In a forest, thick dark trees lined an unmarked path that was no bigger than a meter wide. Dead leaves and broken tree branches made feeding grounds for beetles and worms. Trees made nesting areas for crows, owls and other birds of the night. Branches made waiting areas for bats looking to suck the life out of some unsuspecting creature. Not even a spec of moonlight got through the thick leaves above, nor did it attempt to.

The path kept going. Twisting and turning through the forest. On the right hand side the tree line came to a screeching halt as a cliff face with no visible end lined the path instead of the trees. One false move and whoever attempted to challenge its anger, would cease to exist.

From behind, a hidden shadow broke twigs under its feet as it followed close by, never letting itself be seen. Looking back all I saw was its feet. I wasn't looking were I was going and I tripped. I tried to get up but the shadow just got closer. It stood behind me, pulling me up by the shoulders. My feet were on the ground for no more than three seconds when It pushed me off the edge of the cliff. I was falling, I just kept falling. Never hitting the bottom.

I sat up in my bed; my sheets fell to the ground in a clump. It was still dark, I had only been home for a few hours. My heart was racing in my throat, beads of sweat ran down my forehead and I was suddenly unsure of why I was awake. I swallowed my heart and it calmed a bit as I stood up and went downstairs. I reached the bottom of the stairs and noticed my cat, �E.T� was standing at the front door waiting for me to let him out. When I opened the front door and he raced out from underneath my feet, a cold air rushed through and I was aware of how hot the air inside the house was. I closed the door and went into the kitchen for a drink of water.

I got back up to my room a few minutes later and climbed back into bed, pulling my sheets back on top of me. I was still in my skirt and red blouse I had gone out in and they were very uncomfortable but I was too tired to change. I woke up again at ten-thirty. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and walked to my dressing table, getting out T-shirt and whitewash jeans as well as underwear and a bra. I walked out of my room to the bathroom, only to find that my younger sister Lucy was in there.

�Hey! Get out, I need to use the shower.� I didn�t like Lucy, so it was a very rare occasion that I was nice to her, and when I was, it was generally because my mother was in the room. The door handle rattled as she opened the door part way. She was short, around three-foot-nine and had shoulder-length strait brown hair and plain brown eyes. She was also very light so I could have pushed her out of the way but then she�d run off to tell mum.

�No.� She glared at me and started to close the door again but I pushed my hand up against it. I wasn�t in the mood to argue with her. I had a hangover and the last thing I needed was to have to put up with her. The reason I had a hang over was that I�d spent the night with Jeff, my boyfriend. We�d gone out to dinner and then to a bar afterwards. I hadn�t been aware of how much I was drinking because he�d kept topping my glass up.

I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her out of the bathroom. She stumbled forward and I went in, slamming the door shut and locking it. It was steamy inside; she�d had a shower and hadn�t bothered to turn the fan on. That was just great.

I turned on the shower then walked over to the window and opened it, at least now there was a cool breeze coming through. I got undressed and let the cold air caress my back before getting under the cold water. It ran over my closed eyes and down my back and I felt my headache ease a bit. I stood under the water for about fifteen minutes before I actually began to wash myself.

I got out, got dressed again and went downstairs. It was cooler downstairs, or maybe I was just feeling refreshed from my shower, whatever it was, the air seemed lighter than it had upstairs. I was grateful for that because I was starting to feel claustrophobic with all that hot air.

Mum and my stepfather James were in the kitchen, my older brother Patrick wasn�t home. Mum was short, just a little over five feet, short brown hair and greenish/brown eyes. I didn�t like James. He had married mum when I was eleven. Six years later and we still hated each other. He was taller than she was, but not by much. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.

I stood in the doorway, watching mum and James; they hadn�t noticed me yet. James was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper as usual while mum cooked him breakfast. Lucy pushed passed me and ran over and sat at the table next to James. He put his newspaper down and smiled at Lucy. She was his �Little Princess.� Then he noticed me and his expression changed into a bitter glare. I smiled at him sweetly; knowing it would just make him angrier. I went down and sat opposite him, still smiling.

�Good morning James. How are you today?� I said sarcastically. Mum turned around holding a spatula raised in her hand. She smiled at me then turned back to the stove. James didn�t stop glaring at me until mum had put a plate of food down in front of him.

�Would you like any eggs Sarah?� mum asked me.

�No thanks mum.� I kept staring at James, smiling the whole time. I knew he could feel me watching him and he was having a hard time trying to ignore me. I suddenly laughed and he looked up at me startled. Lucy was looking from him to me.

�What do you want Sarah?�

�Oh nothing.� I stood up from the table, my chair scraping on the floor behind me and went over to the fridge. I took out and apple and closed the fridge. I smiled at him one last time as I walked out of the kitchen.

