Chapter 1

Chahiro was lost in thought as she and her friends, Kira and Micah walked to the middle school down the street... This was her last year of middle school and she was excited as well as frightened to start high school next year... Tired of the silence since they first left her house, Chahiro decided to strike up a conversation...

" Hey Micah?" Chahiro asked.

" Yes?" Micah answered.

" Why don't you have a girlfriend?" Chahiro asked shyly.

" I just haven't really been ready for a relationship quite yet... " Micah answered smiling widely, " Besides, no girl could compare to you anyway my dear Chahiro..."

Micah laughed as Chahiro blushed, he absolutely loved teasing her... Micah flinched when Kira punched him in the arm... They were brother and sister, with Kira being a few years older then Chahiro and Micah... They were spying at chahiro's house the day her and her family had come back... There were some very strange things going on that day... The wind had begun to howl, as if some kind of evil creature had been enraged that the family had found thier way home... Kira, especially, found the whole story to be rather creepy... What on earth could cause a family to disappear for over a year and why would they not remember anything when they got back?! Were they kidnapped? Or did they somehow get lost in the woods? It was all very very strange... Since she and her brother, Micah had befriended Chahiro and her family, they had remained worried that she or her parents may one day disappear again without a trace...

Kira and Micah had moved from their home in Australia a few years ago with their mother, Sierra and their father, Thomas Morro... Since moving there, they'd been hearing legends of ancient spirits and gods and had been absolutely fascinated by them... Many of the people in town had honestly believed that Chahiro and her family had some how found thier way into the spirit world and had been trapped there for over a year before they had escaped... As ludicrous as it sounded, Kira and Micah had asked thier father about it, who had actually studied in college about supernatural beings... Thomas had told his children that there are a lot of unexplained occurrences happening all over the world and he believes that there are other worlds out there besides the realm of humans...

But that was nothing compared to the warning thier father had given her... Apparently, he felt a strange ability within Chahiro and told both Kira and Micah to watch out for there friend, because one day something evil may try to hurt the girl... Since then, Kira and Micah had grown even closer to Chahiro and vowed to each other not to ever let her out of their sight... And the nightmares... The nightmares Chahiro had every night since they met her always sent her into an anxiety attack... Chahiro would always scream and thrash in her sleep, as if some frightening demons were after her... Four years they'd known and been friends with her and four years they'd been helpless to help her fight off her unending nightmares... They'd often asked her what they were about, and more often then not, she could only recall bits and pieces...

" Hey Kira, what are you thinking about? Are you ok?" Chahiro asked.

" Nothing, Chahiro, just worried about you... Have your doctors said anything about why your having such terrible nightmares?" Kari asked.

" They've been trying to figure things out, but nothing makes any sense..." Chahiro said, " The doctor said that we may have all been kidnapped but I can't remember anything... Also, why would I be having nightmares about shadow creatures because of being kidnapped?"

"Maybe the kidnappers were all wearing black?" Micah asked.

" I'm not sure... I feel like something has attached itself to me, weather it's bad or good, I'm not sure..." Chahiro said. " It really feels like something is following me... Although I'm not sure what..."

The three friends were silent the rest of the way to school, each lost in their own thoughts... When they got to the school, Naira, as usual, was holding court outside in the school yard, spreading lies about some unsuspecting student as usual... Chahiro couldn't help but feel bad for whoever she was spreading rumors about... She had always been taught to tell the truth, no matter what, and telling lies about anything was wrong, especially if they are about other people...

" Oh! Chahiro!" Naira exclaimed, " There you are!"

" What are you up to now, Naira?" Chahiro asked suspiciously.

" Oh nothing, just telling everyone about your little trip into the woods all those years ago..." Naira said grinning evilly, " Tell me, did your parents ever find out about the child you got rid of? Or did you beg them not to have you committed to a mental health institution when they found out?"

" What are you talking about?!" Chahiro demanded angrily.

" The baby that resulted from your secret trips into the woods... It's obvious that you did something for your parents to fake you all being kidnapped... Promiscuity is so obviously a closet taboo that your parents are obviously ashamed of..." Naira said hatefully.

Chahiro didn't let her finish... She pounced like a mad woman and began beating Naira over and over again, screaming for her to shut her filthy mouth... Kira and Micah watched in shock as their meek and sweet friend turned viscous in the blink of an eye...

" How dare you say something so horrible!" Chahiro shouted at Naira angrily, hands wrapped around the struggling girls throat, " Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your mouth out!"

In another demention, an evil witch laughed as she watched the sweet spineless child that had once come to her realm so long ago, snap under her dark influence...

"Hahaha..." The witch laughed in satisfaction, " I just love messing with the humans... Soon Sen, I'll have my best worker in my grasp once again, and this time, I'll never let you leave..."