Chapter One

It was cold and uncomfortable, her back tense from the way she'd slept. She wasn't scared of being in a place like this but she enjoyed no part of it. The teen looked completely out of place. She slowly opened her eyes. From what she could see, it was early morning and a bit cloudy. She was sharing a cell with just one other, whom when she'd come was as drunk as you could get. Now, however, she was hung-over and she sported a grimace along with her smeared makeup and disorderly hair.

The whole cell reeked of stale vomit and the toilet was most likely unusable. She sat up on the bench and rubbed her eyes. This was exactly what she had been hoping wouldn't happen again. Yet here she was, sitting on the cold bench in the police station, her back throbbing, and her stomach threatening to eat itself. But at least she could say that she hadn't been the one driving. Jason, her boyfriend, would probably have had his license suspended by now.

The woman in the corner crawled back over to the toilet and heaved into it. Alice Morgan never quite knew boundaries and lines that shouldn't be crossed, and so this reminded her of the time her friend, Alexis, got so sick when they'd been partying together that she swore she'd never drink so heavily again. Alice was happy she'd never been that drunk.

The clock hanging on the wall outside the cell told her that it was a little past seven o' clock, much earlier than she would usually wake, but her sleeping arrangements had given her a crick in her neck, telling her to wake now. She began thinking that maybe she would've done better off on the floor instead.

With hours to spare, Alice dwelled in last night. She'd had a beer with her friends and she wasn't particularly drunk, but she'd failed in the simple sobriety tests given and stumbled when she was told to walk straight. So hauled away, she was, along with Alexis and Jason. The other car of friends got home safely while Alice attempted to persuade her parents to bail her out again.

There was no hope for her, as they'd gone commando and absolutely refused with the thought that maybe, just maybe, she might learn a thing or two this time. She watched hopelessly as Alexis, and then Jason were picked up and scolded heavily by their parents.

Alice was livid. She hadn't learned anything except for one thing: don't get caught next time! That was certainly not what her parents had wanted her to take away from this experience.

After another hour passed, the officer that brought Alice in handed both her and the wreck positioned safely by the toilet a paper bag. It contained an apple and a small sandwich. Alice took a grateful bite of the apple while the woman left her food untouched and buried her face in her hands.

As she ate, Alice found the time to retreat into her thoughts, everything around her becoming out of focus. She thought about Jason and about her parents and also many other insignificant things. She remembered about her homework and realized that it was sitting torn and wrinkled in some unbeknownst corner of her book bag.

Oh well, she said to herself, I would have never gotten it done anyway.

By the time it was nine o' clock Alice had traced the lines and cracks in the floor, counted the metal bars encasing her, and redone her ponytail.

Her parents walked in, refusing to look at her. They spoke with the woman behind the desk and signed a form that released her. When the door was unlocked and slid open, Alice went through it very willingly while the woman lagged behind her and staggered before she finally managed to escape.

The day was smoldering hot as the sun finally emerged from its shelter of clouds. It was very near summer and Alice assumed that the homework that would go undone was probably some important type of essay that counted for a good percentage of her final grades. Although it couldn't have mattered less to her, because had she cared enough to do the homework, she would've cared enough to pay attention to what exactly it was.

But luckily it was a Saturday and that could be ignored for now.

The cooling air blasting her from every angle gave her goose bumps and reminded of how much she just could not wait until summer was actually here. She forgot about the punishment she would receive from her parents and as they pulled into the drive, she braced herself for what was to come.

But it never came.

Her parents were resuming their silence and giving Alice the impression that they were doing so to express exactly how disappointed they were in her actions. She ignored this and climbed dismissively from the car.

The house smelled vaguely of fried potatoes and she could have sworn that the air conditioner was running overtime, making her want to put on her winter coat and burrow under her covers.

Alice marched right to her bedroom. This was her safe haven when she was at home, though she never spent much of her time there. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling in posters and pictures and in the corner was her homework desk and laptop. Standing and gathering dust alongside the desk was her painting easel which she used to use every day. Forgotten under her bed were her favorite books that she used to read, also, every day.

She flung herself onto the bed, her back popping in the discomfort of last night. The tap she heard at her door irritated her a little. That would probably just be her mother telling her how wrong she was and that she was "grounded".

"Who is it?" she said crossly, still splayed across her bed.

"It's me." Alice's younger sister answered. She got up, taking her time, and opened the door. There stood her exact opposite. Lanie never got into trouble, always did her homework, and never got an attitude. Lanie was quiet and polite most of the time but she'd been known to lose her temper with her sister.

Lanie stepped into Alice's dark and depressing room. Had their classmates not seen their age difference of two years, Lanie being fourteen and Alice sixteen, they would've thought the siblings were twins. But there were major differences that set them apart. Personality, obviously, but also that Alice dressed in black clothes and wore dark makeup while Lanie loved the color violet. Alice kept the similar locks of wavy, long hair up in a ponytail most of the time to keep it out of the way and Lanie liked it down. All of their looks were the absolute same, right down to their shade of light blue eyes, except for hair color. Alice's was a golden brown and Lanie's a golden blonde.

"What's up?" Alice said and closed the door as Lanie took a seat on the bed. Lanie hadn't liked Alice's room for the last two years for the gothic appearance it now held. They would talk in this room for hours when they were younger, but as time passed, this room had become dreaded to Lanie. It was an odd occasion lately that she would visit this room.

"I want to talk to you… to ask you something." Alice plopped down right next to her and waited for her to continue, "Why do you do those things?"

"What do you mean?" Alice said though she understood perfectly what Lanie was asking.

"You stay out all night with your friends and… stuff." Lanie was uncomfortable, that was easily seen, "Why do you do it all the time? It's not like mom and dad are fighting or we don't get along or anything, but you act like you hate being around us. Why have you changed so much?" she appeared sad and upset. It bugged Alice to see her like that.

Alice didn't know how to explain, "Have you ever been so frustrated that you just wanted to run away? Like, you have mom jumping down your throat to "do your chores" and "be home by this time" and "go to bed". Then you have teachers hassling you to do your homework and study and take notes on everything, things that you won't even need to remember. Sometimes I just get tired of being ordered around all the time like I don't have a mind of my own." She felt like that explanation was good, very good. She patted herself on the back mentally for having thought of it so quickly.

Lanie nodded and looked at the floor.

"But you get into trouble. Not just by mom and dad, but the cops too. Do you ever want to stop?" she was very quiet but that wasn't anything too unusual. She studied the posters hanging in front of her and said nothing more.

"What brought all this on?" Suspicion colored Alice's tone and she eyed her sister questioningly. Lanie wasn't exactly keen on creating these types of conversations, so Alice thought she had to have had some motivation, "Did mom and dad tell you to do this? Seriously, can't they just talk to me themselves and…?"

"It wasn't them, it's just that… sometimes I want my sister back. You're like a complete stranger. I feel like I don't know you anymore. Then mom and dad are…"

"Oh, God, spare me of what they're saying now. What is it? We're so disappointed in Alice, or we should send Alice to a boarding school. It wouldn't surprise me if they do want to send me to a boarding school, actually; they want to get rid of me anyway." Alice altered her voice with irritation and the mere thought of the things her parents might be saying about her made her fume.

"That's not true. I haven't heard them say a single thing like that. Mom and dad don't want to send you away."

"Yeah, well they think it then. And of course they wouldn't have said anything like that when you could hear it."

"Would you stop that?" It usually required a lot of energy and concentration to anger Lanie, but now she was no longer uneasy or troubled, only piqued, "Is it because they wouldn't bail you out of jail last night that you detest them so much? If you haven't noticed, you are the one that puts yourself there. They, we, only want you to stop getting yourself arrested before you end up in a juvenile detention center or…" Alice held her frustration in for Lanie to finish, "I heard mom and dad talking last night after they got that call from you. Mom said that when one more thing happens and you get into trouble, we should move back to Idaho. Dad agreed with her and I really don't want to move, so can you please stop getting in trouble all the time?" Lanie was now pleading and Alice, for once in the last two years, felt guilty. She then cringed at the thought of moving.

Idaho was where they used to live while Alice was too young to remember. Her parents had left their entire family, small as it was, behind in the small town of Island Park where, from what she had been told, never got warm and was always snowing, only stopping for a brief, sixty-degree warm summer. Up there, many miles from their home in California, were Alice's aunt, her husband, and their five kids. And exactly how they could live as if they were in Alaska, Alice could never understand. And she wasn't planning on moving there any time soon to figure it out.

"Don't worry. They've said things like that before and it's always been an empty threat."

"You didn't hear them, Alice! They were so serious that it scared me! I swear, the next time you get arrested or get caught drunk like last night or,"

"I wasn't drunk!"

"It doesn't matter! Because the next time you get in trouble, whether you're drunk or not, we're moving! Now cut the crap or you'll not only disturb your life, but mine! Sometimes you're just so selfish!" Lanie was on an absolute and unrelenting rant and Alice was afraid she'd blow a fuse… unless Alice blew one first.

"Oh, so now I'm selfish."

"Yes! Yes you are! You don't think about how it's affecting me or mom or dad, all you want to do is party and come home late if you come home at all! And, you know what? I'm afraid that one day you might never come home again!"

"And what's that supposed to mean? I'm just going to run away and leave you guys? It's great to know you have so much faith in me!" The sisters dueled, and Lanie paced about the room as Alice balled her fists so tight that her nails dug painfully into her palms.

"Well, what do you expect me to think? If you didn't want me to think that way, then you should have thought of that before you chose your supposed friends over your family!" Lanie was aiming to throw some poisonous daggers, and that poison only fueled Alice's firestorm-to-come.

"I haven't chosen anyone over anyone! I just… You know what? Fine! If it matters that much to you, I won't go out tonight!" Forget it! Alice thought as she gave in.

"Good," Lanie mumbled inaudibly and Alice submitted to defeat, "I'm sorry I yelled at you." She apologized innocently and sat back down on the bed. She settled herself and calmed down considerably.

"That's fine," Alice thought about what she wanted to say, "It's not you that drives me away. It's mom and dad. They just… never give me any space."

"They're only trying to help you." Both statements were true. It was always Alice's parents that drove her away by trying to push to her hard into doing "the right thing". It was also true that they only wanted to help her. But that never quite worked out because it always ended in Alice lashing out at them.

"Okay, enough of that. What's been up? Any boyfriends?" Alice teased and poked Lanie in the side. She responded by scrunching up her face and shaking her head, "Are you sure? I see that one guy looking at you all the time. I think he has the hots for you." Lanie's face turned beet red and Alice chuckled, "You know which one I'm talking about, don't you? Mm-hm, he's pretty cute, huh?"

"Yeah," Lanie said, but it came out as more of a squeak.

"So you like him too, then… I see." Realization hit her like a ton of bricks, "Is that why you didn't want to move? It is, isn't it?" she said.

"Shh! No, it's not!"

"It totally is!"

Lanie bit her lip and continued to blush.

"Don't worry though; I'll keep it to myself. Just for you and your boyfriend."

They bantered on like this for hours, the first time they'd done so in at least a year. Alice, for that time being, felt as if nothing had changed at all.

Lanie and Alice were eventually called downstairs to eat supper and Alice realized just how hungry she was. She cared not about the tension between her and her parents as she ate. No one said anything until her father cleared his throat.

"Summer vacation is coming up really soon."

"Yep," she said, not looking at him. The tone of his voice scared her. It was as if he was about to drop a bombshell on them, "What about it?"

"Well, your mother and I think it would be nice to spend summer in Idaho. We could be with family and…" Alice just about choked on her chicken. She never imagined that they might actually be serious.

"What?" she forced out through her shock, "You can't just do that! Summer will only be summer if it's somewhere warm, which is not Island Park!"

"It has already been decided," her mother chimed in, "I spoke with Aunt Phoebe this morning and we will be staying with her. We think it would be best if you spend some time away from your friends."

"Oh, come on! It was only the second time I've been arrested last night and it's not like it will happen again!" Her shoulders tensed and she no longer had an appetite. Lanie sat staring at her plate and saying nothing at all.

"That's what you said last time, and yet here we are." Alice wracked her mind for something else to say and came up short. She nudged Lanie in the shoulder to say something in protest because maybe their parents might listen to her. She shook her head in a way that said "I give up, I'm done, there's nothing to say". But Alice was still fully committed to this argument.

"I'm not going and that's all I'm saying." She stood from her chair and stalked up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Alice," she heard her father calling after her but it only made her slam her door shut harder.

She contemplated ways to get out of it. It appalled her, the idea of having a summer in Idaho that felt like a winter in California.

And they wonder why I'm never around anymore, she thought.

Her phone rang abruptly. It was Jason: perfect timing.

"Hey," she said as she answered, "You won't believe what my parents were saying just before you called. They want to spend summer in Idaho. Do you realize how horrible that's going to be?" She said and stiffened up at the thought. Alice began tapping her foot in anger.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll figure something out. They're probably just trying to scare you again." He said.

"I don't know,"

"But hey, I'm calling to tell you Enrique's having a bonfire later tonight in the woods. Why don't you come?" Alice considered for a second. That would be fun, but hadn't she told Lanie only this morning that she wouldn't go out tonight? Wouldn't that be breaking her promise?

Not if she never finds out… She decided that she would simply sneak out the window and be back before anyone would find out.

"Sounds fun. What time and where do we meet?"

"Around ten, at the edge of the woods off of that one cobblestone road. You know which one,"

"Yeah, I do. I'll see you later." She knew exactly which road he was talking about, as she lived very close to it. She concluded that walking there wouldn't be much of a hassle.

2: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Alice conspired with herself which course of action she would take. Would she lock her door and pretend to be so mad at everyone that they were getting the silent treatment, or would she say she's going to bed early? Maybe she would do both just to be sure.

It became darker outside her bedroom window little by little and she used her spare time to search the internet for random pictures and check her email. Not long after, she took a shower that she was well in need of and announced that she was going to bed. Her parents shot her suspicious glances as she went to her room.

Nine twenty came and went and she decided it was time to go. She grabbed her cellphone, slipped her arms through the sleeves of a hoodie, and locked the door. She slipped her window open as incredibly quiet as she could and stepped out onto the roof above the back door, closing the window behind her. She went warily down the slope of the tiles until she was at the edge whence she sprang onto another small piece of roof that hung above the kitchen window. She dangled her legs over the edge and, ten feet from the ground, she let go. She landed on her hands and feet in the yard and took off for the sidewalk as she brushed the freshly-cut blades of grass from her hands.

She promised herself that she would be home by midnight at the latest. Two hours didn't count that much did it? She half-ran, half-walked to her destination.

After crossing streets, making shortcuts through yards, and the like, she came to the cobblestone road. Alice squinted through the night and made out a couple of cars farther down, parked at the side of the road. The trees around this part weren't the thickest you could get but this woodland was often used for camping and bonfires.

She jogged to catch up to a couple of people climbing out of one of the cars and slowed down to catch her breath as she reached it.

It was Enrique and Jason. More people emerged from the other car: Alexis, Darrell, Jack, and Maddison.

"Wait up," she called and everyone looked her way. Jason came to her side.

"You walked?" he asked.

"Yeah,"

"You didn't need to do that. We could have come and picked you up."

"Snuck out; wasn't supposed to do anything tonight. And my house isn't too far from here either." Jason led her to the others. Enrique held up lighter fluid and matches.

"We ready to have fun?"

"Hell, yeah," Alexis said as she took out a beer. Darrell opened the trunk of his car and dragged out some firewood.

"Alright, let's go." They made their way into the trees and trekked for a good ten minutes before they found a suitable spot. Darrell let the wood tumble out of his hands. Maddison sat on top of the cooler she'd carried with her as the guys got a fire started.

"If anyone… Maddison, shoo! If anyone wants a beer or a marshmallow, they're in the cooler." Maddison scrambled off of the cooler as Alexis opened it up to pass around the snacks. She ripped open the bag of marshmallows and popped one in her mouth.

Alice held in her entertainment as she spotted Jack sneak up behind Alexis with an air-horn in hand. He blew it loudly and Alexis almost threw the bag of marshmallows when she shrieked. She whipped around and socked him with it as he chuckled rowdily.

