Chapter 1

The wind whipped through the trees as lightning crackled overhead. The full moon was covered by the thick, dark, storm clouds. It was spring and storms were well known in this season. It didn't surprise the residents of the quiet town.
Thunder boomed loudly and dogs barked, but they didn't bark because of the cruel weather, but because they could sense something was about in the gloomy forest. Something that didn't belong.
For Preston Hale, the night seemed peaceful. He slept comfortably in his soft mattress. Dreams coming to him easily. Picturing himself, his arm around his girlfriend, Tracey, and his best friend Lawson, and his group of jocks and cheerleaders. In this town, football or soccer, hockey was. The meat-headed jocks enjoyed being slammed into the boards and slashed with hockey sticks.

A lone wolf howled in the night, trying to find it's long lost pack mates. The howl was an eerie, spine-chilling one. It sounded close, as Preston's eyes flitted open and he blinked.
What the hell was that? He wondered. I thought our town didn't have wolves. Guess we do...
He let his mind drift until he was sleeping. His dreams didn't change. He was goofing off with Lawson and his hockey team.

The sun shone through the window, waking Preston up. His father walked into his room, leaning on the door frame.
"You going to school today?" He asked, gruffly.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? You going to work?" Preston asked.
"Why would you ask such a thing? I'm always going to work. Or have you not heard, their is a missing teenager," Mr. Hale retorted. Preston and his father didn't have the best relationship but they only had each other. Preston's mother had left when he was three years old. Leaving his father to raise the cocky teen. Mr. Hale was the sheriff of the small town. He didn't have to deal with a lot of crimes but recently people have gone missing, and mangled bodies been showing up, obviously dragged, and dumped in the forest. Preston himself had stumbled across one when he was walking to Lawson's house. His best friends house was only a short distance away but a dark, foggy forest kept the two houses separated.
"Why would you ask if I wouldn't go to school?" Preston shot back as he shooed his dad out of his room, closed the door and got ready. It didn't take him long before he was springing down the stairs and heading out the door, not even acknowledging his father as he shot out the door and walked to school.

As he reached his school he spotted his group of friends and headed for them but was stopped by his girlfriend.
"Preston!" Tracey smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Hey, Trace," he said and grabbed her hand and together they walked to the jock-group. "Hey guys!" He grinned.
"Hey Preston, sup?" Lawson punched him in the shoulder, lightly.
"Nothing, duh," Preston rolled his eyes and suddenly everyone around his burst into laughter. He knew it was fake but they were pretending for him no one else. They wanted to be near him. The popular guy and his popular girlfriend.
"Hockey practice after school?" Justin, one of the guys on his hockey team asked.
"Defiantly!" Preston yelled.
The group around him cheered and his girlfriend wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. Preston wrapped his arms around Tracey's waist and pulled her closer.
"Guess what?" She whispered.
"What?" Preston grinned and looked down at her.
"There's a party at my tonight and... EVERY ONE'S INVITED!"
There was another loud chorus of cheering before the morning bell rang and everyone managed to get to their classes.

Preston entered his first class holding Tracey's hand in his. He nodded to his teacher and sat in his desk, right next to Tracey. The class went by slowly as he listened bored, to Tracey's weekend.
He was there. He knew what she did.
Suddenly there was a slight cough as a boy appeared in the class, a girl at his side. Preston cocked his eyebrows slightly, obviously interested. A sharp pain raced through his side. Tracey had seen his reaction to the girl and had elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow," he yelped quietly and rubbed his side. Tracey narrowed her eyes.

"Class, please welcome Annalee Saltrova," Mr. Penker said gesturing to the girl who moved closer to the boy. Something about them seemed oddly familiar to Preston.
"Wait, did he say Saltrova?" Preston began, "like the Saltrova House?"
Justin, who sat behind Preston leaned over, "Yeah."
"I thought the Saltrova family died in that fire, the one that burned their house down and the rest left the town," Preston said, clearly confused.
"Not all Saltrova's lived in that house, Preston," Tracey giggled and glared at the girl as she took a seat at the back of the class. The boy left, but before he did he gazed protectively at Annalee.
Something seems familiar about that girl and the boy...