=20

"Ma'am, I know that this is hard= for you, but I am going to need you to recount everything that has happene= d in the past year."

=20

I open my eyes and look at the kind f= ace of the woman that meant well. She meant to be helpful. She didn't mean = to dig into my past, it was her job. But, the thing is that those memories = don't make me feel better. If anything, they make me feel worse. It hurt re= membering all that had happened. I sit up in my chair and lean forward.

=20

"I am going to start the camera,= and when it starts recording, I am going to need you to start telling your= story."

=20

I nod. A click tells me that she had = turned on the camera.

=20

"My name is Judith Elsie. I live= in an apartment on the beach of Cape Cod. I am eighteen years old. This al= l started about a year ago."

=20

I swallowed against the emotion that = tightened my throat. Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, but I powered thro= ugh.

=20

"I think that it was in... Janua= ry? Maybe? I don't know. I can't remember. Anyways, a boy showed up at our = house. Funny thing was that when we heard the knock, it was at the back doo= r. I went and opened the door, and found him. He stood there clutching his = stomach. Blood dripped from in between his hands and onto the floor. He fel= l through the door and I caught him. Carrie came running and helped me put = him on the couch in the living room."

=20

"Carrie?"

=20

She startled me out of the memory and= I found that I had begun to grip the arms of the chair. I slowly began to = release them before returning my attention to her.

=20

Closing my eyes, I remembered Carrie'= s face. Pain lanced through my heart and the tears leaked through the corne= rs of my eyelids.

=20

"Yes. She was my roommate."=

=20

My roommate. My friend. My comrade. M= y partner in crime. My sister through bond. She was the closest thing to fa= mily that I had had. She had been with me since I was born. We were plannin= g on going to college together once we got enough money.

=20

"We opened up his shirt to find = that the wound was on his stomach. After cleaning it up, we found that blac= k thin lines had begun spreading from the wound. We had no idea what they w= ere. All that we knew was that it was bad."

=20

We knew that it was more than bad. Wo= rds cannot describe our horror at having found this. It was slick, oily. It= was unlike anything that we had ever seen.

=20

"Why didn't you call law enforce= ment at this point."

=20

Her voice was distant in the memory. = Barely passing through the fog.

=20

"He had woken momentarily and to= ld us not to tell anyone. We looked up what to do, but there was nothing th= at even resembled what we were dealing with. So, we decided that we would u= se what we had, and deal with it as we would anything else.

=20

"At first, we simply cleaned the= wound and changed out the bandages. We were able to keep it at bay, but it= stayed where it was. It didn't move forward or backward. We weren't making= any progress. So, we decided on another approach. We would put a bucket un= derneath him and press gently on the wound. The black began to leak out of = the wound.

=20

"We had to come up with a way to= keep it from touching the skin. It would burn whatever it touched. So we c= ame up with a system. We would through the bucket outside and we soon reali= zed that whatever it touched, died."

=20

"And, this didn't make you think= that maybe you should at least try to contact the authorities?"

=20

I felt my jaw tighten.

=20

"Because we respected the wishes= of a man that may possibly have been dying. Thankfully, he didn't. We had = caught it just in time, and he was up and running by March. But that didn't= mean that that was the end of it."

=20

Oh no. We were far from the end of th= ings. The tears came once more, and I grit my teeth.

=20

"We had become close. He would c= ontinually ask us if we saw anything suspicious, and the answer was always = no. But that didn't mean that we wouldn't."

=20

The tears began once more. I could no= longer disguise the hoarseness in my voice.

=20

"Men arrived at our doorstep. They came into our house, wa= nting to learn information on Quinn... the boy. We kept on avoiding their q= uestions. Quinn had gone to hide downstairs in the basement. At some point = during our conversation, the men began to tire of our evasion. They knew th= at we had him.

=20

"They asked us point blank at one point if we had him. We = told them no. They threatened us. Threatened to put us on the island...&quo= t;

=20

"What island?"

=20

I startle out of my reverie. I had forgotten that I was talking= to someone.

=20

"The island that they had sent Quinn to. The government ha= d sent a group of boys to a newly discovered island to see if it was habita= ble."

=20

It wasn't.

=20

"Carrie decided that that was a good time to pop a joke. S= he said that she didn't know any boy by the name of Quinn. She said..."= ; - I choke on a sob/ laugh. - "She said that she would love a vacatio= n to an island, though."

