Chapter 1- Goodbye

I was lead across the tiled white floor into the elavator. I thought here was my last moment of freedom, but now I feel like I'm already locked up.

Guards lead me up into a small room with glass windows around us. This was what served as a court room in this little town. They held it in , a tower mostly made up of glass windows. It was our town hall in Shmow.

Shmow is such a little town with a strange name. Shmow. I never heard the real name of our town since everyone calls it Shmow. "It's fun!" everyone says. Teenagers started saying it. Then the next thing you know everyone said it. In fact, everyone believe it's the name now. On the map you can find the word Shmow written on it. Shmow sounds fun and interesting. Yet its wierd something so big like this can happen here.

I sit down in a cold hard bench while we wait for the judge to arrive. I look around at the glass windows. Nothing here but glass walls. I always admired glass for some reason. It just looks so pretty. I know I'm wierd for that, but I have another reason. Glass is clear and you can see what's behind it. There's no secrets. You know the truth.

That's why I liked Glass Tower. It's like a palace of glass. But now with me in court, it's really a prison of glass. Yet no one knows the truth about me. Or believe it anyway.

My dad arrived, and he is sitting in a bench behind me and the guards, watching me. I know how worried he is. I can see it all over his face. My mom died when I was born. My dad has me and I have my dad. We love each other.

The judge has arrives now, but I barely pay attention. All I hear is his deep voice saying," The case of Mary Madenire and the murder of Monica Lark is now in session."

The word murder echoes in my head. I was not even proven guilty yet. He cannot say it was a murder.

As my anger rises, the judge speaks again. "May Robert Larks come up to-"
I begin to ignore the judge again. The look on Mr. Lark is stern, dark, bitter, and angry. He stares at me. I stare back. Our eyes locked.

The Larks lived in the house next to the one next to mine. They were a family of five. It was Mr. and Mrs. Lark and their children, Will and Lilly Lark. The fifth member was Monica. It WAS Monica.

The Larks generally liked me. In fact, William, who is sixteen, two years older than me, was my friend. Not best friends, but friends. I remember seeing nine-year old Lilly setting up a lemonade stand on her yard.

But now times are different. I think the Larks hate me now since they think I killed four year old Monica.

It happened the last week. The Larks were away and had me watch Monica for a day. Monica, a little girl with short brown hair and brown eyes, was quiet. In fact, she would just lie down. So I picked her up and held her. She seemed sick. That was when she died in my arms.

The Larks felt devasted. I was later arrested for nothing. That's why I'm here.

The court seemed to go on. They eventually called me to the stand.

"I am innocent," my voice says in to the microphone,"I did not kill Monica. She died in my hands. I would not kill a four-year old," I explain.

The court continues on. I see both the Lark's lawyer and the one my dad got talk, but I hear no words. I refuse to listen.

But I begin to hear again when my dad gets up to the stand.

"Mary did not kill her. There might be another reason. We cannot jump to conclusions."

It's too late for that, dad.

My dad gets down and then the jury is deciding my fate.

The judge opens his mouth. "I declare Mary Madenire guilty of murder."

My mind goes blank. My heart stops.
"I didn't do it," I softly croak. But no one heard me.

"Mary Madenire," the judge says to me, "You are now sentenced to the Shmow Prison."

The word Shmow again. It does not match the word prison. Now I'm scared.

I do not know where exactly Shmow Prison is. But its the worst place ever. It was built right under a small town. In fact, it's an underground prison deep in the earth. That's where I'll be. It's like I'm dead. To be buried ever.

I shake at my handcuffs that are on my wrists. A guard sees this and holds me hand firmly.

My dad runs up to me.

"Goodbye," I whisper.

My dad hugs me. We say no more. We know what we have to say.

"Mary," my dad says to me, "Don't forget me. I'll get you out of there. I know you are innocent."

Tears swell up in my eyes. "I won't."

Guards lead me down the elevator. As we walk across the lobby again, Will stares at me with an icy stare. My dad starts to follow the guards dragging me, but then more guards pull him back. He can't follow us.

I'm lead outside. We are just walking into what looks like nothing but grassy hills and trees. The wild.

I think we are heading into the middle of no where when I see a wooden house with a field of wheat next to it. I felt like running towards it but the guards held me tight.

Soon the guards stop like they are lost. I'm already lost. I never been here before. There's nothing but grass and trees.

"Isn't the prison here?" asked a hairy guard.

"Seriously?" asked a guard with a deep voice, "You got lost on the way to a prison with a murderer with you?"

"Hold on, it's over there," replied another guard.

I look over to where he's pointing, but there's nothing there. Yet I'm pushed towards that way anyway.

When we stop, I look down. There's a hatch below me feet. Suddenly it opens up. I think a guard pressed a button somewhere.

Anyway, I got pushed into the hole beneath the hatch. I looked around me and I realised its a narrow elevator. I looked back up at the guards. But then the hatch closed, and I could feel the elevator moving downwards. Deep into the earth. I look for a way to stop the elevator. But it continues to descend.

Suddenly, a minute later, the doors open. I look through it. I don't like what I see.

There's a large room with stone walls and stone cells. Inside them I see people in orange suits. In the middle was a bed, a chest, a stove, and a guy sitting there.

He looks up at me. "Mary Madenire," he says, "Welcome to prison."