Prologue
Redmont, Araluen
The rain was coming down quickly. The sounds of thunder kept ringing in Will's ears. It was loud. No, not just loud. It was close. It was very close. He had to get back to the cabin. The rain was coming so fast he could not see. It was like a storm. A huge storm was coming. Will closed his eyes and tried to breathe. He grabbed the reins of the horse and began to run back toward the cabin. He was soaked, he knew.
The thunder banged again. But this time it was right above him. Will took a deep breath and ran faster. Somewhere along the path he let go of the horse. Will turned around, expecting to find his horse waiting. But the horse was gone. He was confused and he bit his lip.
"Tug?" His voice came out like a whisper in the screaming of the storm.
He shook his head. This wasn't right. But he could not see anymore. The rain covered his vision. But Will kept trying. He moved around and looked for the missing horse. He had to find Tug. Then he realized that the horse was not Tug. It wasn't Tug that he had been pulling with him. It was something else. Something much, much worse than an innocent pony.
His breath caught in his throat so he could not scream out loud. But it was inside of him. Inside Will was screaming in terror and the fear was taking over his entire body. The fear consumed him.