"I should kill you, Jack! You're such a prick!" she took a breath and hit him again, "Idiot."

Alice snorted and Maddison was leaning against a tree, giggling so hard that she clutched her stomach.

"I'm going to get him back for that later. Want to help?" Alexis whispered to Alice and Maddison as soon as she'd stopped cackling. Alice grinned maliciously.

"Yeah, I'll help. Do you need any ideas?"

Alexis nodded, "What are you thinking?"

Alice thought, "We could go out into the trees and "talk" and one of us can scream. Then we could hide and scare Jack and the others when they come looking." Pulling the prank out of her head was without effort.

"That sounds good, I like it."

Yeah, but we have to do it sometime before midnight. I have to get home to make sure I don't get caught. Oh, I didn't tell you guys. It's horrible. My parents want to drag me out to Idaho for the entire summer. "It's better to stay away from your friends for a little while" they said."

"I don't know. All I can say is that they'd have to drag me there by my hair, kicking and screaming." Alice could see this happening… and she could also see Alexis winning that fight.

"Eww… isn't it supposed to be cold there? With snow and slush and all that?" Maddison, as Alice had observed many times, hated the cold. So did Alice yet somehow she thought she would be able to manage that aspect of the "vacation".

"Over there, yeah,"

"You can't let them do that. Summer won't be summer without you here." Alexis said, "Who will bring the humor?"

"Jack, probably," Maddison said.

"He doesn't count since I'm going to kill him later." She said with a jokingly serious tone.

"I don't think I have much of a choice," Alice said, "What can I do about it?"

"Stay at my house."

"No good. My parents are absolutely relentless this time. They'd probably call the cops and report it. I'd end up going anyway." Orange flames finally stood tall and licked the sky.

Alexis opened her mouth to say something more but closed it, "Bleh," she said, out of suggestions.

Alice plucked a marshmallow from the bag, though she refrained from getting a beer as it might show in the morning and she'd end up moving to Idaho permanently. Maddison combed the ground for sticks to roast them on and gathered a few that seemed decent enough, though she mumbled that she didn't know how she'd forgotten to bring forks.

Alice grabbed a stick and cooked the marshmallow until black. She pulled it from the fire and waved it around like a torch before it cooled down and she shoved the sticky, sloppy goop into her mouth. Its sweet-goodness made the burn she received on the roof of her mouth all worth the while.

Darrell snatched a beer and sat on the cooler and all three girls sat cross-legged on the ground. Enrique turned away from everyone and whirled back around not-so-gracefully. He wore a zombie mask. He tossed Jack and Darrell a couple other Halloween masks: a monkey and a vampire.

"As if you need a mask to be ugly!" Alexis shouted at Jack. He lifted up the mask halfway to stick his tongue out at her immaturely and began to make animal noises. He waddled around the fire and started quacking.

"There you go!" Alexis' eyes watered as giggles erupted.

An hour passed this way and the guys danced around the fire crazily as if it was some sort of ritual and Maddison recovered her iPod from her pocket and connected it to a set of miniature speakers, turning it to highest volume. Jason stole Alice and placed her on his lap, brushing a kiss across her cheek.

"You having fun?" he asked.

"Tons,"

"Too bad you'll have to leave soon, huh?"

"Yeah… Oh!" Alice peered at her phone for the time: almost eleven-thirty, "I have something to do first. Be right back," she kissed him and took Alexis by the arm and into the forest, Maddison tailing them.

"Good thing you remembered. I almost forgot." Alexis said as they walked further in. Jason stared after them in bewilderment.

"Wait, I want to tweak the plan a little. We need the air horn." Alice spun around and went back for it. The wind blew and twigs popped beneath her feet. As she reached for the air horn next to the cooler, a strong feeling of dread washed over her and she felt as though someone was watching her. She straightened up without haste and her eyes scanned the trees. She saw nothing peculiar or worthy of causing this burdening anxiety so she pushed the feeling to the side and went back to Maddison and Alexis in the trees.

"Got it?" Maddison said excitedly. Alice held up the can and nodded.

They travelled another twenty yards in and stopped. Alice looked over her shoulder back at the fire and determined that they were far enough away to scheme.

"This should be a good distance."

"I have an idea too. What if one of us lies on the ground and pretends to be knocked out or something?" Maddison said.

"I had that idea too, but it might look too staged." Alexis said.

"True. Never mind that idea then." Smiles spread across all three girls' faces and their prank was set in action.

"Alright, on the count of three, Alexis, scream. Do it as loud as you can and we all hide behind trees." Alice dictated and tossed the air horn to her, "This is your prank, so you blow the horn."

"One," the anxiety crept back into her mind and she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise because of it.

"Two," Alice began to feel nauseous and had the urge the leave the woods.

I should leave. I should leave now.

However, she stayed in place.

"Three," Alexis' piercing wail assaulted Alice's ears and she couldn't help but notice that it would have been a great scream for a horror flick. They took off swiftly for the widest trees to hide behind. Alice felt somewhat secure when she hid.

Each girl listened closely for the sound of footfalls and yet none came. It was impossible for the others to not have heard Alexis, so why was no one coming? Alice looked out from behind the tree and saw that Maddison and Alexis were doing the same.

Alexis raised her eyebrows as if to inquire why the plan had not worked. Alice shook her head slightly.

The thundering of feet unexpectedly came and the girls dodged back behind the trees.

No, it's wrong. Something isn't right.

As the person came within feet of finding them, the horn sounded and all three of them popped out, expecting to see Jack, Enrique, or both. But who they saw was not anyone they knew. A tall figure, dressed entirely in black and a menacing ski mask concealing his face, a pocketknife held firmly in one hand. Any entertainment that may have painted their faces disappeared along with any blood as it drained as well.

"Which one of you is Alice?" he said in such a gruff voice that it made Alice panic. She didn't know what she should do.

"She's not h—" Alexis said weakly.

"I'm Alice," she said bravely though her legs shook in fear. Why did I tell him that? Why didn't I just run? She asked herself and the answer sprang to mind.

It's because I shouldn't risk Alexis and Maddison and this guy seems… I don't get a good feeling from him.

"No she's not. Alice is at home…" Alexis said, crying out desperately.

"Come with me," the man took two strides and grabbed Alice's arm tightly.

"Run," Alice told the others, "Run! Go!" the man dragged her roughly and threatened her with the knife for the chance that she might try to elude him.

"No, please don't take her!" Alexis said, "Please let her go!" Maddison held her back. The pleading was not enough.

"I told you to go!" Maddison tried to haul Alexis away but she would not heed Alice's warning. Alice didn't know what was going on back at the fire with Jason, Enrique, Jack, and Darrell but it surely wasn't good. Why had this man asked specifically for her and not Alexis or Maddison? Did this have something to do with Jason?

Alexis was frozen in place and would not budge while the man put his knife to Alice's throat and brought her forcibly back to the fire.

"Alice!" Jason and the others were on the ground, a gun trained on them. There were three other men dressed all in black with ski masks, "Don't worry, okay—"

"Keep your mouth shut!" one of them ordered.

"Jason, what the hell is going on?" Alice said harshly in whispers.

"Keep quiet!" the first man said and shoved Alice to the ground.

"Is she the one?" one said to the other and they nodded in response and said, "Yeah, his girlfriend."

"You," one pointed at Jason, "Stand." He did so, and cautiously, "I want you to hurt as bad as my cousin did."

"Look," he said warily, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lift a finger," the man roared over Jason, "and the girl gets hurt too. But girls aren't all that strong, are they? There's no guarantee she'll be able to endure it that long." Alice let out a gasp. She wanted to throw up. Her hands balled into fists, tearing blades of grass from their roots. She wouldn't cry. Not in front of these monsters. She would never let them see her weakness.

"Jason," she said hoarsely, "what did you do?" he shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know."

Alice could see Alexis and Maddison watching in horror not too far away. Even if they were able to run, their phones were back at the fire and help would come too late. The damage would have already been done.

One of the figures jerked its head quickly at Jason and another punched him in the stomach. He doubled over while a second man hit him over the head with a branch and then he was on the ground. Both kicked at Jason and blood dripped from his mouth.

Alice couldn't believe her eyes. She trembled uncontrollably and her heart hammered in her chest. She let out a strangled cry.

I won't cry, she thought, I won't cry.

"Please, stop," she said under her breath. Blood now seeped from a gash in Jason's head and sprayed on the ground when he coughed. He attempted to stand but swayed and lost his balance, collapsing once more.

Reality sank in and Alice's thoughts became dark. A dark cloud gathered ominously in her head.

What if Jason was going to die tonight?

She really began to panic and she became restless. If he died, she didn't know what she would do. And what if that wasn't enough for them? Would they kill her too, and then everyone else after that? All she knew was that she didn't want to die tonight.

"Ah! Son of a b—" one of Jason's attackers flicked his hand in the air and rubbed his shoulder with the other, "He punched me. Start on the girl." It took a second to register it and then she was given a hard blow to the back of her head.

"I'm sorry, Al—" Jason said with all the strength he could muster before he was kicked again and again.

One of the men flipped Alice onto her back and crawled on top of her. He struck her in the face brutally as another held her hands down. She kicked and screamed, struggling against two men's weight.

"Please," she said. Her cheek throbbed as if it had grown another heart and she could feel her eye swelling up rapidly. Another punch and her lip split, hot blood spilling down her chin.

She could hardly open her left eye but she could hear Alexis sobbing loudly.

"Stop! Stop it! Quit hurting her! She didn't do anything!" she moaned, "Alice!" it was heartbreaking and Alice let a tear escape from both that and the intense pain radiating from her eye.

No more, Alice pleaded inside her head, unable to even whisper the words. The men got off of her but only to resume in hurting her by kicking and hitting her. A foot caught her in the gut and knocked the breath out of her, leaving her wheezing and fighting for air. A metallic copper taste pooled into her mouth as she began to cough. She held her hand to her mouth to stifle it and it came away crimson.

She turned to Jason, who seemed to have resigned to the viciousness of the attack, lying motionless and looking like he'd been hit by a truck.

Though Jason had weakened entirely, the men hadn't and they continued on him, finding weapons around them in the grass. Branches, beer bottles, anything that could hurt. Alice thought they might never stop. The one with the pocketknife was upon her and he gave her cuts in many places: her arms, her legs, her back, and everywhere else he could reach.

Her vision was very blurred and she could only make out large objects. The trees. The men trying to kill her. The fire.

She had accepted it by that point. That she might die tonight and that those chances were becoming ever higher. Blood was coming up with every breath she took and her face must've been a monstrosity. One of the aggressors stomped on her hand. There was a massive crack and agony shot through her hand. It throbbed even more so than her cheek and she could scarcely move it. It blew up like a balloon and turned an angry purple-black in color.

Alice strained to move a finger and winced. As she received another unearned cut, everything faded away and went black. Alexis' strangled cries of helplessness were the last thing she could hear before she passed out and all became silent to her.

"I think we're done here," one of the men said as he gathered himself up, "let's go!" Every last one of them stopped where they were and could be heard stomping away, twigs and leaves crackling under them, though they could hardly be seen, their attire concealing them almost completely.

In the distance, car wheels screeched as they sped away.

Alexis scrambled to her feet and ran to Alice and Jason, Maddison not far behind. Alexis tried to shake them awake as Maddison called for help. Darrell, Jack, and Enrique sat in silence, too dazed to move. They came to as cops arrived at the scene, though Alice and Jason were still out cold.

Everyone at Alice's home was in bed sleeping when they got the call. They were familiar to strange numbers calling them at night and her parents immediately assumed that Alice snuck out and got arrested again. Her mother answered, ready to rage.

Instead she flicked on the bedside lamp and shot up.

"Dennis," she said with alarm to Alice's father. He narrowed his eyes, the light blinding him.

"What's wrong?" he was now fully aware.

"Dennis," she said, still holding the phone to her ear, "We're coming," she hung up and sprang from the bed.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" he asked.

"Alice is in the ER." She was on the verge of crying, "She and Jason were beaten up really bad. They need our signature to perform a surgery."

They readied themselves in a rush and left Lanie at home to sleep.

It was half-past midnight when they reached the hospital. The emergency room was alive, crawling with cops. Alexis and Maddison sat nervously in the waiting room while Darrell and Enrique spoke with some cops about the events that took place. Jack was still in quite the stunned state, a misty look in his eye as he stared blankly at the TV mounted on the wall

Alice's parents wandered up to a free officer, "I'm Lisa Morgan, Alice's mother. Can you please tell me what has happened to her?" she no less than begged him, with motherly urgency. A nearby doctor heard and bustled to them with a clipboard and pen.

"Mrs. and Mr. Morgan, please sign these wavers for your daughter. She has internal bleeding and must go under the knife." The cop spoke to them as they signed the papers and handed them back to the doctor.

"It was a vicious attack. Your daughter and her boyfriend were defenseless and it appears they hardly fought back. We don't know absolute specifics just yet, but Miss Clemens over there," he motioned toward Alexis, "clarified that there were four men, dressed in black, wearing masks, so no one has a clue what they look like. However we have brought into the station four men suspected of this crime. They were stopped for running a red light but what they had in their trunk were black hoodies and masks along with a gun and a pocketknife. Now, one of those men's cousins was mugged and beaten into a coma just last week. It's under speculation but perhaps those men thought your daughter and her boyfriend had something to do with it. But for right now, that's all we have."

Alice's mother covered her mouth with her hands in astonishment and worry. Alice's father hugged her around the shoulders reassuringly.

They stayed put in the waiting room for Alice's surgery to be completed to be able to speak to someone on how extensive her injuries were. One by one, Alice and Jason's friends filed out, no doubt to either a sleepless night or nightmares.

A doctor emerged a couple of hours later. He headed straight for them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Morgan," he held out a hand, "Doctor Luebbe." They each shook hands.

"Alice's surgery went great, no complications. She should wake by tomorrow. It could be a little while before she goes home though. She's got lacerations up and down the length of her arms and legs, a swollen eye, a split lip, a broken hand, four broken ribs, and a concussion." Alice's mother gasped, "Don't you worry now, we have it all taken care of. Just be happy she isn't the other kid. He's in a much worse state. In the ICU, he is."

"Thank you, for taking care of her," Alice's father said and shook the man's hand once more. He smiled warmly at them.

"You're quite welcome. Good night, now."

They left for home.

"Dennis," Alice's mother said as they drove, "I think we should go to Idaho and stay there. I don't think I can handle this anymore."

3: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Alice woke, for the second morning in row, in a place that was not her bedroom. This time it was a hospital room. She struggled to sit up, needles taped unpleasantly to her arm. Her hand was in a restricting cast and her eye had grown its own heart. Alice felt bruised from the inside out.

Then she remembered the night before.

"Oh my God," She said to herself worriedly, thinking that Jason had been beaten much worse than her. She became angry, though, as she recalled what he'd done.

Firstly, he'd done something to one of those guy's cousins to have caused the incident to happen. Secondly, he'd punched one of those men when he'd specifically been told that Alice would get hurt too. And he did it anyway.

Alice's body went rigid and bitterness became all she could feel besides her ailments. None of this would have happened if it weren't for him. It killed her soul that she could not get out from under the thin, sanitary sheet and find Jason to have it out with him.

The nurse noticed that she was awake and a doctor came in to give her a series of small tests. Her parents came not long after, though Lanie was noticeably absent. Her parents told her that she was at home doing homework and studying and could not come right now. They then told Alice that she was excused from her final exams for the school year. She was relieved for that, because she was sure she would've done poorly on them.

Alice was told about the men and that they had been arrested and would no doubt be convicted. That made her happy too… until her father brought up the subject that could not be ignored forever. She was silent when they told her that they would be staying in Island Park, putting up no protest. It was no longer worth it.

Alice felt like a bad daughter… a bad sister… a bad person. Lanie, being as loving as she was, would've disregarded her homework to visit Alice if she was in the hospital. The fact that she hadn't was a telltale sign of how extremely disappointed and angry Lanie was.

I went out, Alice thought, I wasn't supposed to and I went out. I promised.

