Chapter 1:
"I don't see why you're making me go to therapy. I'm not a psychotic loon, I can fend for myself." Sadie Carter sat in the passenger seat of a beat-up Acura MDX, itching to turn around and go home. Her aunt, Cara, had insisted that this morning she needed to talk to a real doctor about her "issues."
"Sadie, you've been having these nightmares for nearly two weeks now, something is psychologically wrong with you." The teen sighed, brushing her honey-gold bangs out of her eyes, the typical sign to a parent that, "I hate this, I want to go home, so I'll just sulk until I get my way." Her light, hazel eyes casually glanced out the window, watching the houses and buildings pass by in a blur of light blues, grays, and the occasional white. There wasn't anything particularly interested to stare at, everything in Ridgetop was annoyingly plain that it almost made you sick. The only building in town that was even the slightest bit unusual was Tom's Voodoo Emporium in the downtown shopping center, but even that was mostly just a joke shop.
"Aunt Cara, I was four when it happened, there's nothing to talk about. I barely even remember anything before the age of six, can we just go?" A slight roll of the eyes, Cara wasn't about to give up that wasn't about to give up that easily. She herself remembered a time when defiance and rebellion burned bright in every teen heart and made you feel as though you were on top of the world. But sadly, those times were long gone, and that flame had dissipated within her into a tiny flicker in the darkness. "Look, I'm not saying you have to like this, I'm not even saying you have to take any of this doctor's advice. Just try and behave," her gaze turned off the road and toward Sadie, a slight look of sorrow gleaming in her eyes, "Please?" Sadie nudged her with her shoulder, letting a natural grin spread across her face, "Alright, but you owe me some chocolate and a Jodi Picoult novel when we get back home."
"Hello, you must be Sadie, correct?" It only took a moment for Sadie to figure out what this guy was talking about. She had only just swung open the door to his office when the mystery voice appeared out of the blue and startled her. The voice had come from a feeble, balding man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties. His face was dotted with fading freckles, she wondered if maybe they were really liver spots. Why is he so eager to greet me? Does he not have any patients of his own? A muffled sigh escaped her lips, she didn't want to seem like an emo teen who just sighed a lot and wanted to silence the world in a pool of blood. Wow…I really do need help. "Yes, my name's Sadie. My aunt recommended you; I need some, um…help."
"Yes, yes, Cara is her name, correct? She called me last week about you; I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival!" Sadie shifted her weight uncomfortably, trying to figure out what was going on inside this man's head. Wow…this guy is one big stalker. And now I have to go and delve into my inner most secrets with him. Great, just great. A quick glance around his office, it appear relatively normal; inspirational posters with fuzzy, baby animals, a coffee table flooded with outdated magazines, and a basket full of multi-colored, worn blocks and other child toys. What kind of toddler comes to a psychiatric ward? "So…do we just go into a room or just talk right here?" The gentleman let out a hearty laugh and said, "Of course we're doing this in private. Come on, follow me." He gestured to an olive green room at the end of the hall, she Sadie nodded and began to follow him. As they sauntered down the hallway, she turned back to Cara and mouthed, "Help me!" Her aunt stifled a chuckle and mouthed, "Fat chance…"
"Here, take a seat and just relax." Sadie had the option of a worn bean-bag chair or a emerald green couch seated in the far corner of the room. She plopped down on the couch, noting how much bounce was still in the springs. The doctor seated himself in an office chair behind a worn, oak desk scattered with papers and empty bags of Fritos corn-chips. As he wheel around, he asked, "I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Doctor Kelso, the lead psychiatrist here at this office. I've been working here for around fifteen years and my specialties include dreams and emotional trauma." Sadie just nodded her head and threw in the occasional "Uh-huh" or "Cool!" as he continued to blather on about god knows what. "Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?"
"Well, my name is Sadie Carter, I'm sixteen years old, and I attend Ridgetop High." She stopped there, hoping that would be enough. He kept an intense gaze on her, as if he was expecting her to delve into her inner most self within a matter of seconds. "What else do you want me to say?" Doctor Kelso leaned back in his chair, drumming his hands against the top of the desk. Maybe you could begin to tell me about those dreams of yours. When did they begin, and what do they involve?" Sadie shifted back and forth, this was the moment she had been dreading. Wringing her hands, she kept her eyes fixated on the ivory carpet and began her tale, "It all started around two weeks ago…"
Chloe grasped her daughter's hand, whispering in her ear, "We have to flee now, he's after us. Come on!" The moon lazily drifted into the midnight sky, Chloe began to flee into the night while Sadie tried as best she could to hold on. "Momma, I can't keep up, my legs are getting tired!" Her mother just appeared to ignore her pleas, glancing around for the right way to turn in the never ending row of menacing looking trees. Suddenly, eerie voices began to whisper in the background "One by one…one by one…" Tears began to stream down Sadie's face, it felt as though the voices were pressing in on her frame. Coveing her ears she cried out, "Momma, make the bad noises go away!" But there was no reply but a blood curdling scream to silence the voices. "M-m-momma?" Her body quaked with fright, where had her mother vanished to? She took a step forward, but felt something prevent her motion. "MOMMA!" On the forest floor lay her mother's corpse, blood draining from her sides and forming a crimson pool. Before she could even lay a hand to see if her mother was even alive, her body began to sink into the pool of blood, from her toes all the way to her head, until nothing was left but a few stains of red.
Doctor Kelso seemed to scribble down a few notes on the dream, making puzzled faces and scratching other notes out. "How old do you think you are in this dream?" "Four, the age when my mother died." She felt his hand on her shoulder, a worried look brimming in his eyes. As she glanced down, it was apparent that she was shaking violently and tears were streaming down her face. "I didn't mean to upset you Sadie, maybe we should stop for the day. We can-" "No, no, I'm fine. I can answer a few more questions." He nodded, adjusting his glasses and analyzing his notepad, "Well, if you don't mind my asking, how exactly did your mother die." Sadie breathed in deeply, why was it so hard to explain what really happened? "She-she was murdered, twelve years ago, on Harper's Island."