PREFACE

It was nighttime, their family was returning from a family trip in a new car that Sherry didn't like. It was a nice car, but everything about it just gave her the creeps. She had never been like this about a car. Never in her life had she actually been scared to sit in the back seat alone. Or just in the back seat at all.

Sherry and her parents weren't the only ones in the car, her best friend Maddi had come along with. Sherry could definitely tell that Maddi didn't like the car either. Normally she talks and talks all the time, none stop. But the second she got in this car, she shut up and had a scared face plastered on, just like Sherry.

They had been in the car in silence for almost two hours and it was driving them all insane. Sherry's parents tried to get them to talk; they even thought they were mad at each other because they weren't saying anything. No. That was not it.

But the silence was driving Sherry insane as well, so she turned to Maddi to say something, but was immediately stopped by the gasping breath and painful look on her friends face. She tried to ask what was wrong quietly so her parents couldn't hear, but Maddi never answered. She turned her face away from Sherry and started breathing heavily. Sherry didn't know what she should do. Maybe she was mad at her. Not sure exactly how to comfort her friend, she reached her hand out and put it on her shoulder. A strange hissing sound came out of her and she turned around to face Sherry. Maddi grabbed her hand in a hard and very painful grasp, not letting go.

"Ouch!" Sherry whispered loudly. "That hurts, Maddi! Let go!" But the hissing only got louder, to almost a snarl. Sherry's dad looked back to see what in the world was going on and gasped that we weren't playing around. He was mesmerized by Maddi's face. It wasn't normal. The whites of her eyes were a dark gray, with green veins. Her mouth was unusually large, and fangs with pointed teeth took the place of her old straight and pretty mouth.

A blood-curdling scream escaped Sherry's lips and wouldn't stop. She kicked the demon again and again in hopes of getting free. The car swerved, the sound of skidding tires around them. Lights from other cars were suddenly shining on them at all different angles due to the sudden lack of car control. Loud vehicles were honking, again and again.

"The car!" Yelled Sherry's mom, "it…Sherry! I…are you…? The car!" She was freaking out, trying to get the car straight, and with worry of her daughter's cry of pain and fear. Sherry couldn't understand what was going on. She knew that the car was out of control, and she knew that her father's arm was getting shredded because he was trying to pull this thing off of her without success, but because of her friend suddenly being possessed by some kind of demon just messed everything up. Sherry could feel her face and arms bleeding.

The snarling and scratching only got worse, and as much as Sherry tried, she couldn't get free. She was losing her energy. Her dad was practically sitting on her trying to get this thing off.

She suddenly heard a loud pop and a sudden silence from the skidding tires. The demon Maddi was suddenly somewhere else, along with Sherry's dad. There was another loud pop, and a sharp pain came all around Sherry's body. She looked up, but only saw blood covering her eyes.

She could tell that the car had just crashed, probably went upside down since the roof isn't on the car anymore, and judging by the sounds of the car still running into things, they weren't done crashing. She could hear people screaming and cars honking.

Finally it had all ended and they weren't moving anymore. There was silence in the car, and Sherry wanted to get up and hug her parents. But there was a problem. She couldn't move. She couldn't find the muscles in her arms, legs, torso, neck, or anything. The only things she was able to move were her lips, and her eyelids.

Sherry opened her eyes, and after blinking a couple billion times through all the blood, she was able to see that the car was side ways, and the demon Maddi wasn't dead. It had gotten thrown out of the car, and probably wasn't seen by anybody because it was hidden behind a bunch of crashed cars and smoke. It was limping its creepy self towards Sherry. She screamed and tried her hardest to move but wasn't successful. The demon only got closer and closer, and when it finally reached her, it didn't hold back.

Sherry and her family died that night.

Chapter 1

"Ray!" yelled Kelly. "Get up!"

"Go away!" I mumbled and rolled over.

"Ray, I know you don't want to, but we have to go pick out a dress!"

"I'm not going."

"Yes you are! You were asked to the dance, and you said yes. You'll crush the poor guy's self esteem."

