I suddenly felt horrible, "I'm sorry," I said quietly, "We will go and find the ring."
Jewel lightly smiled, "Thank you. Please don't give up."
I slowly nodded as if I was hypnotized. It didn't occur to me until after she disappeared that I was doing the exact opposite of what I had originally set my mind to.
I punched a tree in anger and frustration.
Shawn finally caught up to me. I hadn't even realized that I had left without him. "Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly, "You look like you are in a daze."
"I guess we are going to find that ring," I grumbled, "The quicker we get this done, the faster I can go back to my boring and mundane life."
"I'm not sure I want to go back to the same old, same old," he said, "Maybe I just want to stay here."
I looked at him strangely. I hadn't known Shawn very well, but I knew him well enough to know that he was somehow changed. This ring seemed to be all he thought about, and he seemed happier when we were on the mission."
I knelt down next to some tracks on the ground. There was no mistaking them-they were tiger tracks. I sighed, having wished a moment before that the tiger was far away with no tracks to be found.
We followed the tracks for about five miles before we ran into a sleeping tiger. "Now what?" I looked at Shawn, irritated.
He shrugged and looked back at me, indicating that I was supposed to be the one with the plan. The only thing he seemed good for, at the moment, was being a big fan of Jewel.

I gave an unladylike snort, "It will be fun to watch."
Shawn didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I had offended him or not, but I wasn't ready to apologize if I had. We were both under a lot of stress, and we had barely even started.
"Maybe we should just let the ring go." I stated.
"Let it go! Are you absolutely insane?!" Shawn looked more than just angry. He looked like he was about ready to kill for that ring.
Maybe I hadn't held the ring long enough, but I still felt strange when it was brought up like something wasn't right. I couldn't mention this to Shawn. It seemed like his brain was already fried.
I started walking. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care anymore. I already wanted to go back to my boring life. Maybe I would even work at finding a man, but I didn't want to be here.
Suddenly, Jewel showed up in front of me, "You must get that ring."
"I don't know who you are, and quite possibly, I don't even want to know. Take me back home."
"What are you talking about? My name is Jewel."
"Yeah, and why choose me and Shawn? It's not because we were depressed and needed some sort of twisted mission, so don't tell me that."
Jewel looked hopeless as she fell to the ground. I felt ashamed as I watched her, and she looked up at me,"You were miserable. The miserable feels like they have nothing to lose. That's why I chose the both of you." she said as tears slid down her cheeks.

I woke up to someone shaking me harshly. I opened my eyes, and at first, I saw two of Shawn. "Where am I?" I murmured.
"You're alive. That's a good thing."
I slowly sat up, even though my head was pounding ferociously. Everything that had just happened came back to me in a heartbeat, "Wait...how am I alive?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Shawn admitted, "He just tore your pocket and then ran away."
"My pocket?" I was confused for only a minute, and then my eyes widened in disbelief, "The ring was in my pocket!"
Shawn was not very happy to hear that, but his attitude was even worse when I told him that we needed to track down the tiger in order to get the ring back.
"He probably swallowed it." he mumbled.
"I doubt it. I mean, he went directly for the ring, so I think he wanted that ring specifically."
"What is a tiger going to do with a ring?" Shawn was more than just frustrated.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask him when we get there?"
"Oh that will go well-'Mr. Tiger, as much as the ring looks beautiful on you paw, can we have it back?'"

Suddenly, the tiger lunged at me, and I screamed. It was too late to run. I was tackled to the ground, forced to look at sharp teeth that would take painful bites out of me. 

I had hit my head pretty hard, and black spots started showing up in my vision. It was hard to keep the tiger in focus. This is better, I thought to myself, Now I won't be able to feel it.

I let myself fall to sleep...

"But what really matters is that we try to set her free and destroy the ring."
I got out of bed, "Fine. Let me get dressed."
Shawn left me alone. I was still confused about why I was chosen, but I guess Shawn was right. All that mattered was setting the girl free.
There was a nagging feeling inside of me, however, that told me that something wasn't right. I tried to ignore it as best as I could, but it was hard.
I changed into jeans and a tank top. We looked at the forest that was right across from the hotel. It looked dark and foreboding, and I wasn't sure if I was that adventurous.
Regardless of whether or not I was ready, I took the first step forward. Shawn followed me in. I had put the ring in my pocket. We had our backpacks ready for us to camping for a couple of nights.
The trip was quiet, except for the talking of insects and other animals. Suddenly, I heard a ROAR behind me and I looked back. I gasped as I saw the tiger from my dream.
"Hold very still." Shawn said quietly. He didn't have to tell me twice.
I was frozen in place. I couldn't have moved even if I wanted to. The tiger walked closer, and I freaked as I took a step backwards.
"Sh..." Shawn said, "Don't startle him."
The tiger looked at us calmly. Shawn looked as scared as I was, but he remained rooted to his spot, trying to talk to the tiger soothingly.
The tiger started looking annoyed. He probably just wanted his dinner. That did not make me feel any better.

