Prologue

Carter:

That night started out like any other. It was a chilly winter night. Snow flakes gently drifted from the sky and settled on the grounds. My brother and I sat on a thick woven red rug in front of the fireplace while we played a dice game we had recieved for our birthday. I could hear the crackle of the fire burning, my parents laughter in the background and the soft breathing sounds of my sisters as they dozed on the couch a few yards away. My brother threw the dice too hard on his roll. It bounced off the carpet and hit the hard wood floor, rolling out of the room and into the foyer. We laughed, both scurrying to see who could retrieve it the quickest. I slid past my brother and on my socks. "No fair!" He shouted. He had barely gotten off of his hands and knees as I flew past both him and the dice on the floor. We both laughed again as I caught myself on the wall. It only took a few seconds longer before I sensed the danger lurking outside the front door, smothering my laughter and filling me with a curious dread. My brother had gone silent as well. I turned my eyes away from him to stare at the front door. I vaguely remember hearing him say that we should get mom and dad as I walked towards the front door. "Carter..." he repeated, "I really think we should tell mom and dad." I ignored his whining. I couldnt ignore the need to open the door and see what was outside. I unlocked the deadbolt and turned the handle, opening the door slowly so I could peer outside. A blur of white flashed across my vision and the cold air suddenly whipped all around me. I blinked and gasped as I realized I was no longer inside the foyer of my parent's mansion. Instead I was outside, 20 feet from the door, staring into the wide, terrified eyes of my twin brother. It felt like steel bound my arms to my chest and held my head cocked to the side so that I couldn't move. My brother screamed with anger and ran from the house. Then I felt pain. A searing hot and terrible pain that bit into the side of my neck. I cried out and squeezed my eyes shut. The pain didnt last long though. The cold swept in behind it and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt open my eyes back up.