Chapter I

Hey, so this is yet again another unfinished story of mine, but one I plan on working on over summer. Enjoy!

The first thing I heard when I woke up was blood curdling screaming. I assumed that it was just the remains of a dream, already fading from memory.

I was wrong, very wrong.

I looked around. My room had a reddish orange hue to it, the colour of dawn. I frowned, my clock read 3:00am. It must've been broken... it was dawn. I wiped my forehead, which was slick with sweat. Why was it so warm in the middle of January? The hair on the back of my neck rose.

Something was definetly up.

I heard glass shattering in the distance. Jumping out of bed, I ran to my window and gasped. All the houses were on fire! Was this an attack or just an accident that escalated quickly? A chorus of horns and the flash of sirens arrived on the scene. Firemen and women hopped out of the fire engines and pulled the massive hoses. All I do was stare. Was this all a dream? Everyone was huddled in small groups, scared.

The wail of crying children was drowned out by the crackle of the flames. Luckily I couldn't see any injured, though the were ambulances on sight. Then I realised, why wasn't my house on fire? What if it was? I had to get out now.

A screech from the sky caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks. I gawked at the sky. Creatures that were almost as dark as the night sky were circling the town from above. One breathed fire and set another house alight. This was a terrible nightmare, one it seemed I couldn't wake up from. My mind screamed run, but my feet were glued to the spot, paralysed by fear. How come no one else saw them? No one was screaming and gawking at the creatures like I was. Downstairs I heard a loud crash and my mother's scream.

"Mum!" My feet finally obeyed and I bolted for the door. However, before I got to it, it was bashed down and another creature entered my room. This was also almost pitch black like the flying monsters, except this one resembled a crocodile, or was it an alligator? Whatever it was, it snapped its jaws at me and I inched backwards slowly. I trembled with fear. This was seeming less like a dream. I knew I was going to die.

My window smashed, showering me in glass shards. I hissed in pain as one sliced my bare calf. I turned around slowly. Where my window had been stood a figure. I couldn't distinguish any facial features, though the person was obviously a man who stood at over six feet tall. In fact,
he could have easily been six foot six. His clothes from what I could tell consisted of a tunic that was out dated by a few centuries and baggy trousers. Behind him seemed to be a floating carriage drawn by more monsters that looked like horses. The mystery man jumped down and strode towards me. I stood still, knowing there was a deadly monster behind me.

"W who are you?" I whispered. The man didn't respond. instead, he grabbed my arm and forcefully dragged me towards the window. "Hey!" I yelled, trying to free myself, but it was no use. At the window, the man effortlessly scooped me up and jumped into the carriage. I screamed, trying to get people's attention, but no one noticed. My captor set me down.

"Sit." He demanded. His accent was thick and foreign. Russian maybe.

"Take me back." I  demanded.

"Sit!" The man roared. Wincing, I looked around and noticed that there were five other people in their night ware. The carriage was already in motion so I slid into the end seat.

"Where are you taking us?" I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, but it still trembled noticeably. The man remained silent. So did everyone else, probably sleeping. I shivered, cold and afraid. My injured calf felt especially cold. I prodded it with my fingers gently to inspect the damage. My leg was slick with blood. I hissed as I brushed the cut. The man turned to me. He stood up and stalked towards me. My heart began thumping violently, thinking he would kill me. I closed my eyes, awaiting death, but it didn't  come. Instead, the man lifted up my leg and inspected it. Then, he pulled a bandage out of a leather bag and wrapped it around my calf firmly.

"Thank you." I whispered as he returned to his seat. Of course, he didn't reply. I looked around at the others. There were a few candles dotted around, so I could inspect their faces. My eyes were heavy from a lack of sleep, but I refused to rest. I had too many questions that needed answering. Most revolved around my mother. What would she do without me? Would she be able to cope? Since the death of my father, my mother depended on alcohol. I was the only one to care for her.  Most days she was still in bed when I left for school and when I came back I would find her slumped over the kitchen table, empty bottle in hand. My mother lost her job due to her alcoholism and money was running low. I couldn't get a job because I had to take care of her. I had to go back, this carriage had to land, right? Then I would escape.

I begrudgingly fell asleep. I needed energy for my escape. I thought I would dream of those nightmarish creatures, but instead my sleep was dreamless.

That is Chapter I. Any constructive criticism would be well appreciated :)