Chapter One:

Into the Woods

The girl weaves through the forest, the soft padding of her feet the only other noise against the whispering of the pine needles. She is careful not to make a sound, and guided by moonlight, she leaves the place she once called home in the shadows. Her sure footing stumbles as the night continues, and when she does fall, no steady arms catch her, much to her dismay. She can only heft her small backpack higher and continue, scratched and bruised, inside and out, forcing the memories down.

But when she stops to sleep, a certain pair of emerald eyes haunts her dreams.

...

I yawn, stretch my arms, and grope for my alarm clock. What time is it? Why is it so bright in my room? Catching only a handful of air, I reluctantly open my eyes. The sun was making its way up in the sky, a brilliant fiery orb against the pale blues and yellows, and I was comfort-ably situated on a bed of leaves... what? The fogginess of sleep gone, I sit up straight and let the gravity of last night hit me. Groaning, I crawl towards my pack, but a sharp pain slices my knee. "Ahhhh," I wince, probing for the injury. Blood is seeping out of a reopened scrape, leaves and dirt sticking to the dark red liquid. I can't let this get infected; I can't go back to them. I can already hear the others, see the hurt in their eyes, the unspoken question on their lips. Why? Why, Chloe? I'll never be able to explain, let alone get past my stutter, and that'll land me right where I was before. Trapped. Volatile. A danger... they just don't know it yet.

Dabbing it with a clean cloth and wasting as much water as I could spare, I cleaned my wounds and pulled out my slightly sticky map (how did it get like that?). The nearest town was a good ten miles away, and knowing it was too soon to start walking by the highway, I could only accept that it was going to be a long trek through dense forest. I wolfed down an energy bar and zipped my backpack up, making quick progress through the thicket I was in. It was too early for them to notice I was gone, but when Kit and Derek come home from their trip to find three sleeping bodies instead of four... it would be good to have some distance between us.

By noon I was sweaty and tired, so I stopped by a small creek to replenish my resources. I indulged myself and sat underneath the shade of the trees, a small breeze tickling my skin and the sun peering at me through the leaves. My eyelids began to droop...

I'm sitting on the beach, fingering a seashell in the white sugar sand. The waves lap along the shore gently, and I find myself the only one here to enjoy the sea. Quietly watching the waves, I realize I'm not as alone as I thought. A familiar head of long, black hair is in my peripheral, and I turn my head to face him.

"Derek?" I ask, the stab of recognition sends my heart hammering. His warm fingers intertwine with mine.

He is silent for a moment. Softly, I hear him say, "Where are you? Why can't I find you?" His eyes meet mine, and the conflicting emotions in those green, green eyes pulls at the strings to my heart. I see fear, confusion, anger...

I lower my eyes. "I-I can't tell you t-that." Our hands seperate.

"Why not? You leave - no note, no explanation, just gone, right in the middle of the night. Dad and I come home and your Aunt is crying, muttering on the floor how she's failed, Simon is looking for you, and Tori... Tori is just silent, sitting at the edge of her bed staring at your side of the room." His eyes blaze with green fire as he speaks. I find it difficult to swallow. "What's wrong? We need you, Chloe... I need you." His voice cracks at the end, and I know he's expecting me to explain.

And I want to, I want so desperately to tell him why I had to leave, how my presence endangers all of us, how this was the only option, but I have taken too long to answer. He rises, back turned to me, walking away, out of my dream, out of my life.

"W-wait Derek! Don't leave me!" I scramble up, feet slipping on the wet sand, salty air filling my lungs.

He stops and turns his head to look at me. "Don't you get it? You left me." He walks on, but before he's out of sight he calls, "Tori, take me out. She's not coming back."

And the dream shatters, a thousand pin points of light pricking my brain, colors bleeding, shards flying, the smell of burnt toast in my nostrils, and one fact rising from the chaos: it was all that sneaky witch's magic.

I jolt awake, gasping for air and clutching my skull. The fiery pain running in circles around my brain subsides, but I still feel... violated. The innermost depths of my subconscious had been invaded and used against me, leaving me feeling betrayed and uncomfortable. What are you talking about? You left them. If anyone's been betrayed, it's not you. I sigh, and rubbing my eyes, I get up. It's late afternoon and I curse myself for falling asleep; I'll have to make up for lost time tonight.

Twigs snap under my tired feet, but I don't bother to quiet my footsteps. I stop for a drink of water, thankful of the conveniently placed creek on my right. Snap. Snap. I freeze, water dribbling down my chin. I look at my still feet and the icy tendrils of fear creep up my insides. If that wasn't me, then who was it?