The Dark Series and its characters are the property of Christine Feehan. I actually don't know why I'm writing this, so I kept this snippet short and sweet. I'm basically testing the waters of this fanfic to see if anyone likes it.

Dark Release

Prologue

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves; we must die one life before we can enter another."

- Anatole France

___

In the entire world, there was nobody Izzy Crane knew better than her older sister. Five years her senior, Serenity Crane had been her rock, her mentor, and one of her closest friends. They were inseparable, even while in college. And life looked so good; Serenity had just graduated with her Doctorate in Cardiac Surgery. She was the very first doctor in their family and everyone was proud of her. Most especially Izzy, who was almost seeking a Doctorate, only in Neurosurgery.

They were as close as sisters could be, and knew each other so well…or so they thought.

Izzy knew Serenity and her were a peculiar pair. Their father would joke that they were their 'money treasures' in reference to their hair colors. Izzy's was shoulder-length and the color of copper coins while Serenity's hung nearly to her waist and was the color of dark gold coins. Their eyes were very peculiar, too. Their mother always told them their eyes were just very pale blue, but Izzy knew their eye color was closer to lilac. But nobody had purple eyes, at least as far as they knew. Even more peculiar to them was…healing. They didn't bruise easily and if it happened the bruises faded within several hours. And cuts…Izzy remembered seeing scrapes she received as a child heal right before her eyes and she knew deep down Serenity was the same. It was part of the reason they both wanted to become doctors, even as it all unnerved them slightly. But their peculiarities were what made them so popular with people, even though Izzy shied away from large gatherings and Serenity welcomed them.

They were young and beautiful and the whole world was open to them…so why did everything go so wrong, then?

Izzy never saw it coming. It'd been a nice day and Serenity and she were out walking, drinking frozen coffees and reminiscing about the past. Serenity had just become a resident, but was pretty anxious about it and didn't like talking about it.

"Oh God, I haven't thought of that in years!" Izzy wailed, covering her face with her free hand. "What made you think of that?!"

Serenity grinned at her. "I can't help if you're still very much that little girl, Isabel." She hopped onto a nearby fountain and began walking the length of it. "But then again, not many little girls can take on a boy twice their size and beat them up, either!"

"Serenity, I was in seventh grade and I was suspended for nearly a month! Can we just drop it, please?"

Serenity laughed again and hopped off the fountain. A few people were looking at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "Sorry, Izzy. I can't help it if I have a photographic memory."

Izzy gave her a sly grin around her straw. "Hmm? Well if I can remember, you were accused of cheating in the ninth grade and were almost suspended yourself!"

Serenity made a face and waved a dismissive hand. "That situation was so stupid. Darren Mackers was sitting behind me, how could I have cheated off his exam?!"

"At least you were cleared," Izzy mumbled to herself.

Serenity smiled at her again as they started walking again. "Say, can we stop by Melody Bridge? I forgot to get my schedule."

Izzy shrugged. "Well it's on the way, isn't it? But man, why does a doctor's schedule have to be so tight? We were suppose to go on a European tour once we graduated!"

"You're still in college, Izzy."

"Don't remind me. I feel like I've been here for my whole life."

"That's what happens when you choose a program that's one of the longest in medicine."

"I guess so. But I do enjoy the studying a lot. It feels good to choose Neurosurgery, even if I might have to file for bankruptcy once I do leave college. Hopefully I'll have the same luck as you and get residency as so…"

Izzy trailed off slightly. She just noticed for the first time that Serenity was no longer walking in stride with her. She turned around to see her sister standing there, a blank expression on her face. "Serenity?"

Serenity looked disorientated, confused…hurt. She wasn't saying anything and yet her face parlayed between all of these emotions. Her frozen coffee slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

Izzy walked back over to her sister, a feeling of unease quickly spreading inside of her. "Serenity, are you all right?"

Pain. That was the most predominant emotion on her face at that moment, even if it was subtle. Her eyes were reddening and swelling, as though she were about to cry. Very slowly, she began to shake her head back and forth. "No…"

"Serenity," Izzy said, not bothering to hide the fear from her voice. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Serenity suddenly pitched forward, grabbing at her chest as she slammed against Izzy. A wheeze of pain erupted from her throat and her eyes rolled into the back of her eyes. "Augh! Au…no…"

"Serenity!" Izzy tried to grab her shoulders, but Serenity stumbled backwards, away from her. "Wai—Serenity! Serenity, what's wrong?! Please tell me what's wrong!"

"NO!"

Serenity then started screaming. It was blood-curdling scream that shook Izzy to the core, even as Serenity collapsed to the ground. Izzy managed to recover herself enough to barely catch her sister. "Serenity!"

Serenity just continued to scream and wail, her face twisted up in such raw agony that Izzy couldn't bear to look at her. Izzy had seen her fair share of people in pain, but never anything like this. She couldn't even begin to comprehend this. "Serenity…Serenity, hush! Please—oh, Serenity!" Izzy looked over her shoulder to see a crowd of people gathering. "Call an ambulance, please!"

Serenity's voice went out from the screaming, but she continued to wheeze and whine in such a horrible, almost inhuman way. The whole time, during her screaming only one word was distinguishable from all the wails. "No…no…no…"