The sun set low over a small but lovely town as the day wore to an end. Storm clouds, however, were swiftly overshadowing the blazing cornucopia of colors, thus creating a major sense of foreboding. A smallish young woman, looking around seventeen or eighteen, walked quietly along the sidewalk of Pine Avenue, her eyes fixed on the pages of the little red book she was holding loosely in her hands. The irises darting back and forth, surrounded by pale almost aqua colored orbs, took in the story avidly. Deep, red bangs hung into her eyes a bit and flowed over her shoulders all the way to her lower back in soft, wavy tendrils, which were fluttering lightly in the breeze. Small head phones wedged in her ears played an array of music from the cassette player, clipped securely at her hip.

Sighing softly, the girl flipped to the next page. She was lean but not underfed and was very, very pale. The girl was dressed in what one would call street attire but it was still clean and rather new looking, showing she wasn’t exactly poor. Her name was Jessica Malston, though she generally went by Jessie or Jess for short. She’d lived in this town for around three years, though due to her slightly ‘eccentric’ personality, Jess had only a handful of, also odd, but close friends. One such friend, Sarah Williams, had lent her this little red book. The Labyrinth. She’d only had it a couple days and just couldn’t stop reading it.

Jess flipped another page as her black, motorcycle boots drug lightly on the pavement. Though she had her own vehicle, a 1986 Suzuki Intruder, her parents never wanted her to ride to and from school. They did, however, think it was perfectly safe for her to walk halfway across town alone. As she just finished the last page, she felt a few drops of water hitting the top of her head. Glancing up at the now stormy sky, she cursed softly and tucked the book into her bag, starting to run. As she thought silently of the handsome goblin king, she didn’t notice a pair of large golden orbs watching her, nor did she hear the flutter of wings.

The story flowed through her mind as she hummed softly to the song playing on her walk-man. Water pummeled her back lightly and her Levis were spattered with water as she blundered through puddles. Smiling, already halfway through the song, she started to sing the song softly as she turned a corner. “Don’t you think I’m trying to tell heart what’s right? That I should really say good night? But I just can’t stop myself falling…” Jess flipped her wet bangs out of her eyes. “Maybe I should tell him that I feel the same…” She ran past a few old stores, familiar to us as the ones Sarah and Merlin had run past on her mad dash home. “That I don’t wanna play no game… ‘Cause when I feel his arms rapped around me…” She turned a corner and… “I know I meant to say no…” …ran a block to the North. “But he’s irresistible, up close and personal…” The girl stopped at a light just about to change. “Now inescapable, I can hardly breathe.” She crossed the street quickly as the cars waited wiping away the water dripping down her face with a sleeve. “More than just physical, deeper than spiritual…” She ran up the front lawn of the blue house next to the alley that Sarah had cut through. A beautiful tawny and white owl fluttered into the tree outside an upstairs window, watching the girl below. “His ways are powerful…” The girl dug through her bag for her keys and unlocked the door. “Irresistible to me…” She trailed off as she walked inside, scraping her boots on the rug and closing the door.

She pulled the earphones out of her ears and stopped the tape as she trotted upstairs to change. Her room was fairly sized and the walls were covered with pictures and posters of movie and fantasy characters. The floor was fairly messy, covered with an array of clothes and junk. Stuffed animals sat on nearly every available space and her shelves were crammed with fantasy books. She put her things on the bed next to a camping bag, smiling cheerfully as she tucked the walk-man inside of it. She dug the book out of her bag and set it on the dresser next to a beautifully framed picture of a handsome boy. There was a soft black cloth draped over the top edge of the frame, signifying the person was deceased. Humming softly to herself, Jess undressed and threw her wet clothes into the hamper (much to the owl’s apparent amusement) before rummaging through her dresser and closet for some dry clothes. Outside her lace-curtained window, the owl watched her bare back as she pulled on new undergarments, studying her bare form. She pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a loose black, Guns n’ Roses t-shirt before pulling on her boots again. “Let’s see… Tent and sleeping bag’s in the van… I hope it stops raining soon.” She muttered, looking through her bag to make sure she had every thing.

