text: [Themes: family friendly, female protagonist, science fiction]
  
  This was it. I was sure of it. After all, I came to the attic that the letter mentioned, and the hiding space mentioned was a tiny hole. Hiding place... which meant that something was hidden, here in this very attic. With new determination ablaze, I set off searching. Hidden craftily behind stacks of boxes that seemed to have gathered centuries worth of dust, and draped over with a gray cloth, was the little hole. Sure enough, it was very tiny. Perhaps not large enough for an eight year old to fit into, but enough for me to fit a palm into it.
  
  Deep in the slimy hole, I felt cobwebs brush the tip of my skin and scuttling creatures made my hand itch. I shuddered, wondering what creepy crawlies resided in the hole. Nevertheless, I pressed on. I had to. If there was even the slightest chance that there was more to this story - which considering how far I came, I must have believed that there was - I was going to press on. So screw the spiders and the bugs - I needed to search the hole. Every story I ever read, ever tale that was ever told, they stood with me in this moment of truth. My life had finally given me an adventure.
  
  I felt something. It was smooth, probably a piece of paper. But it felt thicker than that. Soon, upon drawing out my hand, I realized it was another envelope. What was with envelopes and my grandma? Sure, it was covered in dirt, soot and grime, but I was triumphant. Perhaps life was more like a mystery book than I thought. Perhaps there was no need to give up on what my family called my 'lucridous fantasies'. But I had to be prepared for the possibility that it was just a joke my grandma decided to play on me. After all, how many times had I thought that a character from my book was emerging from its pages, only for it to be a little squid or clownfish?
  
  Inside the envelope, there were two pieces of paper. One of it had lots of creases and looked as dirty as the envelope. I inferred that it had spent a long time in the hole before someone else took it out, placed it inside the envelope with the cleaner piece of paper, and left both of them there... for me to find? There was only one way to find out.
  
  > search the room with the loose tile for something that may help break the secret
  I scanned the room, thick with memories and an aura of mystery. It made sense that this was the place I would go when the old memory jogged in my mind. Looking around, the room seemed so much smaller. But of course it would, I was so much smaller at that time. This place... it was long since I came. Often, it would be the setting of many of my nightmares and dreams, often those which included my grandma. Too many times in the night did I visit this room, hoping to find my grandma there, or finding another loose tile since 'there was one in my dream last night'. Ever since I suspected that the police set up a spying device in this room, I never returned. There was the chair I sat on, there was the table on which we set my favourite drinks upon. In my mind's eye, I saw our ghostly silhouettes laugh and play, the wispy shadow of a happy grandma and an even happier girl. It was not fair that these memories were tainted by the somber events of the night.
  
  The tile - there it was. I never did go into it; I could not bring myself to. What if I got lost? What if it was the home to some creature of darkness, looking for humans to devour? Looking around, I decide what to do next.
  
  > pry up the loose tile
  There it was - proof and testimony of the breakers' visit. I could make out the barely elevated sides, the cracks that were meticulously filled with paint, and the layer of dust that had accumulated on it. Evenly spread, just like the rest of the tiles in the room. It was cold to the touch and slippery under my fingers, but I lifted it.
  
  And saw the entrance to the tunnel.
  
  I slipped down, remembering to close the tile. It was exactly how I remembered it - just without the darkness and monsters that lurked within. The stones were jagged and hard, but if I were to keep going, stalactites would soon light up my path. But I did not get very far.
  
  Rubble. A cave in. I was unable to get past the large hunks of rock that blocked my path. Almost as if... this was destroyed by someone. The only question left to ask was who.
  
  "What?" I realized too late that the police had indeed done something our room, and I had no place to run. Not forwards, not backwards. Just trapped where I was, a cornered prey.
  
  Soon, I was handcuffed and brought out of the tunnel. My family called and the conversation went something like this:
  
  "She's not a breaker. Not possible. Not my daughter. I'm pretty sure that it was just the wrong place at the wrong time."
  
  It appeared that my father's tactic was denial.
  
  "She was found in one of the breakers' hideouts."
  
  "And how do you even know that? And she must not have known where she was going-"
  
  "It had the engraved B at the entrance, and from the motion cameras, she seemed to know exactly where she was going."
  
  "This isn't about grandma, is it, Emeza?" mum asked. "Whatever she told you in the past... I know that this is the last thing that you want to hear, but the old lady lost her mind in the later parts of her life."
  
  "You're all pretty sold on the idea, aren't you?" I asked. "That the breakers are the ones in the wrong."
  
  The police started taking down notes.
  
  "Why would you ever think otherwise, Emeza? Oh, and your father's speechless for once."
  
  I just sat there, wondering how it was all going to go. My brother had returned home and just kept glancing at me. As if it was not embarrassing enough. His pointed glares became more and more annoying until I followed his gaze and saw what he was actually looking at. The police behind me.
  
  There was only one police, since they did not see me as much of a threat. Apparently, my parents began talking about Mindchanger, which was a camp set in the darkest parts of the ocean. They sent people there who wanted to become part of the breakers and brainwashed them. Was my own family turning against me?
  
  As the police turned around, my brother got more daring. He mouthed the word, "light" and proceeded to walk to the light switch. Was his plan for me to knock the police unconscious? I could not be sure. My brother waited for my response.
  
  > screw it all; you'll just grab the bubbler and shoot
  Ignoring my brother's horrified looks, I grabbed hold of the bubbler. Too few answers, too many lies. I wanted revenge for what they did to my grandma, against the police that kept us up all night for interviews about the break in and patrolling our house when they got a new lead for a secret entrance. Funny how they never searched the right room thoroughly enough. But most of all, I wanted to feel like I had the upper hand for once. Upper hand... did people ever have one hand higher than another? Perhaps such creatures existed outside the Safe World.
  
  Focus. I held the police at gunpoint. He barely had time to grab his gun before I pulled the trigger. I heard a yell - or perhaps several yells - and an entire squad came running in.
  
  "The crazy kid killed Ray- WATCH OUT! SHE'S STILL SHOOTING!"
  
  Death came for me in the form of a large bubbler, little bubbles of spilling from its tip. The bullet shot out like a piranha grabbing hold of a tiny fish, and death grabbed hold of me. Purple water - a sign of danger and ominience. It cloaked me as I staggered, fell, and watched as the world I knew began to shatter.
  
  After all, I was nothing more than a broken girl. Only now, my physique matched my inner self.