Chapter 1

Waking up to a nightmare is one of the worst ways to start your day. Especially when you can't even remember what happened and only the fear lingers.

Sara jilted up from her bed. Sweat poured down the sides of her face as she ripped her body off the soaked sheets. Panting to catch her breath, she glanced around her bed. The gentle light shining through her window right beside her cast a pale glimmer on her figure.

"Damn..." she groaned as the tension in her body released. She plopped her head down on her wet pillow and tried to reorganize her memory.

'What the hell was that?' She pondered. although her body visibly relaxed her mind slowly churned to understand why she felt such immense fear. The only thing that she could remember where a pair of cold sneering eyes. She shivered as she rolled to her side.

'Ughh this is literally the worst way to wake up', Sara thought as she slowly glanced outside her window toward a familiar tree.

An orange tree waved softly and freely as if consoling its long time friend. It had seen better days but still stood straighter than ever as though saying 'enjoy this time, life never gets much better, might as well stand freely'. At least that is what Sara imagined it told her.

Sara stayed on the same sopping bed and wondered about how the day will turn out.

She was starting her first day of high school today, and surprisingly was not feeling anything. Last year had been a drag and Sara spent most days at home or with acquaintances.

Since Sara was 6 years old, she never stayed in one place for long. So there wasn't much point in getting too close. In total, she had been to 9 different schools. This one was the 10th. ' School is gonna be a drag ' she sighed.

The door to her room bursts open and a tall boy jumps in.

"WAKE UP!!!" He screamed, " mom, is looking for you!"

"Urgh Sam!!.. okay, but why can't you ever knock!" Sara grumbles as she pulled her duvet over her head, as though trying to pretend Sam wasn't in the room.

" haha well I live in this house and mum is calling you, so I can come in whenever I want" he giggled with a semi-deep voice while smugly looking at his sister on the bed.

' honestly, this boy is so annoying, why do I have to deal with this as well ' she thought even though she slowly got up from the bed. Glancing at the phone on the table, Sara sighed and walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Sam ran out of the room and down the steep stairs that lay to the right of the door noisily. He entered a wide living space with a contrasting view. The sitting area was spotless with very little furniture. 2 sofas, a TV, and a coffee table were arranged generically with an out of place treadmill to the side of the TV. NO one ever used that treadmill.

The other part of the room was a disheveled kitchen. Multiple dirty pots and cups were scattered on all surfaces in the kitchen, and the counter looked like it needed to be scrubbed for hours. It made you wonder what on earth caused such a mess.

"Where is your sister?" A short, plump woman sitting in the living room asked, "I need her to help clean up."

The plump woman was sitting on the 3-sitter sofa while scrolling through an article. [Six people found in a ditch dead with their arm cut off] was plastered on the side of the blog the woman was reading. Without glancing up once, she scrolled through the paper and slouched on the sinking couch, creating a squeaking sound as she moved lethargically. The woman had a small grimace on her face as she yawned.

This woman mirrored the state of the kitchen, and anyone would have immediately connected her to the mess with all the stains on her sleeved top.