Prologue

She sat watching out the window of the nearly empty bus, tracing the routes of the raindrops running in countless trails down the outer glass pane, while occasionally glancing at her watch. The driver had said it would only be another forty-five minutes. An hour and a half ago. It was because of the storm he'd said. Oh, he'd see a storm if he didn't pick up the pace. It was hardly considered more than a shower were she was from, not warranting the snails pace the little weasel of a man decided was appropriate. It's all the damned hicks. They tended to drive so conservatively. But then again she was used to the big city way of thinking, which held the 'through storm, snow, and traffic, we'll get to the hell where we're going, so get outta my way!' attitude. That was the way it should be.

Okay, well maybe not so much. She scolded herself for being to negative, it's not like she was on any sort of time schedule, and she knew it was only her nerves, impatience, and crankiness from the long ride that was speaking. Really, the rural scenery surrounding her small town destination wasn't a bad view, though she wished the rain would stop so maybe she could see some of the wildlife. Either way, it didn't really matter though, they were nearly there according to the sign that flashed -well maybe not flashed exactly, but it passed by nonetheless.

She took in a deep calming breathe as the first wave of panic hit her with the affirmation from the bus driver that they were indeed approaching their destination. She forced herself to take another long, controlled breath, while unnerving thoughts ran through her head like a freight train. What if she wasn't accepted? She had gone over the scenario of her arrival countless times, and always pictured big warm hugs, kisses, maybe a few tears and some presents, though knowing the latter was impossible right away; they didn't know she was coming. But she was having sudden feelings of doubt. Of course, those had been present the minute she decided to go, but she had never really dwelled long on those, pushing them out with happier thoughts that somehow always ended with her kissing some gorgeous movie star hunk. She allowed herself a grin, thinking of her latest rendezvous with Sean Biggerstaff. Prime choice definitely.

She shook her head slightly, regretfully clearing her head of the pleasant thoughts, and forced herself to think of the present situation, and all the poignant memories that always accompanied it. She really hated thinking about it, but with the impending position she was putting herself in, there was no way around it. She couldn't stay where she was, that option was completely out with no place to stay, and no one to stay with. And living alone in New York City definitely did not appeal to her in any way, shape or form, not mention how dangerous it out could be for a young lady such as herself. It was possible that she could move to a smaller town somewhere else, finish her last year of high school, find a place to live and a job to support her. Though how she would get a job before having a place to live would work, and renting anything was out of the question. Her previous caretaker hadn't left her with much money, not that old bloke had a lot to his name anyway. Jeez, I still talk like him. I guess living with someone for that long will do that to ya. Then, of course, if she managed to get a place, school and job, she'd spend the rest of her life saving up to pay her way through college. With her basic needs that would be next to impossible, and it was certain she'd only have minimum wage pay and… man alive, it was daunting to think about. So she settled for her third option: going back home. That thought left her with a little shudder of excitement, anticipation, and dread. She loved her family to bits… well okay, maybe it was lacking in the parental department, but it wasn't all that bad. But the last time she had seen them…

Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she yet again compelled herself to take deep, relaxed breaths, and she felt the exhaustion sweep over her. Maybe just a few minutes of shut-eye would help. God knows when they would actually get there anyway.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, as they tend to do on a beautiful, if cliché, sort of afternoon. But there were shadows. From the trees, from the buildings, from the people walking through the park. They danced and shifted with every movement of each person, with every sway of each tree branch. But they were there, giving refuge to those who would seek them, marring the green grass, competing the with brilliance of the blue sky, synchronizing with the sudden screaming. They laughed with glee at the bright splashes of blood, and sniggered at the desperate cries for help. Their outright joy at the mayhem was sickening as they grinned coldly, mockingly while they swayed, as shadows do, in time to the thudding of terrified hearts…

Before she was even fully awake, she knew it had been a bad idea to dose off, even for the precious few minutes she did. She wiped away the sweat forming on her brow and glanced around nervously, wondering if anyone had noticed her ungraceful re-entry into the waking world. She'd jerked awake, suppressing a scream, as per usual when it came to nightmares. The disturbing reminder of her past had engraved her fears even further into her mind, but she was resigned to carrying out her plans as she had, well, planned as she noticed the road sign out her window. Here we go… Welcome, Dare, to Sunnydale, California.