Prologue

The moon hung low in the sky as Maya and her brothers walked through a dark alley. Maya stared blankly ahead as she thought of the recent cases of missing children that had plagued the town of Havenbrook for the past few months. Many children had gone missing for a reason that no one knew. No one knew what was going on. Maya had tried to connect all the dots but her efforts were in vain. Her mother never allowed her go out alone. She never went out without her brothers. She felt like she was being overprotected. But she couldn't blame her mum. She was just protecting her little girl from going missing like the other unfortunate kids. But Maya hated to be called little. She was 15 for heaven's sake. But no one was interested in her age but her safety. Yes, safety comes first.

As soon as they got home, their mother shouted from the kitchen, "Maya, are you home?" Maya rolled her eyes and her brothers laughed at her mockingly. "Yeah, mum. We kept your little egg safe from harm," Jaden teased. He was the second child. Maya bubbled with rage. "And we're hungry," Chase added. "Yeah, food will be served in five minutes," she said. When she brought the food to their little dining table, Maya lost her appetite. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat tomorrow morning," she said and made an attempt to leave but her mum stopped her. "Honey, if you don't eat you might fall ill," she said. "Really, mum? Just this once allow me to make my own decision," she started to walk away at this point. "Maya! Why are you so… so stubborn!?," her mother blurted out in frustration. Maya stopped and looked over her shoulder at her. "Maybe that's the result of overprotecting a 15 year old," and with this she stormed off.

She angrily slammed her door shut and banged her fists against her small reading table. Then all of a sudden, her computer screen flickered and came on. She looked at the screen and saw that she had a new email from a website named The Shadowed Domain. She tapped on the mail and saw that it was an image of a dark and deserted forest. The moon cast an eerie glow on it giving it an enigmatic appearance. Maya stared at the image for some seconds trying to understand what it was. She arrived at the conclusion that it was one of those cinemas advertising their new horror movie. As she was about to shut the laptop, the screen flickered off. It came up again after some seconds. This time, the image had changed. There was a shadowy figure standing in the middle of two oak trees in the forest. Maya furrowed her brows in absolute confusion. "What is this?" she asked herself. The screen went off again and she jumped slightly in fear. It came up like it had done before. Maya cleaned her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. But it was real. The figure had moved from its original position. The person had moved forward. Maya's eyes widened in terror. She quickly shut off the screen and backed away from the laptop. "Maybe I'm just seeing things. I probably need to rest," she reassured herself and tried to reach out to her blanket but the lamp in her room started to flicker on and off. What was going on? Suddenly a strong wind started to blow. "Mum? Jaden? This isn't funny anymore," she said shakily. She ran towards her door and tried to get out but it was locked. She swore she didn't lock that door. Then who did? "Jaden if it's you, it isn't funny," but there was no response. She battled with the door until she finally gave up. "Mum!" She yelled, almost crying. "Are you there?" she asked as a tear drop slid down her cheek.

Then all of a sudden, she heard a sound from behind her. She quickly spun around in fear only to be met with a dreadful looking creature with one big eye at the center of its ugly looking face. The creature had four limbs but it stood on its hind limbs only. Maya let out a deafening scream as she resumed battling with her door. "Mum! Somebody help!" she yelled as she sobbed. Was it a dream? She had no time to ask herself that question. If it was a dream then she was ready to stop dreaming. If it wasn't then… she was doomed. "There is no need to cry for yourself," the creature suddenly said in an eerie voice. As it spoke, a strange smell hit her nose. Maya knew that smell far too well. It was the smell of death. "Today is the day you die," it said. Maya stared at it for a while. She recognized that voice. It sounded familiar to her. "J-jaden?" she said shakily. No, it couldn't be. "I thought you'd never ask, sister," the creature replied and suddenly shape-shifted into Jaden. "No… it can't be true. Jaden this isn't you," she felt like dying at this point. She couldn't fathom what was before her. "It can't be you. This isn't Jaden," she reassured herself. "It is me, Maya," he said coldly. "Mum! Someone help!" she yelled. "Don't strain your voice, dear. We're shut off from the world. No one will hear you,"