Chapter 1
Zella

"Ninety-five! Ninety-six! Ninety-seven! Ninety-eight! Ninety-nine! One hundred! READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!" I screamed at the top of my lungs into the cold midnight air.

My voice echoed and a shiver went down my spine. Before this, I hadn't realized how silent it was. I slowly opened my eyes and took a deep breath. A full moon cast everything in an eerie yellow light. The gravestones and trees around me looked even more haunted than they already seemed.

My eyes darted back and fourth as I searched, glancing over my shoulder constantly. Maybe playing hide and seek- in a graveyard, at midnight- wasn't such a good idea after all. But still, I kept walking slowly through the ghostly midnight air, my heart thudding hard in my chest.

I felt goose bumps on my arms and shivered. Suddenly I wished I hadn't been so stubborn, and had taken Leo's hoodie when he offered it. It was way too cold to be wearing a t-shirt. The wind twined through my strawberry blonde hair and the ground was cold and hard beneath my feet. There was not a single star in the sky and it smelled like rain. As I squinted into the moonlight images from horror movies ran through my head. My footsteps became louder when I broke into a fast walk.

Then, a twig snapped under my foot, causing me to jump. I heard the screeching before I saw the bats. They surged out from behind a gravestone. Their almost see-through wings flapped inches above my head. I covered my mouth to hold back a scream. Stumbling backward, my foot hit a rock and I fell down. Panic struck me when I felt the ground shaking.

But then I realized it was me.

Finally, the bats disappeared into the murky darkness of the night. And I was alone once more. I carefully walked in between gravestones, eyes scanning the gloom. What if I'd already gone past him? I shuddered at the thought and started to run, afraid that if I stayed in one place too long, the shadows would swallow me up.

I heard what sounded like water trickling ahead of me and decided to go toward it. As I went, I tried to remember seeing any water during the day. But I couldn't think of anything, and I realized I wasn't in a part I'd been in before. What if I got lost?

Then, I came to a bridge. A small stream trickled underneath it, the water dark and ghostly. It was the only sound to be heard. Well, besides the thudding of my heart, but I figured only I could hear that. I stood in front of it, deciding whether or not I should cross. Rain drops started to fall to the ground. They were ice-cold on my arms. I shivered, knowing this was a bad idea.

My eyes swept the eerie darkness, trying to pick out any sign that Leo had been this way. I wished we'd stayed up in our tree house, close together under warm blankets. But no, I had to come up with this grand idea…

"Leo?" My voice was shaky and barely more than a whisper. "Where are you?"

All I got in reply was silence. Either Leo thought I was joking, or he wasn't anywhere around here. A tear trickled down my cheek. All I wanted right now was to be safe in the warmth of Leo's arms. After waiting for what seemed like forever, I gave up the hope that Leo would try to find me. He was hiding, and knowing Leo, he would stay there until I found him.

The bridge was old, wooden, and unstable. The boards creaked under my feet as I crept across it desperately hoping something wouldn't jump out at me. At the thought, I sprinted the rest of the way, looking over my shoulder as I went. My heart raced and tears started to fall to the ground along with the rain. It was pouring out.

Once I was on the other side, I looked up at the moon, only to see that clouds were starting to cover it. I swallowed as the light started to disappear, leaving me all alone in the darkness. I started to walk faster as I left the bridge. Gravestones cast ghostly shadows on the ground, as if monsters were lurking everywhere. My blue eyes searched the darkness for any signs of life.

Suddenly, up ahead, I saw something move behind a gravestone. I prayed to God it was Leo as I walked, more slowly now, toward it. Shivering in the rain, I tried to keep any thoughts besides ones of Leo out of my mind. After standing in front of the gravestone for minutes, I worked up the courage to peer behind it.

"Leo?" I asked in a voice as small as a mouse. At first, I couldn't see anything. I stepped around, squinting into the pitch black.

My mouth opened to scream bloody murder, but a big, rough hand quickly covered it. Another hand grabbed my wrists, holding them behind my back, and pulled me backwards. My heart raced as I tried to wriggle free, but he was too strong…

"What do we do?" His voice was gruff.

My heart raced as I struggled against him. Another man appeared in front of me. He was tall and was wearing black jeans and a black sweatshirt. The hood was up, casting a shadow over his eyes. He looked me up and down, and suddenly, he smiled.

Panicked, I swallowed, wondering what they were going to do to me… Where was Leo? Had they gotten him, too? Tears started to stream down my face. I desperately tried to pull away, only to get hit hard on the head. Dizziness overtook me quickly. The dark midnight world spun around me. And the last thing I saw was a rope in the man's hands.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my eyes open, but it was no use. As I fought for consciousness, all I could think of was Leo… Just barely, I could hear the two men talking…

"What?" The man's voice was full of surprise. It was the one who was holding me down, obviously the stronger of the two.

"We have no other choice. She can't go free, now…"

My heart raced at the thought of dying in a graveyard… Then, just like that, I lost the battle.

And everything went black.