When my grandmother passed away, I found out she left her house in Santa Carla, California to me. It was a bit of a surprise, but I was grateful. I moved myself to the house around a month after my twentieth birthday, the trip taking around three and a half days in total to get there.

When I arrived, it seemed like a nice little seaside town. The first indication of something being off was seeing "The Murder Capital of the World" spraypainted on the back of the sign welcoming me to the place. My first thought was that it was just stupid graffiti some teenagers put there, but there was an odd feeling in my gut that it wasn't.

The house that had been left to me was absolutely gorgeous. It was a pretty shade of light violet, and had a welcoming feeling to it. The shutters on the windows were painted a rather bright shade of white, but fit in with the house. The front door and fencing was the same color as well.

There were flowers along the front of the house. Lilacs, which were my favorite. The interior of the house was small, yet cozy enough for me. It was a two story house, with three rooms on each floor. There was a tiny kitchen, a living room, and a dining room on the first floor, and a bathroom, bedroom, and a storage room on the second.

Although it seemed small, I liked it; I didn't need a giant manor to be happy.

To get down to the boardwalk, it was less than 20 minutes by foot, and half of that by car.

In my mind, I had made a good decision by moving. But in reality, I was better off staying in Vermont. Safer.

"I just don't know if you should, Gwen. You know how I feel about you going out at night alone."

I sighed and rested the phone between my shoulder and ear, trying to apply mascara at the same time. It wasn't exactly working out too well.

"Dad, please, I'm almost 22. I don't need anyone holding my hand every time I want to go out. And besides, it's a crowded area. It's not like anyone will try and abduct me."

I could hear my father's breathing on the other line for a moment. I capped my mascara and grabbed my dull red lipstick, running it along my lips a few times.

"Gwendolyn, please promise me you'll stay in the lighted areas and be safe."

I put my lipstick down and held the phone properly.

"I promise. I'm an adult, and I'll be fine. I gotta go, but I'll call you later. Love you, bye!"

I hung up the phone and pulled on a pair of my black Dr. Martens, lacing them up halfway and tucking the remaining lace inside the boot.

Before I left, I took a look at myself in my full length mirror by the staircase. I was dressed in an indigo camisole top, a white knee length skirt with waves throughout it, and a few bracelets on both my wrists. My auburn hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and I had even gone the extra mile to curl it loosely.

I was dressed to impress, but who was there for me to impress?

After a moment of admiring myself, I grabbed some money and tucked it between the waistband of my skirt and my skin, then made my way out.

There was a warm breeze, and the sun was already beginning to set, casting beautiful shades of orange and yellow across the sky. Summertime in Santa Carla was always perfection, in my opinion.

The trip to the boardwalk took me around 15 minutes, but only because I was walking fast. It was getting darker and darker by the minutes, and I didn't care to get abducted. My dad was right about that- Santa Carla was littered with missing persons posters, and my own could very well be among them at any time.

When I arrived at the boardwalk, I couldn't help but smile. As a young child, my parents would take me there while we would visit my grandmother. Memories of riding the carousel and ferris wheel were in my mind, adding to my pleasant mood.

I made my way through the crowd, taking in all the sights and smells; rides, concerts, people in eccentric clothing, and classic carnival food.

I momentarily contemplated going on a ride, but I didn't feel like going on one by myself.

All of a sudden, someone bumped into me, causing me to lose my balance and fall. When I hit the ground, I felt a sharp pain in the palm of my hand. I pulled myself up and inspected my hand, seeing that a piece of glass was wedged in my skin.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

I looked up, seeing a girl who couldn't have been older than me. She had a concerned look etched upon her face.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It's just a little cut, I'll be fine."

She pulled me aside and took a look at my hand. I could have sworn she flinched at the sight of the blood.

"I really am sorry.. You should get this cleaned up."

"It's alright, and when I get home I'll take care of it. I'm Gwen, by the way."

She smiled a bit. "It's nice to meet you, Gwen. I'm Star, and this is Laddie," she said, pointing out the small boy beside her, who looked to be around 10 or 11 years old.

I smiled down at Laddie, and he returned the gesture.

"Would you like to walk with us for a while?" Star asked.

"That would be nice, yes." I replied, wiping some of the blood from my hand.

Star, Laddie, and I walked along the boardwalk for a good half hour, talking about things like music and fashion. Star seemed like a lovely person, but I felt as though something was off about her, and with Laddie, too. I brushed the feeling off, though- she was just trying to be nice to me.

After a while, we ended up in a crowd at one of the beachside concerts. A sweaty man wearing tight pants was up on stage singing, but the only words I could make out were "I still believe". Star began to dance, moving her body to the beat of the music. Laddie was jumping around, a grin on his face. After a moment, I joined in with Star, rolling my hips. I looked around, and then spotted a guy not far from us, staring us down as though we were food. I nudged Star, and she stopped to look. After a moment, she grabbed Laddie's hand and motioned for me to follow her.

We made our way through the crowd, not stopping for anything. After a minute, we came to a clearing. Laddie made his way over to a group of bikers, and that's when I noticed them.

There were four of them; one with peroxide blonde hair and a trenchcoat, one with a wild mane of blonde hair and white pants that looked a bit too tight, one with dark brown hair and looked as though he had some Indian blood in his veins, and then him. The smallest of the four, who had long, curly blonde hair and a rather beautiful patchwork jacket. I didn't realize I was staring until Star's voice pulled my gaze away from him.

"Gwen? Gwen? Are you alright?"

I nodded, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit from embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just zoned out for a minute there..."

"Well I have to go, but I'll be here tomorrow night. And I really am sorry about your hand. I hope it doesn't hurt too badly."

I shook my head a bit. "Don't worry, it was nothing more than an accident. And I will be, too. I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled and nodded, then made her way over to the group. She got on the back of the motorcycle of the peroxide blonde, who was staring at me. I realized they all were, and their eyes were glancing down at my injured hand. The guy in the colorful jacket sent a smirk in my direction, which caused chills to creep up my spine.

I turned and walked away, seeing the guy who had been staring had followed us. I picked up my pace, hurrying away.

Trying to get the glass out of my hand was more painful than I had wanted or expected it to be. It was stuck rather deeply in my hand, and each time I pulled it, more and more blood trickled out. After a good five minutes of poking and prodding at it, I took a deep breath and yanked it out. I cried out in pain, tears falling down my cheeks. I grabbed some peroxide and poured it into the cut, only causing me to sob from the sheer pain.

Once the wound was cleaned out and covered with gauze, I changed into an oversized purple shirt and cleaned my face of my makeup. I climbed into bed, falling asleep within a few minutes.

I hope that you guys like this so far. I'll update whenever I can! Reviews are appreciated- I like to see what people think and what I could possibly improve upon. :)