Valerie

I thought a lot about agreeing to Harry's plan. After all, I had nothing else to do. I just wish I could get some sort of information about SLF, the spy organization Harry wanted to join. They could either be an amazing covert spy organization that saved the world... or not.

Suddenly, I heard my grandma's signal coming from the front of the house. I found that to be very strange because my grandma never came on Tuesdays. I knew it was Tuesday because she had just delivered the groceries on Monday as usual.

I walked to the foyer and peeked through the window. My grandma's car was parked in the driveway but my grandma was nowhere in sight. I decided to hang out in the kitchen and wait there for her. She was bound to show up eventually.

An idea struck me as I headed to the kitchen. I could probably try to remove my ankle bracelet by slipping it off using some butter. Opening the fridge, I extracted a stick of butter and then walked over to the couch, propping my leg on a pillow.

As I applied the butter around my ankle, I could hear some rustling in the kitchen. "Grandma? Are you there?" I called out. There was no answer but the noise continued.

I attempted to ease the ankle bracelet through my foot but it did not work. I then tried pointing my foot but to no avail.

There was a sudden crash in the kitchen. I carefully got up to put the butter away and see who was there. As I entered the kitchen, I almost screamed when I saw a man standing there.

The first thing I noticed was his height. He was very tall, almost reaching the ceiling. He had dark brown eyes, jet-black hair, and a sly smile. He was dressed in a business suit, which automatically prompted me to think of Harry and his secret business deal.

"Who are you? If you don't get out of my house, then I'm going to call..." I started to say. I was going to finish my sentence with 'the police' but that would not do any good. After all, the police were already weary of me. They'd probably believe I was making up stories.

"The police? They would definitely not come running to a criminal's house," the man retorted, smirking as he finished my sentence.

It appeared as if this man knew exactly what I was thinking. Honestly, this scared me in a way I never thought imaginable. I was always the one in control, always knew the plan. It looked like the tables were now turned.

"Who are you?" I repeated more forcefully. The man just laughed like I had asked him the world's funniest question.

"Harry has never talked about me? That's a shame. I probably shouldn't take that personally. After all, he has always been the self-centered brother," the man chuckled to himself.

"Brother?" I asked. I was beyond confused. I had never known Harry to have a brother. Well, unless this man was lying which was a likely possibility.

"My name is Jack. Now, where was I? Oh, I need you to come with me," Jack said nonchalantly.

"Come with you? Ha! I'm not going anywhere with you. Now get out of my house. I will seriously call the cops," I threatened. Jack just rolled his eyes.

He took the slightest step closer and instinctively put a hand over his pocket. I stepped back, sliding a kitchen knife from the knife block. It looked like we were doing this the hard way.

"Put that knife back and please come with me," Jack demanded. Without warning, he lurched forward and grasped my arm.

"Let go!" I yelled, although nobody could hear me.

On pure instinct, I positioned my body and flung my leg towards Jack's face, landing a perfect roundhouse kick.

He cried out in pain, but I didn't wait to hear what he said. I darted for the front door, quickly unlatching the top and bottom locks. I sprinted out the door as fast as I could, considering I had a large ankle bracelet tied around my left leg.

I ran until I could no longer see my neighborhood. Luckily, Jack was not following me in his car.

I turned sharply into the nearby woods. It would provide a hidden shelter for now. As I rapidly walked deeper into the forest, I did not look down nor behind me.

Big mistake.

I stumbled across a few rocks, losing my balance. I fell face first onto the ground, blacking out immediately.