Chapter 1

The world, a place full of mysteries, a place where darkness, or better said, creatures of darkness walk amongst humans, without their knowledge. I didn't believe such creatures, such as vampires or werewolves or fairies were real, but, then again, nobody knows what this world has to hide, behind its surface, right?

My life was dreadfully boring; nothing interesting ever seemed to happened, it was the old same routine you must've heard of, before. 1. Wake up 2. Take a shower 3. Get dressed 4. Go downstairs to eat breakfast 5. Go to school 6. Go home after school 7. Eat 8. Do your homework 9. Spend two hours on the computer 10. Go to sleep. Yes, that's the Ten Daily Steps Routine, I was so accustomed to, nothing to be psyched about, but that was about to be changed real soon.

It was the first day of my sophomore year, and I was, as usual, getting ready for school. For my, first day of school, outfit, I picked out a long black skirt that zips off to reveal a shorter one, a black and red plaid corset, and black flats with silver tone grommet studs around the toe. I let my dark brown hair loose and I put black eyeliner and black eye shadows around my chocolate brown eyes.

Oh God, I forgot to introduce myself, I was named Emma for so weird reason and, trust me, I've been questioning my parent's decision to name me Emma, ever since I was born. I'm a sophomore, as you might have already known; I'm 16 years old, and I own two cats. Ok, where was I, ooh yeah, that's right; I was telling you about my first day of school, the day my life changed forever.

"Are you ready? Emma, you need to hurry up or you're going to be late for school." My mom screamed from the kitchen.

"I'll be right down, and mom school doesn't start until 8:00 A.M. Have you seen what time is it? It's 7:30 A.M. Stop rushing me up, you know how much I hate that."

"Ok, but you know I don't like it when you're late and especially if it's the first day."

I grabbed my black backpack with white polka dots all over it, and headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where I ate a quick breakfast, drank down my orange juice, kissed my mom good-bye and headed out the door, ready to face another year of school. I like going to school, I know it's weird, since most of the kids hate going, but, then again, I'm not your typical teenager, I'm different and I'm often labeled as Goth, or the girl who loves wearing black. I'm a loner, meaning I don't have friends, not one, zero, nada; but I like it that way, I'm better off by myself, it's hard finding a reliable friend nowadays. Ok, I think my point was made, I'm not in the 'In Crowd' and I'm not trying to fit in either, I don't want to be like those self-centered kids, who think of themselves as superiors.

I like walking to school every morning, it's not a long walk and it kind of relaxes me for the day ahead. It was a sunny day, and it was kind of chilly too, but I knew it'd get warmer later on. As soon as I got to school, I took a long breath and started making my way up the stairs to my first period, Literature. I sat all the way in the back, next to a nervous-looking boy, who shot glances at me, now and then. I saw some old faces, but none of them said 'hi' to me and not like I care, but, still, it would've been polite if they did. School passed by really quickly, that day, and before I knew it, I was heading back home.

"Mom, are you home?" I yelled as soon as I walked in the main door of my house.

Silence.

Ok, maybe she's busy, doing something, and didn't hear me coming in. I thought.

I headed towards the kitchen where I found a note posted on the refrigerator, which read:

Honey, I'll be home late, don't wait up for me. Your lunch is in the microwave. Take care. Mom

P.S. Do your homework first, before watching T.V. or playing on the computer.

Great! She's not home. I thought sarcastically. I headed up the stairs to my room, where my two cats were cuddled up on my bed, and started doing my homework.