AN: Okay. I am so sorry that I haven't updated in, like, forever, but I am having serious writer's block (again!). I know that this one isn't really an update, but, hey, at least it's something. This story takes place before the story, so basically it's a prologue. I know that some of you have read it before when I had it under a different title, but, please, bear with me. I hope that you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: The lyrics used in this chapter are from the song "Somebody Out There" by The Calling. I do not own them!

Somebody Out There

The day had not started out well. Of course, for Anneliese, it was just another typical day in her typical life. She hated these halls. She hated this stupid school. She hated the people that existed in her typical, mundane life. God, why couldn't she get away? She just wished she could be left alone for once in her life.

Well the scene begins, a little girl is crying

And the light in the hallway is dim

And she sits right back, thinks of the reason

Why nothing will fall into place

She gets more and more curious with every day

More furious in every way

And she screams out loud,

"Why's it happening to me?"

And the answer is "it's meant to be". . .

Anneliese clutched her books to her chest, her eyes scanning the tiled floor of the school. Her black hair hung in tangles around her face, the odd assortment of colors standing out in small braids.

An arm brushed her shoulder, causing Anneliese to look up. The crowd of students around her was slowly diminishing. She looked behind her and stopped in her tracks, the other students walking around her to get to their classes. A figure walked through the crowd, completely oblivious to the people around him. He stopped suddenly and turned around, his eyes catching hers. He grinned at her, a flash of gold meeting her eyes. And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Anneliese blinked. What had just happened? There had been a man, dressed all funny and odd, with long, dark hair topped with a grungy brown hat. What's more, he had disappeared. He hadn't disappeared into the crowd. No, he had just plain disappeared, as in vanished. Into thin air.

She turned back around, her eyes scanning to see if anyone else had seen the man. Nobody else seemed any different to her than before. "Huh," she muttered to herself. Maybe she was just going crazy. It wouldn't be the first time.

Well she's on her knees

And begging please

She wonders if there's somebody out there

To make things wrong

To make things right

It might be

That there's somebody out there

Anneliese stared down at her empty notebook. Her ears barely listened to the teacher droning on in the front of the class about some boring old history lesson that she really didn't care about, something that she figured she would never need to know later in life.

She propped her head on her left hand, her right hand doodling little pictures of stick figures with their heads blowing up from sheer boredom. A loud crash startled her, causing her to look up.

Her eyes widened as she looked around her. The classroom had disappeared. Instead, she sat in what appeared to be a bar, drunken men and women carousing around her. A group of men sat around her, laughing raucously and downing mugs of some drink quicker than she could speak. Her scared eyes scanned the people sitting around her. She stopped as she spotted the man that she had seen half an hour before, the man with the glinting eyes and flashing gold teeth.

The man turned to her, a smile gracing his lips once again. His mouth moved slowly, words forming on his lips, but no sound came out. Anneliese narrowed her eyes and shook her head slowly. What the hell was going on here?

She turned her eyes back to the wooden table in front of her. Suddenly, a man flew backwards, falling on the table that she was sitting at. Anneliese jumped to her feet, backing quickly away, and then promptly ran into the desk behind her.

"God, what is wrong with you?" the girl behind her said angrily.

"What a freak," a voice beside her muttered.

"What a spaz," another voice whispered.

"Miss Abrams are you all right?" the teacher asked from the front of the class, staring at her from behind his thick glasses.

The scar on her shoulder burned as she gazed around the room, ignoring the odd stares that she was receiving. She clutched her shoulder, narrowing her eyes slightly. Everything seemed to be back to normal. No raucous fighters or drunken men. No funnily dressed men staring at her. No men flying towards her.

"Um, I think I'm gonna be sick," she said slowly, clutching her stomach.

The teacher drew back slightly as if he was afraid she would be sick on him. "Then go to the nurse's office, Miss Abrams."

Anneliese nodded, bending down to gather her books. She left the room quickly, one hand holding her head, the other holding her books tightly to her chest.

