• Prologue
    My eyes flickered around this…room, or whatever it might be. What with its apparent lack of doors, windows or even walls, it wasn’t exactly a room. Somehow, though, I knew for sure that I couldn’t escape. I might as well take in the view.
    I was standing in a small space, small enough that I could run at full speed across it without getting out of breath. I couldn’t see much else, but this place seemed familiar, in a chilling way. It looked like a forest clearing, but with no trees in sight. On a whim, I ran from my position in the center toward the fog-like area surrounding the place. Caught off guard, I ran into some sort of barrier like a fly into a windshield. This could be a problem.
    Suddenly, I heard the smallest of sounds. It had been silent a second before, but this tiny sound was all it took to set me on edge, ready to attack whatever I saw. I waited a few seconds, and just when I thought it had just been my imagination, or that I had made the sound—There it was again! I jumped a foot into the air, and I stepped as silently as possible away from the sound. It came again and again, at closer and closer intervals, until I was certain it was the footfalls of some unknown evil.
    Then, a twig snapped and all became a blur. Something was in this place with me. The Something was pitch black and bear-sized, but it now moved so fast that I saw nothing else. It chased me in a circle, and would have been comical if I wasn’t running for my life. Slowly I began to tire, until I realized I was done for. I stopped and turned around, hoping this thing would kill me quickly. Then, some kind of miracle happened. I saw a flash of silvery light fall toward me and instinctively caught something. A sword.
    Well, that’s just great. A sword against some beast with razor sharp claws, fangs, and impenetrable skin, most likely.
    Now I could see the thing more clearly, because it was going much more slowly, probably taking its time so I could die a painful death. It did indeed have claws and fangs, and looked incredibly strong to boot. This would be interesting.
    Time seemed to slow down. The creature came in for the kill, and I barely parried its slavering jaws. It drew nearer and nearer, while I never managed to attack. I somehow got backed into a corner that I hadn’t noticed before, and realized this could be the end. I drew my weapon back for a final thrust and saw the creature raise a paw to strike me down. I jabbed my sword forward, felt razor claws slice my shoulder—









    Chapter 1
    —And opened my eyes, breaking a cold sweat from the sixth nightmare this week.
    I sat up and sighed, realizing that I’d have to go to school now. I’d almost prefer the nightmare. My clock stated that it was five-thirty, glowing cheerfully blue. Oh, great. If I tried to get any more sleep, its annoying, buzzy alarm would wake me up. Or I might have another nightmare. I got up, yawned, pulled on my usual T-shirt-and-jeans ensemble, and plodded into the kitchen to get some Cheerios.
    * * *
    After two hours of boredom and half an hour of watching TV, my mom finally woke up.
    “Hey, Rosie. You already up?”
    I mentally sighed-What does it look like, Mom?-and nodded. “Ready for school, too.” My mom is just so weird sometimes. I mean, I love her and all, but I can’t go through high school and care for a forty-year-old at the same time, can I? Still, I had to put on my happy face, so I grinned. “What capers are on your schedule today?”
    “Oh, not much,” she admitted. “I’ve got to get something for dinner today, though.”
    “Okay, then see you later.” I rushed out the door, overjoyed that that eternally awkward, boring line of dialogue was over. Now all I had to handle was school, and I’d be home free for another weekend.
    “Wait, Rosie!” Suddenly, my mom put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.”What’s that?” She pointed to my right arm. My eyes traced four long, deep-looking cuts, just starting to bleed, that disfigured my shoulder. I wondered how they got there, then I realized there was only one possibility, crazy though it was. I hadn’t gotten cut the day before. My legs gave out and everything went black.