deCIPHERED (Book 1)

~Chapter 1~

Screams echoed through the hallway as the lights grew dim. As I ran upstairs to the attic, I kept reminding myself to ignore the sweat dripping down my face.

Once I arrived in the attic, I spotted a young woman, probably in her early twenties, tightly clutching a tiny baby cradled in a pink blanket. The woman was crying a river of tears, and the baby didn't look too happy either. The woman seemed to be pleading for mercy, but I couldn't figure out who she was reasoning with.

Suddenly, the lights began flickering on and off, and a voice bellowed, "You should've kept her safe when you had the chance. Now step aside, and give me the baby."

The woman looked horrified, and she began to cry even more. "P-please," She trembled. "Don't hurt her..."

"This isn't your fight, Annabelle. Give me the baby. NOW." The voice commanded. The woman, Annabelle, couldn't control her tears any longer. I tried to run to Annabelle, hoping I could save her and her child, but my body froze and became stiff. I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried.

"N-no..." Annabelle pleaded. "Please don't do this...take me instead!"

A loud, terrifying scream burst through the walls, and I began to levitate as Annabelle's body dropped to the ground, signaling her death.

x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x•x

I felt like I couldn't breathe. Anxiety filled me up as if it were my own blood. Then I looked around me, and realized I was safe. It was dark outside, but if you squinted hard enough, you could see the sun rising from afar.

I was in the backseat of my dad's car, seated next to my currently-drowsy best friend, Stephanie Trigger. Everyone in the car was asleep, (except for me,) and the car was parked. My dad and Stephanie's dad were on an important business trip, and Stephanie and I were traveling with them. At least I thought it was important, based on my prior knowledge on his occupation.

You see, my dad isn't your average everyday business man- he works for the US Government. Don't ask me how I figured that out. I can assure you that you will get a very sloppy and incorrect answer if you do.

My mom died in a horrible car crash when I was only a few months old. Ever since her funeral took place, my dad has been a firm and overprotective father and secret agent. I swear, I had never once, in my entire sixteen (almost seventeen) years of living on this completely messed up planet, seen my dad laugh. He claimed it was because he had a rare disorder that made him incapable of laughter. I, however, am not so sure. Mom used to laugh a lot (according to my dad,) so I thought he didn't laugh because he was still mourning her.

Even though my mother was dead, I was still able to live a normal life. I grew up in Washington DC, and I went to public school each year, where I met Stephanie. I even learned how to play the guitar.

My acoustic guitar was one of my prized possessions. Right now, all I wanted to do was pull it out of the trunk of the car, and play it to my heart's desire. Unfortunately, Stephanie had piled up all of her luggage on top of it, and if I dared to climb in the trunk to get it, I would get stuck back there. Even if I was the shortest 16-year-old I knew, standing at 5'1, I wouldn't be able to climb out very easily.

So instead of taking that risk, I glanced over at my dad's GPS to see where we were.

Portland, Oregon.

We were even closer to our destination than I thought. We were heading off to this strange and tiny town in Oregon, but I couldn't remember the name of the town. All I knew was that it was rumored to have a lot of paranormal activity. I wondered how human beings could reach such low levels of intelligence the first time I heard that rumor.

I didn't believe in unicorns or zombies, and I certainly didn't believe in demons. Apparently, a lot of citizens in the town did, but to me, it just didn't make any sense.

"Um, Michaela?"

I turned to my left and saw Stephanie waking up. By the way, my name's Michaela. Michaela Powers, if you want more details.

"How long have you been up for?" Stephanie asked me. I checked my phone and looked at the time. 7 AM. "Um, about twenty minutes. Why?" I replied.

"Have you noticed we are currently parked in the Tow-Zone?"

I looked out my window and saw a big brown Tow Truck charging towards us.

"We have to get out of here. I'll wake our parents." I said, doing just that. And by waking them up, I meant slapping them until they woke up.

"W-what...Michaela?"

"No time for explanations, Dad. There's a giant tow truck coming after us!" I panicked.

"Um...quick question- HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Stephanie's father asked.

"I don't know, you were the one driving, Trigger!" My dad responded.

"Why do you always have to place the blame on me?!"

"It doesn't matter, let's just get out of here!"

We drove away, and did not stop until we approached an unfamiliar brown shack.

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you liked the first chapter of my new book, "deCIPHERED"! It's the first book in the "Dreamscaper Society" trilogy, and it starts off during Season 2, Episode 1 of Gravity Falls. (Scary-oke.)

Also, I use a written draft for this book, so hopefully there will be shorter waits for updates, since I have several more chapters written out so far.

~Luna

CeriseCurse052
demonsLOVEangels
Duhgaminghamster
ZabbaWriter
Zabba_Loves_MLP
MysteryGirl86
musicgirl227