Jessie’s parents weren’t by any means the best parents in the world. They worked all the time and Jessica rarely caught glimpses of them and only had decent conversations with them on the occasional holiday. Finally, however, her parents had promised to take her on a camping trip for her eighteenth birthday. They of course would be staying in the RV but Jess didn't mind. She'd have more than an hour with her parents for the first time in six months. The poor girl had been so lonely. They'd even let the nanny (her only companion at home) go after she was sixteen and the housekeeper only came while she was at school. Jess didn't even have a pet for company.

The girl sighed as she wandered down to the kitchen to make snacks for the trip up to the lake. Pausing, she looked at the blinking answering machine and pressed the button as she moved towards the refrigerator and started pulling things out. "Jessica? Jessica, this is mom. Now, dear, don't be angry with us but there's been a major emergency at the company. We can't get away and we're booked solid for the next three months. Maybe in February we can get together for din-" The message was cut off with a loud beep. She quietly bent down and unplugged the object before picking it up carefully and hurling it against the wall so that it smashed to pieces.

Storming upstairs, Jess screamed angrily through clenched teeth and kicked the door open so that it banged against the wall. She pulled on her leather jacket and jammed the earpieces into her ears, blasting X-Japan’s Sadistic Desire as she threw the food she’d grabbed and her savings into here bag. Jessica put in a few more things she needed and a couple treasured items before zipping it up. She growled softly and wrote a goodbye letter to her parents. The girl also remembered to instruct them to send the little red book back to Sarah, not wanting to stop and risk losing her nerve.

Jessie shouldered the parcel and headed down stairs, exiting into the garage quickly. She strapped her bag securely onto the back of her motorcycle (along with her tent and sleeping bag) and grabbed her helmet, putting it on as she pressed the garage door opener. She got onto the bike and revved it up before speeding out into the night, no longer wanting to be a prisoner in her own home. She rode for a long time until she reached the bridge and stopped, needing to do so before she left this horrid place forever. She got off as the song changed to a more somber tune and pulled off her helmet sadly. Tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed softly, running a hand through her hair. She was just so tired of all this pain…

I’m standing on the bridge…
I’m waiting in the dark...

Jessie walked over to the railing, sitting on the wet ground and resting her back against the cement barrier. “They promised…” She whimpered softly, bowing her head. “They promised!” She screamed angrily, kicking out her feet as though fighting someone off. The girl slammed her fists onto the ground, a loud sob ripping from her throat. Laughing bitterly, Jessica wondered how long it would take her parents to discover she was gone.

Won’t somebody come take me home?

The music cut off as she ripped out her earphones, getting up agitatedly and walking to her bike, straddling it. She sat far back in the seat as she started it up again, her helmet lying forgotten as she drove recklessly into the night. The rain whipped her face as she rode, murderous illusions and feelings of helplessness flooding her mind. She screamed out into the night, wishing everything would just fade away. “I WISH THE GOBLIN KING WOULD COME TAKE ME AWAY!!! RIGHT NOW!!!” She narrowed her eyes as the lights of an oncoming car lit her face. Jessica’s eyes widened as she realized the much larger vehicle was in the wrong lane. She froze up in fear and, all of a sudden, an owl landed in front of her, transforming into a man. The male immediately took control of the vehicle, swerving it out of the path of the SUV.

Jess cried out in fear and clung to the man for dear life, burying her face in a cascade of long blonde hair. But the sound of the van crashing into the barrier never came… The rain stopped and the blonde before her began to slow the vehicle down. Jess slowly pulled away, looking behind them to see the damage. “What?!” She stared in shock, not seeing road or wreckage, but dry, barren wasteland. She blinked and slowly turned back as the mystery man shifted, turning to look at her over his shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asked gently. Jess stared up at him, mouthing silently for a moment as she took in his voice and appearance and tried to analyze the situation. He smirked softly, chuckling as he waited for her to speak. Finally, she found her voice. “Oh my God… I’ve been kidnapped by a British rock star.”