I bolted upright in bed. The remnants of the evening's fire crackled across the room, but the air was still cool. Too cool for spring. My flesh pimpled, but I wasn't convinced it was the temperature. Something had awoke me from my slumber.

No one else seemed disturbed. Jason and Michele were soundly asleep across the room, Gran snored softly as well. Convinced it had been my imagination, I laid my head back down to sleep. No sooner had a closed my eyes than a chilling screamed pierced the night. This time, I was not the only one who had heard it.

Everyone was awake now, and Jason was already out of bed and grabbing for his sword.

"Sookie, help them to the woods. You still have time to hide." He spoke sternly before disappearing out the door.

Our house was set slightly outside of the main village, where the screams were originating now with greater frequency. It would be several minutes before our house was included in the attack; an advantage we could not waste.

Gran and Michele were slow out of bed, Gran hindered by her age, and Michele weighted down by her large, pregnant form. I rushed to help Gran as Michele rolled and found her way to her feet. None of us spoke, unsure of what to say; but a quick glance passed between us, acknowledging our situation. We had no time to spare. We emerged from our home into a dark night. The moon and stars hid behind heavy clouds and dawn was still many hours away. Taking no time for our eyes to adjust, I ushered Gran and Michele into the dense forest that encircled our land. Jason was already gone, disappeared down the thin trail that led to the main part of the village.

The forest fought against us. I was constantly pulling or pushing one of my companions to help them along, but our progress was slow and the sounds of the attack grew and then faded slowly as we distanced ourselves. The land turned upward as we went, becoming the hills that defined the valley of our home. After what seemed like hours of winding and tripping through the trees, Gran's hand held me back.

"We can't go any further," she said, out of breath. Michele was holding to Gran's arm for support and she, too, looked exhausted.

"We can't stop, we're not nearly deep enough." I urged, fear bubbling ever higher.

"No, we would kill ourselves before an invader would ever find us. We must hide until it is safe again." Gran held Michele's hand and helped her to sit on the ground between two fallen trees. The winter had been rough and many trees had collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow, the remnants of which still spotted the ground.

"Sookie, you should keep going. You're strong. Head towards the village, others will have run into the woods. Find them and in the morning, come back to us." Michele spoke quickly as she pulled at a broken branch to camouflage their hiding spot better. Gran had sat down beside her and leaned her head against the log, her eyes closed and her chest still rising and falling rapidly.

"Be careful and be quiet," I urged, helping to hide them with more branches. Michele nodded to me, a silent agreement and farewell. I turned and headed in the direction of the village.

I strained my ears, and my mind, in an attempt to hear any attacker that may be hiding in the woods. All was silent. I stopped a couple times to breathe and look around, keeping track of where I was; getting lost and freezing to death would help no one. I wasn't far from the village when I stopped again for a breath, leaning against a tree for support as I gasped for air. I still could hear nothing. There was no more screaming, no sounds of swords or smells of smoke. If the village was under attack, I should be able to hear it from here. I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, searching for anyone still living. There was something, but not like anything I had heard before. I focused on it, determined to decipher the thoughts of the mysterious mind, but they were unreadable, as if in some kind of fog. The fog grew louder and, too late, I realized that it was closing in on me.

I opened my eyes and ran, not caring where. I could hear the footfalls of the stranger behind me and was thrown forward as they lunged and hit me. I landed in the dirt and scrambled, trying to get away but was pulled back by ankles and turned over to face my attacker.

It was a woman, something I had not been expecting. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but her face was contorted in the most terrifying expression of pleasure I had ever seen. Her smile was what scared me. Each and every one of her teeth had been filed to a sharp point and somehow coated in a glistening silver. Her bright green eyes blazed as she sat atop my prone body and brandished a small blade. I screamed as her arm plunged towards me, catching her wrist in my hand and pushing with all of my strength to keep it at bay. I felt out with my other hand, grasping at a piece of fallen wood and hitting her hard on the head with it.

The force knocked her to her side, throwing the blade just out of her grasp. She made to grab for it, but I hit her again with the branch. She glared back at me with what I could only image was the purest rage she was capable of. Again, she was on top of me, but this time she did not bother with a weapon. She snarled and dove at me with her mouth wide like a rabid animal. I threw my arm up to shield my face and she bit into it ferociously.

A blinding pain shot through my arm and then traveled into the rest of my body that kicked and shook against it. I was crying and screaming, knowing that I could not survive this attack, when suddenly, she stopped. The wild woman slowly lifted her head from my arm, her mouth dripping with my fresh blood. Her face was no longer contorted in fury, but in wonder. I didn't dare move as she examined me, her body releasing tension and her head turning to the side, questioning.

"How?" She spoke, in a dreamlike voice, her hand raising slowly and touching my cheek, turning my head slowly. "You're blood is my blood."

I wanted to stay still, to not provoke another attack, but I knew this may be my only chance for escape. I clutched my wounded arm in my other hand and prepared myself to run. But before I had the chance the woman flew backwards onto the ground at my feet, and over her, out of nowhere, kneeled a man. His back was to me as he held her down. She fought and screamed and clawed at his face but the man was unmovable. Faster than was possible, his face was next to hers. Her screams grew louder and he growled, both noised muffled by a terrible, wet ripping sound.

I was running again. I didn't know when or how I had gotten to my feet but I was running, and I couldn't hear screaming anymore. I ran toward the village. I didn't know if I would find anyone there who was a friend, but I would take my chances. Tonight, the woods were full of more terrible things than invaders.

A/N: Chapter one! How I do like a fresh new story, so full of possibilities and promise. I hope you feel the same way about this one. I just want to warn everyone: I can be very inconsistent with my posting schedule, so please don't get discouraged. If I go more than 3 weeks without an update, feel free to send me some nasty emails. I'm still working out this story, but I'm feeling inspired, so you should get the next chapter fairly soonish.

Also, I don't have a beta, so I'm consistently doing something wrong that is annoying you, let me know.

What do you thinks so far?