I gave what I thought was a convincingly sleepy groan and turned my face away from him.

            “Alright,” he chuckled, “I guess you must be pretty exhausted. I’ll leave your breakfast on the nightstand. I’m gonna take a shower.”

            To my immense relief I heard him walk into the bathroom and the door clicked shut. I sprang to my feet as soon as the shower started running and snatched my night gown off the floor, bolting out the door and down the stair case, taking two steps at a time. 

            Thankfully the front hall was empty, and I made it out the door and down the icy pathway without anyone seeing me. I stopped in the tiny parking lot and looked around in dismay. What was I thinking? I didn’t have a car here. How was I going to get away? Where was I going to go anyways?

            I looked down at my phone. Charlotte still hadn’t answered, and that decided me. I needed to know that she was okay. And I wanted to know if the other girls were gone. I looked up, startled, as another car roared up and took a spot beside the black van that Loki and I had arrived in. A woman and man got out and began unloading luggage.

            I glanced back at the house, at the windows on the second floor. No one was peering out searching for me, but I had better stop standing here in the middle of the parking lot like a dumb-ass.  Finding a taxi service was easy enough, I just punched in a search on my phone, and in no time I had a voice telling me I’d be picked up in five minutes.

            Five minutes. Enough time for him to discover I’m gone. Should I hide?

            I settled for walking all the way down to the end of the driveway. You couldn’t see the house very well from the bottom of the hill. If Loki started walking down the driveway I would spot him though, and run like stink.

            He’s probably still in the shower. But boys don’t shower that long, do they? Maybe he’s out by now, walking around in a towel…

            I realized I was picturing Loki in a towel and felt annoyed at myself. The guy was probably sent to kill me and here I was dreaming about him, imagining him glistening wet, steam rising off his tanned skin…

            Stop it.

            The shushing noise of a car rolling through the slush announced the arrival of my taxi. I climbed into the back gratefully, glancing at the meter I realized I’d have to go home to get something to pay him with before we went to the school.

            “I need to get to 10213-99 street . You take debit cards, right?”

            The driver, a swarthy dark man with a sullen face nodded and turned back to the road. We started away from the bed and breakfast, and I allowed myself a sigh of relief as it grew smaller and smaller in the back window.

            The ride back home was long, and I watched the meter climb higher and higher. I didn’t have much in my bank account, and it made me wonder what I was going to do. I would be able to cover a couple taxi rides no problem, but what if I did have to run away, back to California? Could I get a job and get more money that way? Would anyone even hire a sixteen year old?

            At last we rolled to a stop outside the house. Janet’s shiny new car was parked in the driveway, but the truck was gone. Not a surprise. Dave was probably out looking for me, he was probably in a total panic. Janet, on the other hand, would be sitting at home gloating.

            “Wait here,” I told the cab driver, “I have to get my wallet, and then if you can take me to Grande Prairie High, that would be awesome.”

            The driver simply grunted, which I took as a yes. The snow creaked under foot as I slowly walked up the driveway towards the house. I couldn’t let Janet see me. By now they’d probably reported me missing, and she’d be furious I’d caused a stir and disrupted her perfect little life. There was no time for one of her screaming fits. I had to get to the school, make sure Charlotte was okay, and then…

            And then what?

            I pushed the question out of my mind for now, concentrating on peering through the window set in the front door. The hallway was empty, but if she was in the kitchen feeding the baby, then I was going to have to break in the back way. To my relief the door opened when I turned the knob. I pushed it open wider and peered inside cautiously, tensing when I saw the light on in the kitchen. Baby Stephanie was in her high chair, tossing raisins around and rubbing apple sauce in her hair, but Janet wasn’t there. I crept inside, noting that the phone was missing from the receiver. She’d obviously answered the phone and taken it to her bedroom.

            Sure enough, when I eased inside and shut the door I could hear the faint murmur of Janet’s voice from down the hallway. Unfortunately my bedroom was down the same hallway.

The floor boards creaked a little, and I stopped, my heart thundering. Janet’s was still talking though, and as I drew closer I could make out what she was saying.

