The Missing Half

A girl runs through the swamp, doing her best to remain silent. It is dark and difficult to see, as she feels her shoes getting stuck in the mud. When she pulls her foot free, she stumbles, splashing into the water. As she tells herself to remain calm and quiet, her brain flashes to a memory of playing by the lake with her sister. She thinks that, even if she dies, at least she had “some small, happy moments” (4). Just then, she hears a twig snap behind her and tells herself to run.

Nic Monroe works at Funland, an arcade in Mishawaka, Indiana. One day, she notices a woman in her mid-thirties sitting alone at a table. The woman nods at Nic and then turns back to staring at her drink. Concerned that the woman is not there with any children, Nic alerts her manager Brad.

Nic has worked at Funland for eight years—Brad, who is friends with her parents and like an “uncle” to Nic, got her the job. She didn’t expect to work there this long, but now she is stuck trying to pay off fines and a lawyer for a DWI she recently got.

Nic expresses concern about the woman watching her, but Brad initially dismisses her.