text: They danced along the walls. Ballerinas pirouetting and dogs chasing their tails. They would get big then small, and never stopped dancing and chasing. Molly had a wild imagination as a child- and it didn’t stop just because she turned 16. She put another log on the fire. Sparks rose up and added spots on the shadows of the flames. Molly picked at her nails. She was stressed. Why wasn’t Billy home yet? He left at 6 o’clock for a dinner date and it was nearing midnight. Molly was embarrassed that she was worried, but he was her only sibling. Her parents even went to sleep already. “Molly, what are you doing?” She said to herself. She was 16! She shouldn’t be this worried about where her 18 year-old, adult brother was. Molly sighed and looked around the living room. Family photos decorated the walls along with her Mother’s wooden “Live Laugh Love” signs. The smell of the fire was calming. It reminded Molly of when she would go to summer camp. She hummed the tune to one of the songs from camp as she cuddled up next to the fire. Molly drifted off to sleep. “Molly? Earth to Molly?” A voice said. Molly stirred in her sleep. A hand grasped her shoulder and shook her awake. “What!” Molly yelped. She was disoriented. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She whipped her head around to see a woman looking at her with worried eyes. “Honey, you need to wake up. It’s time to go.” The woman said. Her voice was calm- yet stern. She motioned for Molly to follow her and proceeded down a dark hallway. Molly had no idea where she was, but her body stood up and obediently followed the woman. The woman’s heels lightly tapped on the cool floor. Molly was still in her fuzzy socks. After a few minutes, they entered a dimly lit room with a single chair in the center. “Wh-where am I? Who are you?” Molly said, her throat was dry. “You are at Guardian Angel Central. I am Paula. You can take a seat. It will start soon.” Paula warmly said. She motioned for Molly to sit down. Molly hesitated, but took a seat. The chair was very soft and plush, she felt more calm already. Suddenly, there was a loud boom. The lights shut off. Molly gasped and gripped the sides of her chair. Moments passed. Another light flickered on to unveil a stage with a dark red curtain in front of Molly. The same tune of her song from summer camp began to play. The curtain opened swiftly. A man stood in the center of the stage. He wore a ridiculously tall tophat and a tuxedo. He was tall with dark hair. And very fat. His shoes were slightly upturned... matching his creepy mustache. “Hello, Molly. Welcome! My name is Nicolas. This is an exciting time in your life. Please- hold all questions until the end. Would you like anything to drink? Would you like any snacks?” Nicolas said, his voice booming. He was very theatrical as he gave this little spiel. Nicolas looked very sweaty- probably from the heat of the spotlight. “Uh, yes. Those things sound nice, thank you?” She said quietly. Paula quickly wheeled a tray in front of Molly with a plethora of different snacks and drinks. Molly covered her mouth with her hands in excitement. She began to eat and drink with pleasure. “Okay, okay. Now, let’s get started. You recently turned 16, my dear. Halfway between a child and an adult...what a strange age, isn’t it? This is when you are introduced to your Guardian Dev-Angels. There are certain things...you may have noticed. Maybe the fact that boys have cooties? Or the fact that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never like broccoli?” Nicolas said. He chuckled as he spoke. Molly exhaled and nodded in agreement as Nicolas gave his presentation. She still didn’t know where she was, but she felt safe. Paula brought over a pitcher and refilled her Sprite. “Ah, yes. And you may have also noticed that some girls are just- mean. Emma Hiver, perhaps? She called you a “chubby pig” in gym class didn’t she? Didn’t she purposefully stain your dress with her markers? She also told the boy you liked that you had lice. And let’s not forget, when you answered 40*2 wrong and she called you stupid in front of your entire class.” Nicolas paused and stared at Molly with his beady eyes. “Uh, um, how did you-” “SILENCE. Do you remember when Emma turned your friends against you? Made the volleyball team, when YOU didn’t? Got the solo in the show choir?” Nicolas said. Suddenly, straps enclosed around Molly’s wrists and ankles on her chair. She no longer felt safe. Where was she? Who were these people? How did he know about these things? “And your brother, Billy. Oh you love him, don’t you? You think he will always protect you? You had good times playing catch in the backyard, didn’t you? You had fun when he would tickle you and toss you around when you were smaller. Because, well, you are a chubby pig now. Speaking of Emma Hiver, you know that’s who he went on a date with...right?” Nicolas sneered. Molly’s heart sank. It couldn’t be true, could it? Billy knew about Emma’s bullying. A video appeared on the stage and began to play. It was Billy! Billy and... Emma. “Your sister is kind of... you know.” Emma’s voice filled Molly’s ears. “Molly? Kind of what?” Billy replied. “Kind of weird! Oh my god she’s so foul! I heard that she didn’t start showering everyday until 8th grade!” Emma said. Her voice was full of disdain. “Oh, yeah. Molly is so gross. I don’t know why my parents let her act like that. She still acts like a child, always waiting up for me.” Billy said. “Haha! Let’s stay out extra late then, what a weirdo!” Emma cackled. The video clip ended. Molly’s face fell. That must’ve been from the date. “How did that make