A/N: I've been wanting to write this for years now, but never really got to it. But now I have and the following text that you are about to read is the product of my rather active imagination. I hope you enjoy your read and please remember to review. And, I beseech you, be kind. (=

Prologue

Cheltenham, England

2008

Being pulled into that darkness, that emptiness was like having all the air sucked out of her lungs. She swore that she could feel her heart swelling in her chest, simply expanding and expanding until she was sure that it'd rip open her skin and leave her bleeding to her death. Her legs felt weak, but still managed to hold her up. It was nothing short of a miracle. Except that she didn't want her legs to continue supporting her, keeping her standing upright. She wanted to fall to the ground in a heap of quivers and shakes because she didn't know what else to do.

Her body ached all over. She had already abandoned the idea of breathing through her nose and instead opened her mouth to swallow large portions of air―but she choked on it instead. No air would enter her lungs. She couldn't breathe and for the life of her, she wanted to scream for help, but it felt like there was something jammed in her throat and it was preventing her from making even the slightest of sounds. The beating of her heart was picking up pace. What was once a dull thudding in her ear had turned into a loud and relentless thump thump thump. In three seconds, she would be dead and she began to sob, afraid.

The sobs had not a chance to turn to tears, however, as she was thrust into yet another darkness. But it was a different darkness. It had light. Real light. And it wasn't suffocating her. It was actually bordering on nice and warm…and panic-stricken as she watched a woman race past her, a black figure practically exuding fear hot on her heels.

This time, Alice didn't even try to scream, and when her chest began to hurt from the lack of oxygen within her lungs, she didn't panic, didn't feel like crying. Because she had stopped breathing by choice, watching in silence as the black figure―the shadow―got closer and closer to the woman. This is it, she thought, her eyes intent upon a gleaming piece of metal in the shadow's hand. It glowed in the moonlight like a priceless piece of jewellery, the type that went for millions at auctions. She knew, though, that there was nothing beautiful about what the shadow was holding, and in that moment, she knew.

She knew that the woman would fall. She knew that the figure would stand over her, light glinting off his weapon as he poised it just above her heart.

It was all rather like a horror movie, except she was in it and it was real. This was real.

As she had predicted, the woman fell. One of her feet caught on something on the ground―Alice didn't know what―and she went tumbling to the ground, a desperate cry emitting from her, a plea for mercy. The shadow wasted no time and stood over her, eclipsing her, engulfing her in darkness. And through all of this, the girl sitting on the ground, only watched, holding her breath. She saw nothing but the unusual weapon as it descended upon the woman with such stunning force. She did nothing else but watch―until the blade came back up and she saw the dark liquid that kept it from reflecting the moon's light.

And just like that, the air rushed back into her lungs with a vengeance, pushing the walls of the organ to near breaking point. The pain seemed to grow within the confinements of her chest and it was quickly becoming unbearable, and with every heartbeat, the pain was getting worse. Finally, she dropped to the ground, her right hand clawing at her chest with a note of anxiety.

Her mind was making an attempt at concocting a plan to save her. Something brilliant that would be fitting of a girl aiming for Cambridge―but nothing would come. Or rather, many things came, but all at the same time at which point her head started to throb, synchronizing with the pounding of her heart.

Her mind never stopped thinking and her heart never stopped beating, and when she screamed, it was triggered by something else. Not by her mind transmitting some message upon seeing the shadow approach her. And it wasn't fear that should have entered her heart that made her cry out either. It was a message from something, someone that was so loud and so clear that it might as well have been spoken aloud. Only it hadn't been. There was no one about but her and the thing that was getting closer. And yet, there it was, in her thoughts, coming above everything else in her brain. Scream! it said.

So she did and the air that had been causing her so much pain before slammed against her back, sending her flying towards the shadow with his weapon bathed in blood and it was all she could do not to scream until her throat burned, until her eyes shed tears. She made impact with the shadow and felt the blade dig into her flesh and she saw red. The beating of her heart grew mightier and mightier, and she couldn't seem to keep herself from gasping for air although there was nothing restricting her breathing. It was happening again. She couldn't see anything. Was this what people saw when they died? Was she already dead?

But then, from somewhere in that sea of red, Aleah's face came into view, concern and fright dancing across her features. Alice blinked away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, sweeping over her surroundings, seeing white rectangular tables with little jars filled with liquids of all sorts of colours on them. And everyone staring at her. "Babes, do you need to go to the nurse's office?" someone said, his voice strained from trying to contain his laughter.

She turned around towards the direction of the voice only to see the face of a boy whom she was certain looked familiar, her heart twisting and her stomach making awkward, uncomfortable flips as his whole person shook with laughter. She turned in her seat, a frown upon her brow, and directed her gaze to the front of the class where a petite woman with auburn curls in a pink blouse and white skirt was looking at her rather intently. Alice held her gaze for what seemed like forever before the woman walked towards her.

And panic filled every part of her body again. The shadow! It was coming towards her, the same blood-stained blade in his hand.

The scream that was ripped from her lips this time was louder and felt even more real than the one before. She pushed her chair back with speed that she hadn't known she possessed, the chair screeching in protest against the floor. She began to get up and make a run for it, but her foot caught against a backpack on the floor and she fell, rather like the woman she'd seen earlier. Images floated across her vision of how the woman had been stabbed and Rose felt hysteria setting in.

He was here. He was here. He'd come to kill her. But he had killed her. She had felt the knife slice through her skin and into her flesh. The pain had been there. She'd died. Immediately, her hand shot up to her chest, and came into contact with the familiar texture of a dampened shirt. She pulled her hand away and looked at it.

Blood.

Another scream was inevitable as she tried to get away from the shadow. He was so close now. She could feel fear's icy grasp around her heart. She had to…she had to…

"Alice! Alice, stop!" She felt hands descend upon her shoulders, accompanied by the voice of a girl shouting at her, and she saw Aleah. She tried to say her name, but nothing would come out. It was like her lips had been sewn shut. She couldn't speak. She then looked at her hands―which had absolutely no traces of anything even remotely red. Had she been imagining the whole thing? "I think you need to go see the nurse," Aleah said.

She looked up, beyond her best friend's shoulder and no longer saw the shadow, but the anxiety-ridden face of the same petite woman from the front of the class. She was saying something, but Alice wasn't sure what. She wasn't paying attention, too lost in her own mind. She felt herself being pulled up to her feet and directed towards the door.

She had imagined the whole thing. There was no shadow coming to get her. No woman had died. In fact, as she walked out the door and down the corridor, she realized that she was in school, in broad day light, with her friends and as safe as safe could possibly get. But it had all felt so real.

And that was what scared her. She had been convinced that everything that had happened was real. It had been real to her. But only to her. No one else had experienced it.

You're losing it, she heard in her mind, a voice breeching her train of thought, as if someone was speaking directly to her. But how could anyone speak to her in her mind? Mind-reading only existed in things like superhero stories and Twilight. Her imagination was running wild, she realized, planting things in her head that would never translate into reality. But whatever it was, that voice in her head was probably right. She was losing it, and that scared her more than dying.