Chapter One

There was a flash of lightning, a huge clap of thunder. The balcony doors burst open, and a figure stood there, bat-like, and silhouetted in the dark against the lightning that flashed down from the stormy sky. Billie opened her mouth and screamed. A face suddenly appeared at her bedside, half of the face was covered with a mask, the other decorated with tattoos. She edged to the inside of the bed, desperate to get away from the intruder. The figure disappeared, and she heard Christy scream above her in the bunk bed. She looked up in time to see a pair of claws piercing the mattress of the bed above her, another horrible scream pierced the night, but Billie could not tell if it was hers or Christy's. The figure returned to the balcony, and flew away, clutching Christy to his chest, as lightning flashed around the dark room, followed by a loud clap of thunder, which drowned out Billie's cry of fear...

A loud clap of thunder rang out, and Billie Jenkins sat up in her bed, eyes wide and breathing heavily. The tank top she wore to sleep was drenched in sweat, and she could feel her hair damp with cold sweat, clinging to her face. She buried her face in her hands, willing herself to calm down. Eventually her breathing evened out, and she fell back onto the bed, curling up in a fetal position.

She sighed and closed her eyes, but every time she did that face would show up in her mind, as sharp and clear as though it had only just happened. She opened her eyes again and grabbed the alarm clock that sat on her bedside table. She squinted at it, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. It was five forty-five, and there was no use going back to sleep. She would only get about half an hour of it.

She threw the covers off and got out of bed, slipping her feet into her favorite pair of fuzzy slippers. Tip-toeing around her roommate's bed so she wouldn't wake her up, she grabbed her hairbrush and stepped into the tiny bathroom.

She rubbed her eyes, stared at her reflection, and sighed.

"I look horrible." She said to herself, examining the bags around her eyes. She had gotten little sleep in the past few weeks, with the pressure of exams, and having to stay up to the late hours of the night finish all the work that the professors had been giving. And added to this was the nightmare that she had started having again a few weeks ago.

It was a nightmare that reminded her of her past, of something that she had known she would never really be able to shake off. It was an ugly marker in her life, reminding her that no matter how perfect things seemed at times, they never really would be perfect.

She splashed some water onto her face and brushed her teeth. Then she brushed her blonde hair a few times, and tied it into a pony tail. She quickly changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, slipped on a pair of sneakers, and left the dormitory for an early morning jog around the campus.

Little did she know, things were about to change. Big time.

***

It was raining outside. The sun was still shining brightly, but clouds hovered around it, covering it briefly, then moving away again. The rain pounded onto the ground, people ran towards buildings, cars, in need of shelter.

In the Maryknoll University of San Francisco, Billie ran through the bustling halls, pushing past people, trying to get to class on time.

"Excuse me, excuse me - ouch!" She bumped into someone headed in the opposite direction, dropping everything that had been in her arms. She looked up, about to yell at whoever it was that would be the cause of her lateness, but stopped when she realized who it was.

"Oh crap, sorry Billie!" Logan Reynolds said, smiling at her. "Here - " He bent down, and scooped up her books swiftly. She took them gratefully.

"Thanks, Logan." She said, smiling. "I'll still be late for my bio class, but thanks."

"Well in that case, I won't keep you." He grinned again, and waved at her, continuing on his way. "See you."

She grinned and continued running to class. The bell rang, and she sped up. A minute later, she arrived at the door. Panting, she burst into the classroom.

Professor Lambert was at the board. He turned around as she burst in and glared at her. He glanced at the clock and sighed.

"You're a minute late, Jenkins. Just had to make an entrance, didn't you?" Billie took a deep breath to keep herself from getting angry. She quickly glanced around the classroom and headed towards the closest empty seat.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lambert." She said, sliding into the seat.

"Turn to page eighty-four and read the whole chapter," Professor Lambert said, "And I'm waiting for your homework, Jenkins."

Billie froze while turning a page in her textbook.

"Uh.. what homework?"

Professor Lambert raised an eyebrow and gave her a disapproving look.

"What homework?" He stared at her. "The homework that I set last week, the essay on the evolution of the human body and mind. Don't tell me you didn't do it. Though I would hardly be surprised if you didn't."

Anger started to bubble in Billie's system. It was bad enough that he was prejudging her like this, and the worse thing was that she had actually started the homework, but in the stress of studying and all the other homework she had thought that the essay was due in two days, so she had not finished it.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning filled the room briefly. A clap of thunder followed it in a few seconds.

"I started it, but I just thought that the essay was due on Wednesday, not today..." She replied.

The professor snorted, and Billie's anger rose, but she fought to keep it down. Getting good grades was crucial.

"And you expect me to believe that? I was going to give you another shot, but maybe I should just fail you for lying..." He said, shaking his head.

"I really did start it!" Billie cried, outraged. "I can go to my dorm now and get it if you really need proof - "

She was cut off by another loud clap of thunder. The rain started to pour down heavily outside, and another flash of lightning filled the room.

"Oh, don't bother. It wouldn't be any use to me, even if you did start it. You didn't finish it, right? So why would I want it now?" He rose an eyebrow and turned to the board.

"Or maybe you just can't admit that you were wrong!" Billie retorted before she could stop herself. The professor turned around slowly, and Billie bit her tongue, her body pounding with outrage.

"Don't bother handing in that essay, Jenkins. You've just failed it. Now turn to page eighty-four, and read the chapter." He said coldly.

Billie glared at him in outrage. Her body was still pounding with adrenaline. She took out her textbook and slammed it onto the table loudly.

"Asshole." She muttered quietly.

Another clap of thunder rang out, louder than the rest. She flipped to page eighty-four, nearly ripping apart some pages in her anger.

The ringing sound of a phone broke the tense silence of the classroom. The professor picked up his mobile and answered the call.

"Hey, how did it go?" He said, sitting down and putting his feet up on the desk.

Billie fumed. He was such a pig. What kind of university professor would put their feet up on the desk in the middle of a class?!

There was a huge clap of thunder, and suddenly all the lights went out in the classroom. The students gasped, some screamed.

Immature. Billie thought, hating the fact that even though the lights were out she could still see the obnoxious professor talking on his phone, obviously not bothered that the power had gone out.

"Wow, that's too bad man. You know, I - " A huge flash of lightning burst into the room, and everyone watched, horrified, as it struck the professor and his precious phone. A few people screamed, but it was nothing compared to the scream of pain that the professor let out. Billie watched, terrified, as his body shook uncontrollably, the phone falling from his hand. It hit the floor with a clatter, and the professor followed with a loud thud.