Chapter 1

Lenora

"BANG!"A window blew open with a cold gust of wind. The frightening noise echoed through the dorm room. My eyes shot open. I struggled to sit up from my straw-made bed as I tried to process what was going on. It has been the fourth time that the window had blew open this week. But the only thing that surprised me was that I was the only one who woke up. The other children were sound asleep. The flying cold snow started to burn my cheeks. I covered my face with my brown stained sleeved arms, leaving the gap for my eyes. I stepped onto the cold surface of the dark wooden floor and I forced my way through the wind but it was impossible, I kept on falling on my butt or running to a side to get out of the wind. It was like someone in an invisible cloak was pushing on my shoulders…

When I was able to reach the window, I shut the panes and tightened the locks and an explosion of dust burst through the freezing air. I leaned against the window sill, barely breathing. My lungs are reacting to the cold wind more often than they used to. 3 years ago, I only remember that I was laying in the snow right beside the road, my left rib felt like they were lit on fire. Then I woke up in a white room. For a second, I thought it was heaven, but then a realised a bandage wrapped around my stomach and the windows. Then I overheard somebody talking to a familiar voice beside my bed "she's going to be fine, but the crash caused her lungs and her left rib to be unstable and the frontal lobe of her head was badly injured".

"Will she remember?" said the familiar voice. The doctor looked guilty "The damage was too close to the memory part of the brain. It will be lucky for her if she even remembers anything. It was even lucky enough that she survived…unlike her paren-" I sat up and looked at them waiting for them to continue the chat, rubbing my bandaged head. The man who was talking had a bald head and was muscly and tall. He wore a white coat over his royal blue T-shirt. If he didn't have the job of a doctor, his second job must have been a wresteler. "Where am I?"I said, rubbing my head. The familiar man walked up to me. He had blonde slick hair which reminded me of Elvis. He wore a black tuxedo over his pearl white shirt. If I saw his eyes under the black shades, I would say he's pretty handsome. "Your fine, Lenora. You're in the hospital because you were in a car crash. Remember me?" My mind was blank but he was somehow connected with my mum. "I'm Dave. Your mum's lawyer…" Nothing rang a bell. Suddenly, I remembered that my mum and dad were in the car as well. "Where's mum and dad?" I was waiting for them to answer but they just stood there, looking at each other. Suddenly, pictures started to run through my head like paint. I suddenly remembered a huge bang of an explosion and me flying in the air. Smoke floated in my lungs and burning pain echoed in my ribs. I landed in the cold snow on the side of the road, laying on my back with the moon watching over me. I only had enough strength to lift my head the burning flames of the car. I was only a few metres away but the heat of the fire stated to singe my eyebrows. My eyes widened as I saw a man in the car, unconscious. His faced blurred out of the picture. Then everything turned white then pitch black. It all made sense now. Tear swelled up in my eyes as anger boiled in my chest "MUM?! DAD?!" I yelled, trying to get out of the white bed. Dave grabbed my wrists. I tried to fling him off but his grip wouldn't even loosen. "Calm down, Lenora". I calmed down a little bit and slowly calmed and relaxed. I couldn't believe it myself. My parents gone, whoever they were. Their faces were blurry but their voices were unforgettable. After 3 full days of torture in the hospital, my mum's lawyer looked after me for a fortnight but forced me to go to the "the orphanage for toddler's and children" and left me there, kind of like the movie "Annie" and it was sure a "hard knock life". When I was back into reality, I wiped my long pitch black hair out of my silvery eyes. I lifted my head to look up at the moon and stars of New York. "I know you put me here but the least you can do is to tell me why" the moon didn't answer. Once again, I felt abandoned by the only thing that could help me recover my memories. I wondered to myself how such a starry night would cause such a blizzard. Snow flooded the metal staircase outside the window. Snowflakes stuck on the window pane. I stared in to the snowy night as I wished that someone, something would make my life…not boring? No. wrong words. Adventurous, exciting. I looked up and smiled at the moon. I just knew something was abnormal about it. Suddenly, there was a smash and a powerful wind! I turned my head to the horrible sound. The glass vase near my bed was smashed on the floor, leaving water and broken glass .my eyes widened. The other children started to wake up. Then my heart skipped a beat. Stomping shook the ground of the dorm room. I was frozen to the spot, but I knew what was happening. Fear took over me as the door slammed open and came out a pretty yet scary lady. Her face in a green mask. Her short blonde hair in curlers and her eyes as sharp as black stars. Her pink silk gown was too big.

"What the hell is going on here!?" her eyes scanning the dorm. All the children looked at each other and others were whispering. Her eyes met mine. "You" she said, pointing her bony finger at me. My brain said go but my feet wouldn't obey. "come with me" she walked to me and grabbed my wrist. I struggled but her grip was like steel. She pulled me to the door. "HELP! Somebody help me" I screamed. No one moved from their beds. I reached out with the hand that was free from the grip of the monster at the open air (don't know why) and something…no, someone, grabbed my wrist. I must've blackout for like a second because as soon as I touched the invisible person's grip, there was a bright light and I saw myself in the water, drowning in some kind of pond. The water could have been snow, it was that cold. My back felt like I hit solid concrete and my left arm on fire. I was looking at the moon. It was so big and bright like the moon can scared that fear, pain and darkness away.

When I lost my grip, everything was back to normal, but in front of me, I saw a teenage boy with a blue hoody covering his snow white hair and glass blue eyes. He looked at me, wide eyed (just like me). His touched left me frozen yet my heart throbbed against my chest. It looks like no one could see him. My feet wouldn't move from the ground, like someone had splattered PVA glue over the ground. Mrs Trunch tugged at my sleeve, but I wouldn't budge an inch. My whole body was frozen on the spot, staring at the boy. Suddenly, Ms Trunch pulled my arm around to face her and slapped me across the face. The force of her hand was so strong that my whole body fell sidewards with my head right next to the side of the bed. This was one of the moves that tells you that you're going in the chambers. The chamber is about half of a classroom and it's the darkest room in the building with one tiny window at the top of the room and that's where she would whip your legs with long stands of grass and leave you in there without anything to sleep with until sunrise. My legs still ached from the horrifying pain last night "three days from now is chore Friday, so in the morning I'll be ticking off your name and you will get started cleaning" Mrs Trunch yelled with disgust spread in her voice like butter on bread "if you are not there' you'll be sent to the chambers faster than you can say "snow day" I didn't want even look at Mrs Trunch. But I swear, just before my brain adjusted to the crashing sound of the vase, I saw a silhouette of a thin man in a robe that disappeared into the shadows and his eyes glowed eerily like mist you would see in the woods.