1 Prologue- The Dream

It was the ghost town. Again. The dilapidated buildings and the slow dry wind played against each other to create a droning noise that was as unsettling as the emptiness that she felt.

This dream has been reoccurring often since shortly after Diana's sixteenth birthday. The remnants of an empty town were just as she remembered it on the day that her group of close friends had stopped there. They had been on their way up to Arkansas to gamble with their newly acquired fake ids, but Jeremy had needed to take a leak so badly that they had pulled over at the next available exit. Down a dirt road, and to the excitement of the car, there was a very old abandoned farmhouse.

None of the teens had thought much of stopping at one of the many ghost towns that lined the deserts to have Jeremy pee around the corner of the small sad hovel. As soon as Jeremy rounded the corner Rachel and her boyfriend, Thomas, both unloaded from the car.

The four of them had swiftly snuck into the building in seconds. Careful as to where they stepped. Thomas and Rachel had already started smoking a hand wrapped blunt and were passing it back and forth by the time Diana passed the threshold.

Unlike in the dream there was nothing special about the house other than its deteriorated state. They had smoked a bowl and carved their names in the largest beam that was still standing. After a short rest they had continued on their way. She had always remembered it as a fun trip. The dream was the opposite.

In this dream she was alone.

In the dream it was raining but the rain never touched the ground. The rain hovered around her. As she reached out to touch one it felt like she could not reach it. Even the one that seemed to be only inches from her body was outside of her reach. The chill of the rain permeated her body while staying dry as a bone.

'I have to get out of here' her instinct was telling her. 'Something in there is dangerous'

She could not stop her body from heading towards darkened doorway.

Diana shuddered as her body stopped right before the doorway. Even though she was only inches away from entering the house she could not see inside. All she could see was a wispy darkness that filled the building and seemed to pulsate. Soft at first but the longer she stared into the darkness the more the darkness shook. Diana knew she had to look away but could not. She could never stop herself from staring into the darkness no matter how many times she had this dream. Every time the pulsating grew stronger. The darkness beckoned her into the house.

Never before had she entered the house in her dreams. She always woke up in a cold sweat as if the rain that hovered followed her into reality and drenched her.

This time was different. She thought she could hear crying mixed in with the wind and the pounding of the darkness. It was soft but sounded so young pitiable that Diana felt as if her heart would break.

She stepped past the threshold as easily as she had in reality.

Inside there was no dilapidated house instead there was a much larger well maintained mansion. A large staircase led to a second floor with sparkling lights that illuminated dozens of closed doors. Crouching at the bottom of the stairs was a small crying child in tattered clothing. The child stood out in stark contrast to the fancy interior. Diana could not stop her feet from moving forward.

The closer Diana got the louder the child cried. She could not stop her hand from reaching out and gently touching the child on the shoulder.

'Are you alright?' Diana tried to ask but the words were stuck in her throat. Yet as if they heard her, the child lifted its head.

There were no tears on its face. Instead a pair of completely black eyes stared at Diana with a blank look. It slowly reached up and set its hand on hers

The crying sound had stopped yet goosebumps appeared all over Diana's body. She felt more eyes on her. She looked up to see all the doors on the next floor open and more children in varying ages were staring down at her. There were even more of them blocking her way out. They all had completely black eyes and somber expressions all of their black eyes were locked on her. She felt that no matter how far she tried to run she would not escape from the unsettling eyes.

She tried to break away from the small hand that was placed softly on hers. In that moment the child's grip became a vice and drew blood from Diana's hand.

Suddenly dozens of small hands with blank stares reached her as if they had always been right beside her. They dug into her skin, drawing blood which flowed down her arms and legs. More and more hands appeared as more blank black eyes gathered to watch her pain.

It was just a dream, so why did it hurt so much. The pain was so intense that Diana started to cry. No sounds escaped her as tears rolled down her face. Childlike hands reached her throat and her tears mixed with blood.

A final set of hands reached for her eyes. All the black eyes that surrounded her started to glisten and Diana thought she saw some of the children start to smile. The pain was overwhelming as a small hand started to gouge out her eyes. Diana desperately tried to struggle and scream with all her might.

The scream wouldn't come out. Darkness consumed her sight.