Full Summary:

Brianna Straits had always led a normal life. She attended Devenford Prep, was best friends with Liam Dunbar and did all the things you could expect an average 15 year-old to do. It wasn't until the night she witnessed murders at the hands of the supernatural her life went downhill. She found that everyone around her was hiding something, even those as close as her family. Can she ever trust them, or will the things she finds out lead to one big mistake?

I carried the last of my luggage from my room down to the car. As I tried to fit it into the trunk, my finger got wedged between it and another bag. Pulling my arm back, I gave my hand a slight shake to alleviate the pain I was feeling.

A hand reached out to my shoulder from behind, causing me to jump slightly. I turned around to see a woman with soft wrinkles outlining her eyes smile warmly towards me. "You know, your Gran is going to be so glad to see you." She pulled her hand away and pushed away the strands of dark brown hair resting on my face.

"Mom, you know you've said that twice in the past five minutes?" I asked with a smirk on my face. I knew she was sad that I would be leaving her for a few weeks, but she knew that I was departing for a good cause.

My brother exited the house with keys swinging around his finger and gave me a small smile. "Okay, you ready to go, Brianna?"

I looked back to my mom and drew her into a tight hug. I gave her a quick peck on the cheek then pulled away and gave the boy a nod. "Yeah, I'm ready."

My mother pulled him into a hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "Now, you better look after your little sister and your Gran, otherwise I'm gonna have to kick your ass." She withdrew from the embrace and took a couple of steps back, prompting my brother and me to climb into the car.

As we began to slowly reverse away from the house, I waved to my mom through the open window, as did my brother. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out, "I love you!"

A smile crept upon my face as I yelled back to her, "We love you too, Mom."

We drove to the end of the street when I could've sworn I heard a scratching noise come from inside the glove compartment. Curious, I opened it to find it empty. "Brad, did you hear that?"

He turned his head slightly, still trying to focus on road, and gave me a confused look. "Hear what?"

I looked down at my hands and started to pick at the navy blue nail polish on my nails, as I did when I was anxious. After a few seconds of thought, I came to the conclusion that I was just hearing things. "Don't worry, it was nothing."

He sighed and turned the radio on. "At least we're leaving this murder-ridden place that is Beacon Hills. Have you heard of the recent attacks?"

"The ones from a few weeks ago? Yeah there's a rumour going around that Brett Talbot was nearly killed at the scrimmage against Beacon Hills High." Brett and I weren't what you could call close, nearly the opposite in fact. Both Liam and I shared a dislike for the tall, cocky lacrosse player - Liam more so - but I couldn't deny that he looked like he was sent from the heavens.

"Wow, well that makes me almost glad that we'll be safe for a month." We slipped into an uncomfortable silence, I didn't feel like talking about death anymore and didn't know what to change the subject to.

We had been driving for about thirty minutes when Brad started talking to me for the first time since we left Beacon Hills. "So… uh, leaving many friends behind? I know it'll only be for a few weeks, but still…" I never really opened up to my brother often, only when the silence between us became unbearable or my parents forced us into it.

"Yeah, a few," I admitted. "I mean, I'm not Ms. Popular or anything, but Devenford Prep had some pretty good people to offer." Brad nodded his head in understanding, turning the steering wheel a little to overtake someone who was driving far too slow.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He wiggled his eyebrows and made smooching noises at me, as a result making me to lightly hit his arm. "Brianna, I'm trying to drive here," He said jokingly. "If we veer off this road and crash and we survive, I'm gonna tell them that it was your fault we nearly died… unless you actually die because then I would have to tell them it was your fault that I nearly died." He gave a slight chuckle and continued on from his original question. "But back to what I was saying, were you in the dating game?"

Knowing he wouldn't take no as an answer, I considered whether or not to tell him a lie; I could've told him that I just recently broke up with a mind-blowingly hot guy because we didn't want to do the whole temporary long-distance relationship thing, or I could've described to him one of my best friends and hope for the best that he didn't realise. I decided to go with the latter. "Yeah, actually I was on board with it all. He was kinda short, maybe a couple of inches taller than me, had light brown hair, these amazing blue eyes, really good at lacrosse, uh, he had some pretty bad anger issues."

Brad seemed to be thinking about my description of my 'boyfriend'. "Hang on, did you just describe Liam Dunbar?" He looked at me with a puzzled expression. "You know, as in your best friend? Unless it's become more than that in recent times." His lips tugged into a sly smile.

I bit my lip and looked at him. "Yeah, I mean, I am just head over heels for him, I just can never get those stunning blue eyes out of my head," I enthused sarcastically. After seeing the disbelieving look that was plastered on his face, I gave in. "No, Brad, he's not my boyfriend." I laughed as I saw his mouth twist into a smile. "He's always going to be my best friend, okay? Nothing more."