She moves amongst the crowd,

the people they walk by

She questions why they'll have to die

If it's part of our lives,

so beautiful and precious

She knows that she shouldn't be afraid

of all of this. . .

Her family had never noticed anything was wrong. Her father talked endlessly about how the economy was going to hell and how things would just go downhill from here. Her mother had merely agreed with him, knowing it would have been pointless to argue. Anneliese had just sat, poking at her food with her fork, her stomach telling her that it would resist any food that she tried to place in it.

Her head ached. So many weird things had happened to her that day. First, seeing the strange man in the hallway and then the odd dream that she had during History. What would happen next? Would she fall asleep in the shower and dream of floating penguins dancing over her head?

Half way into their dinner, Anneliese excused herself, saying she was tired and wanted nothing more than to take a shower and go to bed. Her mother had smiled up at her, placing a soft hand on her arm and squeezing slightly.

"Sleep tight, honey," she said.

Anneliese nodded and then left the room, heading upstairs to her bedroom.

Well she's on her knees

And begging please

She wonders if there's somebody out there

To make things wrong

To make things right

It might be

That there's somebody out there

The water was hot against her skin, running down her back and chest, plastering her hair to her scalp. A dizzy bout shook her, causing her to lean over, her hand catching hold of the wall so that she wouldn't fall.

A thunderclap jolted her upright. A storm was surrounding them. Men and women ran on the deck, tying sails to masts and struggling to keep from falling overboard. Anneliese turned around, looking around her. God, what was going on around here? Where the hell was she? What the hell was she doing?

An arm brushed her shoulder again, causing her to turn around. Once again, she saw the man she had seen twice that day. His eyes were wild, a grin plastered over his face. He seemed excited because of the storm. He pulled on ropes, helping other men tighten knots and latch barrels to the deck of the ship that she stood on.

Wait a minute. The ship? Anneliese stared down at the rolling deck beneath her feet. Her eyes widened as the ship rocked. She lost her balance slightly, stumbling on the wooden deck. She tripped slightly, running into the large wooden banister. The ship rocked again, slamming her stomach into the railing. She 'oolfed', catching hold of the wood to keep from falling overboard, the breath leaving her lungs.

A crack of lightning flashed above her, causing her to duck reflexively. A wave crashed into the ship, knocking it sideways, almost flipping it over. With a scream, Anneliese flipped over the side of the ship, falling headfirst into the water.

There's times that she hates you

There's times that she thanks you

And hopes that you might understand

It gets me hard down here

So many things to fear

But it's all just a sign that you're near. . .

Hands shook her shoulders, a worried voice called out to her. "Annie? Annie are you okay?"

Anneliese's eyes opened slowly, fuzzy images forming in front of her. "Unh, mom?" she whispered groggily.

"Oh thank God, you're all right! You fell out of the bathtub and didn't wake up! I was so worried!" her mother cried.

Anneliese sat up on the bathroom floor, clutching the towel that had been placed around her tightly to her chest. She placed a hand to her forehead, sighing. "God that was so weird."

"What? What's wrong?"

Anneliese looked up into her mother's worried eyes. Without warning, the words spilled out. She told her mother everything that had happened during the day. The hallucinations she had had. The people she had seen that had disappeared. At the end of her tale, her mother said nothing. She stared down at her, one hand cupping Anneliese's cheek.

"They were just dreams, love," she said calmly. "Perhaps you just need rest, Annie. Go to bed and sleep."

"But mom. . ."

"They were just dreams Annie," her mother said hotly. "Nothing more than dreams. Go to bed and don't let me hear another word out of you."

With one last caress of Anneliese's cheek, she stood up and left the room, leaving Anneliese to sit on the cold bathroom floor, staring after her in disbelief.

Well she's on her knees

And begging please

She wonders if there's somebody out there

To make things wrong

To make things right

It might be

That there's somebody out there.

She plopped down on the bed, her wet hair splayed out about her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. She had no idea where her dreams would take her, but she hoped it would be far away from here.