I check the digital clock on my desk. It's almost midnight and the device is not near ready. "Faster! We don't have much time left!" I yell at the other engineers. I've been nervous for the entire day, making them nervous too. But I don't want to lose my vision. I can't! I can't spend an entire day in pitch darkness. Besides, what can a computer engineer do without vision, without being able to see what's on the monitor? A single typo can result in major issues when it comes to programming. However, the other engineers don't seem as keen to get this done as I am. Lucky them, the test revealed they will be losing less significant senses than me - some will be losing their touch and others their touch. I am straining my fingers to type as I possibly can, my eyes to keep up with the new code without straining or leaving a typo behind, my heart from bursting out of my chest. But all of a sudden, everything goes black. "I can't see! I can't see!" Being warned about it prior still couldn't save me from panicking. I try to open my eyes, but I am pretty sure they are open - the air blows against them too much, it stings and I feel a tear run down my cheek. If I knew any better, I'd say I'm actually staring. "No, no, no!" "Hey, hey, it's okay. Relax." Someone places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. From his voice, he's the electrical engineer. "We can still do this." I turn to the source of his voice, a poor attempt at making eye contact. "No! I am the computer engineer here and I am nowhere near done with the code!" I smack the keyboard out of frustration. "And I am pretty sure you guys are not done either." "I can help you with the code." He offers. "True, I am no computer engineering, but they still teach you basic programming in electrical engineering." "Basic programming is not enough." I scowl. "You can practically do nothing by simply assigning variables if you don't know what to do with them." "Ummm... You can dictate me." He's so chill about this it's making my blood boil! "Fine." "Can... you... please excuse me?" I get up from my desk chair, huffing and puffing. Something hooks in my foot, causing me to trip and fall, hitting my head hard on the cool marble floor. I start crying. From the pain. From the dark. From how incompetent everyone here is! I hate the dark! I've always hated the dark! Ever since I was a child. I like to see around. This darkness is the worst! And everyone here is so incompetent to help! Overlapping 'Oh my God's, 'Are you okay?'s, 'Need any help's fill the room. "I am fine!" I roll my eyes. "You sure?" The pitty in her voice makes me wanna grit my teeth till they all fall out. "Yes!" "Do you need ice? For you head, I mean." "No." I lie. But who cares? It is obviously going to bulge soon, if it hadn't already. I just sit cross-legged on the floor, wishing this day will be over soon. I can't take more of this. "So, Madeline, what should I type?" Asks Adam, the electrical engineer. I grumpily start to dictate to him. Halfway through the day, they announce they are done, and hi-fives echo around the room. "Okay, put this on." They instruct while placing the device carefully around my head. "So...." They all sound expectant "You turned it on already?" Everything is still pitch dark. "It doesn't work?" "I don't think so." I fumble with the thing and pull it off, leave it on the ground and leave. On my way out I bump into someone, just when I thought this day can't get any worse. "Watch it there!" He growls. Believe me, there is nothing that I want more right now. I head to the sitting area, with only my memory of the place as a guide. Tap-tap, okay the seat is empty. I sit down. I hope I can sleep this day till it's over, but I don't think I'll be able to find any sleep in this stressed state. "You got blind?" A voice of a little girl screams somewhere around. "I. Got. Deaf." Explains why she's screaming. "Yes." I nod. "Must. Be. Pretty. Hard!" I shrug. How can I talk to a deaf person - don't know sign language, I doubt she does either. "Dad. Got. Me. Here. To. Keep. Me. Out. Of. Trouble." I shrug again. "Wanna play something? Rock, paper, scissors?" I nod. I appreciate the distraction.

"Hold it right there!" One of the officers growls. "On your knees. Hands where I can see them!" Commands another. I look around. How did I end up here? "NOW!" I jump, when one of them yells, but do as I am told. I kneel down and raise my hands. One of them approaches me with his handcuffs at the ready, while the others keep their pistols pointed directly at my head. He tightens them around each wrist, then drags me away, my legs fumbling under me, trying to keep up. He dumps me in the back seat of a police car, and then I am joined by two more officers - one on each side. They are practically sitting on me, to be honest. I try to wiggle my thighs from under theirs but it's of no use. It's like they weigh a million kilograms! When we arrive at the station, they drag me out. My head smacks into the car frame due to their carelessness. I think it will leave an ugly bruise on my forehead. They take me to a room with only a table and a pair of chairs inside. All metal. They sit me in one of the chairs and cuff me to the table. And leave. I'm alone. For the first time since I woke up. I still have no idea how I got there. The last thing I remember was putting my kindle next to me on the pillow and turning on my side to sleep. How did I end up surrounded by cops in the middle of the road? I have no idea. The door slams open and I jump in my seat. "So...." Questions the officer through his rotten teeth. I just blink at him. What am I supposed to say? "Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" He leans forward from across the table, his face uncomfortably close to mine. "I-I swear I have no idea about how I got there." I stammer, scared. I just want to go home. "So the hard way then." He motions to someone and he obediently comes in with a tray, carrying a variety of sharp equipment. I gulp. "I am telling the truth, I swear! One minute I was asleep in my room. The next I was on the street." "Yeah sure." He picks one of them, its sharp tip gleaming in the LED light of the room. "No, please! I swear!" Tears start pouring down my face.

