Chapter One

          I was often one of the last people awake at night in the boarding school in southern California where I lived, and tonight was no exception to the routine. I tried to make as little noise as possible as I crept down the dark hallway, flashlight in hand. The only other light I could see came from the headmaster's study down the hall. Mrs. Lacey often stayed up late doing paperwork and planning guest teachers and events for the school. This was, after all, one of the most prominent music schools in the United States, and Mrs. Lacey made sure the Jefferson School of Music lived up to its reputation.

          My thoughts were light as I moved quietly down the hallway, part of “Fall” from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons stuck in my head. I thought about what Mr. Fowler had planned for orchestra the next day, and I smiled as I peeked innocently around the doorway of Mrs. Lacey's study to see what she was doing.

What I saw froze me where I stood.

While Mrs. Lacey sat writing at her desk, someone else climbed through her window, and then closed it softly. He was young--probably only a few years older than my 16 years--and he had black hair and the shadow of a black mustache, tanned skin, and eyes that I guessed were dark brown. He wore dark jeans and a faded black T-shirt with some word or logo on it that I didn't care to read. For a moment after my initial shock, I could only watch him, spellbound by this strange intruder who preferred not to use doors.

And then he pulled a long knife from the side of him that had faced away from me, jolting me out of my trance.

He stepped silently closer to Mrs. Lacey.

He was going to kill her.

I screamed.

Mrs. Lacey's head snapped up, but the intruder didn't even look at me. He pounced on Mrs. Lacey before she could even think to look behind her, slitting her throat. Blood was suddenly everywhere as her head tilted back over her chair unnaturally, her eyes rolled back.

I screamed again in terror, and the intruder pounced at me this time. I dropped my flashlight and slammed the heavy door closed before he reached me, but it didn't stop him for long. As I ran away, I could hear him open the door and run after me, the darkness hardly an obstacle to him. He'd overtaken me in three of my desperate bounds, and gripped my left arm roughly while the right, I knew, brought the knife to my throat.

Something thudded into us from the side, knocking us both to the floor before the knife even touched my skin. My attacker was on his feet instantly, but he didn't reach for me--he had greater priorities now. I jumped to my feet half a second after he did, and in the darkness all I could make out were two vague figures fighting, it looked like, over the murderer's knife. I didn't stay to watch anymore. I ran up the stairs and to the room I shared with five other girls without looking back; I ran straight into the closet, shut the door, and sat down, hugging my knees and trying to slow my breathing.

In the chaos and panic that filled my head, I wondered randomly for a second how my roommates were still sleeping.

Then a gunshot sounded.

I could hear my roommates jump or climb out of their bunk beds, two of them frantically asking what was going on while the other three ran out the door. Within moments, the whole school was awake, it seemed, the fluorescent lights in all the main rooms and hallways flicking on and sputtering to life, and frantic voices yelling and asking what was happening.

A scream told me when someone found the body of Mrs. Lacey or whoever else had just died. I curled up into a tighter ball and squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to think as I listened to the chaos downstairs. The thoughts came anyway.

The vision of the intruder, of Mrs. Lacey's head falling back over the chair with blood suddenly everywhere...of the murderer coming at me then; the feeling of panic and this-is-the-end when he'd grabbed my arm...after only three steps...

The closet door was suddenly yanked open, and before I could even jump, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly to my feet.

“Pack your things quickly,” whispered the dark silhouette standing in front of me.

Shocked, all I could manage to whisper was, “What?”

“Pack,” he ordered, his voice a little above a whisper now. “If you want to survive, pack now. We're leaving. Where's your bag?”

Without really thinking, I reached for the bag on the closet shelf and then walked over to my bunk and took my journal from underneath my pillow. The stranger who wanted me to leave was crouched by the chest of drawers at the end of the bunk bed. “What's your name?” he asked.

“Aletta,” I told him. He took my bag from me, opened the drawer with my name on it, and scooped everything out of the drawer, dumping it into my bag. Then he left for a minute and came back with the small bag that held my toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush. I quickened my pace to match his, taking my purse, two favorite books, and my viola in its case. I took my coat from its place in the closet and dropped a pair of shoes into the bag, putting another pair on my own feet.

He zipped up my large duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready to go?”

“Yes,” I said. “But why"”

“Shh.” He took my viola case from me and walked over to the window. He looked outside carefully, but didn't stick his head out the window. Then he turned to me. “Fast, silent, rhythmic. Try not to fall. As long as you're against the wall, you're an incredibly easy target. Find your footing, get down quickly. Got it?”

I couldn't fully grasp what he was saying, but I nodded anyway. He turned and looked out the window one more time, then climbed out and down the brick wall. He climbed swiftly and easily, and was halfway to the ground when I started climbing out.

Being fast and silent wasn't as easy as this stranger had made it seem. I struggled to find my footing in the spaces between the bricks. My pace was slow, but finally I found a sort of rhythm. As soon as I reached the ground, the stranger grabbed my wrist and ran across the schoolyard, pulling me after him. He let go of my wrist when we hit the sidewalk, just after he turned right, and we ran faster. He stopped abruptly when we reached a blue car a couple of blocks away from the school, pulling keys out of his pocket and unlocking it quickly, then opening the door and shoving my duffel bag and viola case into the back seat before shutting the door on the driver's side after him. I got into the car on the passenger side and shut the door as the stranger turned the keys in the ignition. He pulled away from the curb and sped down the road, and I looked at my school for what I was sure to be the last time. But as he kept driving, I sat back in my seat and stared straight ahead. I didn't want to talk, and apparently, neither did he. I tried not to think about what had happened, but the picture of Mrs. Lacey's death wouldn't leave me alone. We drove out of the suburbs and through countless towns until we reached the country, and with it, a darker night. Despite everything, I fell asleep--but even then, the thoughts wouldn't leave me alone.

Author's Note

*-edit-*
I'm not entirely happy with the way I ended this chapter. It seems kind of blunt and choppy to me. Any help there would be much appreciated.
And, of course, any input you have would be great! :)

Reviews

[Calvin]

I like what I see so far, the prologue was amazing. You seem to have quite a knack for descriptions and transitions. As for the names, Claire and Darren are my suggestions

[LucifersWarrior]

I like the plot but I do not really like the setting. There are a couple of spelling errors.

[thatbryngirl]

LOVE. THIS. :) Great job hun!