Chapter One

"Cory dear, breakfast is ready!" Penny Ferguson yelled from downstairs. I slowly got out of bed and checked the sheets. I had peed the bed again. My pajamas were wet and the sheets had a big wet circle. My heart started thumping at the thought of Penny or Carl finding out what I had done. I ripped the sheets off the bed and stuffed them in the closet.

"Cory?" Penny was on her way up the stairs.

I shut the door to my room quickly and said, "I'm getting dressed,"

"Okay, dear, but your pancakes are getting cold," she said.

"Just a minute," I told her. I listened through the door to her retreating footsteps. When she was gone

I went to the hall closet and pulled out a pair of clean sheets. I examined them to make sure there were no traces of yellow on them. I despised the colour yellow and refused to wear it, sleep on it or even eat anything that was yellow. I don't know what I had against yellow but to me it represented disappointments.

I got dressed quickly after putting the new sheets on my bed. I was pretty fast since I had done it so many times. Penny didn't know I wet the bed and I would do anything to make sure she didn't find out.

My bedroom was fairly small, but to me it was a palace. It had a double bed that I had all to myself.

The covers had baseball equipment on them. I had a dresser full on clothes that I loved. Clothes that I got to wear outside of my room.

The Ferguson's house was on a farm in Virginia. It had horses, cows, pigs, chickens and even a couple dogs. I loved the dogs and I played with them outside whenever I could. Playing outside was my favourite thing to do; I couldn't get enough of the fresh air and sunshine. I loved to make snowmen in the winter and play baseball in the summer.

The Ferguson's didn't have any other children so I often felt lonely. I longed for a sister to play with. My memory wasn't very good but I did remember a girl who looked like me with curly blond hair and blue eyes. We were together all the time. I also faintly remembered another boy and girl with the same hair and eyes but they were older. I think they were my real parents. We lived in a small house with only one bedroom and bathroom. There were stairs that went up to a large attic where we spent most of our time. We never went outside and we never went to school. We only had food when the mean lady brought us fried chicken. I don't like fried chicken.

I dream about my old family and wonder where they are. I do love the Ferguson's but I miss my family.

I went downstairs and sat at the breakfast table. Carl was already at work on the farm. He had to milk the cows and get the eggs that the chickens laid. Sometimes he would let me take the eggs out from under the chickens.

"Here are your pancakes," Penny said putting down a plate of two in front on me. I watched her pour the syrup onto the pancakes and suddenly I was no longer in the Ferguson's farmhouse. I was in the attic again.

He cut his arm and put it up to my mouth. I turned my head away in protest but he held my head to his arm and I drank his blood. Then he held it up to the blond girl and she drank eagerly. We were so hungry.

I gasped in surprise and turned away from the pancakes. All I could see was rat meat with blood drizzled on top. I gagged and stood quickly, knocking the chair backwards.

"Cory!" Penny cried in surprise. I ran from the room in terror. What was happening to me? The memory flashes were becoming more frequent and more disturbing. Who made me drink his blood? And why would I do it? Was there no other food for me to eat?

I ran up to my room and huddled in the corner. I trembled in fear when I heard the slow footsteps coming up the stairs. I pulled myself into a tighter ball. Maybe she wouldn't see me.

The door creaked open slowly and I began to whimper in terror. The Grandmother was coming to punish me for not eating her food. She was going to whip me and hurt me for wetting the bed.

"Cory, what is it?" the voice asked. I didn't answer. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended I was in a happy place where I could run in the garden and chase butterflies.

I felt a hand on my knee and I flinched. I was shaking so hard and I couldn't stop. Tears began running down my face and suddenly I heard screams. Who was screaming?

Just before I passed out I realized that I was the one screaming in terror.

I watched the beautiful girl dance around the attic in awe. She spun on her toes and leaped across they room. She was so graceful. She arms flowing around her body in gentle waves. The music was a tinkling piano song that reminded me of fairies. The girl spun around and around and I began to get dizzy watching her spin. Suddenly I started to fall, down, down, down, into a dark hole where there was no light or hope. Would I ever escape?

I opened my eyes to a bright white light. I squinted into the face of Penny. She looked concerned.

"Oh, dear," she breathed and she hugged me tightly.

I looked around and found I was in a plain room I didn't recognize.

"Where's Cathy?" I asked suddenly. I frowned after I asked my question. Who was Cathy?

"I'm sorry, I don't know who that is dear," Penny said. She had tears in her eyes. A doctor came into the room and Penny started to whisper with him. I strained to hear what they were saying but they were too quiet. I didn't like being in the dark. I wanted to know what was going on. I had to know.

"He's only eight years old!" Penny exclaimed.

The doctor touched her arm gently and told her something that made her quiet down. What were they talking about?

Penny came back over to me and smiled. She kissed my forehead.

"We can take you home now," she helped me change my clothes and we left the hospital. I was quiet all the way home. I couldn't get the beautiful dancer out of my head. She had been so lovely. I didn't want to ever forget what she looked like. And the music she listened to, it sounded so familiar. When we got home, Penny went to talk to Carl. I was left in the house alone. I felt myself being drawn to the piano. I had felt an urge to play it before but it wasn't as strong as it was now. I sat down and put my fingers on the keys.

I dreamt about the song the ballerina was dancing to and played it out on the piano. I didn't know how I knew the notes but it sounded just like the song in my dream.

I knew that my life before I came to live here was slowly coming back to me, but each time I had a new memory I wished it would go away. And when I had one that I wanted to remember forever I would forget it. It would be lost in the swirling emptiness of my mind. I felt like I was slowly becoming detached from my own body and floating away. I was a drifter who didn't know where to go or even what he wanted.

All I knew was that I needed to find the blond girl who haunted my dreams. She was the key to my troubled thoughts.