"They are here." we heard Harley say in a low voice.
That's all that seemed to be said as he hung up. Shawn and I looked at each other. The fact that this was not a game was starting to become painfully clear to us. For once, Shawn was quiet as we walked up to our room.
Once I was showered and sitting on the bed, I took the ring out of my suitcase. I studied it carefully. One ring-that's all it was. How could it hold so much power?
I sighed as I put the ring in my pillowcase. I couldn't understand why the ring had chosen me. I was nothing. There was nothing special about me.
I got under the covers, but sleep wouldn't come to me. I tossed and turned all night.
Finally, dawn came. I was staring out the window as the morning light came in.
"Kat?" I heard Shawn's voice as he started waking up.
I heard his voice, but I didn't look at him. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but I knew I was going to have to talk to him eventually. We were on a mission.
"We need to get going. We only have a month to set her free."
"Why do we only have a month?"
"Because that's how long the coupon was for."
"No, I mean, why a month? What happens if we don't get the mission done in a month?"
Shawn shrugged his shoulders, "I really don't know. Maybe she gets trapped forever, or the ring chooses someone else. Maybe even both."
I sighed as I sat up, "Yeah, maybe."

Shawn nodded, and then he wouldn't stop talking my ear off. I didn't mind. I was too busy paying attention to the scenery to really care about what he was saying.
We went by taxi to the farther end of town. Our hotel was right outside of town with a forest right across the street from it.
"A little out of way, don't you think?" Shawn said, looking at the dark forest. It didn't help that the sun was going down, making the forest look eerier.
I tried to show no fear as I grabbed my bags and walked into the hotel lobby. The man that was behind the desk was looking at me and Shawn strangely as he looked at the postcards that were sent to us and then at his computer, "Foreigners, eh?"
"Yes, sir." I said and looked around.
The lobby had a comfy-looking couch with a couple of chairs and a coffee table. There were also tables and chairs out for those of us who could wake up early enough for breakfast.
"Room 207." he said finally.
I nodded as I looked at Shawn, "What about him?"
The man, his name tag read "Harley," looked at Shawn, "This postcard only comes with one room, regardless of whether or not there are two of you."
My eyes opened wide, "There must be some mistake!"
The man shook his head adamantly, "No mistake."
I felt resigned. I was feeling tired, and I didn't want to argue. Fine. Come on, Shawn."
Shawn followed me up a few stairs and then put his finger to his lips as he stood against the wall and listed to Harley, who had picked up the phone.

Chapter 2
A month later

I was at the airport, checking my bags, going through security-all the annoying stuff that comes with wanting to take a flight. I was still finding it hard to believe that the entire trip was paid for.
I heard my name being called, and I looked around, confused. I was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake after all, because, as far as I knew, no one in the airport knew my name.
I was quickly proven wrong, however, when I saw Shawn running up to me, "I guess I'm going to Canada, too." he said, out of breath.
"How?" I furrowed my eyebrow.
"The same as you, I guess." he shrugged nonchalantly, and I wished that I could have been as laid back as him, "Maybe it has something to do with the ring," he said excitedly, "You did bring it, didn't you?"
"Sh..." I said, looking around to see if anyone was looking at us strangely.
"Oh...right," he whispered, "Sorry..."
We started boarding the plane. We ended up sitting next to each other, so I put on my headphones and pretended like I was sleeping. I started drifting off, and then I was in a deep sleep when I felt someone poking me. I was murmuring to myself as I tried to blink my eyes open.
"Look, you can see a lot of Canada from here."
I looked out the window. Canada was so green and lively, and so different from Arizona. I smiled, "It's beautiful."

"Hi, my name is Kat. I received a postcard saying that I won a free trip to Canada, but that's impossible."
"Just one minute. Let me check something here..."
I waited for a few minutes after he put me on hold, then I could hear a click as he took me off hold and said, "Are you Katherine Levi?"
"Um...yes."
"Yeah, I show that you have won that free trip to Canada, so enjoy!"
"But I don't understand. I don't do contests or anything like that, so how did I win?"
"Ma'am, I just work here," Kyle sounded irritated, "All I know is that you won a vacation, so if I were you, I wouldn't fight against a good thing." I heard another click as the line went dead.
I sat down in the comfy chair in the living room and stared at the card. What if this is was some trick of my mind. A scam that actually costs all your money?
But the voice came up inside my head to let me know that this could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
Maybe Kyle was right. I shouldn't fight against a good thing.
I looked at the date. It was in a month-for a month! I whistled through my teeth. That was a long time to be away from work. The nagging voice in my head told me that it was worth it.
I knew that it was right. I needed to prepare, tell my boss, and start packing...

After work, I went home and stared at myself in the mirror. I didn't look any different to myself, but I guess my skin did look more tan.
I sighed as I went to check my mail. Nothing but junk mail, but I hesitated on the one that was on the bottom. There was a big postcard that said that I had won a trip to Canada. "This is a joke, right?" I asked myself as I looked at the number on the bottom. I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out what to do.
Finally, I decided to just call the number and tell them that it was a mistake.
"This is Kyle." the man on the other end of the line said.

"No, I don't." I scoffed at the thought, but there was a nagging voice in my head that reminded me that nothing was as it was before. In other words, maybe I did have an unearthly glow about me. I took a big drink of water to get rid of the thought.
"Are you pregnant?" Jessica asked.
I choked on my drink and looked at Jessica. Out of all the ways I thought this conversation would go, I did not expect her to ask me that, "No!" I said when I was finally able to stop coughing.
Jessica shrugged her shoulders, "It was just a thought."
I looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean, 'there's an unearthly glow about me?'"
"You just look more alive than you ever did before. Whatever you use, keep using it."
She stood up. Break time was over...