~CHAPTER ONE~

I was having a nice refreshing dinner with my friends at a restaurant when I heard something bone chilling. After we all finished eating, we sat out in the field before the entrance of the town. While we were sitting this happened:

"So, you guys up for a game?" Todd asked in a scary creepy voice.

"W-what kind of game?" Jade asked gripping my arm.

"Yeah, do you actually think you have a game that could scare me, Todd?" I asked teasingly.

He stayed quiet. I couldn't see his face quite well because it was too dark. He just looked away. Then Chelsea screamed. I started laughing when Todd fell over. I thought that Jade attacked him—until I felt something wet on my forearm.

"Jade? Todd?" I said to the darkness. I heard quiet laughter. "Todd, you jerk! What did you do to my arm?" I screamed, not knowing who I was screaming at. The quiet chuckles came again.

I lunged in front of me, and heard a gasp as I hit something solid. I felt a heartbeat—well actually heard it since my ear was on the thing's chest. Yes, I say 'thing' because I don't know what it is.

"What?" Todd said. But the thing I was on wasn't Todd, I knew that. I know because Todd's voice came all the way from where I was. He did try to scare me. So... who was the person under me?

I screamed and jumped back. I didn't know anything of my surroundings. I started to go backwards and then bumped into something—someone. I screamed again.

Another girl screamed—but from far away. "Todd, Jade, are you guys there?" I said desperately.

"Yeah..." they said at the same time from both sides of me.

"Why did you scream, Mary-Lynette?" Jade asked, breathless.

"Well, I bumped into something. Right after the first time you screamed Jade. Didn't you guys hear those laughs?" I asked them turning both ways to look at them—though I couldn't actually see them.

"Not really." Said Todd—probably shaking his head.

"I did! That's why I screamed!" Jade said. She jumped up taking me and Todd with her.

"C'mon you guys, didn't you hear that scream? Let's go find out!" said Todd excitedly. He wanted to try to scare me, didn't he? The answer to that question is not hard; yes.

"Um... I think I'll pass tonight." I said uncertainly. Both Jade and Todd gasped.

"What? Am I imagining this?" Jade asked Todd.

He replied with, "I don't think so, because I heard it too. What's wrong Mare?"

I started to steal glances at the road leading to the town—and my safe home—and the road that led to the scream. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired. I want to go home and sleep." I told them reassuringly. I was a good liar.

"Okay, fine. But, next time we come here—we're going the way that we heard the scream." Todd said.

"Whatever. I'm going. See ya guys tomorrow. Bye!" I yelled as I was jogging toward town. They both lived in the other town so I was alone. As I entered and thought I was out of their view I broke into a run.

What am I going to do? I thought. Nothing; I'm going to do nothing. Hopefully, if I leave it alone then everything will go back to normal.

Or so I thought...