Waking up before five o'clock in the morning should be illegal. I don't know why I did this, I had the choice to pack last night, but I decided to just take a shower and go to bed. Now I need to spend the early hours of the morning filling my suitcases instead of sleeping.

I huffed as I pulled my large black suitcase out of my closet, unzipping it and setting it on my bed. I stared at it for a moment, tears pricking my eyes at the thought of leaving, before shaking my head and moving to change my clothes. I pulled off my black hoodie and red and black flannel pants, dropping them on the floor and walking back to my closet. I pulled on a black silk camisole, a red and black flannel, my signature red leather jacket, ripped black jeans, and galaxy combat boots.

After I changed, I moved on to packing. Violins sounded from my phone as it played my favorite playlist and I hummed along to the melody as I began folding up all of my clothes. Any article of clothing I owned was either black, red, or both, and that goes for the shoes and accessories too. Akia called it my "bleeding goth" aesthetic, whatever that means. I think the only other color I have is the slight blue color on my combat boots. I carefully packed all of my clothes and shoes into the suitcase, frowning when there was no empty space left once I finished. Huffing, I zipped up the suitcase and set it by the door, before pulling out a slightly smaller one that looked exactly like the first.

Walking over to my bathroom, I blended a layer of concealer all over my face, before applying eyeliner, mascara, and a beige-pink lipstick. I brushed my hair thoroughly, tying it up into a high ponytail and pinning any baby hairs out of sight. I packed all of my makeup and hair supplies into a bag, before walking back to my room and dropping it inside the suitcase.

Moving to my desk, I pulled out the few books that I enjoyed enough to actually buy and not just rent from the library, as well as the large photo albums that nearly all of my photo albums are stored in. Placing all of the books in my suitcase but one photo album, I unpinned all of the polaroids and five-by-sevens and carefully slid them between the plastic sheets. Climbing on top of my bed, I took down the picture frames and jumped back down, unhooking the backs and taking out the photographs. Once all the pictures were in the album, I put it and the frames in the suitcase.

I turned to my bedside table, picking up the necklaces that I had placed there the night before. Running my thumb over the engraved finished, I stared at the pendants. For all of my seventeen years, I thought that they were just cute necklaces that my parents wore when they were here.

That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I sighed, clipping both necklaces around my neck, turning back to my closet. I pulled a box off the shelf and put it in my suitcase, opening it and sitting through the numerous pair of fingerless gloves that Nonna has knitted me over the years. Nonna loved to knit. She would, without fail, knit me six new pairs of fingerless gloves every year all because six was my favorite number. I picked out a black pair with a simple diamond pattern and slipped them on. Putting the lid back on the box, I zipped the black suitcase closed.

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Looking around my room, I was shocked at how empty it looked. There was nothing left on my desk, nothing in my walls, and nothing on my night tables. It looked so bare, even though all of the furniture was still in it.

I walked to the corner of my room, sitting down next to my camera bag. I made sure all of my lenses were inside, as well as all other necessities for my camera. Slowly, I pulled out the device, pressing the on button and scrolling through my images. Next to all of the scenic photographs I took, there were also the fair share of funny pictures. There was one of Nonna posing with a milk mustache, there was another of Akia planking across the beams of the bridge outside, and another that Nonna took of Eiden standing with Akia on his back and me on his, playing in the snow. Before I knew, it, tears were rolling down my cheeks.

I have so many memories in this house, it's where I grew up. For seventeen years, I've always been in the same place. Moakde is a rather small town, so everyone knew everybody. To think that some of them aren't even human is awful, especially since some of those people are only here to kill me.

I choked back a sob, slapping the back of my hand over my mouth. Instead of going through the rest of the pictures, I quickly turned off my camera, shoving it into my bag as I wiped my cheeks on my sleeve. Clipping the bag closed, I pulled it over my shoulder, wincing at the new pressure on my healed wound. Grabbing my phone, I pulled up the handles of my suitcases and began rolling them into the hallway and down the stairs, struggling all the way. I didn't have any current photographs in my developing camera, as I usually use my digital now, so I didn't bother looking in there.

I layer my suitcases down by the door, turning into the kitchen to grab a roll. Instead, I was met with Nonna, talking to Eiden and Akia. They heard me coming down the stairs and were patiently waiting for me. Nonna walked over to me, pulling me quickly into her arms. "Look at you, going out to save the world."

I rolled my eyes, pulling out of the hug. "Yeah, keep that in mind."

"Why should I? Not a lot of world- saving will be happening anyway."

"Rude."

Nonna chuckled, hugging me again. "I need to clean up the house, so Akia and Eiden will be helping you settle. But I should be there before dinner."

"Alright," I nodded.

I beat of silence passed before Eiden stepped up. "Here, I'll help you bring your bags out. I'll grab one, you grab the other."

"Okay."

Before Eiden and I had the chance to turn around, Akia sprinted past us, screaming "I call shot gun!"

I shook my head, grabbing one of my bags. While Eiden took the other to the car, I gave Nonna one last hug. "Love you, Nonna. I'll see you later."

"See you later, alligator," she grinned

"After a while, crocodile."

"See you soon, you big baboon."

Giggling, I pulled the bag out the door, waving goodbye to my grandmother as I put it in the trunk of Eiden's car. Closing the hatch, I slid into the backseat, staring out the window at my old house. I never really noticed how big my house was. Or how small the neighborhood seemed. Or how lucky I was to grow up where I did, to grow up with who I did. I never noticed any of that.

Until I watched it all go away.