Prologue

Where Emery's story begins

The oxygen in the atmosphere began to evaporate, pulling away air from the grass, the trees, and from Emery’s body. Gasping, she felt her entire body crumble inside, her bones dissolving into liquid as her body hit the ground. It felt like something inside of her was crawling its way from head to toes, searching for something to bite on. Her eyes were glued to the dark figure standing a few feet away from her, not blinking or breathing. Emery wanted so much to scream, let it rip through her throat, yet all that came out of her mouth was silence. The figure moved closer, taking slow steps towards her frozen body.

This is the end of me, Emery thought, closing her eyes to accept her fate. She was going to turn into the creature before her, not able to remember who she is or how she got here in the first place.

When her eyes open to look death in the eyes one last time, the figure disappeared.

Her eyes wandered around the grassy field, hearing crickets chirping and the sound of the wind returning, crashing against the leaves. The numbness in her fingers was replaced by the rush of blood, turning her fingers back to its original state. Moving her hands, Emery sat up, using her regain strength to pull herself off the ground. All the bones in her body were solid, stronger than ever, and she could feel her lungs filling up. With one deep breath, she exhaled a sigh which turned into a scream the minute her eyes laid on the dead body beside her.

She couldn’t move. Although she recuperates her conscience and body strength, she felt her brain shut down, not collecting everything that just happened. The body laying down on the gravel of the driveway was motionless like a stone, its eyes wide open and staring straight at her. In the moonlight, the speck of blood near the body glimmers with emptiness, for it resemble the danger Emery knows she is facing. She wants nothing more to grab the body off the ground and carry it inside of the house, hoping there is still a speckle of life left, but looking into its eyes, there was no chance of revival.

Glancing around the darkness swallowing her, Emery gets one more glance of the body, a tear dropping onto her cheeks before sprinting towards the house, searching for a phone in the living room. Throwing books and cushions on the floor, she finds a rectangle shape hiding between two pillows on the couch. Picking it up, she realizes it is her mom’s phone. Hoping for service, she dials 911 and waits for a click on the other line to confirm her that someone will rescue her from the chaos around her home.

“What is your emergency?” A harsh female voice speaks from the other line.

“Yes, I need someone to please come to 113 Venire Boulevard, please? Someone in my house has been affected, and I am afraid to go back outside. Please come help me!” Emery screams, tears bursting out of her eyes as she hears a bang of a door.

“Ma’am, please calm down. We will have someone come check out what’s going on, but for our information, have you been bitten or attacked that would put others in danger of being affected?”

“No, I have not been attacked,” Emery lies, feeling her legs shiver as she hears another bang come from across the room, “Please just come, I think he is outside the door, and I am afraid for my life right now.” Her voice quivers as the banging increases. Not waiting for a response from the 911 responder, she quickly hangs up and runs towards the hallway to her room, slamming the door once she is inside. She walks in a frenzy and grabs the chair next to her desk, leaning it against the door knob. Emery grips a handful of her hair and closes her eyes to think, figuring out what to do next without panicking. Suddenly, there is a huge bang that echoes through the house, and her eyes bolt open. Emery curses and hurries towards her closet door, quietly closing it in case the intruder hears her location.

Covering her mouth and taking shallow breaths to lower her heartbeat, Emery backs up into the corner of her small, walk-in closet, closing her eyes. The silence surrounding her is causing her heart to beat against her chest, sweat dripping from her forehead. Calm down, Emery, he has already bitten you once. The next time, you might not be so lucky, she whispers to herself in her head.

Minutes pass by, and her body numbs from fear of being found. Her hand still over her lips, she stares up at the ceiling of her closet, seeing her clothes stand still on their hangers. This closet used to bring pleasant memories of her sister rampaging through my dresses to try on for herself and Emery yelling at her to give her back her clothes. More tears stream down her face as she remembers her sister’s cheerful smile and glowing hazel eyes.

A crash of her door causes Emery to become startled, fear of her time in the closet to come to an end. She managed to escape death once on the front yard, but now, she knows that death won’t let her escape again of its reach. Breathing heavy, Emery closes her eyes and accepts her fate as footsteps march closer to her hiding spot. Shaking, Emery screams when the door of the closet yanks open, prepare for the intruder to kill her. Instead, though, she feels hands around her shoulders and a shriek of emotions pouring over her. Her mother, with blood staining her white button-down blouse and black fitted trousers, rocks Emery, crying out before bringing her hands to Emery’s confused and petrified face.

“Mom?” Emery whispers, swallowing away the fear stuck in her throat a few minutes ago.

“Emerson, sweetie, oh my god, I thought you were dead. Oh god, honey, I’m so glad you are alive.” Tears are clouding her mother’s dark blue eyes, and there is a blood streak smudged across her cheeks. More blood has dried up in her mother’s auburn hair, matching the shade of her hair. Wiping away tears from Emery’s eyes, her mother puts her hands under her arms and helps Emery to stand up gradually.

“Mom, where is he? How did you escape?” Emery questions, staring down her mother’s appearance. Not a single scratch or bite is on her body, which means the blood is not her mother’s.

“The minute I saw him, I ran into the attic, which I should have brought Tristian-“Her voice cracks at the mention of Emery’s sister, looking down and taking a deep breath before finishing, “He didn’t see me climb the stairs and just sprinted outside. That’s when I heard the shriek from your sister. I wanted so bad to come outside and save her with all of my strength, but I knew that if there were a chance you were still alive, you would hate to lose your whole family, so I sat up there until I thought the close was clear.” Looking at her body, she whimpered, her knees wobbling.

“You found her, did you?” A whisper escaped from Emery’s mouth, knowing her mother’s answer would be. Her mother nodded and broke down, her knees giving away from underneath her. Emery catches her mother’s arm, falling with her. Holding each other, the only noise in the room was whimpers and cries, both of the ladies not looking at each other for the sake of each other’s mental state. Minutes later, an additional sound roar through the room, and Emery’s head lift to twist towards the flash of red and blue lights on her windows. Her mother looks up as well, and almost gasp in relief, quickly standing up. Emery and her mother dash outside Emery’s room to discover police officers outside the house, crowding a dark figure. Through the living room’s transparent sliding doors, the women freeze, not wanting to risk taking a step outside the door.

The scene acting out in the front yard happens in a blink of an eye. The cops, with their fingers holding the trigger of their guns, fire at the figure, and Emery and her mother shout out, her mother collapsing to the ground as she hears the cries of the figure echo up into the sky. The crashing of the bullets against skin comes to a halt, and the widened eyes of Emery’s mother closes. Silence falls behind, and smoke vanishes into mist, becoming part of the air. Emery imagines her hands pushing out towards the doors, tugging the sliding door open and her feet rushing towards the cops. She can picture herself clinging the body to her, yelling at the cops and cursing at the body. Emery visualizes her tears staining the bloody face of the body in her arms, rubbing her face against its face.

Except for Emery’s hands are dangled by her side, and her feet are stuck to the floor. The tears from her eyes are stained on her face, and lips are glued together. Leaving the room won’t save her dad nor would it rewind the whole night to when it all began. Her life has just been shattered and watching the sheet cover her father's body, Emery knows this is only the beginning of her nightmare.