I was walking home from my talent show where I had been in a dance with the whole class, I had no choice since it was my eighth grade year, the last at this school. I was wearing my normal jeans and a purple tank top with a plain black hoodie.
There was absolutely nothing that could go wrong. I was finally out of school! I had all summer of freedom and then I wasn't even going back to the same school, I would be a freshman. I felt great, better than I probably ever had. All I had to make it through was graduation and I was home free... speaking of that, I turned onto the gravel path that was only two blocks from home and I walked under the pine tree.

I hate that pine tree now. Couldn't it have warned me?

I didn't stand a chance. The man was calm the whole time as he accused me.
YOU! Stop right there in the name of Hunter Redfern. Who! I exclaimed. Was this guy drunk? I started backing away.
You are now a prisoner of Hunter Redfern and anyone at Circle Midnight for the crimes of treason. What in the heck are you talking about, crazy? Get off of me! I don't know any Hunter Redfern! He had grabbed me and was shoving me into a big van which the seats had been removed from except the driver and passenger, and they were sealed off by a thick wall of something, dark glass maybe.

There was someone else back there, a girl about eighteen or so, she looked up at me with amazing green eyes, her blond hair falling out of her face.
You're not really that witch he thinks you are right? I bet you are just a human. What? Of course I'm human! Everyone is... I trailed off at her sympathetic look.
There's something I should tell you now that you are involved... And that's when my life changed forever. She told me about witches, vampires, shapeshifters, and Hunter Redfern. She told me about how she was with Circle Daybreak and fighting Circle Midnight, and about how she was caught sneaking to the secret valley in the Cascades to help Prince Delos and his soulmate free the slaves.
So if they aren't taking us to the valley, where are they taking us? I don't know... probably to be one of the Redfern's slaves. But don't worry, someone from Circle Daybreak will rescue us. She struggled to sound cheery, but I wasn't so sure. I was also still in shock of course. I knew there wasn't any use trying to deny it since she was obvious proof anyway. I just wished I had met them under better terms.
What's your name? I ask.
I'm Jade, and before you ask, I'm a vampire. She said softly, she looked worried.
Wow. Okay, Jade. I'm Sierra. But can I ask how you fit into this? I'm so confused. She laughed softly. Okay. I'm one of Ash Redfern's sisters. Ash joined Circle Daybreak but is off for a year before he'll come back for his human soulmate, Mary-Lynnette. My soulmate, Mark, is also human and is her brother. I have two other vampire sisters. Of course, we can't tell any of our family about this. I just don't want to go back to them. My sisters and I had ran away to Briar Creek. She looked really mad. I sat and tried to let this sink in, but the car had stopped. We had reached whatever place they were going to keep us.
They yanked us viciously out of the van and wound a rope around our wrists and tied them, then tied more rope around our necks and dragged us along like dogs. These... these... people weren't human, and they weren't like Jade...