When Alice was informed that Jason was awake later that day, her mom helped her hobble to his room. She couldn't help feeling thankful that at least her legs went mostly unharmed and she would still be able to walk. For right now though, her joints were sore and weak.

Her mom leaned her against the doorframe and left without a word, knowing that that the two of them would want privacy.

Alice turned the handle hesitantly. She didn't know what she would say to Jason, but she was so mad that she knew that everything she wanted to say would spill from her mouth like vomit, ugly and uncalled for.

Jason looked like he'd been hit by a train and then run over by another. His arm was in a cast, a section of his hair had been shaved off for a cut to be stitched, both of his eyes were black, and bruises dotted his skin like freckles. It made Alice feel bad for the things that she was about to say to him for a second before she reminded herself that he'd actually done it to himself.

"So," she said with not a hint of kindness to be found, "I guess it wasn't enough for you to get punished for being a bully. I guess I had to get punished too."

"Alice, I…"

"Save it! Don't you dare say you're sorry. Tell me right now how you thought punching that guy once would get them to stop. Never mind, I don't want to know that. What did you do, Jason?" Alice searched for any type of remorse in him and none made itself present. Jason wasn't sorry at all for the things he'd done.

"I don't know what you mean." He said.

"You know what I mean! What did you do to that guy to get attacked like that?"

"I didn't…"

"Bullshit! Quit lying!"

"I am not lying!" Jason said and made a face, only to wince in pain.

"People don't go after specific people for nothing! You not telling me is just… you know what?" Alice had it and all she wanted now was to be away from Jason.

"What?"

"I think we're done. Don't call me, don't text me, I don't want anything to do with you." And with that, she left the room, calling her mother to help her back to her own room.

4: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The house was large, even for a family of seven. It stood tall and grand like a deluxe log cabin, a veranda wrapping around most of it.

Alice almost could've passed for a robot in the light of recent happenings. Her hand was still broken though her ribs had healed and the bruising under her eye was almost completely gone. It had been a month since the attack and Lanie would not talk to her, because that broken promise was what had moved them so many miles away.

"You told me you wouldn't go out that night, and you broke the promise like it was nothing," Alice could recall Lanie saying dejectedly. Since that day, her conscience woke up entirely and constantly slapped her for things she had done before.

I'm a horrible sister. It was not only one broken promise, but many, and deceit and selfishness. Everything she'd ever done wrong burdened her and gave her much more weight on her shoulders than she'd had before.

The car drove up the long driveway of white gravel leading to the house. Gravel jumped up and popped at the side of the car and occasionally the windows. Their minivan was jam-packed with the essentials: clothing, pictures, and other small things that could be brought along while they stayed with Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Scott. The large pieces of furniture were sitting in a storage unit, ready to be moved when they found a house.

As they parked, people appeared in the front door. Aunt Phoebe rushed out to greet them. She was a small woman, about the height of a twelve year old, and had her blonde hair styled into a bob. She also had to be one of the nicest types of people you could come by. She was the only sister of Alice's father and was all that remained of the family. All of Alice's grandparents had already passed away and her mother was an only child. Though the family hadn't been big to begin with, she and Uncle Scott had made it so with four sons and one daughter. The eldest of Alice's cousins, Simon, was going into his senior year of high school. After him were the twins, Natalie and Nathaniel. They were Alice's age. The youngest two of the family, Carter and Cory, were ten and five.

Sliding from the car, Aunt Phoebe squeezed Alice's father in a bear hug.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time," she pulled back, "I'm just happy you're finally coming back home." She smiled warmly and went on to Alice's mother, then Lanie and Alice. Uncle Scott came out not long after and welcomed them.

"Need any help unloading?" he asked as he pat the car firmly.

"Yeah, thanks," The two men talked and popped the trunk open. Alice and Lanie grabbed a suitcase from the back seat and toted them up to the house.

Aunt Phoebe dashed in front of them.

The house was buzzing with life as Cory zipped around with a toy of his and stopped shyly as soon as he saw Alice.

"Natalie," Aunt Phoebe called, "Natalie! Why don't you show them where their rooms are?"

"They're here?" A dark head of hair came into view. Her eyes lit up, "Up the stairs. Come on," she led the way. The inside of the house was just the same as the outside: made of logs. A wide hallway connected to a ginormous family room and a kitchen with stones studding the walls. This house wasn't very familiar to Alice, as the family had only just moved here in the last few years and Alice had only been to the house once.

The second floor was just as large as the first and doors lined the walls.

Natalie pushed open a door to reveal a bedroom, "This one is yours," she said to Lanie and nudged the one beside it, "and this one is yours." She told Alice.

"Thanks," Lanie spoke for the first time since their arrival.

"No problem." Natalie bounced away. They entered their separate rooms. Alice laid her suitcase on a freshly-made bed and looked around the room. A wooden desk sat beneath a set of simple windows on the farthest wall. Natalie roamed back up to Alice's door and tapped lightly though it was still slightly ajar.

"Need any help unpacking?" she laid her head against the doorframe.

"Sure," Alice nodded. She entered, closing the door gingerly before she proceeded to assemble herself on the bed. Alice unzipped the suitcase and rummaged through the pile of clothes inside.

"Lanie's really shy. I went to help her and her face got all red." She said and shrugged as she took one of Alice's tee shirts and folded it neatly.

"Yeah, she's pretty much always been that way." Alice said.

Natalie folded clothes and Alice set her laptop on the desk.

"It'll be nice to have more girls here. I've been the only one besides my mom since forever." She said, "I mean, don't get me wrong, my brothers are awesome. But sometimes I wish I could've had a sister. You're lucky." Natalie stretched and got up with a small stack of shirts and arranged them in the top drawer of a dresser. Alice followed pursuit.

"So, what brought on this drastic change in style?" Natalie said as she eyed a baggy black shirt of Alice's with unspoken perplexity. Her river-green eyes lingered on it for a moment.

Occasionally when Alice was younger, she'd go to Idaho to spend time with her cousins. Lanie always refused, being as uncomfortable as she was around people she hardly knew, and she knew her cousins as well as she knew strangers. While Lanie hardly knew Natalie, Alice had spent much more time with her and could at the very least say she was a friend. Natalie was at all times the bubbly cheerleader type, shied away from wearing dark colors, and liked to talk a lot. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't a cheerleader but part of the volleyball team at the nearest high school.

Natalie had only ever known Alice to be fun and full of energy, back before Alice changed from lively to gloomy. Alice noticed some of the looks she was getting from Natalie and they were in confusion.

"I'm not sure…" Alice said, thinking for the answer. She never thought much about her alteration in appearance, just that one day she decided that she didn't enjoy being a flashing sign of bright colors, "Change of opinion, I guess?"

"Because I remember specifically that you loved the color green. But I don't see anything green here." She glanced over Alice's clothes once more. Alice shrugged. She had loved the color green, but she was thirteen. Things don't always stay the same.

Alice had a theory, actually, as to why she began wearing black. She supposed that black clothes blended in well with the night and she would stay out late after she met Alexis. It had been to stay invisible.

But she was so used to wearing these clothes by now that she saw no point in reverting it back to what it had previously been. Alice made adjustments, going around that. She no longer went out and hadn't had a drink in over a month. She was worn out. She saw no reason to argue any further about the move, the harsh change in environment. Her parents hadn't had to drag her there, she'd gone willingly, hood up and shoulders slumped in dismay.

"I hadn't noticed." Alice placed a pair of jeans in the drawer and went back to the bed for more, "It's actually a little warmer here than I thought it would be."

"Well, it gets up into the seventies this time of year. Sometimes even the eighties, but usually the seventies."

"That's surprising." Alice was cheered a little by that statement. It made her feel good to know that she could at least have a pretty normal summer, "I've been told it's like Alaska here. Seen any abominable snowmen lately?" she said.

"No," Natalie said, tittering lightly, "But you'll get used to it here soon enough. Just wear the right coat."

"I know." Alice tried to be as optimistic as Natalie. The feeling was eluding her for now.

"Something wrong?" the answer was, yes, something was wrong. Everything was wrong: where she was living now, Alice and Lanie's relationship, and the fact that she no longer had friends.

"No," she said, not wanting to strike up a conversation about her misfortunes. Alice had been down, gloomy and utmost snappy almost constantly for a month, and she was exhausted of being so. She decided to forget everything that had happened and pretend she'd never lived anywhere but here.

"Okay." Natalie said, as oblivious as ever. She smiled and flipped her hair back, "Want to do something fun tonight?"

"Depends on what it is, I guess." Alice answered cautiously. If by "fun" she meant something to the caliber of skinny-dipping or egging someone's house, then Alice would happily decline. Those two activities were things her friends had suggested before and so they immediately came to mind. Her friends. The ones she didn't have anymore. She shut down the thought of them.

"It's nothing bad," Natalie scrutinized Alice's expression, "There's a pond around here. We could go out and see it. It's in the woods, but not too deep. Would Lanie like to come?" Alice thought for a minute. She wasn't sure if going into the woods would be a very good idea for her. She still feared the trees and they gave her flashbacks. But perhaps she'd get over it by conquering it completely.

"We could do that. I don't know if Lanie would come though. I'll ask her later."

"I mean it's not like we'd get lost or anything. There are trails and nights are actually pretty bright when it's not cloudy…" Natalie went on and Alice found herself spacing out. It was not unlike Natalie to say more than needed to be said. Alice wondered if Lanie would join them in their odyssey. She came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't happen.

As for Alice, though she was still wary of it, she was not completely objective. She was left feeling much more secure by the small blade of defense she now held in her back pocket at all times. It was very like the one that had given her cuts and left her scars. They weren't all that noticeable or long, and there weren't very many, but they were there. She sometimes thought of what would have happened if she had a way to defend herself those few weeks ago. Then she remembered the gun. That gun would have fired a bullet right through her had she cut one of her assailants. But it was over and those men were in jail now, so what did it matter anymore?

Alice and Natalie unpacked the suitcase and continued to talk with one another, though Natalie did most of the talking. Alice sniggered to herself as she thought that Natalie could have had a conversation with herself with ease.

"Why don't you ask Lanie to come and we can all go out at around, eight maybe." She said a little while later and sprang up, "I'll go tell Nate." As she left, Alice built up the courage to talk to Lanie.

"Alright," she said to herself as she found herself shuffling to the bedroom door beside her own. She tapped on the ancient oak door.

Lanie cracked the door open and peered out.

"Want to do something tonight? Natalie and Nate and I are going outside later. You could come if you want to." Alice said as she anticipated Lanie to close the door on her like it had only been a ghost knocking.

"I guess so." Her tone was dull and lifeless. Alice wished she hadn't been the one to upset Lanie this way. But what could she do? Everything had already been done and said to apologize. She supposed that all there was left to do now was to wait for Lanie to forgive her. But the fact that Lanie had accepted the offer was enough for right now. It relaxed Alice to know that things might be getting better between them.

"Great," Alice said under her breath, "We're going out at eight so… yeah." She turned as Natalie bounded back up the stairs. Lanie's door clicked shut.

"Nate's in," she said, "My mom heard and said she doesn't want us going into the woods at night," She rolled her eyes, "But we can still do other things."

"That's okay. We can go out there tomorrow sometime." Natalie followed Alice back into her room, "Lanie's agreed to come with us."

Natalie beamed with the radiance of the sun, "Yay,"

The sun disappeared beyond the horizon and the moon took its position in the sky with the partnership of the stars. As everyone was called to supper, Natalie noted that she loved nights like these but that they didn't come too often.

Eleven out of the twelve chairs seated someone at the long dining table. The adults chattered among themselves about more serious topics while Carter and Cory poked at each other and giggled. Lanie, as usual, didn't say much more than "yes" and "no". Alice cracked small, harmless jokes and Natalie went on, rambling about unimportant occurrences that went on at school (or rather things that happened to the students that went there). She gossiped that a girl named Claire was chasing after this one guy so often that many of their classmates had taken bets on whether they'd end up a couple or not.

"…Ooh! You know that one weird girl, Molly?" Natalie said to Nate and Simon, "She came to Lucy's birthday party all like "I've seen one!" and freaked out, telling us about some kind of monster she saw in the forest." She shook her head. Alice listened. The story intrigued her as everything else had been about who was dating who and what went down at the mall last Saturday.

Simon chuckled, "Don't tell me. It's a "Soul Eater" again, right?" he continued to shake with laughter. Alice recognized the term. She'd heard it plenty times. Soul Eaters were some kind of mythical being that would eat the soul of any person trespassing in the wilderness, hence killing them.

Those kinds of monsters were the things people made up when they were bored, Alice thought, and she never believed in such tales. Every last one of them was childish.

"What was she doing in the woods in the first place?" Alice said, "What, was she looking for one or something?"

"Not impossible. She's been obsessed with researching them," Nate said, "She buries herself in books that have information about them."

"But the things supposedly look like humans, so it's possible that she only saw a hunter." Natalie enlightened them thoroughly on the topic and what the girl said and did. Alice disregarded the remainder of the discussion.

It was entertaining for her, though, to know that anyone would consider something so ridiculous to be true. Alice was never one with an open mind and if she didn't see it, she didn't believe it. That was pertaining to magical beasts and monsters, at least.

The family finished their meals and dispersed from the table. Each person went their own separate way. Alice's mother and aunt made a beeline for the kitchen to wash dishes and gossip. Alice's father and uncle were by the stairs conversing. Cory and Carter got ready for bed and Simon went to his room to study. Alice, Lanie, Nate, and Natalie went up the stairs in a herd, readying their plans for the next hour. They slipped on shoes in their bedrooms and snatched a flashlight on the way out the back door.

The evening air was crisp with a gentle breeze rustling the leaves on the trees and making them chatter, as if they were crowds of people. Alice had to admit that this was a good night indeed. The stars shone dazzlingly and she became lost in thought as she admired them. Her mood was better now. Maybe some of Natalie's vibrancy had done a part in that. It was hard to be around a body so positive and continue on, being disheartened.

The backyard was a spacious field of nature. The towering trees loomed in the dark and Alice could see wild bushes and shrubs forming as her eyes adjusted and she snapped out of her reverie she had when looking at the stars.

Natalie stopped and looked into the horizon. A loud noise wailed, like an alarm, and Alice presumed that it was an owl.

"Hear that?" Natalie asked. Her eyes darted back at Nate, "It has to be a Soul Eater!" she spun around, her lips lifted upward in a cheesy smile, "Okay, let's get started. I say we go to the pond secretly. Really, it's only about twenty feet in."

"Are you sure we wouldn't get caught by your mom?" Alice said. Part of her was happy there would be a reason for not going in without her having to say that she was afraid.

"I don't know, Natalie. That might not be a good idea."

"Oh, come on! You guys are such worry warts! Let's just go. You want to, right Lanie?" Lanie was always so easily manipulated. She would say what someone wanted her to say if it made that person happy.

And so she said timidly, "Yeah,"

"See?" Natalie said as she triumphed, "She wants to go. Let's do it." Her dark tresses whipped with the wind as she went forth into the trees, "You can even kind of see it from here."

The others, defeated, followed Natalie. It was a bright night. The stars and moon illuminated everything like nightlights which never went out. Alice breathed the fresh air and scent of sap and pine.

They came to the body of water. It wasn't a large pond but it was entrancing as it held the reflection of the sky. Small ripples of water spread throughout it as a leaf dropped in. The tiny waves smeared the stars across the surface of the water like paint being swept across a canvas.

"Isn't it pretty?" Natalie said with awe, "I've always liked the way it looks at night." Nate shone the flashlight across it and then clicked it off. He gathered a few stones and sent them flying at the water. The rocks skimmed the water's surface happily, jumping a few times and then descending into its murky depths.

Natalie went to the edge of the water with a twig, careful not to actually touch the water herself. She prodded at things and spelled her name out in the water.

Natalie Cartwell

The swirls of cursive letters left as soon as they came. Alice joined Natalie at the side of the pond and Lanie positioned herself on a patch of grass, looking out into the trees and into the water.

Alice ran her finger across the scummy water and Natalie looked scandalized.

"I don't know how you can touch it when it's so dirty." Alice felt the urge to tug a worm out of the soft mud and play with it a little if only to freak Natalie out.

