It was a type of sweltering heat, the kind you only hear about in passing or mentioned in the news. The bottom line is that it was not pleasant by any means. It induced my heart to beat even faster as I ran. I could almost feel the little moister remaining in my body being evaporated into the air. This, of course, ranked low on my list when compared to how my bare feet felt. Overlooking the occasional rock that would send needle-like sensations to my unprotected foot, the bottoms of my feet felt like they were being cooked in an oven turned up to the highest setting. That was the real pain.

You may ask why. Why was I running in such conditions that made sweat disappear before it even formed? Why wasn't I smart enough to take the two seconds needed to put appropriate footwear on? Or maybe just why I was running in the first place? Believe me, I was asking myself these questions to. Well, at least I was asking them in between the periods of intense agony. The answer to all of these questions was so simple. I mean like paint a target on your head and hit it with an arrow kind of simple. It was all a six year old girl named Anna's fault.

Now, just who exactly is this Anna? I have no flipping clue. I can tell you that when I met her for the first time she was wearing this obnoxious, eye burning, bright pink dress. I could also tell you she spoke in this high pitched and jumbled way that gave me a headache after she spoke the first sentence to me. A sentence, mind you, that consisted of only three words. Three lovely words muttered out of a six year old stranger's mouth that made me want to pinch her round cheeks and not in a good way. The words were, "Stop, you...idiot". This fateful meeting was burned into my memory. That isn't that remarkable seeing as how it happened just four measly hours ago. So that's it guys, it was all this child's fault and I was cursing her even right then as I ran for my life.

-*-Four Hours Earlier-*-

I was sitting at the desk in my room when my cell started ringing with a familiar ringtone. I distractedly picked it up and answered with a quick, "Hello".

"Hey honey, would you be the awesome daughter I know you are and go pick up some milk for me?" my mom said in a voice that I referred to me as the 'using my daughterly love for you as leverage voice'.

"Um...I'm kind of working on an essay right..." My face scrunched in confusion for a second as I finally turned my attention away from my assignment and thought for a second. "Wait, why are you calling me on my phone, aren't you downstairs? Did you go out?"

"No, no. I'm on the couch right now. I'm just tired and my show is on right now. You know the one with the two cute brothers that fight demons. I just started a new season and you can't just stop on the first episode of the season. Anyway I wanted to make your dad's favorite meal for lunch and we don't have enough milk and I absolutely need more milk or the sauce won't turn out right. Then what? All you have are some noodles and weird tasting sauce. Of course you have the sides too and dessert. But then come on, the main thing is the pasta. You know that don't you, especially with all the time I put into teaching you how to cook and all. Don't tell me you've forgotten?"

As she started to ramble more and more, I made sure to cut her off as she took her next breath. Sighing directly into the phone I said, "Sure, I guess I needed a break anyways. Did you need..."

She started yelling all of a sudden, "No! NO! It's right behind you! Turn around!"

It got quiet and I pulled the phone away from my ear to see that she hung up. So, another part of my theory is that she rambles just so I tell her 'yes' and she stops talking. With another sigh I stood up and started heading out, making sure to grab the bag with my wallet on the way.

I looked at the pictures of my family that decorated the walls as I made my way down the stairs. We were a peculiar family. It was my parents, my brother, and I. My dad was the odd one out with dark brown hair, but he has these really cool pale purple eyes. My mom, who has much fairer skin, has blonde hair with equally pale blue eyes. Jace, my eight year old brother, has my dad's tanned skin with shockingly light hair that was almost white and my mom's blue eyes. His and my own features were a lot alike. The difference being that mine were more feminine and that I inherited my dad's eye color. We both got some strange looks when we went out because of our hair, though apparently we got it from our great grandmother on our mom's side.

Taking the last step after inspecting the final picture, I turned my head in the direction of the living room. My mom was lounging on the couch and slightly leaning forward, totally entranced with her show. Before heading out I made sure to remind her to pick up Jace from his friend's house. She made a noncommittal gesture with her hand before returning her attention to the TV. Giving up on getting any more of a response from her, I proceeded out the front door and began my walk to the grocery store two blocks away.

I was just around the corner from the store, having gotten the milk and a candy bar, when I heard what sounded like a cat coming from an alley. I know, every stupid girl in the horror movie goes to inspect the sound and then BAM, bad things happens. In my defense, though, there wasn't this dark, spooky setting and the cat sounded like it was in a lot of pain. So, it was actually like my duty to go see what was wrong with it. At least, that was what I was mentally telling the common sense part of my brain in order for it not to stop me from completing my mission.

As I got closer my internal debate was cut short by what had to be a voice that belonged to a mouse in a cartoon. The person who went with the voice was small sized and decked out in a ridiculous pink outfit. The words she spoke sorted themselves out in my brain a second later. What she said was just as obnoxious as her outfit and it was, "Stop, you...idiot".