Prologue

Hands, they're everywhere. All over her, pushing and pulling every which way, holding her down. Her lungs gasping for air.

Eyes are watching her from every angle. A Cheshire-like grin appears out of the darkness, almost glowing, unattached to any visible face. It's laughing at her struggles. 'Run, stop trying to scream and start trying to run!' She thought to herself.

Throwing limbs carelessly in an attempt to break free from the grasps, eventually she was able to flee. She bolted into the dark abyss.

Cool night air nipped at her skin and branches whipped at her body, scraping and cutting at her arms, leaving marks on her cheeks. The scent of fresh blood violated her nostrils as her breaths grew longer and more labored.

'Can't stop running, not now. He's too close.' she said to herself. She can't breathe, she knows she needs to stop. As soon as her feet come to a halt, she hears him.

"Avaaaaa." The deep voice sings her name like a nightingale sings its tune.

She starts to shake.

"Ava!" It yells, raspy and frustrated.

"Get up Ava!" The voice yells again, but this time it changes from a deep angry voice to a softer more familiar tone.

"Ava honey it's time to get up! I don't want you to be late for school." Her mother shouted up the staircase.

She bolted upright in a cold sweat. It had all been a nightmare.

Ava groaned and rolled out of bed. She despised getting up in the morning. Thankfully it served as a reminder that she would only have to do this forty-two more times before she would graduate high school. Forty-two more days and then on to the rest of her life.

High school hadn't been too rough. She was enrolled in all honors and AP courses and did very well academically. Socially, not so much. She wasn't the most popular girl, but she found people tolerated her because she had a very popular boyfriend. Had, being the imperative word there. He broke up with her yesterday, less than two weeks before prom. It didn't seem strange to her when she was more upset over the inconvenience of having to find another date so soon rather than the actual end of their nearly four month relationship. Sure she loved him but, she knew she would've broken up with him sooner or later. It hadn't been the cinematic high school romance that she had always imagined in her head. It had been more so a deep friendship that she dared to explore romantically. She truly loved him, there had never been a doubt in her mind. She just wasn't in love with him.

In a matter of months she would be moving halfway across the country. A full tuition scholarship to the college of her dreams. She didn't live anywhere near Connecticut, which made her acceptance to the university all the better. She wanted out of this small hick town, but her newly ex-boyfriend didn't agree. He planned on taking over his father's auto shop and putting down roots where all his family had before him. It wasn't the life she envisioned for herself, she knew she needed to be somewhere that had excitement.

Finally she was finished getting ready and ran down the stairs. Passing through the kitchen, she grabbed the toast out of her mother's right hand and placed it quickly in her mouth.

"Thanks mom!" She said with a full mouth.

Her mother rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle.

"Don't shove the whole piece in your mouth. Wouldn't want you to choke on what was supposed to be my breakfast." her mother said sarcastically.

"I love you Mom. Have a good day at school. And remember no more detentions missy!" She said running out the door.

"Love you daughter. Have a good day at work. Don't over work your assistant, she needs a break sometimes." Her mother said, waving to her and closing the door.

That special goodbye had been an inside joke, one of many they had between themselves. Since it was just the two of them together, they had established a unique bond, acting more like best friends than simply a mother and daughter. They loved each other because they were all the other had. Her mother was dreading the end of Ava's time in high school, because she knew as soon as the diploma was placed in her hand, she'd be out of town for good.

Ava began her daily walk to school. Lovely houses spread down the street, bright green lawns. No curtains in any windows, no movement, no people. It was eerie walking these streets so early in the morning. How she wished she had a car to drive. Not that it would do her any good, without her license. She couldn't afford to buy a car so she saw no purpose in learning to drive.

As she walked on the pavement, damp with the morning dew, she felt uneasy. It was as if she was being watched, like her nightmare. A chill crept down her spine and the hairs on her arms stood straight. Her breath quickened with each step. The squish of the grass under her feet flooded her ears. She decided to simply focus on the path ahead. One foot after the other, only hearing her steps. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, she reached her destination.

School was a buzz with news of her breakup. The rumor mill disputed who broke up with who and why. She managed to hear a few girls talking, one speculating that Ava had broken up with Jake because he was in love with someone else. Another girl had said that she heard Jake broke up with Ava because she cheated on him.

