Preface

The storm was still young when the boy found her there, bleeding out by the side of the rail road tracks. She was laying perfectly still upon the exact spot where the two tracks intersected. Her curly dark hair was plastered to her face and a pool of dark crimson blood had soaked through her clothes, staining her gray sweatshirt with the mark of death.

Of course, she still had a pulse when he found her. Just barely. It wasn't much of one, but it was enough for the boy to at least try to resurrect her until help showed up. When he knew he'd done all he could, he took out his cell phone and called for an ambulance. Although his voice was calm and collected on the phone, he was shaking on the inside. Jason, he'd said his name was when the lady on the other end had asked. As for his location, he couldn't be sure, with the fine layer of mist that had enveloped and sealed off the rest of the world from him. If he had to guess, he would've estimated that he was by the airport on the outskirts of town.

He could only hope that they would make it in time to save her. As he glanced down at the young teenager laying in his lap, he noticed how peaceful she looked. She's just sleeping, he thought, merely pretending for the sake of his sanity. Any minute now, she'll wake up.

The light above him glowed red, and a horn honked in the distance.