"He has a big ego and plenty of other girls. I'm sure his self esteem will be perfectly fine."

"Rachel! Get up now!" Kelly yanked at my blankets, but I grabbed on tighter, pulling it back over my head. I moaned and curled up back into a ball, attempting to block out my friend.

"Fine!" Kelly yelled, throwing her hands up in defeat. She stormed out of the room.

"Finally." I took the blankets off of my face and tried to go back to sleep. I wasn't successful, but I also wasn't willing to get back out of bed to go shop for a stupid dress to a dance I didn't even want to go to. Bryan Warr was the one who asked me to prom. I didn't want to go –still don't- with him, but since I was raised to never say no to a guy asking you out, I said yes. I don't understand why he asked me. He gets any girl he wants, and they're all model slutty material. I don't want to be added to that list. He is probably one of the most popular guys in the entire school too. Probably around 20 girls had already asked him to prom, but he said no to each of them. I don't know why, they're all gorgeous of course. A guy like Bryan is exactly the kind of guy that I don't want to be around. Ever. But of course, I just had to say yes to him.

Suddenly a splash of ice cold water was poured all over my face and body. I screamed and jumped up as fast as I could. Kelly just laughed.

"Kelly you idiot!" I screamed.

"Well I had to get you out of bed somehow!" Kelly replied. "Now go dry yourself off and get ready. We're going prom dress shopping!"

I got up, glaring at Kelly while heading to the bathroom. She just smiled and walked out of the room. Sometimes I really question why she's still my best friend. Perhaps it's only because we're practically sisters and she has come over everyday since we were 3. Kelly doesn't even have to knock; she practically lives here.

I looked in my closet for something to wear. Not caring, I grabbed the first shirt I saw. It was a light green V-neck. I slipped on some jeans and put on some jewelry.

When I was done changing, I went into the bathroom to fix my hair and put makeup on. I didn't put on that much makeup; just some eye shadow and mascara. I brushed my hair out. My hair was dark brown, and went to my shoulders. It naturally is straight, with loose curls on the end. I never really have to do anything to it except brush it.

After I was done getting ready I went downstairs. Kelly was washing some dishes in the sink.

"Look who finally decided to get up!" Kelly said joyfully over her shoulder.

"You say that as if it was my decision." I mumbled and walked to the kitchen table.

"I would have made you some breakfast but you were too late. I ate it all."

"Thanks, Kelly. I love you too."

"I know. Now come on! Let's go find us some dresses!" She grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me out of my own house.

Once she got her keys out, I snagged them and ran into the driver's seat. I ignored her protest. I hate the way she drives, and considering how many car accidents I have been in, (I wasn't driving in any of them) cars tend to scare me at times. Especially when Kelly is driving. She knew how I am about cars so she didn't complain any further and got into the passenger's seat.

I drove us to the closest store that would sell prom dresses. The mall. And since it's prom time, we immediately found a store packed with dresses. Kelly was excited, but I wasn't. I guess that the idea of going to prom sounds fun and everything, but I really don't like Bryan. With a passion. And so the idea of going to prom with him makes me cringe.

It didn't take long for Kelly to find her prom dress. It looked flawless on her, of course. She had a blue spaghetti strapped dress that was long and kind of poofy. It had a red ribbon tied around the waste that seemed to blend perfectly into the flow of the dress. It looked like it was meant for her and looked gorgeous.

"Oh, Rachel I love it!" Kelly exclaimed.

"It looks great on you!" I replied. We kept looking for mine. We eventually left that store and went to the next, not being successful. I wanted to give up because I was getting tired of trying on dresses. But Kelly wouldn't let me. She made me look into at least one more store.

And that's where I finally found my prom dress. It was sleeveless; a sweetheart top with a low back. It was red, and had long silk material. Blue embroidery was used to decorate some of the sweetheart top, and a little around the waste where the material started to flow. It welcomed my figure and it seemed as if every step was used with great grace.

"Wow!" Kelly said speechlessly.

"This one!" I squealed.

"Definitely! Rachel you look like a model! Bryan won't be able to speak when he sees you."