"It's not that dirty. I wouldn't drink it, but it's just water."

"But it's all stagnant. It just lies there all day. Still water is dirtier than running water. I learned that in science class." She said smartly. Just to prove her point, Alice dug her hand into the mud and washed it off in the pond. Natalie was horrified.

"Sometimes I could swear you're a dude."

"That's only because you're a girly-girl." Alice shook the droplets of water from her hand and traced stars into the mud.

"It's true, Natalie," Nate said, "You are a girly-girl. I can prove it too." And, coincidentally, he held out a worm. It wriggled and writhed to be free of his grasp.

"Eww!" Natalie said with a shriek and scrambled away from it. The high-pitched resonance startled something in the trees and it flapped away into the distance, "Nate, you know I hate bugs!" Neither Nate nor Alice could contain their entertainment, "It's not funny!"

"Whatever you say," Nate said as he strode away. Natalie inched slowly back to the pond and settled herself at its edge once more. Alice looked back at Lanie and, to her relief, Nate had engaged in conversation with her. At least she wouldn't be completely left out tonight.

Alice let her eyes wander back to the water. She gazed at her reflection. She didn't look entirely unhappy. Truthfully, she looked relaxed and unruffled, as if there was nothing plaguing her this very moment.

A small figure, she noticed suddenly, was lingering above her shoulder. It zipped out of sight and Alice snapped her head around. There was nothing abnormal to see.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Natalie flit her eyes up at Alice then back down again.

"That thing, it was… never mind." She was sure she had seen something. It had been a bat, maybe.

Bats don't have that small of wings. She corrected herself. Perhaps she had hallucinated and seen something that was not truly there? It was possible. The thing looked so real, though. She had one crazy guess before all others, the first thing that the figure reminded her of. A fairy. It had reminded her of a fairy. As senseless as it may have sounded, it had been what she saw. But whatever it was, it was gone now and Alice ignored everything that said it was a magical creature and reverted back to her old guesses before attempting to forget it entirely.

"Okay," Natalie stood, "Does anyone want to go back for a game?"

"A game?" Alice said. She was usually pretty open to playing games.

Natalie nodded, "How about hide-and-go-seek-tag?" Alice smiled at that. She couldn't remember playing that game in the last ten years.

"I'm in," Nate said, "But I'll have you know, I'm a really fast runner."

"And whenever you play with Cory, you never let him win," Natalie said, "Meanie."

"Softie."

"I'll play, too." Lanie said.

"Yeah," Alice got up from the ground and brushed any dirt from her hands, "It'll probably be better in the dark."

And so the group walked back to the opening in the back of the house. They played rock-paper-scissors to determine who 'it' was. Nate lost that battle and was left to count by the side of the house while the others scrambled about to hide behind bushes or trees and find places to make themselves undiscoverable.

Nate was indeed a fast runner, but not as fast as Alice and she constantly escaped him and found a different hiding spot. By the time she would be rediscovered, Lanie and Natalie would already have been caught.

Alice was eventually called 'it'. When she was younger, that was always the part she liked playing: the hunter. She thought it was cool and fun and she was quick enough to catch whomever she was playing with.

She had found and caught the others before they had the chance to hide again. The nostalgia she felt was nothing short of satisfying.

After a bit more time playing their little game, they retreated inside where they caught their breath and relaxed.

"I'm beat." Natalie said as she flung herself onto the couch, "But mainly because Alice wouldn't stop chasing me." She fanned herself with a nearby magazine. Alice took a seat too and took the time to examine the living room. The ceiling was high and family pictures decorated the stone fireplace. The couch and loveseat were comfortable and broken-in. Every inch of the room felt lived-in.

"I'm going to sit for a little while before I take a shower," Natalie turned to Alice and Lanie, "If you two want to take one, it's up the stairs, down the hall and to your left. Use the main staircase, not the back one."

"I'll take one, then. I won't be long." Alice wandered up the steps and to the bathroom where she let gentle currents of warm water coax her into feeling secure before leaving the bathroom. The sounds of her aunt, uncle, and parents talking resonated through the upstairs from her parents' bedroom. Aunt Phoebe came out the door, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello, Alice." She said, "How you liking it here? Doing alright?" It was in this way that Natalie was alike her mother. Their warmth was a black hole that sucked you in and which there was no return from.

She returned the smile, "I'm alright."

"That's good," she patted Alice on the arm and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight" Alice said, waving as she left. In her bedroom she flopped onto the bed and thought a little bit about something that was bugging her, distracting her. Had it been a bug above her shoulder at the pond? Alice would've taken to her laptop had it been hooked up with Wi-Fi. That left her to use her imagination. The proportions of the thing had been strange. The wings looked somewhat like leaves and it was slender. It was what led her to believe that it may have been a praying mantis.

She wondered if they came out at night as she rolled over and closed her eyes, escaping into the fantasies of her dreams where nothing was ever truly worrisome.

5: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

A girl gazed in admiration up at the sun, though it was hard to do so, it being so bright. Living in such a dark place, she'd forgotten that to gape at the sun here was almost painful. She watched as it went from yellow to deep orange to mixes of vibrant pink-purples. People up here probably didn't appreciate the sun, but where she was from it was a privilege to see just this. The sun sunk below the horizon and she trekked a few meters to where she found a tree.

The girl stepped right through it and lowered herself down into the base of it where waited a contraption that would take her those miles below the surface of the earth. She thanked her lucky stars every day for the illusion that made the tree look like just that. If it hadn't been for that, she and the others would have been long dead.

She climbed into the thing which humans called 'elevators', but this one was not like the ones humans made. It was sturdier and rusted. Fencing around it kept others from getting hurt or falling out during the trip. The 'elevator' was swift and the trips to and fro never took too long, tedious as it was.

The girl's best friend, Lisista, was there waiting for her when the trip ended. It went from sunny to dark in an instant. That was the reason the sunset was a privilege to the humans. They didn't have it down here. During the day, the high ceilings lit up with what looked like true sunlight but wasn't. At night, it became pitch dark, for they didn't have the moon or the stars to assist and guide them either.

Most of the time, Adsila would trip and her face would plant in the dirt or grass if she attempted to travel at night. She was happy to at least have plants and trees though, like the ones above.

"Belara wants to see you." Lisista said.

"I don't know how she expects me to get there at night," the girl said, "Whatever, I'll try."

"Later, Adsila." Lisista said and went off into the opposite direction before descending into the trapdoor that was her home. The entirety of their world was like that. Homes were underground so as to not crowd the already-small-enough dwelling. What was not underground was tall and slender, reaching to the ceiling. The tall buildings were where food was grown, where weapons and clothing was made, and where the ill were nursed. The tallest building was right in the center of everything and that was where they were taught the things they needed to know. Right behind that building was where Adsila needed to be.

She began walking, though she did so blindly. As she went, the trails lit up with twinkling lights. They weren't just lights, but rather organisms. A relative of the insect aboveground, the firefly, the Juna twinkled on and off every night, helping in small ways light-wise.

As the gravel of the trail crunched beneath Adsila's feet, she held out her hand for a Juna. It landed delicately on her finger. The Juna were quite pleasant creatures, and it curled itself around Adsila's pinkie, the feather-like strands of hair it used to fly tickling her. These strands were around every Juna's body, like tentacles on a jellyfish, but these were for flying rather than swimming.

Adsila was always careful as to not be too rough with the Juna, because as gentle as they may have appeared, a stinger was concealed in each one of their bodies. It reminded her of herself and everyone else down here in a way… gentle but not. The Juna's large black eyes took one last look up at her before it took flight once more.

Through much stumbling and catching her feet on things once or twice, Adsila made it to the back of the school building. It seemed empty back here, but that was a deception. She knelt down and began tapping her fist on the ground as she walked. When the sound changed from solid to hollow, she knew she'd reached the door.

Brushing away dirt and soil, Adsila dug her fingers underneath and swung the door open. It had been carefully concealed to look like nothing more than a piece of ground for the fear that their den might one day be found. This would be where everyone would go if that ever happened.

She climbed down the rope ladder and went down the long halls, making many turns. Anyone who didn't know their way would get lost in this place. As she reached the research room, three others ambled by. One of them had been injured as Adsila could see, and the two others were supporting him. She knew where they were getting to: the sanatorium.

Adsila continued into the research room. This was where she and the others would discuss recent events and make plans for not letting whatever it had been happen again.

She had read every single one of the books on these bookshelves.

'Navigating the Faena Tunnels' one of them was titled. Adsila's attention always drifted back to this book, for its cover was fun to look at, with colorful swirls of designs shown.

It had been a complex book, as Adsila could remember, all about travelling in the tunnels that led to Faena dens in other countries.

As she waited, she analyzed the book next to it was well. 'Concealment' it was named. It was one of Adsila's favorites. It explained how the illusions to keep the Faena hidden were made. The only problem was that whenever she read that book, it reminded her of the peril they'd been in for centuries, why these methods of protection were needed.

Again, her eyes scanned the bookshelf for one specific book. She liked to read while she waited and there was one particular book that no harm had ever befallen them by studying up on more thoroughly.

'Everything to Know about the Hele' Adsila ran her hand across the cover before leaning against the wall and flipping the book open. It was the beginning of the book that always intrigued her and she would always read it before skipping forward to sections she didn't necessarily understand.

It is said that it started with what is to this day called the Lunar Gem, it read. The smooth, crystal-like stone had one day mysteriously fallen from the sky. It was picked up by a man. The man tried breaking it, burning it, freezing it, and boiling it. The stone seemed to be impenetrable, but he noticed one day that the stone had absorbed a bit of water that had dropped onto it. Amazed at this finding, the man began experimenting with what other types of things the stone could soak up.

On the day that he could think of nothing else to test the stone with, the man made a small cut on his arm and held it over the Lunar Gem. The blood was taken in by the stone immediately. Its once clear insides turned into a crimson red and the man instantly writhed with a pounding headache. The pain was so intense that the man took a rest and slept the rest of that day, never waking until the next morning had come.

The headache was gone and his head was strangely clear, like there had been a fog and it had now dispersed.

Over the months, the man became stronger and smarter, but when those abilities began to fade once more, he was convinced that it had something to do with the Lunar Gem. He decided to let the stone absorb the blood of an animal. In a rush, he found a rabbit and brought it back to his home. The man slayed it right on his kitchen table and watched as the stone pulsed from taking in the blood.

Again, the man got a headache and laid down. By the next morning, his strength had returned. He continued pouring blood over the stone almost obsessively for a year, noticing that it did not work as well many of the nights he tried it. It worked best on the nights that the moon was either half or completely full.

Soon, the man opted that he could let others in on his little secret and recruited many other men. They called themselves the Hele, feeling as though they were healing themselves by becoming more advanced.

The Hele became displeased with the results they were getting after a while. They wanted more than just animals. So on the night of a full moon, one of the men knocked out and dragged a townswoman to their place of sacrifice where they killed her and spilled her blood over the Lunar Gem.

They went on like that for many years, killing for power.

But one fateful night, they mistook a Faena for a human and sacrificed it. They received an overwhelming abundance of power. When the cuts of the deceased Faena healed, the Hele realized that it was not human. They began a hunt for only those beings. The Faena were forced into hiding underground as the numbers of the Hele grew and as they found a way to detect the Faena through the Lunar Gem.

That was as far as Adsila could read before Belara came in, shutting the door behind her. She was alone and it was strange for her to be.

"Where are Ontan and Maldro?" Adsila said automatically. Ontan and Maldro were almost always with Belara, updating her on occurrences and helping to secure the den, and protecting her.

"They're out, spreading news." Belara said. Adsila snapped the book shut and returned it to its rightful shelf.

"News?"

"Yes, news." Adsila noticed then that an Elkari was perched on Belara's shoulder. It continued to tell her things as its color turned from green to dark brown, the color of the room. This was their defense against humans seeing them, and it was also because of their camouflage that they were able to spy on the Hele and gain information on them. That was how they'd been able to put everything into one thick book. The Elkari were fairy-like and so swift that they could deliver messages to Faena halfway across the world by the time the hour was up. They had large, black eyes (somewhat like the Juna) for seeing in the dark and leaf-like wings twice the size of their body. The Elkari did not actually speak any particular language. Instead, they were able to transfer images to another's mind to say what needed to be said.

"A human has seen her," Belara said after a moment of silence, "Just last night."

"That's not possible." Adsila said, holding fast to stubbornness and crossing her arms.

"It is." The Elkari got from Belara's shoulder and flew to Adsila, hovering near her ear as she told Adsila what had happened the night before. Images ran across her head, the memories the Elkari had of the incidence.

It didn't make sense. Humans never saw them, not once. So how could this be happening now? The girl had really seemed like she'd seen what she wasn't supposed to.

"The camouflage must have failed then." Adsila said.

"There were three others with the girl. Not a single one of the others saw."

"But…" Adsila was running out of ideas, "how could she have seen an Elkari when…? It doesn't make sense."

"Exactly. And that is why I wanted to see you. You go to human territory on numerous occasions, do you not?"

Adsila nodded her head slowly, unsure of what Belara was getting at, "Yes."

"And you've made contact with humans?" Belara was now studying her, her ice- blue eyes never leaving Adsila.

"Right," Adsila narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "What is this about?"

"We need to get to know a little more about this girl. You seem to be about her age and you've got experience with humans. I would like for you to live up there and get to know this girl."

Adsila's mouth fell open. The statement was outrageous. It would not be possible for a Faena to live outside of the den; it was dangerous enough for her to go out for the short time she was permitted each day to gather plants and hunt. She didn't get the chance to protest before Belara had stridden over to her and held out a necklace to Adsila which was silver with an oval, dusky blue crystal hanging from it.

"It will protect you from the Hele. You'll be harder to find and their poisons wouldn't affect you. Wear this and you'll be safe. I'll also be sending Maldro with you. He's fought the Hele before and has won."

"I…" Adsila found her voice, "It's not only the Hele. One slip-up… if I get too mad, I could kill someone. I'm not trained enough. To them, we are monsters and I understand why." But of course, there was no escaping the curse that had plagued the Faena since they'd been around. Becoming too angry was fatal for any human around them. They could steal a soul from any person or animal by only looking at them. Their eyes would cloud over and turn completely white when such things happened, only returning to normal after said Faena had calmed down. After many mistakes on the Faenas' part and too many close calls with humans, they were judged as monsters that lurked in the forests, pretending to be human and then gobbling up the life of any unwitting person who'd travelled in too far. The name they'd been given, they didn't even care to know.

"You have enough training. You'll do well. You must or we may never know who she is. You are the only one fit for it so we're counting on you," Belara slid the necklace over Adsila's head, "It's a very rare stone, so don't lose it."

"Okay," Adsila said submissively. She had her orders, "I'll do it."

6: Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Alice was already awake. It was five in the morning and she was already awake. These dreams she'd been having were keeping her awake since her first night in Island Park. Her sleeping schedule had become so irregular that she wasn't sure if she would be able to survive the first day of school at North Fremont High. And of course to make matters worse, it was a full day. She'd moaned and complained about that since she found it out the month before.

She rolled onto her other side and squeezed her eyes shut tight. An hour of sleep would be better than none, but still it would not come to her. Her body wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day but her mind raced on and on.

Before Alice knew it, it was time to crawl back out from under the covers and get ready. Only she stayed there in the hopes that she might go into a coma to make up for all the sleep she'd lost.

Light came and went as clouds passed by, a storm threatening to come. She put a pillow over her head and groaned irritably into it.

She stretched. Her leg extended over the edge of the bed and she let herself slide off hesitantly. There was a light tap on her door and she assumed it was her mother coming to wake her. There was another tap and this time someone spoke.

"Alice?" it said, "Are you awake?" strangely enough, it sounded like her sister.

"Come in," said Alice as she sat up on the floor and shoved the blankets back onto the bed. Lanie poked her head around the corner of the door unsurely and crept in.

Lanie sat down on the hardwood floor, her legs folded under her. They were silent for a moment and then Lanie threw her arms around Alice.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Lanie said, "I miss you." It was so quick that Alice was surprised. Lanie had still been shunning her yesterday. Overnight, it was as if everything was back to the way it had been before. Alice had never been very good with words, and so she didn't say anything and hugged Lanie back.

