"Obsidian!" I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth as I walked. To be honest, I had no idea where I was or what I was doing. But something told me that Obsidian was here, in this vast nothingness, so I continued to yell desperately for her.

Suddenly, Reed was beside me, his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. For a second, I thought that this was super weird, but dismissed it.

Together we shouted out for my cat, wandering through the blank landscape, until I spied a cardboard box, conveniently set directly in our path. An unseen force pulled us toward it, and when I tried to pull away, I felt Reed yank me in front of him, pushing me on ahead. I spun around to look at him, but wait- Reed wasn't Reed anymore. He was some sort of black mass of air with a furry tail, shoving me along, enveloping my arms.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. I felt like I was choking, my throat slowly being squeezed, not allowing any air into my lungs.

The box began to violently shake, and I struggled against kind-of Reed with all my might. But it was no use. My vision began to turn black at the edges, stars sparkling in my eyes. Right before I completely blacked out, the box popped open, revealing a-

I bolted awake, screaming at the top of my lungs. Shivering and heaving, I tried to calm my heartbeat by staring at the ceiling, but failed. It wasn't going to help. I sat up, shaking with cold and fear. I honestly couldn't remember the nightmare at all, which I was pretty grateful for. If it had caused me to wake up in the middle of the night screaming, I didn't want to remember it.

The rain had ceased outside, and it was still dark. I glanced over at my alarm clock, still resting atop my makeshift bedside table, and groaned. 3:56. I still had a long time until I could go get breakfast. But wait... Wasn't today... CHRISTMAS!

I jumped off of my sleeping bag, joy sparking in my heart. Some people say that 12 is too old to get so excited about Christmas. And those people need to go suck it. Christmas will NEVER get old, as I proved by leaping out of my room to go into the kitchen and wait for my siblings, who would be out of bed by 4:00.

Then I stopped in my tracks, sadness coating my happiness. Obsidian. I plopped down onto a box, cursing when it caved in. Then I let the tears come, falling down my face in a waterfall. I sniffled quietly, burying my face in my hands, wishing that my cat would just come home. I missed her, I missed her so much. I glanced over at the tree, ignoring the wrapped presents that Santa had left us, and searched for the presents I had wrapped for her. They were sitting against the tree skirt, propped up in a neat little row. I had put them there after she had gone missing, after we had returned back to this house that we were supposed to be moving from a week ago. I guess I had supposed that she would be back by now.

Sighing, I grabbed a tissue, blowing my nose while swiping at the tears on my face. I could hear Rachel and Simon stirring in their rooms, so I hurriedly threw the tissue away and straightened myself up.

"CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS, IT'S CHRISTMAS! GET UP, GET UP, GET UP EVERYBODY! MELODY, MOM, DAD, GET UPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Simon sang out, skipping into the kitchen, a big, stupid grin on his face. Rachel followed behind him, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh, hi, Mel. MERRY CHRISTMAS!" He yelped, hugging me. I frowned at him, but gave him a little squeeze in return. I may be upset and kind of dislike my family at the moment, but I do love them, no matter what.

"Good morning, Mel. Are Mom and Dad getting up, Simon?" Rachel asked, sitting next to me. Her long, brown hair was still as pristine as always, and her green eyes, like Simon's, were wide with excitement.

"I called them, but I might have to go jump on their bed if they don't wake up." He mused, tapping his skinny chin with a tiny finger. His blond hair was still in a complete mess, falling over his eyes in long locks.

Rachel told him to go do that, and he hurried off, squealing as he ran. I tightened my lips together, running my fingers through the grooves in our old, oak table.

"Are you ok, Mel?" Rachel asked, surprising me. I glanced at her, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

She fiddled with her hair. "Uh... Because of Obsidian. I'm sorry. I tried to catch her, and I'm really sorry that she got away, I didn't mean-"

I shook my head, wanting to hug her. Which I did. "It's ok, Ray. Really. If she comes back... We'll find her."

She smiled at me. "Ok. I know we will. I know you'll like your present too."

For some reason the look on her face made me suspicious. I blinked, but before I could say anything, Mom and Dad walked in. Simon was dragging them by the hands, whistling a morbidly awful version of Jingle Bells.

"PRESENTS, PRESENTS, OPEN ALL THE PRESENTS!" He shouted, coraling us all into the living room. I sat down in a corner, near the tree. I felt really uncomfortable, for a reason I want even sure of yet. Something just felt... off.

We started by opening presents from Santa, which included a zip line for all of us, and several little things in our stockings. Rachel's eyes lit up as she unwrapped a new sewing machine from Mom and Dad, and Simon screamed when he opened a plush version of Oh from the movie Home. Soon, everything had been opened, leaving Obsidian's presents lying forlornly by themselves. As Mom and Dad examined their new plate set and Simon flew his remote control helicopter, I forced a smile and lovingly stacked my pile of journals and books.

Dad stood up, stretching. "Merry Christmas, guys." He said, grinning. Mom stood up too, smiling from ear to ear. I ignored them, flipping through a book I had been wanting for a long time.

"But Mel... We have something else for you." I looked up, my eyes wide. My parents were both smiling so widely that I wondered if their faces could split.

"Wait... No. Really?!" I asked cautiously, getting up. My heart was thundering in my chest, so hard that I couldn't hear anything else. Hope sprang up in my heart.

Dad seemed to understand what I was thinking, and his smile waned. But I was already too ecstatic to care. "Where? Where is it?" I asked, breathless with excitement.
"Downstairs, in the spare bedroom. But-"

I didn't even hear the rest of his sentence. I was already running down the stairs, jumping four at a time. I slid on my socks onto the basement's hardwood floor, skidding down the hallway. Flinging open the spare bedroom's door, I searched desperately for the surprise. A box was sitting in the middle of the room, with a red bow on top. I edged toward it, a smile creeping up on the edges of my mouth. I slowly opened the top, tears of happiness stinging my eyes.

"Obsid-" A furry bundle hurdled itself in a blur out of the box, hitting home right into my stomach. The breath knocked out of me, I fell back onto the floor, slamming my tailbone into the ground. Pain bloomed up my back, and I gasped, just as the longest, pink tongue I have ever seen licked me right across my face.

Thank you for reading!