            “Yeah, just vanished in the middle of the night. That’s gratitude for you, isn’t it?”

            I glared at her bedroom door, which was open a crack, throwing light into the dim hallway. Her whiney voice continued,

            “Dave is really worried. He’s talking to the police. He drove all over the place. If she comes back? I’ll tan her ass for worrying him like that. What? I don’t care if she’s sixteen, she needs a good spanking. Dave is way too soft on her.”

            I grimaced and slipped into my bedroom, not caring to hear whatever else she was going to say next. What an absolute bitch.

            Be fast, I told myself, grabbing the knap sack from my closet I filled it with as many clothes as I could, adding a tooth brush and tooth paste, hair brush and my makeup bag. I grabbed my purse off the hook on the door and slipped back out of the room as soundlessly as I could.

            “…unbelievable,” Janet was saying, “No, she’s probably off somewhere sleeping with some boy.”

            The blood rushed to my cheeks as I thought about Loki and I holding hands in bed last night, then a surge of anger replaced the embarrassment. I’d let that jerk hold my hand.

            I spun and marched out of the hall and into the kitchen. Baby Stephanie gurgled a greeting at me, and I surveyed her messy bib. I could barely make out the writing on the front, but I was pretty certain it said,

            “Mommy’s perfect princess”.

            “Kid,” I muttered, “you are going to need so much therapy.”

            I scribbled a note to Dave on the mini white board that Janet writes grocery lists on, telling him I was somewhere safe. I hesitated, nearly about to write more, but what could I say…

            Dear Dave, Was kidnapped by Frost Giants, and nearly killed by a Fire Giant. Gone to California to work on my tan.

            No, short and sweet was best.

            I turned to look back at Stephanie and caught sight of the kitchen table. A neat little spread of cookies, cup cakes and finger sandwiches beckoned me.

            “Don’t mind if I do.”

            I scooped up a couple sandwiches and studied the layout. Clearly Janet was expecting company.

            So, I was absolutely right about her throwing a party if I left. I just didn’t know it’d be a tea party. The tea pot sat in the middle, surrounded by delicate little tea cups and saucers. I reached out and yanked the tea cozy off and then the lid. Smiling, I reached into the tea pot with one hand, skimming my finger tips over the surface of the hot water. It froze more slowly than the water in the wash basin had at the hotel, but before long it was a solid block of ice.

            “Have some iced tea. Try explaining that one, sweetheart”

            I put the lid and the cozy back on, and then I spotted Janet’s purse sitting on one of the kitchen chairs. My heart lurched.

            Should I? Do I dare?

            I darted a glance down the hallway, but she was obviously still blabbing about how terrible I was. Baby Stephanie giggled and waved her hands wildly, as if encouraging me.

            “Sorry, Dave,” I muttered, and dug my hand into the bag.

            The sound of the wallet unzipping seemed unnaturally loud, and I looked up sharply, almost expecting Janet to come charging down the hall and rip it out of my hand. I imagined how much she would scream at me if she found me with my hand in the proverbial cookie jar like this.

            Her wallet held three fifties and a twenty, which I cleaned out without mercy.  I wouldn’t be able to survive on that, but at least I wouldn’t starve. Not for awhile, anyways.

I told myself that Dave would understand, that I would repay him the money, that I would make it up to him. I didn’t care about Janet, but I hated to think about disappointing Dave.

            “Desperate time, desperate measures,” I told baby Stephanie, “see you around, kid.”

            I reached over and patted her on her apple sauced curls, and she cooed and smiled at me.  She wasn’t so bad. I prayed she wouldn’t turn out like her mother.

            The taxi ride to the school was spent in nail biting agony. I dreaded getting there and finding Charlotte gone, along with the rest of the girls. What would I do then? Storm the magical castle? I didn’t even know where the stupid thing was. Did I click my heels three times and wish to go home? Loki had been vague at best. I remembered asking if it was in another dimension, and all he’d said was, “something like that”. That told me nothing.

            “We’re here.”

            I jumped. That was the first time the cab driver had spoken, and I gave him a big smile.

            “Thank you so much, on debit please.”