"I'm sorry for acting like that." Lanie said. It annoyed Alice a little, because Lanie was always apologizing no matter if she was the one that should or not.

"No, Lanie. It's my fault we're here. I probably deserved it." Lanie pulled away and leaned against the side of the bed. A tear had left a trail on her cheek and she wiped it away. She sniffed.

"Is something wrong?" said Alice. Lanie was a very sensitive person and may have only been overcome with emotion, but Alice could never tell.

"I had a dream last night that you died. I felt guilty that I couldn't make up with you," Lanie shivered, "It was a horrible feeling." she brought her knees up to her face and rubbed her arms.

"Dreams are dreams. I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry about it." When Alice saw that Lanie was still somewhat down, she thought of something to say.

"The grim reaper couldn't get me if he tried." Alice said and punched the air. It made Lanie laugh at last. The waterworks dried.

"We're okay, then?" Lanie said with a half-smile and a relieved look on her face.

"Yeah," Alice said, "we're okay." One of Alice's weaker qualities, she felt, were her tendencies to forgive too easily, especially when the person needing to be forgiven came right out with it and cried like Lanie just had. Sometimes having that quality was a bad thing, because some actions shouldn't be forgiven so quickly.

But in this case, Lanie hadn't been in the wrong. To forgive her right off the bat for being upset was only rational.

"You should go get ready. Mom told me the school is forty minutes away so we'll be leaving at seven probably." Alice said.

"I know." Lanie departed and Alice let out a liberated sigh.

The first thing Alice heard when she descended the stairs was her aunt bustling about in making sure that everyone was ready.

"Well, did you put it in your bag?" Aunt Phoebe could be heard though not seen.

"I thought I did," it was Natalie this time, "Ugh! I don't know!" new journals flopped onto the dining room table as Natalie dug through her school bag. Nate observed amusedly from his chair a few feet away. Alice took a seat beside him.

"It is in best interest that you do know before you leave, so you better start looking." Aunt Phoebe's authority was not to be reckoned with. She may have said it in the gentlest way possible, but it had been a command. She turned on her heel and headed to the living room.

"What are you looking for?" Alice asked.

"My calculator," Natalie then turned to her father, "Dad, have you seen it?"

"Sorry, but no." Uncle Scott glanced over his laptop at her for a second and resumed in what he was doing. Alice's own father on the other hand, must've been in the study already, tapping away at a keyboard. Her father was a writer and had written three novels already. Alice had read one of them a few years before and realized just how good he was at it. But that was only as far as she'd gotten before she stopped reading.

Nate smiled mischievously and Alice narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. In his lap was the calculator that had been presumed missing.

Alice did a breathy laugh shook her head at the table, "Hey Natalie, I think your calculator was kidnapped." Nate cracked up as Natalie shot him a suspicious glance.

Carter took a seat across from him then.

"Nate, give me my calculator!" Natalie lunged for it. Nate tossed the calculator to Carter whose face twisted into a grin. He took off, Natalie tailing him.

"Carter!" Natalie said as she chased her kid brother. He dashed up the stairs and out of sight. Natalie stomped back down a little after Lanie had come downstairs.

"He hid it! He hid it and I can't find it! You're so immature, Nate!" Natalie slumped down in her seat irritably and held her head in her hands.

Aunt Phoebe entered, holding none other than the calculator in hand, "I found this in the bathroom. You need to start keeping better track of your stuff." Natalie didn't say anything. She groaned and Aunt Phoebe walked away.

A little while after, Alice laid her head on the table for a short nap, only to be awakened by Natalie yowling when she stubbed her toe. For the rest of the morning, Carter and Cory pestered (though mostly Carter), Simon quietly sipped coffee, and Alice and Lanie flipped through TV channels until it was time to go.

She bumped her hand plenty times as she readied for the trip. The cast had only been taken off the weekend before and the feeling of it being bare was foreign to her, though it was nice to no longer be restricted.

Simon took his car to school separately to school, the twins, Alice, and Lanie following behind. Most of the trip consisted of a straight drive before a few turns brought them to a dainty school with a parking lot the size of a dust particle.

"You were not over exaggerating," Alice said. She had been used to large and overly-populated schools her entire life.

"Three-hundred students isn't much of a crowd." Nate said as he parked. A head of springy, black curls sauntered up to the car. Lucy Regos was Natalie's best friend and Alice had met her many times before. She and Natalie were alike in many ways. The way they spoke of insignificant things as if they were a big deal, how they were opposed to bugs and dirt, and were as girly as a girl could possibly be. All there was to separate them was intelligence, or lack thereof. Lucy was dimmer than the average human being and comebacks were something she never had. Sarcasm befuddled her more than it bothered her.

Natalie adjusted her makeup in the rearview mirror and climbed from the car, the others following.

"It's the first day of school already. Where did summer go?" Lucy pouted.

Alice's hand banged against the car as she closed the door, "Dammit, again,"

"Language, Alice. You swear like a sailor." Natalie said.

"I do not, you are just a goody-goody."

"Ooh, Lucy, there she goes," Natalie pointed out a tall girl from the crowd, Claire Timming, Alice assumed. Her hair was a sleek light brown, her eyes to match, "She's going for him right away too," Claire sat on the hood of a car next to a boy and twisted her fingers in her hair suggestively. He effectively ignored her.

"Just remember to stay away from her. She thinks she's better than everyone else." Natalie said to Alice and Lanie. She'd had experience with Claire because they were both volleyball players, and apparently many guys at Fremont County High pined after her to no avail. According to Natalie, she was after only one guy: one that wouldn't give her the time of day.

The school doors opened and all students flooded in and were directed to the auditorium. The mandatory presentation about rules and having a great school year was given and then everyone went to the teacher they would have for homeroom, who gave them their schedule.

Alice was thankful to find that she didn't have lunch with her excessively flamboyant cousin, though downcast that she didn't have it with Lanie either. Today, she would be sitting with Nate at his tableful of guy friends. She really didn't mind that at all, however.

In Alice's first class, U.S. History, she went right for the desk that suited her best. It was way in the back, away from the teachers and their questions, where she could take a nap without much notice.

Mrs. Colyme was a slim, elderly woman that looked as fragile as a centuries old glass vase and she hardly saw Alice as she slipped into a deep slumber.

The forest rang with cries and shrieks of men, women, and children. They were sickening and distressing, as if lost souls were asking for help.

The sky darkened in an instant and the leaves on all the trees fell to their demise. Now, in their place, was blood. It seeped out of the branches and poured down on her like sticky rain. She choked on it in disgust and stumbled to find shelter.

The blood stopped coming, snow beginning to coat it, the mixture turning into something of a slushy. She pulled her hair away from her face, surprised to find it down rather than up.

Footsteps splashed toward her through the flooding mess. A man's arms were outreached to grab her. She dashed away from him, ascending up a slope where drier, though no less cold, ground could be found. She shivered and kept running, becoming farther and farther away from civilization.

She peered over her shoulder and slowed. She could not see him but she could feel him.

Ahead of her was a large tree and she ran into it. She felt no impact and she was still standing, but now she was in the dark. Somehow she felt safe.

Alice started and her head shot up from the desktop. She rubbed her eyes and calmed her accelerated heartbeat. She twisted her ponytail around, a tick she had when she was uncomfortable.

When she read on the clock that the class was half over, she brought up her hood snugly around her head and tightened the strings. Staying awake was a struggle for the next twenty minutes as the teacher droned on with her monotonous voice.

In the latter classes, she also received a locker where she stuffed her backpack into the undersized thing.

Lunch came and she was grateful that she might be able to sleep as her eyelids had become most heavy and the bags under her eyes were hard not to notice.

Alice found Nate in the midst of the mass of people in the hall. She wasn't hungry so he showed her to the table while he got food. There were four others sitting with her, all of them of the opposite gender.

"I'm Alice," she said to them, "Nate's cousin."

They introduced themselves. Toby had shaggy hair and squinty eyes. Bill had rough, calloused hands and was tall and slender. Beside her sat a boy named Aaron and he had red hair and freckles. At the far end of the table was someone she recognized. His name was Connor Avery. She knew this because she'd heard his name in class. He was also who Claire was stubbornly clinging to. To be frank, Alice couldn't see the attraction at all. To her, he seemed egotistical. With coal black hair and deep blue eyes, he also seemed rather unapproachable. She would leave him to himself.

Nate returned with a hamburger and fries and claimed his seat on Alice's other side.

"I assume everyone knows everyone now?" he said.

"Yeah," said Alice and put her head down. She could hear them talking about sports, and joking around. A set of heels clicked on by but stopped a few feet from her.

"I didn't know we were letting girls sit at this table." Alice peered up. It was Claire and she was not pleased.

"We're not," Connor said irritably, not looking at her.

"Then who's neon-white over there?" Claire asked nastily and looked Alice up and down.

"Who cares? A delinquent, maybe, but I'm not interested in her and I'm not interested in you. Go away. You're unwanted." Alice felt her back tense and anger shot through her veins and Claire went to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Hold on, what was that?" she said. He appeared to look right through her.

"What was what?"

"Did you or did you not just call me a delinquent?" she bored into him, feeling like she wanted to leap over the tabletop and punch him. Who was he to judge her when he barely knew her?

"Am I wrong?" Connor said. His tone made Alice's face heat. He began to remind her significantly of some people she used to know. They were the ones with the looks, grades, and popularity, but their superiority complex made them hard to be around because they were always shooting down their peers who were 'lower in status'.

"Yes, you are. What's your problem?" the inquiry made him snort.

"I don't have a problem. I'm simply stating what I observe. You're wearing these black clothes and dark makeup and your hood is up like you're trying to hide your face. Anyone here could confuse you for a criminal."

"Oh, I see where this is going," she said with malice as she conjured up the meanest thing she could muster, "You don't look so friendly yourself, you judgmental jackass."

With that, Connor chortled. All others sitting around them had gone silent. Nate's eyebrows were raised in uncertainty. Normally, Nate never liked to fight and was one of the nicest people to come across. He didn't know what to say.

"That's great," he said, "You sure are perceptive, aren't you? Now tell me. What else do you think of me?" he said with false enthusiasm.

"I don't care to. Just…" Alice hesitated, "kill yourself, thank you," she turned to Nate, "Pretty nice friends you've got."

"He's not really my friend, he's Aaron's. They're both on the football team." He whispered so no one else could hear, "Just try to get along, okay? And ignore him. He's like that to almost everyone."

"Whatever,"

Connor smirked and Alice gritted her teeth. Hopefully she wouldn't have many classes with him. Conversation started back up slowly as awkwardness faded.

Everyone moved past the argument, though the only thing Alice wanted to do for the rest of lunch was get up and leave.

It was over soon after. Alice lowered her hood and brushed strands of fly-away hair from her face. She didn't blend in well with the crowd as the halls filled like how water would escape a dam after it had broken. She thought she had to be one of the only people at school wearing black.

Alice felt stares and raucous laughter broke out behind her. She turned and saw Connor walking to class with a few other unknown individuals. She could have sworn they were talking about her.

She felt her face heat in in anger and rushed off to the bathroom to cool off and avoid Connor. She massaged her temples and took deep breaths and had to force herself out of the bathroom when the bell rang. She was late to the next class.

"What a great first day." She mumbled to herself as she exited.

The class she was late to had been English literature and the teacher was not happy at all. Mr. Hatcher was a short, round man with a gray mustache and glasses which he donned a glower behind. He gave her a stare-down all the way to her seat and then resumed giving his little lecture.

"We will be reading six books this semester alone. So either you work hard or you get held back." He said, his voice gruff and unfeeling.

I'm going to fail. Alice thought gloomily. The last time she'd read a book had been much too long ago to count. This class would be hell on her. All of the other students seemed to feel the same way about it and their eyebrows furrowed stressfully. One of them groaned and let his head fall back in despair.

The teacher ripped into this student, a grumbling coming from him. She couldn't really understand what he was saying but swore she heard the words 'lazy' and 'waste time'.

"Honestly though, six books," Alice said under her breath. For a man of his age, Mr. Hatcher was quite sharp and, to her surprise, heard her.

"What was that, Miss—" he flipped through a couple of papers and came across her name, "Morgan? Perhaps I didn't hear you correctly."

"I said "why so many books?"" She raised her voice to answer him. Her fearlessness and disrespect made his eyes bulge out of their sockets.

"You don't think you need my help, so do you already know everything you need to know? Have you read all of these books?" his lip quivered.

"No, but—"

"These are things you'll need to know in college. I don't teach for nothing."

"Good thing that's cleared up," Alice dug herself deeper into a hole, "I thought you were doing it to torture us." She was getting to him and she could tell, yet she couldn't seem to stop poking at him.

Some giggles could be heard round her and Natalie poked her in the back, Alice reading horror on the goody-goody's face.

Mr. Hatcher didn't utter another word, though his face portrayed absolute, white-hot fury. Alice had to press her lips together into a tight line to keep from laughing. Making people mad gave her a rush.

Mr. Hatcher returned to his desk and Alice disregarded for rest of his speech. That was when she noticed that Connor was a few seats from her, leering over his shoulder. She had the itch to get up in the middle of class and knock him out.

At the end of the class, as Alice sprang from her seat and to the door, the sooner to be away from Connor.

A foot stuck out in front of her. She stumbled and balanced herself. She could not see who tried to trip her, but she had a hunch: Connor or one of his buddies.

Alice spun around, thinking with her fist, and swung at Connor. She would not be taking it. Whether it was him or one of his friends, this would end the day it began.

In that moment, Alice had forgotten that she was still in the classroom. Mr. Hatcher had seen everything. Connor gave her the dirtiest of looks as the teacher bustled over and the rest of the students filed out, though the last few that had witnessed the punch lingered slightly longer.

"What is going on here?" Mr. Hatcher's voice was low and full of wrath.

"He tried to trip me." Alice's answer echoed off of the walls.

"I did not!" a welt formed on his face.

"Is that so? Who else could it have been? Come on, tell me."

"It was—"

"ENOUGH!" Mr. Hatcher over-powered both of them.

"Liar." Alice said inaudibly. She was satisfied to see blood forming at the corner of his lip.

"Both of you will be receiving detention after school today. See yourselves back here at the end of the day," Mr. Hatcher then spoke directly to Alice, "Be happy it's the first day of school or you'd be suspended. You are dismissed."

Alice could not have cared less. Connor was emotionless but his expression changed from neutral to furious. He said nothing and they parted ways.

The day dragged on and nothing else eventful happened except that she lost her ride home because her cousins and sister weren't the ones with detention. She understood their reasoning though she wondered how on earth she would get home. Would she have to walk? If so, that would take two hours even if she jogged there.

For last period, she had Spanish.

The teacher was Mr. Charrish. He looked like a praying mantis with a thin body and long, prying arms. He continuously tucked his slightly overgrown hair back behind his ear for it kept on falling out.

Alice daydreamed out the window as he talked about how important and beneficial learning Spanish was. She could see droplets of rain coming down like dew and shivered at the thought of how cold it would be soon. Nights now dropped down to about fifty or sixty degrees.

When the bell rang Alice lingered behind, not bothering with the crowd because she was staying late anyway.

She got her bag from her locker and went to the English literature room where Mr. Hatcher sat waiting. When Connor arrived, they were told to take a seat and keep silent, in other words do nothing. That hour was filled with naught except for malevolent glances up at each other once in a while. It was like Alice was the only one being caught doing things she shouldn't. Sleeping, flicking rubber bands across the room, and chewing gum were just a few.

It was just before four when they were released. Connor left in his car, revving his engine as if to show off that he had a ride and she did not.

Upon deciding that she had to walk, Alice opened the glass door to leave and was rammed into by something. It was a person, a girl. She had auburn hair and large hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't see you."

"That's okay," Alice had the idea just then to ask about transportation, "Hey, do you know about any buses… or trains… anything that might take me to Island Park?" she seriously doubted it, as it was mostly trees and country there.

"I don't think so," the girl said and Alice's face sunk, "But I go through there on my way home. I could give you a lift if you want." She said timidly.

