Chapter 1
"Mama, how long til we get to Grammy and Grampy's?" 9 year old Madison yawned sleepily in the backseat of her mother's SUV as they made the late night journey from NH to coastal Maine to spend Christmas with her maternal grandparents on their farm.
"Not much longer, sweetheart," Sydney responded softly, smiling at her daughter in the rearview mirror. The child already wore her Christmas pj's and was snuggled up in a blanket with her childhood stuffed moose Monty. Taking a sip of her coffee, she turned around to hand the girl her hot chocolate which was finally cool enough for sipping. "Maybe another half hour. We'll be able to get you tucked into bed safely before Santa comes, don't you worry."
"Will Uncle Tim be there?" the girl sipped her cocoa cautiously, drawing a snowman on the frosty window with her finger. Tim was Sydney's younger brother by 6 years making him 22 to Syd's 28 years.
"I don't believe he'd miss out on a chance to tuck his princess into bed, now do you?" the woman chuckled at the thought of just how tightly wound around Maddy's finger her brother really was. "You really do have your uncle by the..."
Her words were cut short by the sound of Madison's scream and the metal bending, glass breaking impact that followed. Then there was pain followed by sudden darkness.