In the beginning, there were twelve of us. Normal children, who became the pawns of a seemingly inert secret. A secret that started between our families a secret that was born in ages of fear and fueled by hatred and anger. None of us ever suspected, never knew what it was that we all carried inside of us...different parts, certain things that may have saved us all, but which endangered us to darkness and death.

But my story is no different than the ones that were told by my friends, faces whom I can still see even now, even after their deaths. Jared who was impaled through his chest by a weathervane which fell from the top of his grandfather's barn, Marjorie whose blood ran out of her as she lay sick and pale in a hospital room, Janae drowned, even though her body was found in a field, her body completely dry, with the nearest lake being over thirty miles away in the country, Steven whose death could only be written up as 'unknown' even though I saw the body myself...plus the stab wounds and burn marks that covered it. And James found with his eyes, nose, and tongue stuffed into his intestines, which had been effectively ripped from his body. The others suffered such deaths as well, either being ripped apart or even more macabre.

There was only three of us left. Myself, Greg Caster, and my childhood girlfriend Chloe Evans. Even though we were now grown, neither of us had been in much contact since we'd broken up and left, but it was a rather gruesome circumstance which brought us back to our past and...inexplicably, the secret that lay buried in the deepest recesses of our minds. I lived in Memphis, working at a Mapco gas station that was more or less in the warehouse distribution district. On the day that I was contacted, a Fedex carrier brought me a package which had a letter in it, and when I opened it, a small letter fell into my hands. Ripping the letter open, I saw two newspaper clips and a small handwritten note.. I looked at the newpaper clippings one at a time. The first article said:

LOCAL MAN FOUND, HEAD SEVERED AND HEART MISSING

Amiria, Ark. Police were stunned after being called to the scene of a crime that was reported by a woman who was walking her dog around three thirty this morning. The body of a man has been found, his head severed, his hands burned and bound behind his back, with his head, heart, and feet missing. With no way to identify the body through normal procedures, police officials have turned the body over to the morgue, for 'alternative' identification procedures.

Police Chief Robert Mallon said that even though there are currently no suspects or clues as of this press report, whoever committed this 'heinous and grusome' crime, will be caught and prosecuted.

Police are also asking that any families who have reported any male family members as missing, please contact the coroner's office for a voluntary i.d. assist.

Placing the article on the counter, I slowly picked up the second article, which had a picture of a young man and stated:

MORGUE OFFICIALS LEARN IDENTITY OF LOCAL MAN FOUND DEAD

Amiria, Ark. Today, Police Chief Robert Mallon called a press conference to release the name of the man whose body was found in a crude ditch over two weeks ago by a female passerby who was walking her dog early in the morning. Chief Mallon stated that he received a call from morgue officials this morning who disclosed to him the name and age of the victim.

The victim's name was Gregory F. Caster, a resident of Amiria for the past three years. Caster, who also worked at the town's steel plant on the evening shift, was scheduled to take a three week paid vacation for his job dependency and perfect attendance. The body was identified by Caster's shift supervisor, Elbert R. Keeys, who went to the coroner's office after being asked about whether any of the workers there had a distinguishing mark anywhere on their body. Keeys made the identification from Caster's work insurance forms, which documented the fact that he had a small liver shaped birthmark on his left arm.

Federal records turned up the facts that Caster had no surviving or known family members. His burial is set for Saturday, although police still haven't recovered his head.

I looked at the picture that accompanied the article and realized without a doubt, it really was him. The smile, his eyes, even the way he had his hair combed. Over the years, he had never changed. Tossing the second article on the counter, I then read the small handwritten note that had accompanied the articles in the envelope.

The note read:

Marcus,

We need to meet. Greg was murdered too. I thought no one else would be killed...it's been over six years. God, I'm tired of running all the time. Please contact me at (382) 981-8842.

I slowly placed the note in my pocket and then thought about this whole sordid mess. Chloe was scared. Wherever she was at, she was desperate and running. Just as I was. We'd never escape the past, but still it didn't stop us from trying. After the death of Travis, we'd realized that there was only three of us left. Chloe, Greg, and myself. Meeting up at a truckstop diner in Texas, we had decided that the only way we could survive was to split ourselves up and go our separate ways. Maybe if we weren't together, our chances of getting through this would be increased. Now I realized that we'd taken a very costly risk. One that hadn't helped at all. I wouldn't contact Chloe while I was at work. Not now. Hopefully she could stay out of the way until I could contact her...or she contacted me again. I was scared as much as she was. But for now, I wasn't sure of what it was that I could do.

Chloe and I hadn't saw each other in years. Would she be any different this time? At the time that we'd split, her hair had been dyed dark brown. She'd been dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, with her hair carefully wrapped around her eyes and face. She'd told me and Greg that it was to prevent anyone from trying to know who she was. Greg had looked at me, and I didn't know what to say. She'd stood up and told us that it was time she left. Greg got up from his seat and gave her a brief hug. Chloe kissed him on the cheek and then they looked at me. Chloe put her hands in her pockets and Greg sat back down. I looked at Chloe again and then stood up. As I pulled her to me, she suddenly hugged me so tight that I almost gasped for breath. We were both scared, and I could feel her trembling. I didn't know what to do, so instead, I just leaned closer and kissed her.

Chloe broke off our kiss and looked at me in my eyes. As we slowly let go of each other, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small pendant that I'd found once when we all had been playing in the woods as children. I took her hand, and placed my good luck charm on her palm. Closing her fingers over it, I realized that it would probably never be seen by me again. I was perfectly aware of the consequences that were happening between us. And I didn't care. I couldn't.

We all shook hands and left the diner, one after the other. I was the last to leave. And now, all these years later, I was starting to realize that I would never be able to outrun the darkness that was following us. Claiming us all to its own twisted and demented soul. Keeping us through death within the secret.

It had been foolish of us to try and run from it. We'd thought that we stood a chance if we could escape it, but we were finally learning that we'd been wrong. None of us could escape it. That was the truth. I didn't know how to escape it, nor did Chloe.

I decided then that it was time to do the one thing that I'd avoided for years. I couldn't do this any longer. I was in danger, and so was Chloe for that matter. For some reason, our past was out to kill us. And from now on...I was out to kill it.

I knew then that if I didn't contact Chloe, neither of us would make it.