=20

I cover my mouth with my hand.=

=20

"They shot her. I had no idea wh= at I was staring at. What had happened... Quinn reached in and grabbed my a= rm, pulling me into the stair well that led down to the basement. I screame= d and railed. I wanted my friend, but there was no saving her.

= =20

"We got out through a window. We= ran to the most public place that we could find. It would protect us from = having to deal with the men. We found a bus that would transport us away fr= om them and down the coast."

=20

I steel myself. I needed to continue = on.

=20

"We had decided on a new mission= After seeing what they had done to Carrie, I could only imagine what they= had done to the boys. So we agreed to head back to the island, take pictur= es, bring the boys back along with proof, and expose what had been going on=

=20

"At this point, it was July. We = had waited for everything to die down before we took action. We headed back= to the Cape... to my house. They had cleaned up everything. There was no e= vidence of there ever having been any murder..."

=20

My voice quavered with anger.<= /p>=20

"It was as if she had been erase= d from the face of the earth. We traced his path. We were able to deduct wh= ere exactly he had come from. Well, not exactly. We had a general idea. We = plotted what to do, who we can hire... We looked at everything. We made sur= e that our plan was flawless."

=20

I close my eyes.

=20

"Nothing could have prepared us = for what we saw. The boys were starved. Many had died from the black that h= ad crept in through cuts and scrapes. They were terrified. Boys that were y= ounger than me. One my age.

=20

"Apparently, Quinn and the other= boy had been the two oldest on the island. They had agreed that one of the= m would stay while the other would go and find help. They had thought that = Quinn had died..."

=20

"Do you mind telling us the boys= ' names?"

=20

I stiffen. Yes, I did.

=20

"I am sorry. I cannot. As I was = saying, they had feared that their one chance at freedom had failed. Seeing= us was the hope that they needed. We went around and took pictures, collec= ted samples, anything that we could find. At that moment in time, it was Se= ptember.

=20

"We came back with the boys and = showed everything to anyone who would listen. But that didn't mean that we = were listened to."

=20

"No, it doesn't, thankfully.&quo= t;

=20

The woman walked forward and turned o= ff the camera.

=20

"But you were the only one that = we found. Tell me where the others are."

=20

I close my eyes. The question that I = had been dreading.

=20

"I can't tell you that."

=20

She shrugs.

=20

"I tried to be nice. You know th= e drill. Good cop. Bad cop. I hope you are prepared. Good day."=

=20

She snatches up the camera and walks = out the door. I close my eyes once more and lean my head back against the c= oncrete. I had made sure not to give any specific details. They already kne= w who Quinn was, s I didn't give them that. Vague details. That was all tha= t I gave them. Then why did it feel like I had betrayed the boys who had tr= usted me so eagerly.

=20

I hear the creak of metal against metal and knew that the other= person had walked in. Their footsteps echoed through the room as the door = clanged shut. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to care. My eyes remained shut. = Trepidation began to take root as the footsteps came nearer.

= =20

They stop a mere foot away. A pause. A silence. A moment of qui= et.

=20

"You did a good job."

=20

My eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. His smiling eyes m= et mine.

=20

"Found you."

=20

Day 1: Well, they finally caught me. I can't honestly say I'm s= urprised. The pillaging was so bad last night. Fire. Fire everywhere. Screa= ming, crying, shards of wood and metal with every step you took. The fire c= risped my fingertips. Between pain and infection, this is vulnerability. I = was prepared, though, so I had my emergency kit attached to my belt. I have= antiseptic cream and bandages. Hopefully, I have a delayed Summon so that = my fingers can heal. I cannot show Them weakness.

=20

My cell is small, a= s I imagined. Cement floors, cement walls, windowless door cemented shut. I= have a small bed but no blankets. There is no bathroom but there is a buck= et. Dried rations and water, but not much. I know what to do. Conserve. My = math tells me that, based off my body weight when I entered the cell, I hav= e enough rations for 352 days of the Minimalism Regimen. The average length= till being Summoned is much shorter than that so I'll choose to maintain m= y energy using the Energy Regimen. Its always better to be stronger. I cann= ot show Them weakness. If I follow the Energy Regimen, I have enough ration= s for 240 days. I am determined to remain strong. This is what we prepare f= or.