"I don't even know your name," Alice said with apprehension and twisted her ponytail.

"Oh, I'm Trina. Trina Rahilly. I just moved here."

"I'm Alice," Alice said, "A ride would be great. I'd really appreciate it." She smiled.

"I just have to get something first. I'll be right back." Trina ran inside and came back out with a book.

"My car is just over there." She led Alice over and they both got in. Trina started the car and backed out of the parking space without much precision. She was not the best driver, giving Alice whiplash at nearly every stop sign and throwing her around at nearly every turn.

They had small conversations and Trina loosened up, having been a nervous wreck at first, as Alice could tell.

"What were you at school late for?" she asked.

"I got detention." Said Alice nonchalantly and zipped her hoodie, feeling a chill.

"What for?"

"This one guy is a huge jerk, and I just sort of… tapped him." Trina's eyes widened.

"Meaning you punched him?"

"Yeah, but he fully deserved it."

"Oh, my, that's… not good. Was it worth it?"

"Definitely," The corners of Alice's mouth turned up wickedly, "I drew blood and I wasn't the only one with detention."

"How long do you have it for?"

"It was only for today, I think."

They talked about Mr. Hatcher a bit and Alice vented about Connor. The car ride gave her the time to prepare to be yelled at by her parents. Alice gave Trina her address.

Trina drove over the curb as she went up the drive and Alice grabbed her backpack.

"It's been really fun talking to you. What lunch do you have?" Trina said when she put the car in park.

"B," Alice said.

"Me too. Do you want to sit together tomorrow? I'd really like to get to know someone here and you seem nice." Alice couldn't see any harm in trying to be friends with Trina, so she'd give it a shot.

"Okay. I probably shouldn't sit at the table I did today anyway," Alice slid from the seat, "See you tomorrow."

"See you," she pulled away gracelessly.

Alice inhaled the cooling air. It was not yet dark, though it may as well have been because of the clouds that remained there, reminding her of moths flocking to flame.

At the front door she filled her cheeks with air and blew it out in anxiety. She opened the door and yelled, "I'm home," to anyone that could hear her. Her mother was on the stairs, her arms crossed disapprovingly.

"We need to talk," nothing more needed to be said and Alice followed her mother up the stairs. Her father was there as well. They started on her as soon as she arrived.

"Alice," her mother said, "what are we supposed to do with you? We came here to get away from all of this, not for it to start back up." Alice leaned against the wall silently.

"Why did you punch that kid?" her father asked in disappointment, "That's all I want to know. Was there at least a good reason for it?"

"Dennis," her mother said harshly to her father, "There is never a good reason to hit someone…"

"Not even if he called me a delinquent, insulted me, and tried to trip me? Not even then, right? So standing up for myself is wrong." Alice said.

"That's right," her mother said, either not detecting her sarcasm or ignoring it, "What has gotten into you? You were doing so well, being so good, and then you get detention on the first day of school. We won't be letting this kind of thing slide anymore—"

"What the hell? I was defending myself." Alice was unexpectedly energized and angry that her parents refused to see it her way.

"—so as of right now, you're grounded… for a month. No cell phone, no TV, no laptop."

"This is for your own good," her father said, "Next time you'll think twice."

"This is so stupid. That guy is a bully and you don't even care what he said to me, do you?"

"I do care, but there is not much the school can do about some insults. What I'm really concerned about is your actions. You need to get it under control."

"You know what?" Alice said as she became frustrated, "Yeah, mom, I'm always the villain."

"That's not what I said."

"But it's what you think." Alice's dad was stumped for what he should say and he stood, just watching the dispute.

"Alice…" her mom said, but Alice was now refusing to listen.

"Whatever." Alice said. She went to her room where she punched a pillow and laid on her bed as her parents knocked on her door, unrelenting and wanting her cell phone. She tossed it at them, not wanting to argue for the sake of knowing that they wouldn't give in this time.

When the time came, she ate her supper quickly. With nothing else to do, she went to bed where she had nightmares and recurring horrors of being chased. And even that was better than painstaking boredom.

7: Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Alice had made the Huskies volleyball team. The call she received the previous week had told her so and she was to have her first practice later this very day.

Natalie had jumped for joy when she'd gotten her call and then done it again when Alice got hers. Because of that, Nate and Lanie would go home with Simon so that Alice and Natalie could have a way to get home.

At the end of fourth period on Monday morning, Trina and Alice went to the cafeteria. Over the last week, they'd become friends. They'd talked and laughed a lot during classes and shared stories during lunch and what was more, Trina wasn't as quiet as she seemed. She had opened up with Alice a whole lot more and they really got along.

"Looking forward to practice?" Trina asked as she sat. Both of them had decided against lunch for the alternative of the vending machine. The line was long. Lunch would probably have been half over by the time they got their food.

"Yeah," said Alice.

Alice took out her switch blade secretly and cut her thumb under the table. Since the day of tryouts and the scratch on her ankle had healed without a trace, she'd been giving herself cuts with this switchblade with only the purpose of seeing how quickly she would heal. It never took long and most of them were gone within the hour they were made, but sometimes even less.

She kept it to herself. It was her little secret that made her feel invincible and strong in ways that she had not before. It wasn't like the scratches didn't hurt. They did, but the fact that they left so quickly comforted her.

"It's too bad you didn't make the team," Alice said, "Then again, you're lucky you won't have to be there to deal with Claire." It was true that Alice had only known Claire for a week, but she was in the same category as Connor. The two were alike in many ways and so Alice thought they would make the perfect couple. Claire was pursuing the right person for sure. They could bask in each other's horribleness and stay out of everyone else's way.

Trina made a face and said, "I don't really want to be in any sports anyway. My uncle is too… he's a worrywart."

"I know." Alice said. She'd heard a few stories of Trina's uncle, in which he would ground her for being late or forgetting her cell phone. Once, Alice recalled, he'd even demanded that he drive her to school instead of her driving herself to make sure she didn't go anywhere else afterward.

"How's it going?" Nate asked as he and Bill stopped by for a short visit. They'd been doing that every day since Alice and Connor's disagreement.

"Yeah, I heard you made the volleyball team," Bill said, "Congrats."

"Thanks," she said, "I heard you made the football team again. When's your first practice?" she was friends with Bill already. He was an easygoing character. She also noted from the manner he acted in when he was around Natalie that he liked her, and Alice was without a doubt positive about that. Natalie either pretended not to notice or really didn't, as she was just as clueless to his efforts as ever.

Alice thought Bill should go for it. He was a good guy… and he would keep Natalie from giving lectures about how Alice should change the way she dressed and let her do her makeup. Natalie had even gone so far as to give Alice a small stack of clothes she no longer wanted, some of the parcels never even having been worn, and saying, "You should try these on and see if they fit you." Alice never did. Instead she shoved the clothes into the drawers of her dresser. At least, she thought as she noticed that the clothes were mostly dark (but still with lace and embellishments), Natalie knew that she would never wear bright colors.

"The first practice is after school today. When's yours?"

"Same here," Alice took a bite of the protein bar she'd gotten from the vending machine. Bill's face brightened. Alice put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Natalie will be at practice, she thought, he's happy because he might get to see her.

She felt like pulling him to the side and prompting him to just ask her out. Maybe that would get him out of his misery, as the sight of him fretting over trying to get Natalie's attention every day was becoming pathetic.

Alice had a thought.

Connor would be there too and she would have at least a slight chance of running into him. It made her groan inwardly.

Nate and Bill stayed for a couple more minutes and retreated back to where they sat with Connor, Toby, and Aaron.

"I wonder why it is that they still sit with him," Alice said to Trina, "It's not as if they can't just sit here or make him sit somewhere else."

"Who knows?"

The bell rang in no time. Ignoring the empty pit Alice still felt in her stomach, she went through the rest of the day.

On her way to practice, she left her books in her locker and got the exercise outfit she'd bought that weekend. And even as she took it out of the small knapsack that contained everything she needed for practice and put it on, she couldn't fathom why she had spent her money on it. Natalie had told her that the baggy clothes Alice wore would restrict her or get in her way, but Alice hadn't paid much attention to what Natalie was saying and only bought the outfit to get her off her case.

It was a clingy, black and white set of shorts with a matching tank top, all of it paired up with Alice's old sneakers she'd been wearing since the eighth grade and knee pads. As she gazed at herself in the mirror, she wished she would have opted for a plain tee-shirt instead.

Natalie's outfit was much like Alice's except that hers was highlighter-pink and looked like it would have glowed in the dark.

"You ready?" Natalie said as she snapped a rubber band around the bun in her hair.

"Just about," Alice said and noticed the approving look Natalie was giving her as her eyes scanned Alice's outfit. Alice finished up in the locker room and they left together.

When out in the gym, Alice stretched until the coach emerged. Her teammates gathered in a group as Coach King spoke.

"Okay, why don't we introduce ourselves?" she said.

Kimmy Moren, Della Andolina, Breana Manzo and a few others announced their names and waved. After them was Claire.

"I'm Claire Timming." She said in a manner that was most enticing and in a voice made of silk. It was easily seen that Claire thought she was better than everyone else on this team. Alice just about cut her off when she introduced herself.

"I'm Alice Morgan." she said and Natalie came after. The last two girls on the team were Karene Aranson and Tina Doane.

"Good, good," Coach King said, "Outside we go. Two laps around the track."

They lead themselves to the large gravel oval. Outside also was the football team, roughhousing because their coach wasn't yet assisting them. Across the field was Bill and he smiled, waving at Natalie and she (though mostly Natalie). He began to come forward.

"Hey," he said as he jogged up to them, "How's it going?"

"We're just about to run a couple of laps… if Coach King ever gets out here at least." Natalie said. The Coach had lingered behind to grab some things and told them to not start without her.

"Our coach isn't here yet either. But he's always a little late."

Then Alice saw a sight that made her tense. That black head of hair couldn't have been any other. Connor and a buddy of his tossed a football back and forth with precision.

Alice turned away from them, determined to ignore them as she talked with Bill.

A figured darted past her peripheral vision and took a drink of water. When she looked over, she saw Connor smirking at her. He shook his head lightly and gave a breathy laugh. Alice balled her fists, ready to receive punishment for punching him again if he spoke. She gave him the most terrifying look she could make as he stalked off.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Bill asked with concern as she turned her attention back to them, it never occurring to her to change her expression.

"I'm going to kill him one day," she said though it was more like a snarl.

"What did he do this time?"

"He just gives me this… look… and one day you'll find me on the news, arrested for murder."

"You know you're not going to go to jail." Natalie said.

"That's right. I'd get off because I'm just that slick." Natalie took a sip from her water bottle and sat it down on the metal bleachers beside them.

An object whizzed past them and sent water flying onto Alice, only a few drops hitting Natalie luckily for her, but Alice's shirt was drenched.

"It didn't hit you, did it?" Bill asked and Natalie eyed her. She didn't answer but was consumed in hatred as she saw a football skittering across the grass.

Farther out was Connor whose face had become that of utter satisfaction.

With her temper about to blow, all Alice could manage was a disgusted face.

Snatching the football in aggravation and throwing it back at him full force, it sped past Connor a good enough distance that she was sure would've annoyed him.

There was a petrified look on Natalie's face as the coach had emerged just then.

From there, Alice was made to run two laps. She relaxed while doing so and her top dried off, but the second she saw Connor afterward, her back was in a knot again.

"He's such a jerk," Alice said as they went back to the gym.

"I know," Natalie said, "but you could've gotten caught which isn't smart if you want to stay on the team."

"Whatever."

Once inside, they were instructed to complete warm up exercises whence they were put into pairs to practice sets of bumping, setting, and spiking.

Practice ended on a sour note for Alice as she had to sit out the last ten minutes due to a pounding headache. Claire had found pleasure in 'accidentally' spiking a ball at the back of Alice's head, though Alice knew that it had absolutely been on purpose. As to why Claire had set her sights on tormenting Alice, she hadn't an idea. But being singled out wasn't anything new to her. She would tough it out like she had multiple times before.

"If it's that bad, you should go to the nurse. She might still be here." Natalie said as they changed. Alice shook her head.

"No, it's just a bruise. And the next time I see Claire, it's going to be more than a bruise I give her."

"I don't know how it is that you act so tough all the time. If anything, I'd think you'd be more cautious because of what happened before you moved here."

Alice felt a pang of agony at the thought of that night. It still haunted her and she concluded that it must be the reason for her nightmares. She'd thought she was going to die and guessed she just must have been lucky. But with those men in jail and her scars gone, and living in a new town, she felt better. Alice tried her best to not think about it every second of her waking life.

"Let's not talk about that, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Natalie said, "I wasn't thinking." Her gaze was sorrowful.

"That's okay." It was normal of her cousin to be clueless sometimes, and to say too much. The only thing to be done was not listen to it.

Alice stopped rubbing her head long enough to change out of her outrageously tight volleyball outfit. Throwing her kneepads into her knapsack, her headache subsided strangely. She felt the back of her head, expecting to feel a tender spot and no pain came.

Almost like it was never there.

This newfound ability mystified her. But she felt good about having it.

The joke's on Claire, she thought triumphantly, because that hit hardly did anything. Alice smiled as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

"Feeling better?" Natalie asked.

"Much better," Alice said, "are you almost ready to go?" Natalie nodded and they went home, Natalie blaring music so loudly that it hurt Alice's eardrums. With the headache gone, Alice sang along with Natalie and enjoyed herself thoroughly.

8: Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

There was only one good thing about this morning: Alice's nightmares had been too horrifying to want more sleep. She yawned as she sat up in bed and got up. Getting ready for the day didn't take long.

Downstairs, Cory and Carter were up early, buzzing with liveliness as usual. The ball Cory was playing with bounced off of Alice's leg.

"Will you play with me?" Cory asked sweetly. His smile revealed missing teeth and it was hard to resist.

"Sure," she picked up the ball and tossed it back to him. He sat on the floor and rolled it back to her.

"You're not weird." Cory said after a minute.

"What?"

"My friend's older brother said you're weird. I don't think you're weird."

"Thanks, kiddo," she said, "But they're right, you know. I'm so weird that I turn into a bat at night and fly away."

"You're funny." He laughed and rolled the ball across the floor.

"Well, you're funny too. Outright hilarious. What's that thing you do with your tooth, again?" he stuck his tongue through a gap where a tooth should have been.

"Now that's funny. You should be a comedian when you grow up." Alice gave a round of applause.

"I don't want to grow up."

"Oh, so you want to live in Neverland?"

"What's that?"

"It's where kids go who never want to grow up. They run around like lunatics and play with fairies all day."

"Carter told me fairies don't exist."

"What are you two doing?" Alice's mother descended the stairs. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, sweatpants and hoodie on.

"Going for a run?"

"Yes. Just make sure you are ready to leave when everyone else is. And I want you home right after school." She said severely.

"As if there's another place to go," She sent the ball back to Cory.

"Just making sure we're clear."

"Crystal," Alice straightened her legs and stood, "I have to stop now, okay?" she said and as she walked by she whispered, "I wouldn't listen to Carter. I think fairies are real." Alice's thoughts went to the memory of that night in summer when she'd seen something in the reflection of the pond.

Cory beamed at her.

She went to the table and snatched a piece of toast to nibble on. Simon and Aunt Phoebe talked to each other about the computer having problems.

"I'll look at it later," Simon said. He was in the process of becoming a computer technician and he often came in handy for Aunt Phoebe who lacked knowledge about technology. He was much like his father in that way and Alice hardly saw him in school because he was in advanced placement.

Alice didn't say much through her fog of exhaustion. Seven o' clock steadily approached and they gathered their bags as they had the day before, prepared for the tediously long trip to school.

Alice slept on the way, only rousing when Nate stopped the car in a parking spot. They got out and went into the school, Alice stopping abruptly when a branch slashed her in the ankle.

The cut stung and she bent over for a moment to tend to it and make the bleeding stop. She forgot about it after that.

The parking lot was crowded and so were the hallways. The hallways had been tight to begin with, but with students flowing through them it was even more of a squeeze.

She saw Trina in the crowd, stumbling to make her way through. They smiled at each other briefly. Alice stopped off at her locker and to first hour where everything was the same as the day before for the next few hours.