Brad's face turned into a mocking expression of pain. "Oh, not the friend zone. Bri, you're killing the poor kid. The friend zone is probably the worst place you can be."

"What? Liam doesn't like me! I mean sure, he likes me because we're best friends, but he doesn't want to suck my face." I leant forward to turn the radio up, not wanting the conversation to go any further. I sat back in my seat and didn't say a word, thankful that Brad got the hint.

After about an hour of small talk we sat silent for a while longer before the skyline changed to show buildings. Brad sighed deeply and deadpanned, "Welcome to Mallowdeer Village, sis; home of the elderly, home of Gran."

"Brianna! Brad! Oh, how nice it is to see you both," exclaimed Gran as she opened the front door. She stepped back and invited us inside, to then walk over with open arms and gave each of us a peck on the cheek and a warm hug.

"Gran, it's so good to see you. It's been ages since we last saw each other," I greeted happily, taking in my surroundings as I did so. We were standing in a small apartment with floral wallpaper. A small kitchen, small dining room and an even smaller living room was what occupied the downstairs area.

Gran ushered me and my brother over to the wooden dining table, politely telling us to take a seat. She strode over to the kitchen and poured three glasses of lemonade. She skillfully held all the glasses in her hands as she made her way back.

After placing a glass in front of me and my brother, Gran took a seat and started the conversation. "So, how's school going?" That question is probably on top of my list of 'hated small-talk questions', closely followed by 'what have you been up to' and talking about careers in general. But because she's my Gran, I can't refuse to answer.

"School has… school has been going great. I uh… I'm not failing, which is a good thing I guess," I told her hesitantly. Brad tried to hide his laughter about my response, albeit not very well. As an awkward silence ensued, I excused myself to get my bag from the car.

I had been at Gran's small home for five days now, regularly reminding myself why I was there. As I laid in the dark on one of the guest bedroom beds, my mother's words kept repeating in my head: You have to go see your Gran, Brianna, she won't be here next week… what I meant to say is, probably not for too much longer.

I tried to make sense of her original statement, won't be here next week, but dismissed it, thinking that she got her words mixed up. I was staring at the roof when I heard the same scratching noise I had been hearing all week. I shoved the pillow over my ears, hoping the noise would go away, but to no avail.

I decided to walk around to find the source and it gradually grew louder as I headed downstairs to the kitchen. As I turned a corner, the scratching stopped. I looked around for any signs that someone had been here, but it was around 11pm and Gran was probably in bed already and Brad in the other guest room playing video games.

As I headed back to my room I heard a window smash and then an animalistic growl, followed by frantic panting.

I turned around the corner again to see Gran pinned to the kitchen countertop, terror plastered on her face. The man holding her down turned his head slowly towards me, allowing me to see his frightening features; pointed ears, extended sideburns, heightened brow, a large nose and finally, eerily glowing red eyes filled with bloodlust.

I froze as I saw the scene in front of me unfold. The inhuman man raised an arm with claws protruding from his fingertips and rapidly swiped down at Gran's throat, grinning as he watched the life leave her eyes. It was then that I felt something drop inside my stomach. It was as if I was paralysed and couldn't move from shock.

I faintly felt something wrap around my waist from behind, pulling me back to stand behind the wall. I felt my legs collapse beneath me, my brain not able to comprehend anything that was happening. It was silent except for my heavy breathing. Brad, who still had his hands around my waist, stayed surprisingly calm. But then the animal-like man slowly came into view and stood in front of me.

All of a sudden Brad stood and charged at him, armed with daggers that were previously hidden among him. The other man growled and lunged at him, narrowly missing Brad with his claws. Brad swiped at the man, managing to slice his arm, only for it to heal moments later. He attempted this maneuver again, but his opponent blocked it and put Brad into a position with his claws only millimetres away from his throat.

A menacing laugh came from the man, restraining Brad wasn't a problem for him. "Well, I didn't come here planning to kill two people, but sometimes things don't go according to plan," he taunted with a sickening smile. He gradually dug his claws into Brad's throat and dragged them across, making it a slow and painful death. He let Brad drop to the floor once the life was drained from him and began to walk away. He turned back to face me and smiled with a satisfied grin. "Oh, and, say 'hi' to your mother for me," and then he jumped out the window he smashed to get in.

I had to call 911, but I couldn't muster the energy to do so. My Gran's and older brother's lifeless bodies were lying on the floor with blood pooling around them. Then I heard police sirens and yelling from outside. I was confused as to how they got there, but I didn't care. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, and finally I let the peace overcome me.

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first story so if you think my writing isn't that great or something and you think there's something that can be improved on, don't be afraid to tell me :).

Also I'm from Australia, so updating times may be weird for some of you.

~Tegan