Chapter 1

Kaida’s POV

Grandma was scared again. She dug her nails into the leather couch, and immediately, I knew what was coming.

“Does this have something to do with the dreams I have been having since I clocked 16?” I asked, really trying to understand better. "The one with the old-looking building standing in the middle of the woods?"

I heard her sharp intake of breath, her worrying eyes gazing out the windows for a fast second that if I had not been staring at her, I wouldn’t have seen it.

“Kaida, I’ve told you to stop talking about that dream!” She chided, her hands balled into fists by her sides. Her eyes shifted to the windows again. “Have you taken your drugs today? I saw the pill by your room door. Kaida…”

As if on cue, I felt the fire in my chest, slowly at first, until it grew insistent. It felt like someone was scratching at me from inside, with sharp claws. But the strange thing was that it didn’t hurt. Instead, it left me feeling so hot that I almost dropped to the ground in a quiver.

But I couldn't let this go, too. Not yet.

“What about the dream gets you so scared? Why do you not want me to talk about it?” I ran my hand through my fiery red hair, yet another question on my mind.

Why did I have red hair when Grandma didn't? And why didn't she have any pictures of my parents, not even one from a funeral, even though she claimed they died in a car accident?

“Let it go, Kaida!” she snapped suddenly, her tight bun threatening to come loose. “I will get the doctor to increase your dosage and get you something for your sleep so that…”

"I don't want to increase my dosage! I don't want to fall asleep at night, Grandma. And do you know why? It's because, at least, in those dreams, it feels like that ancient house has something to tell me. And I want to know what it is."

“That’s it!” Grandma moved towards the hallway and reappeared a minute later with the little bowl holding a single purple pill. “Take it right this minute, Kaida, if you don’t want to see me dead.”

“Grandma, please!” My voice broke as I pleaded for the umpteenth time, rushing over to her with my hands held together as if in prayer. “I promise to be back on Sunday. It is only for two nights.”

“Kaida, nothing is going to change my mind." Her tone carried through the living room, a light tremble under. "You are not going more than twenty minutes away from this house, and that is final."

In all my life, as far as I could remember, Grandma had never let me leave the house other than to go to school. And when my friends invited me to go camping with them, I knew she would never let me.

But the thing was, I really wanted to go.

"I don't get it!" My hands were raised in the air exasperatedly, as anger flared in my eyes. "I have never stepped out of this silly town since I was born. You don't allow me to go on field trips, parties…"

“Kaida, please listen to me. I cannot let you step out of this house for three good days. It is…”

“…dangerous. I know. You’ve been saying that for years now. But what danger is it exactly? Nobody knows us. Nobody even visits us, so who on earth would want to harm me?”

“Kaida…”

“It’s only for two nights, Grandma, I will have my phone with me throughout. I will even call you every hour of the day until I return. Just let me go this one time, Grandma. Please!"

She looked at me, her eyes crinkling at the side. "It is for your own safety." Then, she pushes the bowl over to me. "Take your pill and go to bed."

“No!” My hands reached out at once, hitting the bowl out of her hands. The pill toppled to the floor, dancing out of view.

But before my grandmother could recover from it, I was out of the house, the cold air whipping hard against my skin. I still felt the fire bubbling in the pit of my stomach, growing more insistent every minute.

Maybe I should go back to take the pill. At least, to stop this before it got too hot to bear. It happened once, many years ago. I had forgotten to take the pill, and grandma came home to meet me in the middle of the bathroom, quivering from the heat and screaming so loud.

The feeling was unexplainable.

As my feet found the terrace leading out of our little driveway, I heard the door to the front porch open.

“Kaida, come back!" My grandmother's voice travelled through the night. "Please. You have to take your drug."

But I wasn't listening. My feet, clad in a pair of Converse, kept running until our house disappeared from view. And even then, I still didn't stop.

For some reason, I couldn’t.

I'd been running for quite some time when the fire suddenly kicked me off the road. I found myself on the ground, my palm face down, my breath heaving.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, waiting for it to pass. I should have taken the pill. I should have just listened to Grandma. But now, it felt like I was going to die in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly, ears picked up loud chatter in the distance. Someone was talking about parading the boundaries.

My head jerked up at once, taking my surroundings in for the first time. I was in the woods, with tall trees lining the grounds.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked forward.

That was when I saw it.

Right where the huge trees broke open, there was an ancient-looking stone building with a black roof, standing fierce and imposing.

It was just like the one in my dream.