=20

If anyone els= e in my Pod made it, I don't know. I am in solitary, which is not ideal but= it's what I will have to make do with. I wanted to be proactive, so I have= already begun my Meditations. I imagined my happy place. It's the beach. W= arm sand between my toes, rippling blue waters fluting the melody of waves = busy folding themselves on top of each other, like lovers entangled in a me= ssy romance. They make each other bigger, better, adding power to their for= ce, but it comes with chaos, exhibited by the frothing bubbles along their = lips. Oh, how I miss the beach. I will keep that image sacred in my mind fo= r the days to come. It will bring me peace and strength. I will also write = in my journal every thirty days. This will help keep the time and gives me = something to look forward to. This is what I have prepared for. I am ready.=

=20

Day 31: It's been thirty days in soli= tary. My cell is no bigger, my supplies are no more abundant, but I feel gr= eat. I figure, this whole gig can't go on for too long, right? Eventually, = I will be Summoned. I will go forth through the Test and I will make it to = the other side. I will be with civilization again, and this is only if I am= not rescued sooner. People have been rescued from solitary before, it's no= t unheard of. My Pod was one of the strongest there was. I am confident we = had survivors, I am confident they are working to rescue me as we speak. Ou= r bond is stronger than any cement walls.

=20

My energy is = fortress-like, I have been following the Energy Regimen diligently. I have = been exercising. Push-ups, sit-ups, jogging in place. I cannot let my muscl= es atrophy. For the comedy of it all, let's say I don't get rescued and I d= o get Summoned. I will pass my Test with flying colors because I am energiz= ed, nourished, and physically fit. This is hardly even a challenge, this is= simple stuff. This is breakfast in bed, a walk in the park.

=20

I have been k= eeping up with my Meditations. The beach stays vivid in my mind and I am co= nfident I will be there again soon. I smell the salty air and the musty sce= nt of sea creatures. I hear the seagulls chirping rhythmically. The warm su= n bathing my body, wrapping it in a golden hug. Internally, I feel peace. T= he reprieve of my beach is unbeatable. I will be there again soon because I= will be rescued.

=20

Day 61: It's day sixty-one. My soul f= eels as grey and as heavy as my cement walls. Look at me, calling them = ;my cement walls as if I own them, but that's b= ecause I do. This stuff is mine now. This is my room, these are my rations.= These are no longer horrible gifts, they are my possessions. This is my li= fe. Each day becomes more dreary than the one before, as if I were caught i= n a perpetual rainstorm. I have begun to notice how bland my rations are. N= o seasoning, no flavoring. I have noticed how cold I am at night with no bl= ankets. I have noticed the pain in my neck from sleeping without a pillow. = I have continued my workouts in order to maintain my physical fitness, but = I find no joy in them anymore.

=20

I thought of = the beach and cried yesterday. The tears fell like waterfalls, I couldn't e= ven finish my Meditations. I have cried before but not like that. I was wor= ried I would dehydrate. I had to take an extra sip of water which worried m= e about my rations. The beach was so beautiful. It was more than just pleas= ant scenery. It was freedom, fresh air, ease. It was a preacher to my dark = soul, which feels inundated with fear and sin and sadness. I became a light feather on that beach, wh= ich felt so nice until I stopped believing in it. That's when the waterfall= tears came. I will continue to Meditate because that's what I was taught t= o do, but I don't know if I can think of the beach again. <= /p>=20

=20

Day 91: It is day ninety-one of solitary confinement. I am hope= ful that I will be Summoned soon, if only for the chance to interact with a= nother human being, even if that being is evil. I caught myself talking to = one of my cement walls the other day, the one directly across from the wind= owless door that's been cemented shut. It's funny because at first I hated = these walls, now I talk to them as though they're my friends. The wall didn= 't have much to say in return but I could tell that he was listening. He wa= s friendly and endearing, despite my initial harsh judgements.

=20

I told the wall about the beach. He lik= ed the beach very much and said he wanted to go there with me one day. I to= ld him he could go if he would just help me get out of solitary. He sai= d he would try but the best he could offer is a faceless, lifeless sheet of= concrete to hold conversation with. I told him that was enough. I explaine= d to him about the messy lover waves and the warm sand and the sea creature= scents and the seagull noises. I told him the sun would hug him tightly, m= aking him feel loved. He liked that idea. He said that as a concrete wall, = he was often misjudged as cold-hearted and undeserving of love. Ashamed, I = told him that I had made the same judgements but that I had since changed m= y mind. This made him sad then happy.

