, but the police officer has already called for backup. Within a few minutes it's all over. Bret is handcuffed in the back car, screaming things that I can't and don't want to hear.112

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One of the officers stays behind and asks if he needs to call an ambulance. The elderly woman shakes her head and says she'll take me to the hospital herself. My wrist is in excruciating pain.114

115

When we are in her ancient car she starts talking to me. "What happened to you, dear?" she asks. She has gray hair that is bunched on top of her head like an animal, but she seems friendly.116

117

I almost tell her some lie, but then I let go. I can't just go on pretending nothing happened. It's too dangerous. I am a phoenix, my old life destroyed. I have the chance to start anew. I have been reborn. "It's a crazy story," I say, rubbing my arm. 118

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"Tell me," she says. "I like crazy stories the best." 120

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