Chapter 2: “Catlin….Catlin wake up, It’s time for you to get ready for school.” Catlin groaned as she heard her mother say the sentence she hardly wanted to hear right now “Why couldn’t it be Saturday already so I can sleep in?” She thought resentfully. “Ok mom.” She yawned loudly while sitting up in her bed. “I-I’m up…” Her mom’s eyes were full of sympathy because she knew how hard it was for her to get a full-night’s sleep. They had talked, well-argued really, about night school. Her mom was saying that if she went to night school she could sleep during the day more and it was for her own good. But if she went to night school she would miss out on seeing her friends so Catlin stubbornly refused to go. After her mother left, Catlin dragged herself out of bed almost falling on the way to her closet… A couple minutes later Catlin looked in her long mirror in her bedroom and liked what she saw- Combed straight hair that went down her back, cute purple top with jeans and a necklace with the letter C on it except the black marks that shone under her eyes from some lack of sleep. Catlin held up the necklace to see it better….It was the necklace her father gave her before he died in a car accident with a drunk driver. Even though years had passed since then, Catlin could still hear his voice saying that the necklace reminded him of her and that’s why he had gotten it. Catlin felt tears sliding down her checks and quickly brushed them off before heading downstairs to the kitchen. Her mom made eggs, toast, and bacon. Catlin thanked her mom before happily eating the food. After she ate and said goodbye to her mom, Catlin grabbed her backpack and set off for her high school. When Catlin arrived she was immediately greeted by her 2 closest friends- Avery and Grace. Avery had long gorgeous black hair and had eyes that might remind you of jumping in a pool during a hot day. Grace had short spiky dirty blond hair and adorable baby blue eyes. Grace was the least outspoken of them all but when the 3 were alone Grace could talk up a storm. “Cat, there you are!” Avery called while she was walking towards her, Grace on her heels. “Hey Avery….Hey Grace...” Catlin said, tiredly while stifling a yawn. Grace could tell something was wrong. “Did you have another nightmare Catlin? Is that why you look so tired?” She asked softly while Avery’s eyes were full of concern. Avery and Grace are pretty much the only person besides her mom that knows about her dreams. Catlin nodded. Somehow Grace could sense whenever something isn’t right with her. “Yea but don’t worry…I’ll be fine.” She replied. Then they all went over to their usual table and talked but while they were talking, Catlin turned around to see a boy walking that she never seen before. He had blond hair kind of like Grace’s except it was darker but had captivated her was his eyes- One of them was blue while the other was green. “Hey Avery….Who is that?” She asked innocently, silently praying that she wouldn’t ask why she had asked. She was going to ask Grace but she was reading a book and looked like she was enjoying it so she had to ask Avery. “Hmmm….Oh that’s the new student.” Avery replied in a matter-a-factly tone, looking in the same direction she was. “I think his name is Shane or something…” Then she turned to look at Catlin with a questioning look and her stomach dropped. “Why did you ask?” “Oh…”Catlin said as evenly as she could. “Just wondering…” Chapter 3: Catlin walked into her classroom and sat at her desk then she grabbed a notebook and started drawing pictures of random things before class started. When the bell rang the teacher was just about to start teaching when all of sudden a boy came in late. "Sorry I’m late, I’m new here." He said to the teacher handing them a slip of paper. “I got lost and…” The boy trailed off for a second when he looked at Catlin then he finished his sentence and started walking to an empty desk. It was the boy the 2 different colored eyes! Catlin’s face reddened a bit when she noticed his pause and looked down at her desk, her long hair falling into her face. “Oh. I almost forgot to tell you to introduce yourself to the class- tell them your name and a little something about you.” The teacher said, beckoning him up to the front again. The boy didn’t protest when had to get up again as he walked up the front of the room and Catlin admired his courage. “My name is Shane Aubrey. I’m 17 years old and I have a younger sister named Grace.” Catlin’s mouth dropped. Grace had a brother and didn’t even tell her! She glanced at her since she was sitting a couple rows next to her but Grace just shrugged like she hadn’t known either. “Thank you Shane, you may sit back down now.” The teacher said before beginning the lesson. Catlin struggled to pay attention. Part of it was because she was tired; the other part was that she was irritated that Grace hadn’t told her that he was her brother. After the bell rang Catlin grabbed her stuff and hurried out of the classroom. When school was over Catlin decided to confront Grace about Shane so she caught up with her outside, Shane nowhere to be seen. “Grace! Why didn’t you tell me you had an older brother?!” She exclaimed. “Well, I thought you knew and we live in separate homes. I live with my mom- You know that already while Shane lives with my dad which is why you’ve never seen him till now.” Grace said her eyes wide with surprise when she heard the anger in Catlin’s voice. “He just wanted to spend more time with me and my mom so he’s staying with us now.” Catlin was just about to open her mouth to say something else when she heard another voice call. “Grace! Hey Grace, come on it’s time to go.” It was Shane who was a little farther away. “Ok Shane, be right there!” Grace called back. But before she walked toward her brother, she looked at Catlin with a strange expression - confusion and wonder in her eyes.
