Chapter 1

She ran as if her life depended on it. She knew it did. Fire was spreading all around her, but she didn't care. Mizuki had to leave this place. She reached the end of a corridor and opened the doors. It lead to a wooded area. She kept running. Mizuki cut her feet on rocks and logs, but she kept going in a straight line. She soon came across an old well. She started running around it when she felt someone push her into it. She hit the bottom and looked up. She couldn't see their face, but she could see a lab coat and dark brown hair.

It had been five hours since she fell down the well. The sun was starting to rise. Mizuki desperately cried out. She wanted someone to hear her. She wanted someone to know she was still alive. She screamed until her throat hurt. She could no longer produce sound. Suddenly, there was a bright light shining into the well.

"Hey, there's a girl down here!" a man called. Mizuki's eyes started to burn from the light, but it didn't bother her. She was saved! The light turned off and she saw a man with chestnut brown hair and tan skin. He was wearing a backpack and a green shirt. Another person threw a rope down and she weakly grabbed it.

Mizuki jolted awake. The same memory again. No amount of medicine can help her forget that day. The day she fled that awful place and was saved by her adopted father. She got out of bed and stretched, but felt a sharp pain on her shoulder blades. She took off her pajama shirt and looked at her back in the mirror.

Her shoulder blades were slightly red, but she didn't think much of it. She might have just slept wrong or hit her back on the wall. Mizuki changed into her school uniform and walked downstairs for breakfast. She saw the familiar chestnut haired man from twelve years ago. "Good morning father!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"Good morning, you seem cheerful today!" he smiled.

"Yeah, today's the class field trip! We're going to a zoo," she explained. Her father, Ayame Nanami, almost dropped a plate in shock. "Father, is everything okay?"

"Mizuki, there's a reason I've never taken you to a zoo."

"It'll be okay. We're just there to see animals. Besides, it was a group desicion. I can't do much to change a majority vote," she explain. Ayame sighed and nodded.

"Just be warned. There are cages and pens there holding the animals. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Father, that was twelve years ago. I think I've gotten over it by now."

"Nobody truely gets over something like that," he responds. Mizuki nods and finished her breakfast. She walks out the door and rides her bike to school.

When she walked to the bus parking lot, someone hugged her from behind and her shoulder blades felt like someone stabbed her.

"Ow! What the hell?!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Mizu-chan! I didn't mean to hug you so hard!" a girl apologized. Mizuki turned around and saw a girl with brown hair and green eyes with dorky glasses looking at her.

"It's fine, Miyu! My shoulder blades are sore today. I think I hit them on a wall in my sleep."

"How do you do that?"

"Sleep walking?" Mizuki suggested. Miyu started chuckling and took Mizuki's hand.

"Have we gotten into groups yet?" Mizuki asked.

"Yup! I chose to have you in my group," Miyu said. Miyu and Mizuki got on the same bus and sat next to each other. Their group consisted of mainly Miyu's friends, but Mizuki didn't care. She didn't really have friends other than Miyu. Even then, they only met because Miyu's mother insisted on a play date when they were children.

When they arrived at the zoo, they had to go through security. Something on Miyu set the hand scanner off. She was patted down until they discovered a metal ring in her pocket. "Oh! I must've forgotten it. I'm sorry!" she apologized. They let her through and she joined her group, taking hold of Mizuki's hand.

Mizuki looked at the map and turned to the group. "Where shall we go first?" she asked. Miyu looked at the map and pointed.

"Let's go see the lions! I've never seen one in real life before," she exclaimed, excitedly. Mizuki nodded and followed the map. Mizuki felt awkward being in the front of the group, leading them. It couldn't be helped, however. She was the one with the map.

When they arrived, Mizuki felt something drop in her stomach. The lions were there, but they were caged, just like Ayame said. There was a man with a whip. He was cracking the whip near the lions when they got too close to the edge of the cage. Mizuki could feel bile rising in her throat. She saw a nearby bathroom and handed the map to one of her group members. She ran to the bathroom, got in a stall, and started vomiting. She sat on her knees for a few minutes before someone entered.

"Mizu-chan? Are you okay? You looked pale earlier," Miyu asked. Mizuki stood up and flushed the toilet. She left the stall and faced Miyu, who looked worried. Mizuki didn't want to tell her why she reacted this way. She felt she couldn't. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Miyu and started crying.

"Mizu-chan? What's wrong? Was it because of the whips? Were you abused or something?" Miyu asked. Mizuki stayed silent. Miyu stroked Mizuki's golden blonde hair until she calmed down. Mizuki looked in the mirror. Her brown eyes were slightly red and puffy. She sighed and turned to Miyu with a smile.

"I'm okay now. There's no need to worry," she said, softly. Miyu didn't look convinced.

"If there's anything you want or need to tell me, give me a call," she replied. Mizuki hugged her and they walked back to their group.