"Drenched in sin, with no respect for another."- Avenged Sevenfold "Nightmare"

I sat in the house, the same house of which I had lived in for fifteen years. The house with the squeaky porch step, with the screen door, with the attic which had the beautiful window. Yes, indeed, I sat there. I wasn't exactly happy in Gatlin. Well, I was, but at that time, all I could think of was what had happened within the past three years. Life had gone from good to hellish.

I had lived a relatively normal life, until I turned twelve. One day, my parents left me at home and went out to Chicago for some conference relating to their careers. My dad was a teacher, as well as my mom. She taught the second grade class at the Gatlin School, while my dad taught the ninth. I have to admit, I hated the fact that they were always so close to me in my life. They were nice, though, they were nice. In fact, they were great. Slightly overprotective, but then again, whose parents aren't?

Anyway, at the time they had left for three years, but I was convinced that they would be coming back. They had to. They were out of the state, there was absolutely no way that Isaac or Malachai or anybody could get to them. What was taking them so long, I didn't know. I had to hold on to the hope that they would return, and I knew they would.

The day they left was a Sunday, and I went to Church. I knew that most of the other kids would be in the cornfield with Isaac, but I never went with them. Isaac wasn't the reason, though. I had my own reasons for not going there; you could call it a premonition.

Besides, it was a Sunday, and the Sunday was the Sabbath, my official day off, away from all the drama and all the problems. I was like a consultant; everyone came to me with their problems and asked for advice. I loved that they wanted me to help, and that they trusted me with their secrets, but I hated it too sometimes. I hated the fact that I could give out advice so easily, yet never take my own. Everyone wanted for me to hear their problems, but no one ever cared to listen to mine. I didn't need them to anyway.

So, I sat in my house until there was a knock at the door. I went over to answer it, only to find that it was a person which I wanted nothing to do with. Isaac. He didn't even hesitate, he just walked right by me and came in.

"Can I help you?" I asked, code for, "Why are you here?" and "Let's get this over with."

"Kara, I have some great news to share with you. It's about your future," I really hoped that Isaac wasn't about to go on a spiel about me not coming to the cornfield. I wasn't there when "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" showed himself, so I was "forgiven" for not believing. Same with Sarah and Job, on that Sunday, Job was in the church with me, and Sarah was sick.

"My future?" He started walking through my house, just mindless pacing. I followed.

"Yes, indeed," he turned to face me, "you know the age which all of the ceremonies are to be preformed I presume. You have been chosen by He Who Walks Behind the Rows for a specific duty."

"What?" I asked, my tone nervous. I didn't want to die or be a sacrifice before my parents came back.

"Marriage," Isaac said with a smile.

"I'm not sixteen," I said, trying to make an excuse.

"But He Who Walks Behind the Rows has chosen you for someone who is. And besides, you're fifteen and your birthday is in a few months."

I knew that since "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" "told" Isaac what was "to be" there was absolutely no way I could get out of it. Isaac claimed to be a prophet, but I wasn't so sure. Of course, I never said any of this. As mentioned earlier, I didn't want to die. I knew that if I went against Isaac, he'd send Malachai, who did whatever he was ordered to do, at any price, even people's lives.

He was ruthless and cold, and I hated him. Of course, I didn't always hate him. I was his friend up until those dreaded years. I didn't like hanging out with the girls and their drama, so I stayed with the boys. It wasn't bad, and in fact it made me love Gatlin. I had made friends there, but they ended up being taken away. Everything was taken away, all that I cared about, anyway.

"Marriage? To who?" I asked the boy across from me.

"We don't tell the bride until the wedding, and the groom can't see her," So basically, the bride had absolutely no say.

At the time, I guessed that I could have used it to my advantage. I could play it out for as long as I could until my mom and dad came back, or maybe, just maybe I would go to find them. Although, they had told me that if we had ever separated, just to go back home, and they'd meet me there, but I was positive that I'd be able to find them in Chicago. I didn't think I could afford to wait for them anymore. I had to take action, but not at the exact second. No, I would wait, but leave as soon as possible, for I knew that that place was Hell on earth.

I didn't know that once you were in Hell, there would be no escape. I found that out, though. I thought, I hoped that I'd be able to see peace, but. . . . That's not what happened.

A/N: Hey! Thanks so much for reading! I juyst had a few things about this that I wanted to say. It's original COTC (1984). About the spelling of 'Malachai', in the movie credits it's 'Malachai', in the book its 'Malachi' and I've seen 'Malaki'. I'll mainly use the first two, especially 'Malachai' because it's my favorite way to spell it. Anyway, Ihope you like this! Leave a review?