"Bye Emily!" I shouted to my foster mom while have walking, half jogging out the door.

"Bye Ashley!" she called back from the kitchen.

After I closed the door I sprinted to the end of my suburban driveway to meet my best friend Lucy. Ever since we missed the bell and were banging outside the door of our middle school, I didn't plan to be late again. The person at the front desk, Miss. Kokinda was absolutely evil. It was like she enjoyed seeing us miserable.

"So ready to go?" I asked Lucy.

"Ready, I've been ready!" she answered in mock annoyance, "These feet can last!" I smiled, both at what Lucy said and how her hair shook when she talked, it looked good, though I don't know why, but Lucy likes to have a lot of volume for her hair. And the walking joke? She told me she never takes a car or bus unless it's an absolute emergency. I guess she had some bad experience with a car before, but we never really talked about it.

The walk to our middle school was about 15 minuets from my house, adding an extra 30 for Lucy.

We were able to talk the whole way, nonstop. I found it so easy to talk to Lucy, I don't know why, but maybe that's why she's my best friend.

We talk about normal 6th grade stuff, which is mostly who's dating who, gossip, and a lot of random stuff too, and sometimes Lucy goes into her speeches about how we have to protect the environment, and all that stuff. I felt like I could tell Lucy everything.

Almost.

There were some things I couldn't tell her, things I couldn't tell anyone.

Not without risks.

Not without possibilities of one of those mental hospitals in my future.

I couldn't tell her what I wanted to get out the most.

What scared me the most.

I saw a big shaggy creature outside my window when I was little, and I was too scared to scream. I could have sworn I hear a sword going out of a scabbard.

Last year, at my last foster home, I was walking out to see my friend Victoria. She was a tomboy, and would never be seen without a baseball hat. I was walking out the door, when all the sudden she pushed me down back in my house, and shut the door in my face. I heard clamping, screaming, not to mention more swords.

I was a coward. I stayed with my hands locked around my knees, head in my lap, auburn hair helter skelter, crying my eyes out. I just somehow knew that something bad was happening, something I couldn't prevent, even if I didn't know what. My gut instinct was to stay in, and that was what I followed.

After what seemed like a thousand years, all was silent, not even the birds chirped. All of the sudden, there was a sickening cracking sound, and it sounded like something large fell to the ground.

I opened the door a crack, and what I saw made me want to shut it right again. But instead, I pushed it wider, inch-by-inch, hoping it was all a dream.

I saw Victoria, a stone Victoria. There were also two other statues of kids no older than me. And there was one more, one of a deer. I felt like mourning for the deer and Victoria more than the two strangers, even though I spat at myself in disgust feeling more sorry for a deer than people, I couldn't deny the truth.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and rolled down my cheeks like a fountain.

There was a pile of sand of the ground, with an arrow on top of it, and I knew what the crack was, but what the thud was remained a mystery. But I didn't care. I lay down at Victoria's feet, and knew that whatever came next, could only be worse.

"Hello? Come on Ashley, you've got to listen to these talks. The environment needs supporters!" I could hear Lucy's voice ringing in my ear, and I realized that I zoned out, focused on my memories. I never zoned out during Lucy's speeches, I cared as much as she did! Even if I thought mostly of the animals when Lucy went on about the environment. I looked at Lucy's wide brown eyes, and the trusting gaze I saw in them. Her thick milky brown hair patterned her tan, flawless face. No, I couldn't loose her. I had to tell.

"Lucy, I have something to tell you." From the look of concern on her face, I thought of what I must look like. Freckles covering my nose and a bit of my cheeks, my button-like nose above my straight lips, none of the laughter in my blue eyes, just a cold, hard seriousness.

I took a deep breath and was about to begin when I saw a cloaked figure on the opposite side of the street. I stared at him, and saw the monstrous height. I'd seen this person before. I had a stalker. The person lifted its head and stared at me, its single eye giving an intense glare. I stifled a gasp, and looked back at the figure, clearly bidding its time, with its eye saying, I dare you. Tell her. No, if whatever this was wanted me, I wouldn't let Lucy be there. My life was worth less than hers.

"April Fools!" I said, in order to cover up the unbelievable truth I was about to tell Lucy.

A smile covered my face and felt so fake that I was afraid Lucy would question me. But instead she rose and eyebrow and said: "OK, no freaking me out! You have a week left of school, a week left of worrying about dyslexic, a week of your ADHD making you want to punch Fitch the Witch!" she said, using the nickname we gave to our least favorite teacher who sent me in the hall at least every day. She had to be brought to justice, not punched, but able to understand that she made life in her classroom a living hell!

"OK," I responded trying to make my smile real and forget about my stalker. I slipped on my lucky ring that I had my whole life, and almost pushed my dark thoughts of what will come in the back of my head. I almost forgot the hungry gaze the creature rested on me.

Almost.

So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Any suggestions? This is sort of an introduction chapter, but the action will get started up next chapter. So…

R&R

-StarDust2345