Prologue: A lost young girl was walking alone in a dark forest, the leaves crunching beneath her feet. A cold breeze blew, tussling her long black hair and making it shiver. After a while she heard her name being called. “Catlin, Catlin where are you?” The voice said. “Mom is that you?” She called back, cautiously. It sounded like her mom….. “Yes now come here so I can take you back home.” The girl began to walk in the direction the voice came from but also wondering why her mother would be here also. It wasn’t like her mother to be out in the forest, especially at night. “To look for me of course…” she thought but still feeling unconvinced. When she finally got there the girl saw someone standing in the middle of the forest. She ran up and hugged them tightly. “Mom, I missed you so much!” She cried. “I’m sorry for getting lost….” But her relief stopped as she paused in mid-sentence because she noticed that her mother didn’t reply. “Mom, mom can you hear me?” She asked, looking over her mom in concern but when she looked up at their face her eyes filled with terror and her blood ran cold… It wasn’t her mom! Chapter 1: Catlin screamed as she woke up then stopped, her forehead dripping with beads of sweat. She looked around her bedroom and sighed from both relief and disappointment. That was the 4th time she had that terrifying dream. It was common for her to have more bad dreams than the normal person, even as a baby as she had them. But these dreams….They were different than any other dream she had had before. Catlin shuddered as she recalled the frightening details. The dream always started out with her walking in a dark forest, lost and cold, then after a while she would hear a voice calling her name, and followed the sound. When she finally came to the source of the sound it wasn’t her mother at all. It was a tall demon with glowing red eyes and cat-like claws, its jaws dripping with blood. Catlin would scream and run but she would always trip, falling onto the ground and hurting her leg so she no longer can try to escape. Then the dream would end before the demon could injure her. Catlin gulped. “Or kill me….” She whispered aloud in the darkness of her room. Then Catlin turned her head to hear a small knock on her door. “Catlin, are you ok?” A voice softly called. It was her mother, Jane Colette. Jane had long wavy black hair and these pretty greenish-blue eyes that glow in the sunlight all in all she was a very mesmerizing woman. Now she was sitting on the edge of the bed looking over her daughter, concern in her eyes. “Are you ok Cat?” She asked, sitting closer to Catlin’s side. “Yes, I’m fine….I just had another nightmare.” Catlin replied, looking down at her covers. She was trying very hard to disguise how much the dream actually shook her. But her mom was no fool.…. “Are you sure?” She asked her eyes oddly serious. Then she put her hand up against Catlin’s forehead and gasped. “You’re burning up cat!” Catlin shook her head. “No mom, I’m fine. Really I am.” She said. “I just slept under a bunch of covers.” “Ok….And you’re sure your fine?” Her mother asked once more. “Because you gave me quite a scare…” “Yes.” Catlin replied. “I just got hot under the covers, that’s all.” Her mother smiled and softly kissed her forehead before leaving. “All right….I’ll see you in the morning.”- Were her parting words. “Night mom, love you!” Catlin called back. Then she collapsed back on the bed, laying her head on a pillow. Sometimes before she went to bed, more often than not, she wondered why she was different….Why did she have bad dreams and could Hardly sleep through the night without waking up drenched in sweat or screaming….But something good comes out of everything right? “Right…” Catlin thought before slowly closing her eyes.