**********

Prologue

**********

Annika Marsh, much more commonly known as Annie, rolled over in her bed feeling the warm early autumn sunlight on her face. Autumn didn't last very long in Circleville, soon the warmth would disappear, and be replaced with bitter, hollow winds. Annie sighed, and creaked one of her eyes open to check her clock. The red digital numbers 10:48. Annie snapped open her eyes the rest of the way, and sat up. She was late -- very late. If she hurried, she could possibly make her 4th hour class.
Jumping out of bed, Annie pulled on some clothes that laid strewn about her room. She then flung open her door, and rushed down the stairs only to find chaos. What appeared to be the entire Circleville police department were milling around the living room. HER living room. Noticing her mother sitting on the over stuffed sofa, she walked over to her.
"Mother?" she asked softly. Her mother Josephine looked up. Her eyes were puffy and blood shot. She had been crying.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"Annie, sit." Her mother gestured to the seat across from her. Annie sat just like a little trained dog. Josephine took Annie's hands in hers, if there wasn't a deep seriousness in it all, it would have been of those cheesy mother/daughter moments. A flash back to the 1950's.
"Annie. Bracie's missing." She hoarsely whispered
"What!?" Annie quietly exclaimed. "She just left? No note? Nothing at all?"
"No, not one thing." Josephine said sniffling. Annie was in shock, this didn't sound like her sister she knew.
"But mom, that's not like Brace." Her mother looked at her and spoke:
"That's why we're worried." Josephine crossed the room so she could hopelessly stare out the window.
"You don't think she was kidnaped. Do you?" Annie asked. Josephine turned to face Annie, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I hope not." Annie fell back into the over stuffed cushions of the chair letting everything sink into her brain. Her sister Audrey walked in then.
"Mom," Audrey whispered, barely audible "Please tell me it isn't true." Josephine nodded, eyes glazed over, appearing somewhat doll like.
"Yes Audrey, it's true. Brace is gone." Audrey's eyes filled with tears, as her lower lip trembled.
"Oh God!" she moaned, slowly sinking to the maple wood floor. Sheriff Chris Knox walked in then, looking grim.
"Josephine." He said motioning for her to come forward.
"Chris did you find something? Any thing at all?" Josephine asked eagerly rushing to Knox's side like an over excited puppy.
"Um, yes. We found Brace's car," he stumbled over his words nervously. "Mrs. March we found blood, and reminisces of a body." All hope, all sprit, that had been left in Josephine's body left, as she began to sob.
"Oh, God!" Audrey sobbed again.
"She's not dead." Annie stated still in a shock like state. Everything was quite.
"Excuse me?" asked Knox.
"She's not dead," Annie turned her head slowly and looked right at Knox. "And I attend to find her."