CHAPTER ONE

Fear.

That's all I can feel as adrenaline courses through my veins as I run blindly through the dark forest, ignoring the sting of branches hitting me. I was running from something, but I couldn't remember what. I could hear it, however; its pounding footsteps were getting closer. I try to run faster, but my legs feel like they're on fire, and I'm starting to struggle to breathe. I know that if I try to push myself more, my asthma would kill me before whatever was chasing me got the chance.

My foot connects with a root, and I fly forward. I feel the skin on my knees rip apart, but I ignore the pain. I scramble up, but before I continue to run, I notice something.

The footsteps have stopped.

I try to slow down my breathing, hoping that the reason whatever was chasing me had stopped was that he had lost me. I slowly walk forward, avoiding the many sticks and dead leaves that littler the forest floor. I've seen enough horror movies to know what happens if you step on a branch in a forest in the middle of the night.

My heart starts to beat faster, and I suddenly feel an irrational fear that whatever is chasing me can hear my heartbeat. The branches seem to reach out for me, twisting under my foot just so they can break and alert my presence to anything around me. All I can think is that I could die any second, and there's nothing I can do about it.

My arm brushes against the trunk of a tree, and I almost scream. I clamp my mouth shut, but a little squeak comes out. I freeze, heart pounding, listening for any kind of movement. After a few terrifying moments of absolute silence, my muscles unclench and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

I step around a tree and see a walking path cutting through the forest. I grin. A path means an end, and the end would mean a way out of this forest. I quickly step onto the path and start running in a random direction, not caring about making any noise. All I can think is that I've finally found a way out.

My feet pound the old pavement, burning with more and more pain each time they hit the ground. They probably got cut, but I can't think of when. I just focus on what I can see ahead of me. It's not much, just a few feet, but it's enough to be able to stay on the path while running recklessly.

Suddenly, I realize that my footsteps aren't the only ones on the path. A burst of fear shoots adrenaline through my veins, and I push myself even harder. The end can't be that far, and then I can find someone who can help me.

I bright light suddenly shines through the forest. I look to see where it's coming from, and I see a man holding a flashlight, jogging towards me. I quickly change direction, running towards him.

"Hey!" I yell, waving my arms. I stumble on a stick and feel it create yet another cut on my foot. "Help me! Someone's trying to-"

I'm cut off as I feel a hand clamp around my mouth. I scream into it, but no sound comes into it. My heart starts to beat faster, and I start to feel faint. I feel the other arm reach back to grab something. I twist back to try to see its face, but whoever it is, I can't see their face. I notice that it's wearing a cloak over its head, and I try to reach up to pull it off.

The man with the flashlight is getting closer. I see the flashlight reflect off of something coming towards me; it's silver, and it has a pointed end… I realize what it is right before it's plunged into my chest.

I open my eyes, gasping for breath. I'm lying in my bed, tangled up in my sheets. Textbooks and random sheets of paper are scattered across the mattress. My heart rate starts to slow down as I realize that it was just a dream.

I untangle myself from my sheets and get out of my bed. I walk over to my dresser, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a black T-shirt and jeans. I close the drawer and lean against the dresser, trying to forget the dream. But it didn't really seem like a dream. It was too... lifelike. Actually, it was more than that; I could literally remember every detail of that dream. I remembered the sting of my cut feet, the feeling of branches whipping my face, of dying...

"It's just a dream." I mutter, trying to reassure myself. I open a second drawer, pull out a pair of boxers and close it. I walk out of my room and down a hallway to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Jeremy!"

I sigh and turn around to see my eight year old brother, Ian, standing behind me in the hallway. From the looks of his neatly brushed hair and his unwrinkled Avengers T-shirt and jeans, he had gotten up hours before me. Again. Honestly, I have no idea where he finds the energy to do it.

"What is it, Ian?" I ask, tired.

"Well... I was wondering if you knew where my Captain Marvel action figure was?" Ian asks me. "I brought it home from school, I swear! But... now I can't find it."

I sigh. "Don't tell me you lost another one of those. Why do you even bring them to school? You always lose them, and it's not like anyone cares about your action figures."