For lunch, she said hello to Nate and the others. She avoided Connor as if he didn't exist. Alice found Trina sitting alone at a table and sat opposite her.

Just the look on Trina's face made her nervous. She seemed ready to flee at any given moment.

They exchanged hellos and got on to telling each other about themselves.

"I'm living with my uncle," Trina said, "My parents are… otherwise engaged."

"What, like they have a job far away or something?"

"Yes, that,"

"Okay. I live with my parents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and sister. It's a pretty big house though." She popped an awfully dry fry into her mouth, "Got any favorite movies?"

"I don't watch television." Trina said, "I read books though. Do you read?"

"I used to. Not so much anymore."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to anymore. Started going out instead of being a recluse."

"Reading doesn't make you a recluse. It makes you smart." She appeared offended for a second, though only a second, "You say you're from California, so why'd you move?"

Here we go…

"I'm going to be brutally honest, so bear with me," Trina nodded and Alice continued, "I got into some bad things… things like staying out all night, and I even got arrested a couple of times. And, I mean, that got to my parents to begin with. But then I went to a bonfire where my boyfriend and I got jumped, and we were beaten pretty badly. Talk about the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Oh," she said without words.

"Left me with a handful of scars, too." She caught sight of Trina's eyes flitting about, presumably looking for the scars. There were probably only a few that she had been able to make out. Afterward, Trina looked like she was at a loss for words.

When Alice felt like she wanted to tell the truth about certain things, what she said was usually overwhelming or too truthful. This was one of those moments when she'd said too much.

"Play any sports?" the subject was due for a change and Alice did just that, "My cousin has talked me into going out for the volleyball team this year." Alice had been thinking about doing so anyway. She'd always excelled in the sport and knew all the rules and regulations.

Trina shook her head, "I'm not interested in anything."

"So you're not interested in anything?" said Alice, falsely exasperated. Trina chortled, "Why don't you join the volleyball team too? Do you know how to play?"

"No,"

"I could teach you," Alice offered, "Do you want to?"

"I suppose so." She looked uncertain, "I'll probably suck but I'll give it a try."

"You've played it at least once before, right?" Alice said.

"Never," Alice's face conveyed her surprise.

"Not even for P.E.?" How could Trina have never played volleyball before when you had to participate for a grade in P.E.? She knew this for sure. It was the only class in which she had a decent grade last year. The B on her report card stood abnormally out from the sea of D's surrounding it. It was then that she learned her strong suit: strength and sports.

Trina cleared her throat, "No, I was home schooled until now. I've never had P.E."

"Well, that explains why you seem so shy. Don't tell me you sat alone yesterday." Trina said nothing and nodded once, "What the hell did you do the entire time, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I read,"

"Seriously? Again with books. They're destroying your social life. Discard them before they can interfere any longer." Trina shook with laughter at Alice's wit. Alice took quite the liking to Trina and thought that she could easily become friends with her.

"I get it," Trina said, "I understand." She slapped her hand on the tabletop, attracting a few peoples' attention.

"We sure like howling like a hyena today, don't we?"

"I'm sorry," she composed herself in embarrassment, "Do you think I'm being too loud?"

"Nah, I'm fine with it. In fact, I like being loud." She emphasized the last part of the sentence to a shout, capturing the awareness of half the cafeteria, Connor's disgusted glare, and Nate's amusement. Trina's face went red and she looked at the table.

"See?"

"Absolutely,"

A teacher thundered their way. And to Alice's misfortune it was Mr. Hatcher, "Oh, boy," she said and took a sip of juice.

"I kid you not, Miss Morgan, make another sound and it'll be another hour with me after school." His bottom lip quivered.

"Righto," she waved him goodbye with two fingers as he left.

Trina let her mouth hang open, "One would think you like making people mad."

Alice took a bite of her chicken patty, "Perhaps."

"But he threatened to give you another detention."

"Not much to do in this town, so I don't see the problem." She could feel eyes lingering on her, taunting her to look their way. And she did.

Connor was sneering at her. She gave him a toothy smile in return and showed him one of her fingers.

"You really dislike him, don't you?"

"What an understatement," Alice rolled her eyes and let out a vexed sigh, "I can see I will never be able to relax during lunch. Let's hope he gets hit by a train or something."

"That's a little harsh. Why would you wish something like that?" Trina gave a strange look, like a mix of emotions. It was as if she didn't know whether to be worried or disturbed.

"It's not like he'd die, just go into a coma until I graduate." Alice shrugged.

"Why don't you just ignore him?"

"That's not as much fun," Claire pranced on by. Alice had grown resentment toward her already. Alice saw people like her as fake and it was those types of people that she couldn't stand, along with the people like Connor.

A man came on over the intercom just then, announcing the tryouts for fall sports. Alice listened to not a single part of that announcement except for when the North Fremont Huskies volleyball tryouts were mentioned. They were being held that night and the next.

"So, I guess you're staying after school, then?" Trina said.

"Yeah," Alice had an idea, "Why don't you come over to my house today after tryouts? I could show you the ropes and maybe you could tryout too. What do you think?"

"I suppose so, but I'll have to tell M—my uncle or he'll be worried." Trina looked flustered, as if she'd just let a cat out of the bag.

"I figured that," Alice could practically see the chaos going on inside her head, "Are you okay? You look like you're going to freak out."

"I'm okay," Trina breathed and closed her eyes for a second, "I just remembered that I forgot to do something, that's all."

The bell rang. Alice dumped her food and the next five classes went by slowly and Trina had to cancel their plans. Her uncle wouldn't let her because it was such short notice.

"Maybe tomorrow," she'd said, "after I talk to him about it. He's a little protective."

She found herself at her locker at the end of the day and zipped to the back gym. A horde of girls were there as well, going into the locker room to change. Fortunately, Alice had brought workout clothes for the off chance that this might happen.

Natalie was almost ready when Alice entered the locker room.

Alice slung her hoodie over the bench, "You ready for tryouts? I had no clue they were going to be today." Natalie said.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She put on a clean tee shirt and took off the necklace she'd been wearing, "Is Lucy coming?" she asked.

"No, she doesn't really like any sports." Natalie pulled her hair back into a bun, "See you out there. Good luck."

"You too," Alice was ready in a snap, leaving the last few girls in the locker room to prepare. In the gym there were a handful of girls. Naturally, some of them she did not know, then there was Natalie and Claire and a couple others she had class with though had never spoken to.

Claire seemed pretty content in thinking that she would make the team. She puckered her lips at Alice as she took a seat on the bleachers next to Natalie.

"—such baggy clothes, I mean—" Alice heard only that part of what Claire had said to the girl beside her. She knew they were talking about her, the school's most recent outcast.

"You know what, Natalie?" she said so Claire would hear, "Some people don't know how to shut up. Am I right?" putting Natalie on the spot had been the wrong choice. She squirmed and bit her lip.

Alice glanced at Claire who'd stopped whispering and was now looking directly at her. She waved and smiled.

"May I help you?" Alice said to her. Claire shook her head and looked away, but she could feel hatred emanating from her.

"I hate it when you do that." Natalie said when she thought Claire couldn't hear.

"Do what?"

"Bring me into the middle like that. And if you're going to be on the team, because she'll probably be on it, then you should try not to make enemies with her." The volleyball coach came out of hiding and stood in the center of the gym with a clipboard.

"Okay, girls, I want you to pass this clipboard around and write down your names and numbers so I know who all's here." Her name was Ms. King. She was young and fit, wearing her hair in a ponytail most of the time. She gave the clipboard to the girl closest to her. When it came to Alice, she scribbled down her name and number quickly and passed it on. Claire, of course, took her sweet time and wrote her name in an elegant script.

Ms. King took the clipboard and examined the names on it. She was one of only two P.E. teachers on Fremont County High's staff, so she knew many of the girls sitting there, Alice included. She called the names of the ones whom she did not know to stand up so that she may see who they were.

"Great, so let's get started. I'm going to be testing your skills today, seeing how strong you are. But first, we'll be running a mile." She went to the exit, "Come on, ladies, up and at it." There were some sour faces, although Alice didn't mind running the mile.

Ms. King took out her timer and had each of them line up at the track.

"Let's try to do this in ten minutes and under. We're on a schedule. Now, when I get to three, you start running." The girls loosened up, touching their toes and stretching their legs, "One," she hesitated and the girls got into position, "Two," everyone was still as a statue, "Three!" Ms. King started the timer, it beeping in affirmation.

Alice shot from her place. She knew that she would usually be told to stretch energy over the entire time running, but she liked the adrenaline of going so quickly all the way through, never slowing or stopping to catch her breath. Running made her feel empowered and refreshed. Back home, she would be asked why she wasn't on the track team. The truth of it was that being made to run would have taken all of the fun out of it.

She was a good gap ahead of everyone. Claire was closing distance though still much slower than her. She rounded the curve, her energy still spiking while Claire lost hers. With wind whipping around her, she went on to complete the lap. The mile was done in just over seven minutes. The coach told her what her time was in approval. She listed Alice's time on the clipboard next to her name.

Alice stood with her hands on her knees and taking in air. One or two more girls came alone after her, then in small groups. The last girl finished just at the eleven minute mark.

"You've done well, ladies. Back inside we go." They followed behind her like ducklings.

Inside, the coach instructed them to do pushups, which they did twenty of. After that was crunches and then they got to actual volleyball warm-ups. They did sets of bumping, setting, and spiking in drills.

"Alright, I think we're done here. By five o' clock Friday, all who have made the team will get a call. Have a nice day." Ms. King smiled at them and went to her office.

The girls got changed from their sweaty workout clothes into something clean.

"I think I did pretty well," Natalie said as she took her hair out of the bun and brushed it, "how do you think you did?"

"I did fine, I guess." Alice let her hoodie hang over the bench and fanned herself with her hand.

"I hope we both make the team. That would be awesome."

"Um-hm,"

Natalie and Alice went from the locker room to the cafeteria where they found Nate drawing in a journal and Lanie reading a book.

"Just about time," Nate said, "Teachers keep coming by and saying 'what are you doing here, you shouldn't be here' and I have to explain the same thing to all of them." He snapped the journal closed, "We're ready to leave, I hope." All four of them trudged to the front door and to the car. Conversation on the drive home was scarce.

Alice took a shower once home, washing the sweat away and enjoying the warmth of the water.

She remembered something, the scratch she'd gotten earlier that day. With water running down her ankle, she expected to feel a twinge of pain. She felt nothing and looked down. It had vanished. The scratch would have certainly turned into a scab at the very least, but it was as if it had never been there at all, not even a pink line of newly-formed skin visible.

That was when Alice noticed that all of her other scars had gone as well. Those short lines dashed across her body from that day in the woods were no longer there and it astonished her.

"What the hell?" she said quietly and checked her other ankle for a scratch. When there were none, she was convinced that she was crazy, that she'd made the entire thing up in her head.

Since when was it possible for scars to heal? Didn't they usually stay there and that was why they were called scars? And now they'd oddly gone. She rubbed her eyes and got out of the shower just in time for supper.

That night, Alice couldn't seem to get this abnormality out of her head and she wasn't able to even dream up her nightmares. She laid flat on her back uncomfortably and forced her eyes closed once more. It was to no advantage and she didn't sleep a wink.

9: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Alice snuggled into her coat. The winter was going to kill her, she knew, and it was only just beginning to cool off. As she arrived at the pond, clouds let a few rays of sunlight slip through before concealing them again.

She liked the pond and visited it often. It helped her to clear her mind when she had a rough day (or a rather infuriating one).

And still Alice could not shake the memory of first visiting the pond. How beautiful the water was, what a surprisingly good night it had been, and that little figure she'd seen. Whether it had been an insect or a bat, she'd been determined since that night to catch it again.

Alice took out a digital camera from her pocket. It was the one she and her family used to take pictures of birthday parties, trips to the beach, or whatever else. Only now, she was using it to try and catch the thing on video.

She'd had no success so far. The only thing she'd gotten on video in a month was an unexpected raccoon one night a couple of weeks before.

Alice shivered against the wind as she set the camera up on a tree stump and pressed record. It had become routine for her. She'd go out to the pond to clear her head and mess around, but she'd set up the camera to see if anything flew by. She'd stay out there for an hour at most, and then she'd go inside and review everything that had just happened.

Alice was careful to not let anyone know she was doing this. They would think it was strange of her and ask her questions she really didn't want to answer. She could see the conversation clearly in her head and it was one she wanted to avoid.

What are you trying to catch on video? Someone would say to her.

Oh, nothing. Just this weird bug I saw the first night here. She'd say back.

And then they would ask her why she wanted to find out what it was and she would have to explain to them what it had looked like and what she thought it could possibly have been and they would look at her like she'd gone berserk, ultimately making a spectacle of herself and worrying her parents.

She herself even felt like a weirdo for doing such things, but curiosity got the best of her every time she thought of stopping the search. Shaking her head at herself, Alice crouched next to the pond.

She skipped stones and messed with the bugs under the larger rocks. When that became dull she stood and resolved to go farther out into the woods. She hadn't done so yet. Leave the safety of the pond, that is.

She knew she'd told Natalie that she was fine with going into the woods, that she wasn't scared, but she hadn't been entirely truthful. The truth was that Alice found herself anxious when in the woods. All it did was remind her of her ordeal and left her just waiting for someone to come up and attack her.

Alice took a deep breath.

Conquering this recent fear would take strength that she was sure she had. She left the clearing around the pond and went deeper into the woods where trees were thicker. Alice's heartbeat quickened a little more with every step. Her shoulders tensed gradually more with every sound.

She stopped walking and took in another deep breath, closing her eyes and telling herself to relax.

The crackling of leaves behind her made her spin around, ready to defend herself if she needed to. To her extreme relief, it was only a squirrel.

Slapping herself mentally, Alice took a seat on the ground with her back against a tree. This was a new form of ridiculous. Twenty feet deeper into the woods and she was on the brink of having a panic attack?

And she realized that she couldn't do it. Alice got hastily to her feet and half-walked, half-jogged back to the clearing. Once again she knelt by the pond and held her face in her hands in frustration. Would this end? Would she ever be able to go into the woods again without being paranoid?

Alice didn't know the answer to those questions, but one thing was for certain: she couldn't do it right now. She trudged back up to the house and away from the looming trees. Her fingers were cold anyway and the house was warm.

The rest of the afternoon was spent up in her bedroom where she watched movies on her laptop and unenthusiastically took a look at her homework but gave up on the attempt to complete it after a short while.

It was not until Alice was called down to eat supper that she realized she'd left the camera outside and rushed after it.

"I'll be right back." She said as she slammed the back door shut behind her. She padded across the lawn in only her socks, the fine layer of snow making her go faster as it chilled her toes. Alice took huge footsteps past the trees and to the clearing where she snatched the camera and bounded back to the warmth of the house.

This cold was going to make her crazy. School had only just begun and it was snowing? She could fairly say that she'd been warned though. In this town, the temperature could drop in an instant and then the flurries would come.

And came, they did.

Alice slipped the camera into the pocket of her hoodie as she sat at the table to eat. She ate quickly and went to her room to watch the extra-long video feed from the camera.

The camera had, of course, been on for hours so the battery was dead. It had also been ice cold and had a dusting of snow over it when she'd retrieved it. Alice popped out the memory card and inserted it into her laptop.

She wrapped her arms around a pillow as she waited for it to load, bringing it to her face and using it as a chin rest. Alice opened the video when it was done and pressed play. The entire video, to her surprise, lasted a little over ninety minutes. She'd thought it would've been an hour at most, but an extra thirty minutes of nothingness was something she wasn't looking forward to.

She watched herself play around, and then watched as she travelled farther into the woods, only to stumble back out a moment later. When she saw how fretful she looked when heading back to the house, she wondered if anyone had noticed and decided not to say anything.

At that point in the video, only half of an hour had passed. As Alice continued to watch the dreadfully boring video, she found herself daydreaming and staring off into space a few times. She was about to give up hope and call it quits when she saw something dash across the screen.