The reality was he broke up with her because he didn't want to get dumped. He had always been honest with her, and he told her how insecure he felt in the relationship. That insecurity had only grown with her acceptance into college. He didn't need a crystal ball to see he wasn't going to be a part of her big future. In fact his exact words had been:

"Ava, you know I love you, but I can see how unhappy you are here. I can tell you want more. I can't keep acting like everything is great between us because it isn't. I'm sorry to do this now, but I think we need to break up. I know its cutting it close to prom, but we can still go as friends if you want. I'm sorry Ava, I'm really sorry."

Anger wasn't something she felt in that moment. Sadness wasn't either. To stay mad at him was impossible especially for her, and she knew he was right. She wanted more. He couldn't give her more, and so they had to part ways. But no one knew that story, the truth. The truth was boring, so they twisted it into something it wasn't to make it interesting.

In class no one was talking to her, by that time she realized that the class deemed it Ava's fault and decidedly shunned her for breaking the heart of the school's star quarterback. Jake had attempted to set the record straight, but no one listened.

"She thinks she's so much better than everyone else because she's going to some fancy school far away next year. How dare she be so pig-headed, every girl in this school loves him and would be lucky to have him, but no she had to go off and have a fling with someone else." The girl said to her friend. She was purposefully being loud enough for Ava to hear, hoping to anger her.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, if we could stop the vicious gossiping and focus on the assignment at hand, that'd be lovely." The teacher stated.

By the time lunch came around, it was made clear that Ava was not welcome to sit in her usual seat. In fact it was made clear that she was not welcome to sit anywhere. At last she found a table. Only one person was sitting there, and his name was Henry. He sat slumped over, a hood covering his dark brown hair. His light eyes were looking down as he fiddled with his food. She was unable to see, but she knew that he was very tall. He dressed in dark colors which only added to his lanky appearance.

He had only come to the school a few months ago. He seemed distant and a loner. Henry was someone who kept to himself and never talked much. In fact, Ava couldn't remember a time she had ever even heard his voice. She walked over, having no other choice.

"May I sit here?" She asked with a smile. She placed her tray on the table before he had the chance to say no.

"Be my guest." He muttered.

She looked down at her lunch and started eating. Henry sucked in a breath and leaned in closer to her from the other side of the table.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked, almost sounding annoyed by her mere presence.

"Do what?" She asked, utterly confused.

"Sitting here, with me. It isn't exactly going to fix your current social dilemma." He said.

"I don't see how it could hurt it either. I'm a bit of a social pariah at the moment." She said, continuing to eat her lunch.

"So I've heard." He said, finishing the contents of his own lunch.

"I have to go." He got up, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

"And for the record, Jake Rhodes is an idiot for letting you go. He wasn't good enough for you anyway." He said walking away. Ava felt it was near impossible not to smile, and as he walked away she could almost swear he had smiled too.

She somehow managed to make it through the rest of the day with the not so subtle looks and whispers. When the final bell rang it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She left school and started her walk home.

Suddenly that similar feeling from that morning had reemerged. The feeling of eyes, anonymous and unknown. Watching, waiting, viewing her from each and every angle. She had always been over aware of her surroundings. People at school used to make fun of her for always being overly paranoid, but her gut instinct hadn't failed her. Perhaps it was a sense of self preservation. Either way, her gut instinct was to run.

She picked up her pace. Focused on getting home, getting to where she would feel safe. She was walking fast, breathing faster. She knew she was so close, but not close enough to slow down. She was starting to hyperventilate, her chest tightened with fear and anxiety welling up inside. Then she saw it.

A large white van had been following her for the past few minutes. She was unable to see the drivers face, but she knew they weren't friendly. Finally her feet ignored everything else and began to sprint towards home. She ran as fast as her body would allow her. Deciding that her backpack was weighing her down, she removed it and threw it into a pile of bushes.

There it was, her house. It was so close, just one more block. she heard the van come to a stop behind her, but she didn't turn around, she just kept on running. She heard footsteps matching the pace of her own and suddenly felt herself jolted back. He had grabbed her by the hood of her sweatshirt and yanked her down. The wind had been knocked out of her as she hit the ground and she didn't have enough time to get it back.

She couldn't scream. Before she could even move she felt a cloth over her face. One man in a mask leaned over her. He looked right into her eyes with such calm. Blue-grey eyes and pale skin. That was all that was visible. Those features she would memorize to the best of her ability. It was the last face she saw, before her world went dark. A face that promised to haunt her for a long time.