I went back up to my room. It was still dark so I turned on the light; I didn�t like opening my blind if I could help it. The air had cooled down upstairs and that was probably partly because no windows were open to let in the hot air. I lay on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, eating my apple. I don�t actually know how much time passed, I just remember getting a startle when I heard the front door slam shut. I got up from my bed and walked to the top of the stairs. My brother Patrick had just got home, and all though he�d probably been up all night, he looked just as alive as ever.

He looked up at me and smiled. We looked a lot alike, Patrick and I. We were both tall, both had blond hair and blue eyes. My hair was long and wavy; Patrick�s was short and spiked. When people saw all of us together, they�d say how much we looked alike, but they could never see the resemblance between us and our mother or Lucy, probably because we looked more like our dad.

I smiled and went back into my room. I had a lot of homework to do, but I wasn�t in the mood to do it, so I turned on my TV, although there was nothing on. I wasn�t tired, but I found myself falling asleep from boredom. I fought to keep my eyes open but I was fighting a loosing battle.

I was walking through a dark room. I could see nothing but black and there was a cold wind at my back. I came to a wall. I couldn�t see it, but it was there. Running my hands along its rough surface I found a door handle. I slowly pushed it down and pulled the door open. On the other side, there was another black room. There was something different about this room though. As I stepped in, the ground squirmed beneath my feet. Something was wrapping itself around my feet. A snake had curled itself around my leg, its scaly skin rubbing against me. I could hear foot step behind me. Getting louder and louder, closer and closer. It was he, the Shadow. Without thinking, I ran. Forgetting about the snake, it bit me. A shot of pain ran up my leg. I stumbled but did not fall. The pain was excruciating as I limped forward. I came to another wall and ran my fingers along it until my finger touched another door handle. I pushed it down and the door swung inwards. I was momentarily blinded. Instead of a dark room, on the other side was a white tiled bathroom. I looked behind me. I couldn't see the shadow but I could hear him. He was getting close.

Everything about the room was pearl white. The tiles that lined the bathroom floor and walls, the sink and taps to the left, the toilet to the right and even the bathtub in front of me was a pearl-white with a forest green shower curtain that was pulled across. The sound of running water came from the direction of the bath. Slowly I moved forward, the sound of footsteps got closer and closer. The shadow was very near, but I could only manage to walk at a slow pace, due to my leg. I outstretched my arm, curling my fingers around the shower curtain and pulled it back.

"Oh god!" I gasped, horrified. Water was running from the tap only to meet a thick red liquid that came up to the top of the bath. Sitting up in the bath, was a young girl, long blond hair, and blue eyes. The tips of her hair were died with the red liquid. She was slim and looked to be fairly tall. I suddenly realized that the girl in the bath was ME! Water continued to flow into the bath but the level did not rise. Her eyes were open. They looked blankly up at me; she didn't appear to be breathing.

Suddenly the Shadow was behind me. It grabbed me around my shoulders and chest, squeezing the breath out of me. I struggled to get free but it only tightened its grip. Looking down, all I could see was his feet behind me. Holding me with one hand, he put his other hand firmly at the back of my head and pushed it down into the bath. My eyes burned with the red liquid. My mouth was filled with it. I couldn't breath. I was choking.

"Help! Oh god, please help me!" I prayed. "God! Please help me!"

�Sarah! Sarah phone,� mum called out. I woke up with a start, beads of sweat rolled down my face. My sheets and blanket were on the flood and my pillow was damp from sweat. It took me a moment to register what mum had said then I hurriedly picked up the phone and called out to mum to hang up the other end.

�Hello?� I answered; my voice sounded hoarse and distant, as if I was getting a cold. I didn�t recognize the voice on the other end and it took a moment of silence for me comprehend it. �Oh, hey Alex, sorry, didn�t realize it was you.�

�Haha, those last few hours made us strangers has it?� It was nice to hear something chirpy; I wasn�t feeling all that bright and bubbly.

�Heh, sorry. What�s up?� Alex didn�t usually call me; we spent most of our spare time together, going out to the movies and such, so she really had no reason to call me.

�My parent�s are having an argument again. Can I stay at your house for the night?� I smiled, knowing she couldn�t see it. Her parents were always having fights, mainly about her brother but they didn�t exactly have the happiest marriage in the world.

�Yeah sure.� He parents were always having arguments, usually about her older brother Matt. She usually just ignored them so it must have been a pretty bad argument for her to want to get away for the night. I didn�t mind her coming over and spending the night. It gave us time to just talk, plus it pissed James and Lucy off when I had friends over.

�Thanks. What time do you want me to come over?� I told her to come around six-thirty; we said goodbye and hung up. She said a night, but I wouldn�t be surprised if Alex ended up staying longer, she usually did when her parents� fought. She never really told me what they fought about; all I got was that they fought about her older brother Matt.

I don�t remember what I had been dreaming about before mum had called out to me, and I was glad, I think. Whatever I had been dreaming about, it sent a feeling of dread through my body, and I felt more tired now than I had before I went to sleep.