It was so fast, had she not been about to close the window she wouldn't have noticed it. She backed up the video and slowed it down, dragging that half-second out. What Alice saw made her freeze. She could sort of make out wings and a body, but it was all so blurred that everything blended together. However, she was almost positive that this had been what she saw her first night in Island Park.

Alice had an idea. If someone else could see it too, then she wasn't crazy, right? She ran next door to Lanie's room, tapping furiously on the door. Lanie peeked out inquisitively.

"What's up?" she said, eyebrows furrowed.

"Come here, I need to show you something." Alice grabbed Lanie's wrist and led her out, only letting go when they were in Alice's bedroom.

"Uhh…" Lanie said in confusion. Alice sat on her bed and patted the mattress beside her.

"Do you see that?" Alice pointed at the blur on the screen as soon as Lanie had seated herself.

"See what?" Lanie asked.

"That, right there. That blur," Alice said, "What do you think it is?" Alice twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger, thinking deeply.

"I don't see a blur," Lanie said, "All I see right here," Lanie put her finger right where the thing was, "is a tree."

"What? Are you sure you don't see it?" Alice's heart sunk and her stomach twisted. It was, very clearly, right there.

She'd caught it on video, but where was the proof if no one else could see it except for her?

"I'm sure," Lanie said, "I have to go finish my homework. Goodnight, Alice." She went back to her own bedroom, leaving Alice bewildered and frustrated. She went to get Natalie a short time after that, that maybe she could clear things up. But Natalie gave the same reaction and the night was hard. A hallucination was what they had to be.

10: Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Alice got from the car, touching her feet to the pavement of the school parking lot and stretching her legs gratefully. Quite possibly, she would never get used to that time-consuming drive.

It had been a month and while some things had changed, others had not. The first volleyball game of the season had come and gone. Alice continued to help the team in making points and was now holding the position as the team's best server, Claire not liking it one bit. Alice and Trina had become very close friends and did many things together during the weekends and after school. Bill had even managed to ask Natalie out and the two had begun dating.

Connor and Alice's disliking toward each other remained the same. It was a constant battle and it was hard for her to get away from him during the day because they shared five classes. In that time frame, Connor had managed to call Alice more rotten names (of which she remembered specifically that he'd called her a soon-to-be dropout) had knocked Alice's book bag off her shoulder, and numerous other petty things . But Alice thought she had done quite well to snub him when the only thing she wanted to do was drop-kick him into the next state.

For lunch, Trina and Alice sat at their table and got on to make plans for the upcoming weekend as Bill and Nate came by for their visit, only now they toted Toby with them as well and they seemed to stay longer with each day.

"They say that school food is disgusting, but I don't think it's that bad." Toby said and popped a cardboard fry into his mouth.

"Last time I checked, fries were supposed to be hot. These feel like they've been sitting in a refrigerator." Alice said.

A girl with wild, dark hair bustled into the gym. She was Molly Honors and she sat alone every day, mostly because no one cared to sit with her. She was a strange one.

As Molly struggled with carrying so many books, she caught her toe on a lunch table and stumbled. Her arms flailed and she dropped all of the books she had in an attempt to steady herself. Alice had the urge to call Molly to sit with them.

She knew what it was like to sit alone, to feel unwanted. She'd done so many times before she'd met Alexis.

But Molly took her regular seat in the back corner of the cafeteria and flipped open the cover of a book immediately. She looked as though she didn't care that she was sitting alone, so Alice thought not much more about bothering her.

"So, what do you guys think of the project we're supposed to be doing in Bio?" Bill said.

"I hope that Ms. what's-her-face cuts us a break." Toby said. He never seemed to remember any of the teachers' names, or at least acted like he didn't.

"I don't know, my subject seems easy enough." Bill said and Toby turned to Alice.

"Gotten yours yet, Morgan?" he said. Toby rarely ever used anyone's first names, but he was particularly taken with calling Alice by her last name because it sounded like a first name.

"It makes you sound tougher," he'd said, "Alice is such a frilly name. From what I can tell, you're not a frilly person." Alice almost liked being called Morgan, as Toby had been spot-on and it reminded her at how much her name and personality was a contradiction.

"I haven't had the class yet. But we don't have to do it in partners, do we?" Alice already despised this project and she hadn't even been assigned it yet. Working with partners just never suited her, even when she had been an A student those few years ago.

"We get assigned them at the beginning of the class."

"That sucks!" Alice laid her head on the table.

"I got a good partner. She's really smart… gets A's in all of her classes, so I'll probably ace this thing." Nate said.

"Good for you." Alice sat back up.

"Maybe we'll get paired together," Trina said, "then you wouldn't have anything to worry about."

Alice gave a small nod, but her face became an unsatisfactory scowl. She dropped the subject.

This time, Nate, Toby, and Bill ended up staying at their table the entire lunch period while their other table occupied Connor, Aaron, and a few others. Alice kept her hopes up that perhaps the three would just discard that table, and Connor, entirely.

In English Literature, Alice had no one to talk to, so she resorted to falling asleep. Mr. Hatcher, who kept a close eye on her, snapped at her to wake up at once. Hardly rattled, she woke and stared blankly at the board where he'd written down the assignment.

She wasn't going to read any of the chapters for homework. She pretended to read it when she did no such thing and pretended to take notes when she was sketching for the rest of the period.

As soon as Alice walked into the Biology classroom, she took her seat next to Trina.

Ms. Calloway started on them after she did attendance. She was one of the only tolerable teachers here and was the type to give out extra credit for no reason to those who would take it. She was a push-over when it came to grades.

Ms. Calloway beamed as she talked about the science fair and how excited she was to see when people would come up with.

As the teacher began to list who was partners with whom, Alice resolved to not care until she heard her name and lifted her hood.

She blocked out the sound of the teacher's voice and picked at a frayed string on her hoodie. This was going to be the most dreaded class of her everyday life until the project was completed. Alice watched as her classmates pushed their desks together and switched seats, her mind wandering off until she heard her name.

Alice came to and she sat there dumbfounded for a moment. She hadn't heard the name of who she'd be doing the project with and henceforth didn't know where to move to.

"Well," Ms. Calloway said, "one of you has to move." She swished her arms in the air, as if that would magically move Alice and her unknown partner together.

Alice heard someone get up from their seat and start walking. She almost had a stroke when Connor took the empty seat next to hers. Confused, she wondered whether or not he was her partner, but then the answer, she realized, was quite clear. There wasn't anyone else besides her and Trina in the back of the classroom, and Trina already had a partner.

Connor refused to look at Alice and acted like she wasn't there, which made her angry. She could feel his detestation towards her, though, and that was enough to know that working with him would never work.

Alice absolutely declined right then to cooperate with him, and would have gone to the teacher to ask to work alone if Ms. Calloway hadn't still been assigning partners.

The teacher sent a piece of notebook paper around the class for people to list down the subject they wanted to work on. This was what they were being assigned to do for the day: just figure out the topic. The paper came around to her and Connor and absentmindedly she wrote 'Are night insects attracted to lamps because of heat or light?'. She didn't care whether or not Connor agreed on it, and she wouldn't be asking him if he did either.

When Ms. Calloway finally returned to her desk and ordered everyone to get to planning out everything, Alice got up.

"Ms. Calloway," she said when she reached the desk, "I need to ask you a question."

"Yes?" she peeled her eyes away from the computer screen.

"Is it possible to work alone for this project?"

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Alice nodded.

"Yes. Me and him, we…" Alice was unsure of know how to put it without sounding rude, "We don't get along at all."

"You know, when you get a job one day you'll have to work with people you don't like. Think of this as a way of learning to deal with that." Ms. Calloway said with a smile.

Alice didn't know how to counter that, so she just sighed and made her way back to her desk. The rest of the hour went in silence, both Connor and Alice refusing to recognize the other. When the bell rang, Alice couldn't have been happier. She didn't know how she would be able to do this every single day. This would allow Connor the time to harass and insult her even more than before, so it would put biology at the top of the list for most unwanted class.

The rest of Alice's day was pleasant compared to Biology, but still she went to volleyball practice with a grimace on her face and brooding about what she was going to have to deal with.

"You look like the Grinch," Natalie had said to her upon arrival at the locker rooms, "Why are you about to steal Christmas, Alice?"

Alice told her why, but Natalie was unconcerned. Alice, however, could have just about strangled Connor every time she saw him, so how could she work with him? To her, he seemed absolutely arrogant, self-centered, and had a superiority complex. She hadn't known him for very long, but she knew enough to be certain that she didn't want to be around him.

Alice dressed and the team went out to the track to run. When they got back in the gym, everyone grabbed a ball and a partner to practice with.

"Ladies," Coach King said, "Ladies!" she blew her whistle to bring everyone to attention, "We need to do better in-game tonight than we did last time. We need to work on our spiking. Alice," the coach motioned for Alice to come to her. She was handed a ball.

"Could you demonstrate for us how to spike?" Alice nodded and got into position. She threw the ball up in the air and sent it flying across the gym with a precise hit. The coach did a small applause. She patted Alice on the shoulder as she came back to the group and mouthed 'good job'.

"See, girls? That's how it should be done… with power and force. Remember, you want to get the ball over the net and into the other side of the court." Coach King said and went back to the bleachers. The pairs each started on practicing their spikes. As Claire went to join Tina, she gave Alice the worst of looks. Alice was becoming immune to those, though, and ignored it.

She was sure she was getting those looks from Claire so often because the coach was paying more mind to Alice and less to Claire, who loved being the center of attention. And in Alice's defense, she had been bringing in more points than Claire. The praise from Coach King was nothing short of deserved.

And what was more, Alice enjoyed making Claire mad. Claire was the type of person always infuriating others, so Alice felt it was good that she had a taste of her own medicine.

The feelings she got from Claire were intensely irritated for the rest of practice and Alice allowed herself a little time to be pleased with herself.

11: Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The Huskies of North Fremont High had won. The team loaded the bus in high spirits, each girl now proudly wearing gold and deep purple. Coach King was absolutely elated at the win.

"Great teamwork out there today, ladies," she said as the bus found the exit from the parking lot, "I'll be looking forward to more of it at the next game."

Della began a little cheer, which the rest of the bus repeated and tapped on the back of the seats to create a rhythm. Everyone joined in except for Alice.

She was mentally drained, because during the game she'd skinned her knee on the bleachers and spent the rest of the game wondering if anyone had noticed that she had and that the scrape had healed. Even now, she was fretting that someone would say something to her about it. Alice made an attempt at covering the newly-healed wound and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her hoodie. She buried herself in the hood and leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes momentarily.

The hum of the bus, chattering of people, and the chill of the window kept her awake. So did Natalie, who was lively with excitement.

"Alice, I think that we might have a chance at state this year!" Natalie said exuberantly. Alice opened one eye and did one, slow nod. She'd have said something if she hadn't been so tired.

Soon enough, Alice was numbed to the noise and drifted off.

There were men, too many of them. She hated the sight of them, yet they wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted to scream at them and get them to go away. But her voice was paralyzed.

And then she wanted to run, but the trees were too dense to see past. Panicked, she became dizzy as she whirled her head around to search for a way out. It turned from day to night. It was so dark at first, but then snow began to fall. It lit up everything and made the men disappear, turning them to dust. The moon came out beyond the clouds and made everything clear.

That was when she noticed one of the men still standing there. He didn't do anything, just stood there with his head down and not looking at her.

A bump in the road flung Alice forward and out of the dream. She'd almost completely come to the conclusion that the dreams like this, which she had every time she slept, were the aftermath of what had happened at the bonfire. The only thing making her a skeptic as to where the dreams truly were coming from was that she saw no fire. That was one of the things she remembered seeing distinctively that night. But instead there was snow, which made no sense to her. It never snowed in that part of California.

She shook off the fear of the woods lingering on her nerves and realized that it was snowing ever so lightly outside.

Alice wasn't sure she'd ever be able to adapt to this weather. It was the first week of October, and yet night temperatures dropped like mad. Snow fell and coated the grass which was turning brown and dying. If it rained rather than snowed, the drops were as cold as ice. There was cloud cover three quarters of the week or more.

The bus pulled into the school parking lot and the team filed out, heading toward either those who were picking them up or going to their own cars.

Even with this snow, Alice would not wear a coat. She hated the puffy thing her mom had picked out for her and her hoodie was warm enough for now, she thought. Flakes caught on the worn, black fabric of it and Alice shoved her hands deep into the pockets as she went with Natalie to the car.

Natalie turned on the radio as soon as she started the car and Alice reflexively turned it down. There were days that she enjoyed loud music, but today was not one of them.

"What's wrong?" Natalie said to Alice when she pulled out onto the street.

"Nothing… just a little tired."

"Are you sure? Because you look worried."

"I'm fine." Alice wasn't usually a person so easily read and did a good job of putting up barriers and concealing her emotions, but it was because she was so uneasy that it kept coming through.

Natalie's eyes slid from the road, to Alice, and back again, studying Alice. She tried her hardest to remain with a neutral expression but kept losing it when she began thinking again.

"There's not anything you want to talk about?" said Natalie, trying once more for Alice's innermost thoughts.

"No, Natalie, really," Alice forced her expression into a disinterested state.

"Okay, because you look really gloomy over there. But I think I know what you're worried about," Alice's stomach twisted in the assumption that her knee would be brought up. She tensed.

"What?" Alice said.

"Yeah… and I don't blame you for being ticked that you have to be partners with Connor, but you have to stick it out. It's only going to be for a little while, so cheer up."

"Oh…" Alice would just let her think that was problem. If she said anything other than that, Natalie would continue to press and would force it out of her. And if there was one thing Natalie couldn't do, that was keep secrets. Or on the other hand, Natalie wouldn't believe her and Alice didn't want to risk it. The second option would've probably been the outcome.

For the rest of the drive, Natalie sang along to every song that came on the radio. And since she wasn't paying much attention to Alice, there was time to think.

Alice pondered every single day why it was that she healed so quickly and she never came up with anything. Maybe she was a rare type of person with some strange genetic flaw. Or maybe there were others like her and it was a normal thing. Though if it was normal, she thought she'd have heard something about people that can heal quicker than others before now. And if it was normal, then how come the ability had only just presented itself? How come she hadn't had it her entire life?

It was only the popping of the gravel in the driveway against the side of the car that brought Alice back to earth. Natalie parked the car in its usual spot and turned off the radio.

Alice exited as the clouds parted briefly to reveal that the moon was full. She peered up at it, it's soothing, pale gleam calming her and making her realize that no one was going to mention the scrape she'd gotten at the game because no one knew.

A shower seemed ideal and Alice headed straight for it when she got inside. She made her way up the stairs slowly, her energy having been sucked out of her from the emotional distress and from the physical workout she'd just undergone.

When she reached the bathroom, she let her hair down and ran the water before stepping out of her volleyball uniform.

With the water temperature set to the highest she could handle, Alice got in. She washed her hair and enjoyed the steaming jets of water. The glass door fogged from the heat. The water was scalding and she knew that it probably shouldn't be up so high, but this was the only part of her day which she could actually be warm.

To her, this lava-hot water was heaven.

Alice thawed herself out and turned the water off. She climbed out of the shower and dried herself off, dressing in fresh clothes before letting herself out.

She went down the hall and to her bedroom where she took out her laptop and tried to unwind. It was there on her bed as she scrolled through the internet that a monster headache appeared out of nowhere.

The pounding was so sharp that Alice had no idea where it could have come from. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. The pain subsided shortly and Alice went back to what she'd been previously doing.

Merely seconds later, her head throbbed. It felt as though someone had taken a baseball bat to it and her vision blurred. She gripped at the edges of her laptop and squeezed her eyes shut to wait for it to pass. Once again, it did. Alice opened her eyes and unclenched her hands.

Under her fingernails were silver shavings of plastic. She looked down at her laptop. Four unusually deep gashes where on either side. Alice couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could her fingernails have even made scratches in this hard plastic's paint alone? This wasn't right.

She scraped the plastic out from under her nails and closed the lid of her laptop. With a headache still raging, Alice turned out her lights and went to bed early.

'What's going on with me?' she kept asking herself as she laid in bed and sleep evaded her, yet she knew that she wouldn't be getting the answer to that question. It would be another mystery gone unsolved.