Prologue

The back of Felix’s neck tingled, as it often did when he felt like he was being watched.

It’d been happening a bit recently, ever since he set foot in the cozy little neighbourhood. After much searching, he decided to move into an old, abandoned house, the second one from the end of the street. Across from it was an empty lot, thick with overgrown hedges, which held a path that eventually led to a forest. It was perfect.

It was an evening in mid-September, and already the sun was setting earlier than he’d like. Due to some mishap, some of his belongings arrived later than all his others. Not that it bothered him much – he didn’t have to bring much with him anyway. The old abandoned house that he talked the salesman into buying was fully equipped with furniture and appliances. Of course no one would think of buying it – the couple that had previously owned the house had died in a plane crash while on vacation some odd years back.

For Felix, it was everything he needed. No one would disturb him because hopefully, the residents of this town would think it was haunted. Felix didn’t believe in ghosts, or rather, he didn’t really care about them. He had another problem to deal with, anyway. And the residents would soon be fearing not just ghosts, but something else altogether…

With his front door propped open wide, he hauled the boxes containing his old book collection inside from the delivery truck, denying the driver’s offer of help.

He placed the box down gently in the dusty hallway of his new house, and went outside to get another one, when his neck started prickling again. He glanced around him and his gaze landed upon a face in the upstairs window of the house next door. The face immediately disappeared the moment their eyes met. It was a boy, probably a few years younger than him. So it was he who had been spying on his movements all this time.

Felix shuddered suddenly, but he didn’t know why. It wasn’t cold out. He shrugged and turned away, going back to the truck to get another box.