December, 1980

"Can you tell me everything you remember about that day, sweetie? Anything at all. What did the man look like?" A detective asked. "What was he wearing? Was his shirt any of these colors?" She held up cards, pointing to each one.

Eight year old Jasmine Clarke didn't answer any of the questions. She sat on a sofa silent as a mouse; her nails digging into the armrests. The little girl was far too frighten to say anything to anyone. Her parents sat beside her, restless and distraught; they hadn't slept and were just as lost as the detective. So far, neither of them knew who had kidnapped Jasmine.

"She's been like this every since it happened," the mother said, "not talking or eating at all. I don't know what's wrong with her."

The detective clicked a pen and wrote something in her journal. ,Jasmine?" She leaned forward to the little girl. "Why did this person hurt you?" Jasmine lowered her eyes and avoided the questions. The girl didn't want to talk about the details from the day before. Too afraid to recall it. She shook her head then hugged her father, crying into his chest. She didn't want to remember the scary encounter.

"That's enough, we can try again tomorrow," the father said. "She's had enough for one day." He picked up his daughter and carried her from the room.

The detective stood as the family left. "Yes, we can attempt this again in the morning, goodnight."

When her parents had fallen asleep, Jasmine snuck from their room. She went into her pink closet and lifted up a broken floorboard. Something was hidden underneath, something from yesterday. She removed a paper from under a floorboard. Fear flashed over her tiny eyes as she unfolded it and raised it to the light. There, in a black crayon drawing, was her abductor. Not a man; not a human...but a monster.

***

Snow flurries blew around Jasmine as she skipped over a rope on her way home from school. The bus had just dropped her off at the stop, now she had to walk. Not far, only a block down her house was. Still, she pouted and dragged her feet, wishing her bike wasn't broken. She jumped and hopped over the rope like a bunny, her beaded ponytail clicking.

White covered the yards of the houses she passed; decorated with Christmas reindeers and lights. The girl smiled at the sight, tempted to play with the pretty objects. But she had to get home, so instead she daydreamed up names for two reindeers as she passed them by. "Hello, Molly and Cally!" A high voice sang. Jasmine neared the end of street and stopped to catch her breath. The rope lowered. She opened her book-bag and drank a sweet, red juice, then placed it away. A pager screen within the bag glows green, reading the words: Come straight home.

On her right was a bike path that circled through the woods, somewhere she always dreamed of going with her pink bike and safety pads. When she first asked her mother about playing in the forest the response was: "maybe.", then the second time it was: "that's too dangerous for you by yourself." Now, she faced the fact that she'd never step foot inside.

Jasmine strapped her bag back onto her shoulders and was about to continue on home, when she saw a orange bike leaning against a tree; off in the distance of the woods. The little girl's mind raced with delight, for she believed it was one she lost. "My bike!" Now, her naive mind told her to retrieve it despite her mother's warning. Jasmine ran into the forest, unaware that something hiding below, was following.

Deep in, she realized her bike was no longer in sight; it had disappeared. "Where did you go, biky?" This confused her small mind. Jasmine stood, lost and uncertain of which way she'd come in. "OH NOO!" She stepped forward, hopelessly trying to find the exit. Her hands unzipped the backpack dangling from her shoulder, shaking uncontrollably, as she took out her emergency pager. She was about to ring it home when a horn of a bike distracted her. The girl turned, but didn't see ant tricycle, instead she saw the ground below give way and felt her body fall into it.

***

Black Snow fell down into the large hole and onto Jasmine's cheek. The girl sat up, rubbing her head, and peering around a place she didn't recognize. She looked up and saw huge, sharp stones closing her inside of an almost cage-like area. Yellow brick walls surrounded her; dirty and scented with a revolting stench. Her eyes ran over the cave lit by the huge gap in the ground above.

A crack sounded a few inches away. "Hello?" Her tiny voice rang out. "Who's there?" She twisted around, trying to see who was inside with her. A figure sat in the corner, she could hardly make out if it was a male or female, so she turned on her pager and let the green light shine and saw that it was neither.

A beast stared back at her, its back humped under the ceiling of the cave. Black eyes pierced into her's, long claws pointed. Her fingers pressed down. Beeping came from the pink pager. The thing in the corner moved. The monster slid its upper-body along the roof; approaching the small girl. Its abnormally tallness scrunched in a contorted ball. She dropped the device.

"AHHHHHH!!!!!" Jasmine scattered back, as far as she possibly could in the confined spot. The bulky animal extended its arm; that had to be ten feet long. She grabbed onto the sharp walls; cutting her hands badly while hoisting herself up and away from the disfigured hand. This upset the monster. It grunted angrily and slammed into the brick, cracking the foundation that shielded her in. The beast beat the stone with its heavy fist.

The girl made her way to the middle of the tunnel that led up to freedom, scrapes on her face and bloody tears in her clothing. Jasmine looked down and saw a gigantic head sticking out between the bars. It no longer pursued her, the monster couldn't break through. As the beeping continued below, Jasmine worked her way up, wheezing out in pain, her palms slapping against stone until they met the snow filled ground above. The girl fell onto the cold fray, heaving out. Her hands grabbed onto the edges of the hole in the ground and peered over. The beast receded behind the yellow brick that had saved her life.