you feel, Molly? Billy can’t protect you anymore, but WE can.” Nicolas asked. The silence in the strange room was loud. “Is that r-real?” Molly’s voice broke as she spoke. She began to cry. “Yes it’s real! That’s why I am here. Would you like to...take revenge?” Nicolas said. He seemed to have grown 3 more feet and was towering over Molly. She looked up at him and couldn’t speak. She was scared. “N-” Molly tried to speak but realized she couldn’t. She began to have trouble breathing. “Molly, I know your deepest desire. You aren’t afraid to kill, are you? You HATE Emma. You stare at her from across the classroom and just wish she didn’t exist. Emma stole your friends, your spot on the volleyball team, your solo... are you going to let her take your BROTHER? We know you deserve better Molly! We care about you! Take the revenge you deserve!” Nicolas growled. He held up a knife. The knife had a long sharp blade with Molly’s name engraved in the handle. Molly screamed. She looked at the stage and saw Emma strapped to a post- also looking scared. “No one will ever know! Go! Take what’s yours!” Nicolas hissed. Molly noticed her wrists and ankles were free and she bolted out of the chair. She looked down at her hands to see the knife already in her right hand. Shocked, she dropped it and raced to the door from which she came from. She was met with Paula. But Paula wasn’t Paula. Paula had also grown a couple feet and had the face of a dog and the body of a ballerina. Paula was maniacally laughing and tried to entrap Molly. “Molly help! Where are we! Help!” Emma screamed. “Emma!!” Molly cried. She ran to the stage to try and untie Emma, but tripped and fell. Suddenly the room began to shrink. Nicolas and Paula leapt towards Molly and trapped her. “Kill her! No one will know! Now is your chance!” They said in unison. Molly screamed and thrashed. She couldn’t breathe. Molly couldn’t breathe. “Molly! Molly!” Another voice yelled. Two strong arms wrapped around Molly and picked her up. She began to cough uncontrollably. Molly grabbed her throat and tried to regain proper breathing control. Her eyes were blurry and stinging. Minutes passed. “Billy?” Molly was able to squeak out. She looked up at her brother who was worriedly looking down at her. “Molly the house caught on fire, are you okay? The fire department just got here. I carried you out. Mom and Dad are safe, are you okay? Thank god I came home.” He said. Billy scrambled to find water for Molly. She weakly sat up and drank it. She began to cry and fell into Billy. He hugged her. “I-I’m okay. I think I hallucinated from the smoke or something, I had the weirdest dream.” Molly said. She felt very relieved that it was all fake. There’s no way that Billy would go out with Emma- or that guardian angels were real. Or that she would kill someone! More like guardian devils, Molly thought. “Molly, are you okay!” Her mother said. She rushed to hug Molly and covered her in hugs and kisses. Her father was following quickly behind. They all hugged each other for a long while. “Billy, thank god you came home later than normal. We could’ve died if we were all asleep when the fire started.” Their Dad said. Billy, still in shock, nodded in agreement. “How was your date?’ Molly said after a few minutes. She lightly laughed. “Oh, it was good, I guess. I don’t think we’ll go out again. Even though she was the reason I got home late- I don’t think it’s a good match. You’re the most important girl in my life for now, Molly.” Billy said with a weak smile. He gave Molly a noogie and she playfully slapped his hand away. “Well that’s okay, you have plenty of time to date Billy. Who was she, anyways?” Their mother asked. “Emma Hiver.” He said. 2 WEEKS PASS “Any news, Billy?” Molly asked. She walked into their Grandma’s kitchen where Billy sat eating breakfast. They were staying there while their house was being repaired. “Yes, they found her. Thank god. But she says she doesn’t remember anything about who took her. It’s just weird, I saw her go inside that night.” Billy sighed and laid down the newspaper. The headline read: EMMA HIVER FOUND AFTER TWO WEEKS OF KIDNAPPING 15 YEARS PASS, Molly’s Wedding Anniversary Party “Oh congratulations, honey! You look beautiful! 5 years is a big deal. ” Molly’s mother cooed. She swept Molly into a hug. “Thanks mom. What a night! Always nice to celebrate.” Molly said while embracing her mother. She sighed and looked around the nearly empty party room. Her husband was off chatting with some family and Molly was cleaning up. “Oh, Molly, look. What is this?’ Her mother asked. She held up an oddly shaped music box. It was about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Carved on the box were dogs in ballerina costumes carefully painted with pink. Molly picked the box out of her mothers hands and quizzically looked at it. “I said no gifts! I didn’t notice it earlier. Oh well, I’ll open it tonight. Why don’t you head home? It’s late, mom.” Molly said. Her mother embraced her again and gave her a kiss goodnight. After her mother left, Molly’s attention returned to the music box. Looking to see that no one else was around, she slowly opened it. She twisted the key on the back and it began to play a familiar tune. It reminded Molly of something from summer camp. Inside, there was a folded photo and a knife. Molly’s heart skipped a beat. She slowly turned the knife handle over to see her name deeply engraved in it. “Oh my god.” Molly said. Terrified, she picked up the photo. She slowly unfolded it, and much to her horror she saw Emma Hiver... kissing HER husband. Signed, “Last chance, XOXO Nicolas and Paula.”