Whitethorn Academy

Chapter One

Someone was screaming.

Pain lanced through my head as I tried to sit up, black tinted my vision. The air smelled of fire and my eyes burned with the smoke that clogged the air like a thick fog.

Every part of my body ached. My arms and legs were stiff with pain as I tried to push myself up again. The screaming had dulled, but a heavy, still silence hung around me now.

Where was I?

It took a few moments before it came back to me. I was in the woods. My best friend, Hanna, had begged me to come to a bonfire with her. But where was she? Why was I waking up on the ground?

And who had been screaming?

Then, there was a shouting of voices and I saw the glow of flashlight beams as they shined through the forest, flickering beyond the lines of trees.

What was happening?

The voices grew closer, but they were still distorted. The words blended together like mush inside of my skull.

When the lights emerged from the trees, they nearly blinded me.

I lifted my hand to shield my eyes, but leaves and grass stuck to my hand, trapped in something sticky. I brushed the leaves away to reveal the dark red blood that coated my hand. Blood?

I'd dropped it in horror, my eyes glued to it. Where had the blood come from? A quick glance showed my shirt also stained with red and I fought the nausea that rose in my throat.

The voices and lights surrounded me. Pain lanced through my head again.

"Put your hands in the air!"

I didn't hesitate to obey. Through the lights, I could see the police uniforms that adorned the figures surrounding me.

"Stand up, slowly."

Again, I did as I was asked, even as the pain grew worse and I swayed on my feet. A pair of hands reached out for me, lacing around my upper arms so tight I was sure they would leave bruises.

"What is your name?" the woman who held me asked me as she began to force me to walk through the woods.

"Selene," I rasped, my throat dry and achy from the smoke that still hung in the air in a heavy curtain. Through the trees, I could still see a glimpse of the bonfire that had burned bright.

It was nearly dead now. Another group of officers stood clustered around the fire, staring down at something I couldn't make out.

The hands on my upper arms were relentless, even as I tripped over the uneven ground.

"You'll be coming to the station with us, Selene," the officer who held me said. "We have some questions for you."

I nodded dumbly, still watching through the trees. A camera light flashed and I thought I saw a person on the ground, eerily still.

What had happened? Why was I covered in blood? Why were the police here? My head throbbed.

Out of the line of trees, too many police cars to count, all with their lights flashing, waited. Several officers buzzed around, talking into their radios.

When they saw our group emerge out of the trees, eyes watched, curious. But no one approached as I was led into a police car and guided into the backseat.

The woman never bothered to turn off her flashing lights as she made her way back onto the main road and into town, toward the station. Out the window, I could see people peeking out of their windows, watching us as we passed by. I was glad for the dark window tint that allowed me to stay out of view.