Chapter I

RIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG! The alarm went off. Ten-year-old Cyrille Cromwell groggily reached for it and hit the snooze button for the third time. As she hit the clock, it fell off the table and landed on the floor with a nasty sound.

"Holy crap! What time is it?" she frantically asked as she stood up. She plucked the alarm clock off the floor and tried to make sense of the numbers that the hands were pointing to. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" she said as she replaced the clock on the table and ran straight to the shower. Five minutes later, she sprinted downstairs fully clothed and ready for school. As she reached the kitchen in record time, she spotted her aunt sipping her morning tea while reading the paper. She looked at the breakfast food longingly but decided against it.

"I'll be off now, Aunt Judith!" she called as she dashed through the door without waiting for any kind of response. Outside, she could feel the warm breeze against her face, ruffling her already messy brown hair. She sighed and felt the air once more before she made another sprint for her destination, barely looking at her surroundings as she passed by. She reached her school with barely a minute to spare. As she entered the classroom nearly out of breath, she took a good look around.

Everyone was already seated quietly, although some of her classmates were still idly chatting with each other. Cyrille didn't take much notice of this. Rather, she noticed that there was still no teacher in sight. That was definitely a good sign. So, surveying the room once more, she spotted an empty chair near the back of the room. She quickly positioned herself there despite her short stature and sighed with relief as the teacher entered and made a roll call.

Halfway through her first period, Cyrille suddenly wished she had breakfast first. Her stomach was starting to make its presence known, but now was not the time to dwell on that. She still had fifteen pages to read from her history book. But it was so boring! Before long, her mind was once again wandering. The weather is awfully nice today. It would be a good day to visit that place again. My safe haven. She continued to stare at the window, her thoughts running as free as the clouds in the sky.

"Miss Cromwell!" a booming voice brought her back to reality.

"Er... yes, sir?"

"I presume that you are done reading, as you have the time to stare blankly into space. Perhaps you could share your knowledge with the rest of the class?"

"Well, actually, I was trying to digest what I had just read... Sir."

"Yes, clearly. By staring out the window. Now if you are done disturbing the class then I suggest you continue reading. All of you," he said as he turned his back on her. Her face flushed pink at the comment, and she shifted her attention back to the book in front of her.

What a day. Well, at least now I can go to the woods. It's the only place where I ever feel safe.

When she was younger, she used to go to the woods all the time. She went there to escape her problems as well as other people. She went there when she wanted to hide herself away from the world. After all, nobody knew of that place, so there was no danger of being found out.

She went up the stony path and followed it until she neared the end. She found herself looking into a beautiful scenery, much like a painting that had come to life. In front of her was a large body of water that looked strangely inviting. The breeze felt soft and cool against her skin and she felt calmer by just being there. She had spent so many days quietly sitting on the grass, taking in the wonderful moments she had to herself, moments when no one else could reach her. It was like she had found sanctuary in these woods. To a normal teenager, the woods might have spelled danger; but to her, it was the only safe place she had ever known. In fact, the forest held so many fond memories for her. She remembered that she used to watch the sun set from that place. She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her, dropping her school bag beside her. I love it here. It's always so calm. I wish my life could be this peaceful.

There was sudden movement behind her. She abruptly turned around and for a brief moment, she thought she was no longer alone. But as she searched, her eyes only laid upon a tiny white creature. It was a rabbit.

"Hello there. Are you lost?" she asked as she stood up when the rabbit was startled into hiding. When she tried to take a few steps closer, the animal backed up further. "I won't hurt you. It's alright, come here," she said as she crouched on the ground and extended her hand. This made the animal run.

"No, wait! Don't be scared!" she said as she chased the creature's shadow. It was a long chase, but in the end, she lost the rabbit's trail. She looked around and became conscious of her surroundings for the first time since the chase, then abruptly realized that she was lost. I've never been to this part of the forest before. It doesn't look inviting. Maybe I should turn back. That's right. I'll try to retrace my steps. But where on earth did I come from?

Just then, she felt a strange lure in one of the farther areas. It was a fact that Cyrille was a bright girl. She knew that she shouldn't have been prancing around mysterious places, especially if she were alone and quite lost in the woods. However, like what all great heroines typically did, she thought better of it. I'll look, just look. Then, I'll go back. She went on farther into that direction. She thought she saw a strange creature hiding behind a tree, so she squinted to get a better look at it. There was nothing there, though. Just as she was about to turn back, her foot came into contact with something hard. Before she could react, she felt a strange kick in her senses, then the world around her disappeared.

She landed hard on her bottom and her head was spinning. She found herself in a strangely cold and damp place. It seemed like the place had not seen the light of day in ages, but soon enough she found her eyes getting used to the darkness. She realized that if she focused enough, she could actually see her surroundings. The moment she was able to discern what the place looked like, she felt danger. She looked around, frantically searching for any sign of life. Her senses were yelling at her to find the nearest exit and flee, but that was not possible. There just weren't any exits around. Her heartbeat increased with every second. Breathe, Cyrille. Just breathe. You're going to be fine. That's right. Now, think. What should you do in a situation like this? She figured that sitting around and doing nothing was the worst that she could do.

Making up her mind, she stood up and started walking, trying to familiarize herself with her surroundings. As she rounded the corner, she saw something that made her cringe. Lying in a pool of blood, sprawled helplessly on the floor was a man in black.