Alright, guys. As of right now, May 10th, I am posting this awesome new prologue. Now, some details MAY be off in the next chapter. So if I haven't fixed them yet, I will be on it soon.

Hopefully this flows a little better for you guys. Enjoy!

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Talia walked through the smoky-glass doors of her new job. It was a cute, little, rainbow-colored cafe in the middle of a big, bustling, city. It was just a part time job, but it came with a small apartment upstairs and a chance to try something new. 

A spritely, Asian girl, with long, black hair pulled into a ponytail and dressed in her rainbow-colored company shirt, ran up to Talia with an excited bounce to her step. From what she could catch, the bouncing nametag read Cherry. She barely looked old enough to be working.

“You’re here! Phew!” The girl wiped away fake sweat from her forehead. “We are so glad you could start today. We’ve been a bit short-handed for a while now. Right girls?” 

A middle-aged woman with fading gray hair pulled into a messy bun nodded happily. “Hi, I’m Fran. What’s your name?” 

“Talia. Nice to meet you, Fran.” 

“I’ll show you the ropes in no time, Kiddo.” Fran saw customers come in and went to take care of them. 

Another waitress, a twenty-something, tall and leggy woman, who was standing next to Fran, stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms. “She better not be getting any of my hours,” she spat at Cherry, flipping her red hair over her shoulder and walking off to clean tables.

“Don’t you mind her,” Cherry sighed. “Lacy loves her drama. I’d steer clear of her. Although,” she thought, tipping her head, “she always does have the best gossip. So we keep her around.”  

Talia laughed along with Cherry, but secretly hoped Lacy wouldn’t be too much of a drama queen. 

“So, tell me about yourself.” Cherry asked as she led them back to the breakroom. “Where are you from? Do you have any family?”

“Oh, I have a…” Talia’s breathing grew heavier and her head started to spin as she tried to answer either of those questions. “I-I’m sorry.” She grabbed her head with one hand and blindly reached out for something to stabilize herself with the other. 

Cherry gasped and grabbed her hand, quickly leading her to a seat. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t ask such personal questions.” 

Everything faded away, even the cold metal chair she’d just sat on. Silence replaced Cherry’s excited words. Fear gripped her heart, but she couldn’t remember why. As she peeled her eyes open, a little girl, with plain brown hair wrapped in pretty blue ribbons, cried in front of her on what was now the pine-needle covered forest floor. Her blue nightgown looked dirty and torn and her tiny, shoeless feet were bruised and bleeding.

“He’s coming! Where are you? Hurry, We have to go,” the girl cried into the trees just behind Talia.

Talia turned around. And although she couldn’t see anyone, voices of two men talking seemed to bounce off the trees. 

“Haven’t you done enough? Marius is the monster who did this, not you,” one man seemed to beg.

“Just because it’s not my fault, doesn't mean I don’t have to try,” the other voice retorted. “I have to get her out.”

Talia turned back to the girl, ready to call for the men to come help her. But, she was on her knees, reaching out to someone invisible and crying out, “Don’t hurt him. Please, don’t hurt him.”

A cold rag pressed to Talia’s head and suddenly the cafe break-room came immediately back into focus. And after a fit of coughing, Talia apologized to Cherry again. “Do you guys put a little something extra in the coffee here?” 

Cherry laughed, but had a worried look in her brows. “This might be too much for today. The lunch rush has died down already. Why don’t I show you to your room and you can start tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Talia took a deep breath and shook her head. “That’s probably the smart thing to do.” Am I really so tired I’m falling asleep on my feet now? And that dream…. 

Cherry stayed by her side, trying to act like she was just walking but obviously prepared to catch if she started passing out again. “You’re room is this first one on the right. We will get your key-code lock figured out in the morning. For now, there’s the good old chain-lock.” She smiled pityingly.  “I promise you’re safe here.”

“Thanks, Cherry,” Talia said, slipping onto the gray microfiber couch. “This place looks nice.” It was a sleek, new apartment design. A gray and white, open design, feeling more like a tiny home than a city apartment. 

“Yes!” She squealed excitedly. “They are amazing. Alexis is enabled throughout the whole place. Watch this, Alexis, turn the lights down a little!” 

The lights all dimmed together. “Wow!” Talia said it and smiled, but something itched at her brain. It didn’t seem as special as Cherry seemed to find it. “Is this technology new?”

“Relatively new,” Cherry shrugged. “I guess I’m just easily impressed? Ok,” she headed out the door. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything. See you bright and early.” 

Talia laughed at her new friend’s cheery attitude. “Maybe if I just get a little sleep I could be that cheery too?” She said to herself. A fluffy white cat appeared in the middle of the room and jumped up on the couch beside her. “Oh, hello, beautiful. What’s your name?” A golden collar appeared around its neck: Muffin. “Well, nice to meet you, Muffin. I guess we’ll be roommates?” It meowed and jumped into her lap, purring and rubbing against her hands. 

After being held prisoner by the fluffiest thing she’s ever held, she felt the call to investigate her new apartment. “Alexis, play classical music, please.” Sweet, soft melody’s quietly filled the apartment. The bathroom and shower matched the rest of the place, but was pretty in its simplicity. 

Tossing her clothes to the floor, Talia stepped into the shower. Without touching any nobs, water shot out from the three walls and one stream overhead. “Adding shampoo now. Scrub for maximum effectiveness,” Alexis said, leading her through the rest of the shower. 

The twin bed looked plain but inviting. Talia immediately regretted calling the bed plain. It was comfort beyond compare. It seemed perfect. Everything was perfect. Except...she grabbed just over her heart like it hurt as she thought about the daymare she’d had. 

Why does Marius sound so familiar?