            I handed him my card, thinking I would use the cash if I had to stay in a hotel. No digital trail to follow that way. Now that I had Frost and Fire Giants after me, it seemed prudent not to leave any paper trail.

            “Thanks.”

            The driver handed me back my card and I thanked him again and exited the cab, taking a big breath on my way towards the school’s front doors. I checked my cell phone before entering. It was twelve-twenty, lunch would be ending in ten minutes.

            Should be enough time to get in and talk to Charlotte.

            I peered around the corner, making sure Mrs. Burns was looking down at her desk before I snuck by. She would ask where I’d been yesterday. After wading through crowds of children I made it up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway. It was packed with laughing, yelling high school students. My heart sank right away though. I would have spotted Amy and her crew immediately, seeing as they stood almost head and shoulders taller than the rest of the girls and they were nearly all platinum blonde. There was no sign of them in the busy hallway. So it was true. They’d all been taken.

            I walked into the crowd anyway, shouldering my way past people. Someone poked me in the back, and I turned to see one of the shaggy skater guys who’d called us clones.

            “Hey, where are your Barbie friends, Barbie?’

            “Screw off,” I muttered, and turned away, determined to find Charlotte if she was still here.

            “That’s not nice, Barbie. Did all your friends run away? Why don’t you buy new ones? Can I be your Ken doll?”

            He was following me now, and his stupid friend too.

            “Hey Barbie, why are you walking away? Too good for normal people?”

            I felt him grab my arm, and I whirled around angrily, clapping my hand over his wrist. He wheezed in surprise, and his breath came out in a white cloud and hung in the air. When I released him he jumped back, teeth chattering.

            “What the hell?”

            I ignored him, moving forward, pushing through the students until I was standing in front of the open door of the English classroom. A lone figure was sitting on the couch eating a sandwich, her bright blonde hair drooping over her eyes as she stared at her shoes.

            “Charlotte!”

            When she looked up Charlotte lit up like a flash bulb, “Megan! I was worried!”

            I strode into the room and sat down beside her, giving her a tight hug, which made her squeak in surprise. “You were worried! I was worried! You didn’t answer my text this morning.”

            “Oh that,” she said, frowning, “I think someone stole my phone. Or maybe I lost it, I’m not sure which.” She looked at me, her face serious, “do you know what’s going on? Amy and Stacy and all of them didn’t show up today. The principal phoned their parents, because he thought it was weird. He thought they might all be playing hooky, but they can’t find them.” Her eyes were wide and scared. “I overheard him talking,” she looked guilty, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone. I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

            “I almost didn’t show up,” I said grimly. “Someone tried to kidnap me this morning.”

            “What?” She sat straight up on the couch and her sandwich fell into her lap, staining her jeans with peanut butter.

            “Two men grabbed me and put me in a van, but then a third guy rescued me, only I think he was supposed to kill me, so I ran away because I thought maybe he was just waiting to kill me but I wasn’t sure…” I took a gulp of air before continuing, “This is going to sound really weird, but you know how Amy thought that we might all be related or something?”

            “Yeah…” she gasped, “Wait, we are?”

            “Sort of,” I struggled to explain without bringing in the Frost Giant thing. She would think I was crazy. “We were sort of a genetic experiment, and now they want us back.”

            “But not me,” Charlotte said, and she almost sounded sad.

            “Be grateful,” I said.

            “Can’t you go to the police?”

            I mused over this for a second, “I think…I think this is bigger than the police.”

            Charlotte’s eyes grew huge, “Like…government stuff?”

            “Um, something like that. I just had to make sure you’re okay, but now I have to go. I’m going to catch a bus.”

            “Where will you go?” Charlotte asked, her face was filled with concern.

            “I don’t know, I have friends…” I stopped myself from saying California. Nobody could know, “in other places. I’ll stay with someone till I get on my feet.”

            “Call me okay? Like…regularly, so I know you’re alright.”

            “I promise,” I hugged her again, “I’ll see you again, once this all blows over.”

            If this all blows over, was my thought as I left the classroom and made my way down the back stairs.