The Necklace

"Come on, when is it going to get here?" I paced quickly near the front door waiting for a package from a friend who I met on the internet. It seemed like months since the person told me that they had made me something as a gift when it was really only a week of waiting. Groaning, I looked at my watch.

12:03

Only eight minutes had gone by. Just as I was about to give up all at once (I have a short attention span) I heard a ring at the doorbell. Quickly opening the door, I found only a package. Puzzled, I looked at the package but found no return address. "Weird, I thought he would give at least a return address so I can thank him. Oh well, I'll just thank him on MSN." I walked to my computer and, after waiting for it to load up unusually slow, got on MSN and checked to see if Dragon937 was on. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't. "Strange... He's usually on at this time of day. He's probably on vacation or something." Sighing, I sat on my bed with the package on my lap. "I suppose it will be easier to thank him after I open it." Slowly, I opened it just in case there was something fragile in it.

I found a box inside of it that was closed with a lot of duct tape. "Hmm, interesting..." I looked around for a knife when I remembered that I had my pocket knife on me already. It was more like a switchblade than a pocket knife; however. After several long minutes struggling to cut it, I found several small glowing gems on a platinum necklace and a large and flat black stone that I presumed was onyx. As for the gems, they looked like a weird type of marble designed gemstone. "Wow..." I muttered under my breath in awe. "This thing must be expensive! How could he afford to make this?!" Putting the necklace on, I noticed a note in the box. It read:

Dear Lance,

I hope you like this because I've been trying to find someone to try out a little experiment on and you were the first person who had actually accepted this item from me.

I got confused at the word "experiment" but quickly shrugged it off as I read on.

First off, I would suggest not fighting it or it could prove to be fatal and second, once this happens there is no going back so I suggest that you start running before you get caught and brought in for testing and examination for scientific purposes. Will you still be able to speak, yes; will you still be able to read and write, yes; will you still keep your human memories, feelings, and emotions, yes. There are a few things you will not keep, however. I'll let you figure that out for yourself.

I was starting to get really confused and slightly scared. This sounds impossible and yet it scared me just the same. I kept reading.

You may find yourself starting to feel strange, that's normal. You have exactly one hour to get ready after you put it on. I have one thing to say to you: run (or should I say fly) through the portal that will open on the top of the empire state building when the clock strikes midnight on the night of when you get this necklace. It will stay open as long as it needs to until you get through. I'm sure that by the time you read this sentence (if you had put it on before reading then) you will have only 30 minutes to get ready. Pack your things quickly, you won't be needing clothes because of what will happen but bring only what you need and that's it. The clock is ticking...

I did start to feel slightly strange and tried to take the necklace off but it wouldn't budge. It was as if there was some sort of super industrial strength glue on it or something... I had started to panic slightly as I got a backpack and started filling it with everything that I might need. I left out my clothes just as it said and packed a first-aid kit, some pictures of my family, some bottled water, other things I might need, a small plush dragon that I have kept from my childhood, and the letter that came in the package. I was about to pick up my stuff and run out the door when a thought came through my mind. "What if this isn't real? What if this is just a dream?" I read more of the letter against my will.

I have one warning for you, however. If you-

The rest of the page was torn off. I quickly looked into the package to try to find the rest of the letter. Tearing through the contents of the box, I found a letter with some sort of strange language on it. "What the hell is this!?" I yelled in a mix of frustration, fear, and confusion. I threw the weird letter onto the endtable next to me and quickly dumped everything onto the ground. My eyes grew wide as I saw the completely shredded pieces of the remainder of the letter. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" I repeated quickly, shocked by the outcome of the letter. Frantically, I tried to put the pieces back together but to no avail. They were too damaged and were too many to put back together in time. I started to hyperventilate slightly as I looked at his alarm clock. I had only two minutes left until whatever is supposed to happen me happens.

One minute had past by and yet it seemed like one month of fear. I didn't want to lose my humanity yet; I have only a few months left until I turn 16. The strange feeling had been growing stronger and I broke down crying in my bed. To my horror, my parents walked in when I had only 15 seconds left.

"Hey, what's wrong?" My mom asked. 12 seconds left...

"I...I...I-" I stammered in fear, too scared to answer properly. 7 seconds left...

"Come on, you can tell us." My dad said trying to comfort me. 3 seconds...

"I'm scared!!!" I wailed in horror as the timer hit zero.