FATED TO HIS DARKNESS

Prologue

AMARA'S POV

The first thing I smelled was smoke. My lungs stung with every breath I took. I looked down at the moist soil and found my feet bare without shoes and my dress stained with dirt. Then I saw houses covered in flames in the distance.

Where am I, and how did I get here?

I heard screams that jolted me out of my thoughts. I ran toward the direction of the sound, even when my mind screamed at me to run far away from it.

I got to an open field and stopped when my feet stepped on something hard.

Hundreds of dead bodies covered the field. Some were still; others took their last painful breaths. I could hear more screams in the distance.

I tried helping those barely alive, but I couldn't. My body seemed to pass through everything, and no one could see me.

I knelt down in frustration. Then I heard a footstep. I turned slowly and saw a man through the smoke, his face streaked with soot and blood. He stared at everyone else except me.

I guess he can't see me.

I have to find my way out of here. I stared at him one last time.

His eyes locked onto mine like he could see me now.

He raised the axe in his right hand and walked toward me.

I ran.

I didn't think-that was a luxury I couldn't afford right now. I just kept running deeper into the woods.

My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

I increased my pace until I thought I had lost him. Then my foot slipped on the wet soil.

I fell. Pain exploded through my leg as iron teeth snapped shut around my ankle.

A hunter's trap.

I hissed in pain as it intensified. I tried to look at it, but it dug deeper into my ankle. Tears streamed down my face. I held a hand over my mouth, forcing down the scream that had almost escaped my throat.

I heard a sound close by. I covered my mouth tighter and kept muttering in my head:

Don't make a sound.

Don't let him find you.

After a while, everything went totally silent. I stared in that direction for a long time.

Slowly, I tried to check on my foot. That's when something grabbed my injured foot roughly. I was dragged across the ground back to the field.

This time, I screamed.

I jolted awake.

My body was drenched in sweat. My hands were shaking.

It felt real.

I curled myself on the bed, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"It was just a dream," I whispered. "Just a nightmare."

My phone rang. The sound made me flinch back in fear.

Unknown number.

My fingers trembled as I answered.

"Hello... who is this?"

No answer.

"Hello?" My voice was shaking now.

Nothing-just total silence.

Then the line went dead.

Somehow, I felt like I was still in that forest.

Chapter