"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."

~ Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

The front door slammed open with a bang, the telltale click clack of Faye's boots on the floor traveling towards me. I didn't look up from the book I had buried my nose into, continuing to give it my full attention as my sister marched into my bedroom, throwing herself dramatically onto the bed next to me with a large sigh. When it was obvious I wasn't about to acknowledge her she sighed again, lifting her head to look at me, her hazel eyes narrowed; practically begging me to ask her what was wrong. "I'm home," she said after a moment and I sighed, dog-eared my page, closed the book, and stared over at her.

"Let me guess," I began, a small smile pulling at the corners of my lips. "You cried the entire time."

She shook her head, though I could see a redness beneath her eyes. "No," she protested, her light pink lips drawn up in a pout that had lost its effect years ago. "Well, only at the really sad parts. Like when Thorin and Bilbo-"

"I don't want to hear it," I interrupted, placing my novel back on my lap and opening to my current page, smoothing it out and resuming my reading. She wanted to tell me all about the movie she'd gone to see, The Hobbit, though I couldn't have cared less. I didn't know much about the Lord of the Rings universe, other than there were hobbits- short people with big and hairy feet- and a wizard, G-something the Grey. I hadn't made it fifteen minutes into the first Lord of the Rings movie, and I had yet to even open any of the books. "If I hear one more thing about what's-his-face..."

"Fili," Faye corrected with a small sigh, a smile pulling at her lips. I quirked an eyebrow and her cheeks grew pink. "He- His name is Fili."

I rolled my eyes, giving her a pointed look. "Mhm. Anyways, didn't 'Hottie McHotness' die?"

"Rebecca!" my sister gasped, a hand to her mouth as if she was positively mortified- which, knowing her, she probably was. Then she sat her head back down on the bed, muttering "Maybe." Smirking, triumphant over my small, insignificant victory, I went back to my book. The house was almost silent during the day, with most of Faye's many friends either asleep or planning the next big party- one to rival the one the night before. After a second of staring at the ceiling, she groaned. "Are you doing anything today?"

I spared her a glance and a roll of my blue-green eyes before returning to my novel. I was almost done, and her interruptions were annoying. "I'm reading, Faye." Duh.

"Yeah. But, like... something cool."

"This book is cool," I informed her, earning a scoff. For the fourth time I glanced up from my book, dog-earring the page and placing it next to me on the pillow. "Fine. What do you suggest?" I asked sarcastically.

"Um…" she muttered, again looking up at the ceiling. Her long brown hair hug around her head like a strange halo as she thought. "Well... Oh!" she leaned up on her elbows, looking over at me. "We could go see The Hobbit again."

"No," I huffed without hesitation.

"Fine," she sighed, plopping back down onto the comforter. Her brow furrowed, before her eyes widened and she glanced over at me again. "Dinner? There's a new Chinese place open?"

A sigh escaped my lips as I fiddled with the charm bracelet around my wrist, trying to come up with a reason not to go out. It wasn't that I hated Chinese food or anything, but I wasn't social; not like Faye. I was much more interested in curling up in a dark corner of the library with a good book than partying. "Faye, I really don't want to go anywhere," I said finally. "I just want to finish my book, and…" I trailed off.

Her face fell. "You said if I could suggest something, we would go," she whined.

"I never said that."

"Please!?" she begged, rolling over onto her stomach and clasping her hands in front of her, her bottom lip jutting out and her eyes widening to resemble those of a puppy. I had to hide a smirk at that. She was twenty-one, only two years younger than me, and had therefore had plenty of time to perfect convincing me to do things. I sighed, shifting my legs underneath me and opening my mouth to speak.

And then the lights shut off.

The bed bounced as Faye leapt off of it and I jumped off as well, reaching out for her blindly in the darkness. Her hand latched onto mine, and I could feel her shaking slightly. She'd always been afraid of the dark, ever since we were little, and the fear hadn't dissipated as she'd grown older. "Becca?" she questioned, her voice wavering, and I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It'll be okay," I said. "It's probably just a power outage. Maybe they knocked out a tower or something; it's probably down for the whole block." My voice sounded fake; even to my ears it felt like I was trying to convince myself. "Come on." I took a few steps forwards towards the door, intent on getting both light and information.

Thump!

The noise came from the hall as soon as we reached the doorway. I immediately pulled Faye closer, my big sister instincts kicking in. "Hello?" I called out, my voice wavering slightly. I didn't receive an answer, though I didn't expect one. I pulled Faye down the hall towards the kitchen, where I remembered having left my cell phone.

Creak.

Faye jumped and tightened her grip on my hand, her fingers trembling in my own, and I hated how scared she was- hated that I wasn't able to calm her like I used to. "Faye it's okay," I whispered, my thumb rubbing circles into the back of her hand as we reached the kitchen. "It's okay."

Thud.

Groan.

The lights flickered, before plunging the house back into darkness. One of my hands swept across the counter, not producing my cell, and after a second I pulled out one of the drawers, rifling through it for a flashlight. My hands clasped around the cylinder and I gripped the light in one hand, my thumb fumbling over the object for the switch.

In another second there was something that almost felt like wind a blowing around us, whipping our hair in a flurry around our heads. Our fingers tightly squeezed the other's, but even with the added grip I felt us start to drift apart, kept together only by our straining hands. There was a pressure in my head and it seemed like there were hands grabbing at my clothes, ripping me away from my sister. "Becca!" Faye called, confused and scared, sounding miles away even though I was still grasping onto her shaking fingers like my life depended on it.

"Faye!" The scream that left my lips was desperate, cracking and wavering. "It'll be okay!" I shouted, my fingers aching with the effort of holding onto hers, though I wasn't sure if she could even hear me. I had no idea what was going on, though I wasn't about to let whatever it was tear my sister away from me. I wasn't going to let go.

The pressure in my head grew to pain, until it felt as if my skull was splitting open. Faye's hand continued to slip from mine, until it seemed like we were connected by a thread.

Then there was a flash of white light, and everything went black.

A/N: This is an edited version. It's not that much different, but just so you know. Also, I imagine Faye as Lily Collins and Becca as Sophie Turner. You don't have to imagine them the same, but just in case you couldn't picture them advice someone specific, here's an idea.