CHAPTER 1

It has been at least a month since I had that same nightmare. Every time I had the dream, it would get worse and worse. The same forest, the same monster, the same ending. My death. Rolling over in bed, my eyes wandered to the side of my bed towards the wooden picture frame on my dresser. It was of Scott, mom, and I. Dad had left years ago and mom said he was never going to come back. I didn't believe her of course because I had a problem with having hope in the smallest things even if they led to disappointment. I just didn't believe in giving up on anything or anyone no matter how far they were past saving. This, as you could imagine, got me in some trouble throughout my life. My eyes met my alarm clock as I sighed, "Three in the morning." My hands reached for my stomach as a loud growl erupted from it. I hated waking up in the middle of the night. I am always so hungry in the middle of the night but am too lazy to get out of the warmth and comfort of bed. But this time I knew my stomach couldn't wait. I willed my body out of bed, groaning as my feetmet the cold hard wood floor. Grabbing a jacket that was hanging from the back of my chair and then making my way to the door. It was always freezing in this old house, especially considering I only wore a big shirt and underwear to sleep in almost every night. My family and I lived in an old two-story house in a small town called Beacon Hills. The entire town was surrounded by woods. We had pretty much lived here for forever and I loved it. The trees and the woods were my favorite part of the whole town. Especially in the fall; when I wanted to get away I would always run out to a small clearing in a mass of trees in the forest that I called my own. It was the only place you could look up and see a clear view of the blue sky. The sun would shoot through the top of the trees in such a beautiful way. It would light up the fallen leaves on the forest floor, making them glow a bright orange. I sighed wishing I could be there right now. Almost every wooden step creaked under my weight as I walked down the stairs. As soon as my foot hit the last step I noticed there was a light coming from the kitchen. Must be Scott. I rounded around the corner and was blinded by the sudden burst of bright light. Not to my surprise it was Scott looking extremely exhausted with his hands crossed against his bare chest.

"Hey Em." He sounded like he hadn't slept in days. My real name was Emily, but everyone close to me called me Em. At first I hated it but after a while I started to not mind. Considering my father was the person who named me, my mom loved the fact that people called me Em. She said Emily reminded her too much of him. "Hey Scott. Why are you up so early?" I began scavenging through the refrigerator pushing away all the more than likely expired food. Our mom worked almost every second of her life at the stupid hospital. She never had time to go grocery shopping so it was usually up to Scott and I to go shopping, which pretty much never got done. "Couldn't sleep. You?" I figured he couldn't sleep by the look of him. Considering his messy hair, the bags under his eyes, and his long blue pajama pants, he must have attempted to go to sleep but had failed. "Same." I stated flatly. "Hm. That dream again?" He questioned as he looked at me with his brown eyes. He had our mother's eyes, while mine were our father'sgreen eyes. "Maybe." I pouted and slammed the refrigerator door. Plopping down in the chair next to my brother, he gave me a knowing look. I had told Scott about my nightmare before but I had left out the part where the beast looked at me as if it wasn't an animal and as if it somehow knew me. I didn't think Scott needed to know that part, especially because it would be awkward for me to explain. "Have you talked to mom about it yet?" "Tried already. You know she never has time to talk. As soon as she walks in, she says hello and goes straight to bed. I can't blame her though." I said twiddling my thumbs. "I never want to be a doctor" Scott chuckled. "Good. You aren't smart enough anyways." I punched his shoulder playfully. "Speaking of my 'smartness'. You ready for school tomorrow?" "Hah, not exactly." I rolled my eyes. Scott was definitely ready for school. He had received our mom's genes, where apparently I received our father's genes. I was more into art where Scott was more the booksmarts kind of guy if you know what I mean. "How about you. You ready for school?" He said it with a grin, knowing I wasn't going to answer such a dumb question. He knew I wasn't excited at all because I couldn't stand school. The only reason I was somewhat looking forward to it, was because I was able to see my friends again. I missed them so much this summer. They had all gone to way cooler places than Beacon Hills; like the beach and such. It may sound crazy because we lived in California but I had never been to the beach before. Scott had though. When we were little I used to beg him to tell me what it looked like. The sights, the sounds, the smells. It sounds dumb but I wanted to know every little detail. I promised myself that one day I would see the ocean before I died. "Em? You're spacing out again." Scott's voice broke through my thoughts as he waved his hand in front of my face. "Oh. Sorry." I looked out the window having a short flashback of my nightmares from earlier. I felt myself begin to shiver. "You ok?" His voice coated with concern as I felt his hand on my arm. "Em?"