Nice dress, check. Deodorant, check. Makeup, check. Everything should be perfect. This is our first date. The check myself in the mirror in the foyer before I leave, one last time. I bat my eyelashes to check if I glued them properly. But instead of reflecting my actions like it should, it puts its hands on its waits and tilts its head to the side, then sarcastically bat its eyelashes back at me. I jump back in terror and run away through the front door. I hop into the car and decide to drive as far away from here as possible. But while I am adjusting the rearview mirror, I catch a glimpse of a raised eyebrow. My eyebrow. I take a deep breath. It's all in my head. There is a logical explanation to all this. When I look back at the rearview mirror, my eyes stare back at me with an are-you-done expression. "What do you want from me?" I simply shakes its head in response. "Well then, why aren't you acting like a normal reflection?" This conversation is starting to make me feel crazy. It slaps its forehead, and then mouths 'no' while indicating so with its index finger. "No, what?" It points at me. I let out a frustrated sigh and roll my eyes. "You know what? I am done with you!" And I drive away, avoiding using all mirrors as much as I safely can. When I reach the restaurent we agreed upon, my reflection appeared on the glass walls, so terrified, as if it has seen a ghost, shaking its head, like it's trying to warn me from something. But I ignore it and make push the door open anyway. Inside, I realize what my reflection was trying to warn me of: He's cheating! He's actually cheating! Then why did he invite me here? I storm back out. And in the car, my reflection appears on the sideview mirror, sympathetic, but also has an I-told-you-so-look.

"It's impossible to describe the sheer terror I felt when I realized that she was actually dead. That I killed her. My sister! I loved her so much, so much-" I start to sob. He pulls me into a hug. "It's okay. It's okay." I shake my head. "Not it's not!" I pull my face away from him to look him in the eye. "When I, when the witch transformed me into this." I point at my fangs. "She told me that I would watch everyone I loved die. What she didn't say was that I would be the one to kill them. I-I would just catch sent of their blood and the next thing their bodies are in my arms, and their blood is on the walls." I bury my face in his chest. "Didn't want to wash their blood off. It is the last thing I have left of them." "Was that why you were so scared when I first showed up here." I nod.

I decide to revert away from the main road; I'll attract less attention to myself that way. My feet thud against the dry, barren soil in sync with my racing heartbeats. I need to know if they are still behind me, but can't spare a second to check. My heart will explode, my lungs can't take it anymore, but I can't stop. I need to keep going. Somehow, along the way, the soil becomes moist and covered in dead leaves. The path is longer smooth - there are thick roots, and I almost tripped on one. There are also trees, lots of them. Which, I think is good. It is easier to lose them here. I can almost feel safe, if not for the screaming crows and hooting owls. But birds can't be as bad as jail, right? So, I decide to push on. A twig snaps behind me. Damn it! They are still chasing after me. I push on. My only source of energy, at this point, is pure adrenaline. At a distance, I spot a huge fence, with an entire flock of crows screaming around it. Crows are a bad omen in every single movie out there, but what else should I do? I try to open the fence, but it seems to be locked. "Hands in the air!" One of them demands victoriously. I turn back to him, wide-eyed. It's now or never. With one huge leap of faith, I climb up, one step after the other and jump to the other side. They don't dare follow me up, which is good... Until I realize why. The place I landed in, the only way to describe it is some ghost's backyard. The flowers - roses - are all covered in thorns as sharp as knives. The trees have thick trunks, and somehow look as if they are frowning. What I think used to be a fountain in the middle, is now just a stone statue glistening in the moonlight. And the owls and crows are certainly not helping with that eerie feeling that's growing in the pit of my stomach. They exchange glances among themselves, offering each other to go first with their eyes, but no one seems brave enough to. They growl in frustration and pull out their pistols. My eyes pop out of their sockets and my legs start to run as fast as they can away from them. Deeper into that creepy place.