Chapter 1 Pack Your Bags, You're Not Wanted

Audrey’s POV

“What... the hell?”

I stared at the notification on my laptop intensely hoping it might change if I looked hard enough. Nope. Still there. No, this couldn’t be right. This had to be a mistake.

It was a notification from a new school. It read: Congratulations, Miss Dauval, you have been accepted into Ravenfalls High in the senior class.

I kept staring at my screen. That made no sense. I didn't apply to any school not in my final year of high school. I shoved the chair back and ran out of my room, barreling down the stairs as if the house was on fire. Straight to Dad’s study.

I didn’t knock, I just pushed the door open. The room was dim and stinking of cigarette smoke and whiskey—his usual scent these days. He didn’t even look surprised. “What is the meaning of this?” I said, dropping my laptop in front of him and pointing to the screen.

"You got accepted. I didn’t expect it, especially since it’s your final year in high school but that's good."

I stood there, confused. Words tangled up in my mouth. “Dad, I don’t understand. You actually did this?” He gave a small nod. No emotion. No regret. Just… blank. And I felt it—my heart splitting with disappointment.

"There's nothing wrong with the school I attend here," I argued. “It’s been a month since Mom—”

"Stop," he cut me off sharply.

"Why are you sending me to the middle of nowhere one month after I lost my mother?" I snapped, frustrated. "Go to your room, Audrey. You leave for Ravenfalls in seventy-two hours."

"I'm not going."

"Yes, you are."

"Please, Dad, don't do this." I broke down. “It has only been a month since we lost mom,” and he was sending me to a town in the middle of nowhere.

“It’s for your own good.” That’s all he said as if that explained anything. Since Mom died, he’s been… this. Someone else… Maybe a stranger in my father's skin.

“Please…” I whispered. I didn’t even notice the tears till they got to my lips. I was begging. I never begged…. No, it’s not in my nature. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to change schools or stay far away from him.

But he wasn’t fazed by My tears. He just took a glass of bourbon on the table and took a sip. "You leave in two days. Say all your necessary goodbyes. You’ll be staying with the Beaumonts."

"Oh, the family friend you haven't seen in seven years? You’re shipping me off to go stay with them? Wow… Congratulations. Best Dad of the Year should be given to you."

I clutched my laptop with anger and confusion. “You’re a coward.”

He blinked. Set the glass down. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” I snapped. “You’re a coward. You don’t even look at me in the eye anymore. You’re not grieving, you’re hiding. And now you want me to hide too?”

Ughhh!

His jaw tightened. For a second, I thought he might explode. But he didn’t. He stood. Slow and Quiet. Walked around the desk until he was right in front of me. Close enough to make it hard to breathe.

“You think I don’t feel anything?” His voice was low, sharp and lethal.

“I see her face every time I close my eyes. I hear her voice in every corner of this house. And you’re turning into her, Audrey. You look like her. You talk like her. That’s why you have to go.” I couldn’t even speak.

That hit harder than anything he could’ve said. My mouth opened, then closed. No words was coming, Just a bottomless ache.

"You leave in two days. I’ve made all the arrangements. End of discussion."  He turned. Walked back to his chair, picked up his glass like nothing happened.

There was nothing left to say.

Nothing that’d make a damn difference.

He’d already made up his mind.

I kept my head down. Walked to the door. But just before I left—

“If you really loved her, you’d be fighting to bring her killers to justice.”

“Your mother was sick. She wasn’t killed.” His voice? Ice cold.

“Keep telling yourself that,” I said. “But we both know the truth. And nothing’s gonna change that.” And then I slammed the door so hard it shook the walls.

Ravenfalls High is a town I’d never heard of. A family I barely remembered. A new school in my final year.

All because my father couldn’t handle my grief or his.

My fingers trembled as I reached for my laptop and opened the message again.

Congratulations, Miss Dauval. You’ve been accepted into Ravenfalls High.

Yeah.

Congratulations to me.

I was supposed to spend the next two days packing. Saying goodbye. I didn’t do all that... I only packed my bags. Waited and watched the hours crawl.

The day came. No one said a word to my father. No one stopped me.

No one stood up to him.

Everyone just watched me get into the car.

They all accepted what he told them that my mom's death wasn’t murder and they all believed it without questions.

As the car drove off, I realized there was something actually wrong with my family… and maybe the Beaumonts would be better.

The car drove past many memorable places—

Mom’s favorite café. The street fair she used to drag me to. That dumb mural she loved that was already fading. Each one stabbed something inside me. But I didn’t look back.

What was there to look back at? Nothing left for me to hold onto here anyway.

Thirty minutes later, we were at the airport. I walked in with suitcase rolling behind me. Duffle bag on my shoulder. And this unexplained weight sitting in my chest.

I didn’t cry.

I just... closed my eyes.

The flight was twelve hours long. Sleep would probably help me escape this reality.

*****

RUN. RUN. RUN.

RUN. RUN. RUN.

The words kept echoing very loud in my head, over and over.

Then—

I wasn’t in the airport anymore.

I was in the woods alone, cold and terrified.

The trees above me were twisted, their branches sharp like claws. The moon was full and red, bleeding across the sky as if someone had split it open. My breaths were short and Fast. I was trembling with fear.

I didn’t know where I was.

Didn’t know how I got here. But I knew one thing—

Something was behind me.

I couldn’t see it.

But I could feel it.

A cold, suffocating presence pressed against my back with every step. The growl that rumbled through the trees wasn’t human… It wasn't an animal either. It was monstrous.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

My feet pounded the forest floor. Wet and sticky like something more than just mud.

My legs were heavy, but I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Branches tore at my arms, ripped my skin open. Something yanked at my jacket. I nearly lost my balance—

But I broke free. Kept running.

Because stopping wasn’t an option.

Suddenly, I fell down. I couldn’t get off the ground and it was close.

I screamed—

And woke up. Everyone was already coming down.

We had landed.