Prolouge—A Fall Through…What?

I sighed. My foster mother was going on about something strange and rather uninteresting, so I decided to tune her out as I read the fifth Harry Potter book for the umpteenth time.

"Kristin!" she finally cried, grabbing my shoulder.

"Katherine?" I asked absently.

She sighed. "Kristin, were you even listening to me?" Well knowing the answer to that, she skipped over giving me an opportunity to answer and went on. "I was trying to tell you that you can't leave Allen at the skate park like that!"

"Katherine, your son is 15. He didn't want me to hang around, so I left. I didn't think that it was much of a problem."

Katherine sighed. Katherine wasn't a bad woman; she was merely over-protective of her only son Allen.

I watched her turn and walk out, shaking her head. I went to the door, shutting it gently, and turned, merely leaning against the door and staring at my feet.

Bling-bling!

My head rose at the familiar sound. I smiled and went over to the computer, sitting down quietly.

"Hello Taylor," I said to myself.

DracosGirl80: Hey!

ThePhelpsGirl: Hey there.

DracosGirl80: What r u up 2?

ThePhelpsGirl: Nothing. Just fought with Katherine again. Apparently dear little Allen isn't competent.

DracosGirl80: LOL! Btw, Happy Birthday!

ThePhelpsGirl: ty

DracosGirl80: U know I thought about coming to see you this weekend.

ThePhelpsGirl: YOU SHOULD!

DracosGirl80: Mom's gonna loan me the money

ThePhelpsGirl: I'm sure Katherine wouldn't mind.

DracosGirl80: Well, if she does, I can stay somewhere else

ThePhelpsGirl: Oh, she won't mind!

DracosGirl80: Sorry—the woman's yelling. I gotta go.

ThePhelpsGirl: FINE THAT'S JUST FINE!

DracosGirl80: LOL! IM SORRY!

ThePhelpsGirl: lol…it's ok. I'll talk to you soon!

DracosGirl80: Very soon! Happy birthday!

DracosGirl80 has just signed off.

I smiled. Taylor had been one of the best friends I'd ever had. I'd met her when I was eight at a bookstore, and we had been inseparable up until my parents' death just six months ago. I'd been deemed unstable and ripped away from everyone I loved to live with Katherine, my mother's distant distant cousin and only left relative until I turned eighteen, which was actually that night.

I sighed and sat back in the chair. I looked around the room and out the window. The sun would be going down soon.

I smiled and stood, grabbed my coat, and headed downstairs.

"Kristin?" Katherine asked.

I smiled. "I'll be back before dinner, I promise," I said.

She sighed and nodded. "All right. But stay close."

I nodded and headed out the door. The cold air hit my face, and I was immediately grateful that I had a birthday on such a beautiful winter day. There was snow on the ground, ice in the trees…It was wonderful.

I began to walk, and even though Katherine had asked me not to go far, it was still my birthday, and I was determined to do what I wanted. I began to walk towards the park, the only place that I was happy. I walked through the snow, thinking to myself and walking towards the long grove of trees towards the edge of the park.

I began to walk between the trees, looking up now and then through the treetops. The sun was beginning to sink, and the sky was turning a lovely pinkish-gray. I hummed the Harry Potter theme song to myself, pretending that I was in the Dark Forest and that I had to get out soon before the centaurs caught up with me.

I eventually stopped and sighed at the usual clearing, went and sat on the fallen tree trunk. I'd come here almost every night since I'd come to live here, and soon I'd be leaving.

I sighed and looked up. I closed my eyes, envisioning that my mother and father were sitting next to me. I smiled, and with my eyes still closed, began to talk as though they really were there.

"Mum, Dad. You know what tonight is, don't you?" I asked quietly. "I'm eighteen. Well, almost. I have I think six hours and forty-three minutes, more or less." I paused a moment. "You know, six months ago I didn't even want to see this day? I just wanted to crawl into bed and die. I didn't want to bother living on without you. Everything just…well, you know. I was a wreck." I wrung my hands as I went back to the night of my parents' funeral. "I uh…I did clean up though. I've been really trying to get myself together. I'm going to move back home as soon as I get the ok from Katherine and the social worker, and then Taylor and I are going to go to Oxford together. I think I'm going to study theater and writing, like you wanted me to. Like we all wanted me to." I smiled and chuckled. "You remember that? When I was ten and I saw all of the plays that grandma had written?" I looked beside me, as if expecting to get my mother's reaction. My smile faded a bit, and then looked down at my hands. "I miss you guys a lot. I wish you could be here," I said quietly.

Suddenly, as if as a response, a breeze came through the clearing, caressing my face and waving my hair. I smiled against it, and then looked up again through the treetops. It was now almost completely dark, and I thought that I'd better go before I lost my way—not that I would. My parents had taught me almost everything about the stars, and I could find my way out of anywhere as long as I could see them.

Nonetheless, I had promised Katherine I wouldn't be long, and so I stood and began to wander out of the woods, once again humming the Harry Potter theme. Yes, I was obsessed—but that's just the way I was.

Of course, as it got darker and I still hadn't found my way out, I began to panic. It was like a creepy movie, walking alone in the woods before the monster came out and ate you.

I swallowed and looked around.

CRACK!

I jumped and spun. Someone had stepped on a twig. My breath caught in my throat, and my feet felt stuck to the ground.

"Hello?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. "Oh, what am I doing?" I asked myself quietly, shaking my head. "It's probably a stray cat or something."

CRACK!

I gasped. "WHO'S THERE?" I cried.

CRACK.

CRACK.

CRACK.

All around me, I heard the sound of twigs snapping. I swallowed.

I heard a loud hissing and spun once again to see something in a black robe facing me. I saw something dripping from its mouth, something on the grossly pale skin, something that looked a lot like blood, and that was it.

Waking up my senses, I dodged his touch and ran. I didn't care where I was going as long as I was getting away from thatthing and his gang of unholy monks. For a long time, I didn't hear anyone behind me.

Continuing to run (hey, I wasn't going to stop), I took a look behind me, turned, and hit something brightgreen and almost blinding. There was a moment where I felt like I was being hit by a taser, sounds like thunder, and then everything stopped.

I fell down and down, and then everything dropped out…