Prologue

As she stood motionless behind the scratchy Maple tree, she watched as the hunters crept by. She sighed as the last hunter ran past her. She had been running from them all night. She checked her surrounding then ran back where the hunters came from. She wasn't quite sure what happened to her, or what her name was, but she was sure the hunters wanted her: for a bad reason. She also knew she just had another child, it was in her hands sound asleep and it looked very hungry because it was trembling. As she ran she looked all around her and she checked to make sure the baby wasn't going to cry. The head hunter, as she knew him, was very strong and had the senses of a dog. He was also very young and cute. He wasn't very old, but he still had a gun, and determination. As she slowed down she thought she was going to faint. Just then she was surrounded by hunters, hunters that looked so familiar by her past. The head hunter appeared before the group.

"I've been waiting quite a long time for you, my dear, but you have your ways." He said sarcastically. "Too bad you have to suffer if you're going to disobey my commands. And, what is this? A baby! Well! Should we celebrate men?!" the head hunter retorted. A whole group of hunters started cheering, but stopped when he glared their way. The head hunter turned to the girl. He slapped her across the face violently. "You disobeyed me! I…I have never disobeyed you! You're going to pay for your defeat!" He whispered. Then with the snap of his fingers, his hunters came forward and tied a rope around her waist, binding her hands. They whipped her forward into the deepest parts of the woods and swaggered off. The head hunter picked up the now crying baby and talked to it. "I hoped you were going to cry! Your mother is going where no woman has gone before!" He said with a crackle.

"What should I name this demon?" He sneered to his partner.

"Uh boss, that's your business; I don't want anything to do with that baby!" The partner replied.

"Fine! Go look for the rest of the rug rats! I've got work to do, and I want all of them, y'hear!" He angrily yelled while grabbing the cuff of his partner's shirt.

"Ye...ye ye ye yess sir!" He stuttered.

"Good!" They both walked out of there, baby in hand, their minds working together to create some feeble plot.

Book 1 Part 1 Everyone's Pain

"Ring around the Rosy, Pocket full of Posy, ashes, ashes, we all fall DOWN!" Leah, Vanessa, and Tiffany yelled in unison.

"For the last time! Can't the three of you play some Snakes and Ladders with me instead of some Pocket full of ashes that fall down?" Milo cried.

"For your information Milo," Leah said snootily, "its pocket full of posy."

"Whatever." Milo muttered knowing that he wouldn't win.

"Hey girls." Alec mumbled just so softly that the girls could just barely hear him.

"Hey!" Leah said, no one else replied.

"So Vanessa, do you wanna like climb a tree?" Alec said determined.

"I would love to, thanks for asking!" Leah answered unaware that he was talking to Vanessa.

"Hey, do you want to play snakes and ladders?"

"NO!" Vanessa and Tiffany said together, annoyed.

"Well just asking!"

"Okay kids let's do our swimming lessons!" Jethro, their foster parent said.

Vanessa

As Vanessa pretended to "look for her necklace" to get away from Alec and Milo, her senses started to tingle as she found a butcher knife in the mud. She stared at it with so much force she wanted to replenish her eyes. She didn't seem to understand how sharp the blade was until she pricked herself just by brushing up against it. Then she noticed the initials on the very bottom on the handle. The initials were very faint and much rusted. She went back to reality when Erin, the new foster girl apparently made friends with her right away, called her name.

"Vaaaaneeesssaa!" Erin screamed as she ran straight for Vanessa. Vanessa quickly wrapped a small rag around the knife and shoved it in her knapsack.

"Vanessa, there you are, I've been looking for you everyw…" Erin staggered. She reached into the mud and pulled out metal.

"What is it?" Vanessa questioned.

"I…. I don't know. It's too small for me to see with my own eyes." Erin said, focused on the lump of metal.

"It looks like a… well I don't know, but it does look familiar." Vanessa said, unable to breathe in 100 degree weather.

"Maybe Jethro will know!" Erin jumped.

"No, come back!" Vanessa yelled, but it was already too late, and something didn't sit right in her stomach.

Alec

Hanging upside down from a tree, Alec yelled to Milo very loud to get Vanessa's attention.

"Hey Milo, this looks easy, but it's hard!" Milo and Alec watched as Vanessa wandered off.

"Hey Vanessa, where are you going?" Milo boldly asked.

"I'm going to find my necklace and I don't need any help." Vanessa replied then ran off.

"Well there goes my chance." Milo said under his breath. Then Erin ran into the woods calling for Vanessa.

"Dude, we should make this summer worth while." Milo said suspiciously.

"Okay, but are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alec said with a devilish grin.

"JETHRO! JETHRO! JETHRO!" Erin screamed as she sprinted toward the lake where Jethro was standing. Vanessa ran like there was no tomorrow.

"Erin gimme that!" Vanessa shrieked as she attempted to steal something small, but failed.

Milo

"I'm going down by the lake everyone, so if you need me, I'll be there." Jethro called out, to no one in particular. Milo trotted off toward the dirt road.

"Where are you going?" Alec questioned, unaware that he looked nerdy in plaid shorts.

"No where!" Milo scowled and ran off. He followed the dirt road until it broke off into a narrow trail leading into the woods.

"Holy! Jeez!" Milo uttered as he tripped over a tree branch, and fell flat face in the grassy mud, and got his blonde hair dirty, again! Milo quickly recovered himself. Then he followed the trail once again until he came to the clearing. It was a meadow, and if you went too far forward you would fall off the edge of a cliff. Below ran the Rutar River, snaking its way into the hunting grounds, where none of the kids were allowed. The boy sat down and searched the ground, where his secret compartment was hacked into the ground filled with cool things.

Creepy Enough

Jethro was dressed in his work uniform signaling the kids to come over.

"I have to go to work; you kids know its right down the road. I'll pick up dinner on the way back; I just have to drop off my photocopy, alright?" Jethro said then drove off on the dirt road.

"Hey guys," Brittany yelled," now that the old bat is gone how 'bout we hit the woods!" Everyone looked at each other fearful of the precious, but powerful Brittany. She was the middle school hottie and the best, but snottiest girl on the cheerleading squad. Last thing anyone need was being down-graded on the social ladder.

"Are you scared?" Brittany snarled.

"No not at all, except for the fact they're all stupid 'fraidy cats!" Cassy, Brittany's annoying, yet beautiful friend spat, stepping towards the boys.

"I'll go." Vanessa eagerly replied, winning more of Brittany's attention. All Vanessa needed was to become close friends with Britt then she would crush her and become top dog. As soon as Vanessa said that more and more, eventually all of the kids decided they wanted to go.

As they trotted off into the woods they couldn't contain their frightening feelings.