Chapter One

I looked down on the town of Salem, through the frosty glass of the tiny puddle-jumper airplane that we had been forced to take. The plane tilted it's nose down noticeably, coming in for a sharp landing, my stomach already beginning to drop, having little to do with the descent of the plane.

        I wasn't sure I enjoyed the idea of coming to Salem. In fact, I had fought hard against it for a number of weeks leading up to my sixteenth birthday. And then... things had gone horribly wrong. Even thinking about the night my life had been destroyed brought a stinging to my eyes that had seemingly become all too familiar these days.

        A hand took mine. Dried and callused, I knew those hands well. They had seen a lot of work. But, rather than be comforting, I felt even worse, knowing that my actions hadn't just uprooted me and destroyed my life. It had taken my mothers along with it.

       I was told I looked a lot like my mother. I realized I could only hope to look like her someday. Her eyes were gentle, a sea green just a shade or two lighter than the green of old bottles. the edges of her eyes were always crinkled like old paper, making her look older than she really was. Long thick blond hair was tied back into a messy tail.

       Yes, I suppose I looked a lot like her. Except for my eyes. My mother always told me about my eyes. They were a darker green, as deep as the purest emeralds. She told me they were the same as my fathers. The father I had never met.

       The plane finally landed, and I pulled my hand from my mother's carefully. She let it go without much fuss. We had tried to talk about what was going on. My mother had even tried to get me to see a shrink. But no one understood. Not even the police after I had finished talking to them. They had thought I was crazy.

      Trying not to think about it too much, I followed my mother off the plane with the other half a dozen people that had taken the flight into the small Salem airport. the town was so small, smaller than the warm and very large Phoenix we had just flown into. Even in Autumn, it was cooler outside than it had been back home. Unlike normal, when I might have always worn a nicely cut shirt and possibly shorts, I had taken to wearing hoodies.

      "Honey, it's going to be alright." She said, turning to give me a half-hearted smile, that had once been the shining point of her beauty. Stress had long since sapped most of it away.

      "I know Mom, I'm not worried." I said, turning away and hefting my backpack onto my shoulder.

     Together we slowly made our way to baggage pickup, but were headed off by a man in crisp clean, black suit. A black limo driver's hat was pulled low at the brim, and a smile that was so fake I knew he wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment.

     "Miss. Hale." He said, looking at my mother, and then turning his eyes to me. "And Miss. Hale." this time I knew his smile was more genuine. That fact scared me more than I cared to admit, even to myself.

     "If you would just follow me then." He said, starting to walk away. I tried to protest, but my mother rested her hand overtop mine, and pulled me along, silencing my protests. I had wanted to complain about our bags, but I quickly found that was of little concern. The man had already grabbed them and placed them into the trunk of the car. I supposed it was real now. I was being sent away to school, where I knew no one. I guess the only consolation was knowing that my mother would be by my side the entire time.

     "Come now, Miss. Hale." He said, opening the door for us both to slide in. I took the far seat, huddling up with my backpack. I thought of the old blue blanket, the only gift my father had given me as a child. I had never intended to keep it this long, but I found when I was scared, I could still smell his aftershave on the blanket. I knew the scent was all in my head, as it had long since faded away.

      "It's going to be okay, Samara." She said, for at least the millionth time. I tried to block her out, turning my head away from her. I braved a chance, reaching into my bag and pulling out the headphones. I didn't want my mom knowing I had kept the blanket all these years. when my father had left... it had hurt her a lot. And even the simplest reminder had often made her cry. She didn't know that I knew about her tears. But, she couldn't hide the redness at night sometimes, or the sniffles.

      I put the ear-buds in, and turned my music on high. I knew she blamed herself for me being sent away. I didn't want her to, but somehow I couldn't seem to make the words work in my mouth, so I never spoke them aloud. I just hoped she would understand that it wasn't her fault.

      It was a half hour ride from the airport to the school, just outside the far town of Salem. But, even as we pulled into the long dirt road that led up to Crucible Academy for Boys and Girls. The name was ironic, and made me shiver a little, but I tried to hide them from my mother. But, even as we pulled into the front gates of the school, the large obsidian gates, the letters "CA" embossed in large letters in the metal made me shiver more. My mother didn't miss it this time. Once more, her hand found mine, taking it reassuringly.

      We stepped out of the limo and looked to the daunting gates. Of their own accord, they slowly pulled apart, revealing a giant courtyard of stone that looked like it must have been swept clean just that morning. I hefted my backpack onto my shoulder, urging my legs to take the first steps into the school of my nightmares. It was so quite, it chilled my soul to the bone. I wasn't sure what to do, until a voice behind me made me jump a foot off the ground.

     "Head in. the Headmaster awaits you." the main said. This time, in the shade of the trees, he looked so pale. Almost dead. His skin seemed stretched so tight over his bones I was surprised I hadn't noticed it sooner. I was about to open my mouth to ask him just what he was, when my mother nudged me in the ribs. With a gentle, almost unnoticeable shake of her head, I let the question drop.

     And then we took our first steps to hell.