"But... they make me feel safe." Ian says, looking up at me with his bright green eyes. "They're the reason that I can talk to anyone at school. They're the reason that I have friends!"

"And if you keep them, you won't have any friends left." I say, rolling my eyes. "But no, I haven't seen it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to take a shower."

"Okay." Ian said sadly, walking past me towards the stairs opposite the bathroom. "I'll just go find Daredevil. Ugh, I hate him so much..."

As he ran down the stairs, I turned around and walked into the bathroom. I close and lock the doors behind me, making sure that no one will accidentally walk in. I walk over to the shower and turn the knob, letting the water rush out and warm up as I take off the rest of my clothes.

I pull the shower curtain back a bit to stick my leg into the shower, testing the water. It's perfect. I pull the curtain back more, walking into the shower and closing the curtain behind me. The near scalding hot water starts to calm me; I close my eyes and let the water cascade down my back.

Pain. Blood pouring out of my chest. I sink back to the forest floor, clutching my chest. I'm dying.

I open my eyes again, gasping. What was wrong with me? It was just a dream. Even if it was a really weird dream, it was still a dream. It never happened.

So why did I feel like I had already died?

I shut off the water. I wasn't in the mood for a shower any longer. I got out of the shower, grabbed a towel and wiped my face with it, glancing at myself in the slightly steamed mirror. My light blond hair was completely flat, thanks to the shower. My pale, slightly muscular body was completely wet.

I sighed and bent down, grabbing my boxers and putting them on. After that came my pants and shirt. I pushed the door to the bathroom open, running out. I quickly ran back to my room, walking in and shutting the door behind me. I grabbed my laptop off of my dresser and opened it up, putting in my password as I walked over to my bed. I quickly opened up my email, deleting the spam and looking for the one email that I had been hoping to see the past few days.

My best and only friend, Darren, had moved to California two years ago. We had kept in touch for a while, but he got more involved in his new school and his new friends, and their conversations became more and more infrequent. However, his dad had recently been offered a promotion. However, there was a catch; the new job would be in Washington, where we both used to live. That was last week. I've been waiting for him to tell me what happened.

One of my new emails was from him. My throat constricted from excitement as I clicked on it.

Hey, Jeremy! Sorry I haven't talked to you in a while, school's been really tough. Also, I had this argument with my girlfriend... I broke up with her, she yelled at me. You know, normal stuff. But yeah, my dad got the promotion! So I guess I'll see you in about a month? Good thing school's ending, we can hang out all the time like we used to. Maybe the bowling alley? You know, the one where I threw you that birthday party and you got really drunk and threw up? Yeah... hopefully we can get some better memories there XD See you soon!

I grinned. Darren was finally coming back! I grinned and leaned my head against the backboard of the bed, closing my eyes for a second.

Dimming. I can barely see anymore. Having difficulty thinking. Pain... blood... dying.

My eyes snap open. My heart's beating fast, as if it still thinks I'm dying. I almost look down to make sure that blood isn't pouring out of my chest. I shake my head. What the hell is wrong with me? I try to focus on the computer screen and to not close my eyes.

"Jeremy?" my brother asks, opening my door and walking into my room.

"What?" I ask.

"I found Captain Marvel." he said, holding up an action figure of a man in a red spandex suit. Honestly, I could never keep track of any of them.

"Well, that's great." I said, turning back to my laptop. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am trying to do something important."

"Well, the last time you were doing something important, you were just playing Angry Birds." Ian said, sighing. "But go ahead, do something important. You're just like Mom and Dad."

I roll my eyes as Ian walks out of my room, closing my door behind him. Honestly, I hated our parents as much as he did, but I really didn't have time for him. I realized something- in that dream... I recognized the forest.

It was right behind my house.

"Well? Is the boy dead?"

"Yes. But... there was something different about him. His aura... was different."

"What do you mean his aura was different?"

"I mean... I don't think he was completely in control of himself. I think there was someone else there, inhabiting his mind. I think that he wasn't the one we were looking for."

"Well, just go after the next one. And the one after that, and the one after that. You have to find him."

"I know. I'll go after the next boy. And I'll kill him."