Chapter 1

He hates me, always has and always will. Never resting he torments me, bullies me, and makes my life a living hell. Little did I know that he was just the tip of the iceberg.

I just got home, I can hear him in the house and I’m not in the mood to get beaten today. I walk to the far side of the house, staying out of sight of the windows, as I pass under the window that leads to the living room, I hear him talking to someone. I can't make out his words nor the person's that he was talking to, but I can tell he was arguing with a woman. I run around the corner just in time to hear the front door open.

"Cassie! Are you out there? I know that school is out." I can hear the drunken slur in my father's voice, he will wonder where I am for an hour then drink some more and pass out, giving me time to sneak in. Most teenagers have to sneak out of their house, not sneak in.

I go to the back of the house and look for the small red shed in the backyard, there in the far corner where it has always sat. I pull off my shoes and pull my brown hair up into a ponytail and run for the shed. The grass is soft and slightly damp under my feet, making the hot sand around the shed stick to the bottom of my feet. I open the door and quickly slipped inside, the strong smell of gas and oil from the lawn mower flood my senses. The shed is dark and the air is sticky, but it is relaxing. I head to the back corner where I had made a small pallet and put a few books.

I sit down and close my eyes, before I know it I am asleep. I awaken to pitch black and the sound of feet moving towards the shed. Oh great, he found me, I can hear the swishing of his jeans and the clinking of his belt buckle. I slightly whimper and curl farther into the corner. His heavy footsteps stop in front of the door, he opens it slightly.

"Cassie, where are you?" his drunken slur is worse, and he sounds angry. I whimper as he spots me. "There you are, what have I told you about not coming home?" he growls out as he grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling me up and out of the shed. He throws me across the yard with a slight grunt.

I hit the hard ground with a loud thud, I land on my right shoulder and slightly slide, causing my shoulder to start stinging. My eyes blur with tears, making it hard to see. I can hear him getting closer, he was yelling at me to get up, but I want to stay on the ground. I close my eyes tightly as I feel my father’s steel-toed boots hit me in my stomach, making me gasp out in pain. When will the beatings ever end?

I feel him kick me a few more times before he stops. I curl in on myself and I can’t stop the steady flow of tears down my face. "It's time you learned a lesson from all the horrible things you have done! If it wasn't for you my wife would still be here!" he yells at me, always blaming me for the death of my mother.

I hear the back door open then close, only to be followed by the loud bang of a gun. I look up in time to see the shocked look on my father's face before he falls. I quickly scramble away only to bump into someone. I look up to see a woman in a white dress. She holds the gun and looks at it with disgust before tossing it away from her. She looks down at me and smiles.

"It’s all ok, it’s going to be fine, it's all over," she says softly as she crouches down. I slightly shy away and she gives me a soft smile. "It’s ok you are safe," she says and holds her hand out. I lightly take it and she pulls me up.

"What is going to happen?" I ask softly as I look up at the woman. She was beautiful, pale skin with midnight black hair and jade green eyes. She has full lips that curved naturally into a soft smile, she has a soft sweet voice that compels me to listen.

"Now I take you home with me, you will be safe with me." She says smiling "don't be scared, I will protect you."

She starts to walk towards the forest that is behind my house and I can't help but follow her. At one point I lose sight of her but could see flashes of her dress and I run after her. The ground is soft and muddy, and the tree roots are making me stumble. I can hear her laughter and I follow the sound, but the roots are getting thicker and thicker. I finally reach a clearing; the woman is in the center. I walk up to her.

"Now Cassie, don't be scared, I am here." She says as she takes my hand. I look up at her, slightly confused trying to get an answer from the expression from her face, but only a soft smirk crosses her face. She throws something on the ground in front of us, it starts to smoke, and it sparks up and it is on fire.

I watch closely and see the ground split open; it slowly grows wider and wider. There are glowing red eyes in the hole, the hole gets wider and the beasts start to climb out of the hole. My heart starts to race, and my breathing is ragged from fear.

The beasts are distorted, their bones broken, skin blackened, and sharp teeth dripping black blood. They start to crawl towards me, a scream is ripped from me and I turn and run. The woman laughs and I can hear the beast chasing me. I can see the outline of my house before I trip over a tree root. I look back only to see the red glowing eyes of the beasts. I start to crawl away frantically, but it is useless, the beast grabs me and starts to drag me back. I am screaming and kicking trying to get away, the other beasts are jumping around making a horrible sound that is close to laughter.

I flip over and try to claw at the ground, my face is drenched with tears of fear. It takes me back to the clearing and I can hear the woman laughing as they take me closer to the hole.

"Now Cassie, I told you not to be scared." The woman says with a laugh as I am dragged under.