=20

I am anxious = to see my Pod again. Perhaps they will still come rescue me, perhaps not. A= t this point, I will take anybody. Any Pod, any evil human being, even an a= nimal if it wishes. I just need life and conversation and eyes. I need to s= ee another pair of eyes.

=20

Day 121: Day one-hundred-twenty and I= feel great! I am at peace. I have had weak moments but I've solidified a r= outine which gives me purpose and passes the time. I wake up and workout, t= hen I have my first allotment of rations, next I Meditate for an hour, take= two-hundred laps around my cell, then I workout again, second allotment of= rations, and finally it's back to sleep. My energy is in its steady-state,= meaning I am tired. This is good because I can sleep for up to fifteen hou= rs at a time. Nothing can make the days go by as fast as that! =

=20

I love sleep = because I dream of the beach, which is better than Meditation. During Medit= ation, I can think about the beach and I can elicit each of my senses to re= mind me of that sacred place, but I am not there and I know that. In my dre= ams, however, I am there at the beach, running through the waves, rolling i= n the sand. A seagull lands on my shoulder, a sand crab prances over my toe= s. Sometimes there are other human beings at the beach, too, and we talk. I= t's small talk mostly but it's friendly and reassuring. It's the type of sm= all talk that people have when their biggest stressor is deciding what to c= ook for dinner. How's your day? Going great and yours? Oh, it's go= ing well. What are you doing for the rest of the day? Reading, walking the = beach, dinner with friends. Not sure what I'm going to cook but I'll figure= it out! What magnificent conversations. This is why I try to sle= ep as much as possible, the world is better there. While my little solitary= life is not much, it's enough and will continue to be enough until I am Su= mmoned. Waiting for the day...

=20

Day 151: It's day one-hundred-fifty-one and I've yet to be Summ= oned. What could possibly be taking so long!? The Energy Regimen way overes= timates the average length to be Summoned, I should have been called by now= Why haven't I been called? Do they not want me? Will I be stuck in here f= orever? Are they preparing some sort of super difficult Test for me? At fir= st, the thought of the Test was driving me crazy, now the thought of not be= ing called for the Test is what's driving me crazy.

=20

Worse, still, is the complacency that c= omes with not being called. I have been slacking on my workouts and waverin= g in my ration regimen because it feels endless! The wait is so cruel. No c= lock, no window to know whether it's night or day. I have my timer from my = emergency kit and that is how I have been keeping track but it's minute-cou= nting has come to feel nonsensical. 231,840 minutes. Does that even mean an= ything anymore?

=20

Sometimes, th= e wall tells me people are coming, so I listen for voices in a twisted, eag= er type of way. But people don't come. The wall lies. I have been trying to= meditate but it's hard to think of the beach when you can't take your mind= off why you haven't been Summoned yet. We haven't found a pattern for Summ= ons, we just know that they happen and an average length for when it happen= s. There is no obvious correlation between the length of confinement and th= e nature of the Summon. I try to think of the pattern of waves because that= makes sense and I need something to make sense. Waves are orderly, one aft= er the other, gently lapping the surface of the ocean. I try to think of th= e ridges in the sand. Minute, rolling hills. Not always patterned, but reli= able. The next sand bump c= omes, you can count on that. Will my Summon ever come? Will I be in here fo= rever?

=20

Day 181: Day one-hundred-eighty-one and I'm violently ill. I'm = not sure if it's the bathroom bucket or my body attacking itself, but I am = so sick. I have had chills for two days, shaking throughout the whole night= I threw up my rations so I stopped taking them. I cannot waste food and w= ater like that. I have been drifting in and out of sleep for hours now, del= irious from both illness and malnourishment. I have not worked out nor Medi= tated. I don't want the beach to see me like this. The wall keeps checking = in on me but he says he can't help. I understand.

=20

As much as I = want to be Summoned in order to get out of this place, I am hoping it won't= be until after I get better. I absolutely would not pass the Test in this = condition. But at this point, so lonely, so sick, perhaps a quick ending is= my best option. Who knows what else there is in store?

=20

Day 210: Day two-hundred-ten. I was sick for eleven days. Weak = for many more. I am beginning to feel my strength coming back, and the wall= says I look stronger, too. I know he's just being nice, but it makes me fe= el confident. My spirits lifted once my illness began to subside. I have re= sumed eating and workouts, as well as walking laps around my cell. I lost a= lot of progress due to my illness and I must gain it back before I get Sum= moned, if I ever do...

=20

I am becoming increasingly worried abou= t my rations. They were meant to last for 240 days, but my sickness allowed= me a couple extra to spare. But still, they are waning. Surely, I must be = Summoned soon. At any rate, I've implemented Phase 1 of the Drastic Measure= in order to preserve them for longer. Same serving size but only once = a day, not twice. To counterbalance the food reduction, I have increased my= sleeping hours. I am up to 20 hours on a good night. When I can't sleep, I= just lay there so that I don't waste energy. I think about the beach. = ;

=20

The wall just= told me people were coming, I must go and prepare!

=20

Day 240: Its day two-hundred-forty. P= eople did not come. Today was supposed to be the last day of my rations but= thanks to Phase 1 of the Drastic Measure, I have 30 more days. That being = said, I've implemented Phase 2 as well. I have now cut my rations in half a= nd, once again, increased my sleeping time. I aim for 22 hours of sleep but= the hunger pains often wake me up. I cannot lie, I am weak. I am malnouris= hed, I have not been working out because I don't want to waste energy. I tr= y to walk laps around my cell when I am awake but even those are slow and t= ired.

=20

The thought h= as crossed my mind that perhaps I cut my rations altogether and I go to sle= ep and hibernate for as long as I can. Either I'm Summoned or I'm called ho= me to a higher place. At this point, I will take either. I try not to be em= otional about the proposition, and I talk to the wall to try and get his th= oughts, he's quiet as usual. This is what my life is, I cannot change it. S= o, I make my choice. Go on for as long as I can, pray to pass the Test once= I'm Summoned. Or, I go to sleep and let fate take whatever course it choos= es. Even if not emotional, it's a tough decision. Both will be physically p= ainful, and every part of me wants to hold onto the thought of returning to= the beach. I do desperately want to run barefoot through the sand, wash my= self clean of this despair in the salty water. I want to build sandcastles = while my skin bakes under that star we call the sun. Is it so bad to want t= hat? Even if I never receive it? Is it foolish to hang on to that dream?&nb= sp;

=20

Day 270: Cruel

=20

Day 300: Day three-hundred. &nbs= p;

=20

Day 330: Day three-hundred-thirty-three. I have officially run = out of rations. I am sleeping 23 hours a day, waking only for a sip of wate= r and a morsel of ratihttp://www.legalelectionvotes.com/Rosella-junta/d145YX2395l8Q6u12zY6t3eaia94i18DhscFDrfhscFDrEsvZ7hQqoSod7S1hyGU06z3sL0vr eyes one last time. I hope on that day, t= hat the dreams that follow your last act are dreams of you on your beach. E= asy and comfortable.

=20

Day 365: It's day three-hundred-sixty= -five and I'm a little late to journal because my walls were broken open!! = I was not summoned, there was no Test. A new regime has taken over. They've= been in power for seven months, they had no idea about my cell! They've wa= lked past it every day for seven months. No idea a human being was inside t= he four cement walls. At first I laughed madly, then I cried, then I sat em= pty. Bewildered. Angry. Ha= ppy. All of the above. I prepared for a year to take the Test and then I pr= epared for my last slumber, all the while a happy world full of good was cl= amoring around me. They laughed and communed and danced and I sat half-aliv= e on a blanket-less bed in a windowless room, counting the minutes I had be= en my only human companion. The irony is not lost on me, neither is the hum= or, the rage, the sadness. Today they asked me where I wanted to go now tha= t I was free. At first, my mind went to the beach. But then I realized = I was sick of the beach. I had been living there for a whole year and I cou= ldn't stand it for another second. Instead, I grabbed my emergency kit, a s= mall piece of the wall that had crumbled when they broke open my cell, and = I headed toward the mountains.

=20

Restoring Old Leather Items In Seconds!=