Chapter One

As the bell signaling the end of school for the day sounded, Mel and Bella picked up their books, following the trail of students rushing to leave the classroom .

"That class was so boring." Bella said, trying to stifle a yawn as she packed her books into her bag from her red locker.

Mel smiled , shaking her head at her best friend, her blonde her swaying with her.

"It was not." Mel countered

"Yeah yeah. Only you would think history was interesting. Mrs. brainiac." Bella said, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear.

Mel chuckled at her best friend.

Her attention was drawn to the twins approaching them, Ava and Anna.

Ava's dyed pink and black hair bounced up and down as she sashayed to them in a dress that was ten times too tight.

Anna was the opposite. Brown curly hair with a bit of blonde streaks, clad in a brown long sleeved turtle neck sweater and blue trousers.

"Hey bitches. What's up?" said Ava, flipping her hair over her shoulders dramatically. Mel groaned, turning her head to the side to ignore her presence.

"Hi guys." Anna said at the same time in a quiet voice, shifting her weight to one leg.

"Hey guys. Heading home?" Bella said, closing her locker as she wore her bag on one shoulder.

"Yup. There's a hot party tonight. I gotta get ready. You sure you're not coming?" Ava said in a loud squeaky voice, making both Mel and Anna cringe. Mel never liked Ava and she couldn't understand why her best friend even associated with her.

"Nah. I despise James Thirwall and don't want to be any where near him. So there's no way in hell I'm going to his party."

"Awwwn. Okay then. See you guys on Monday. Bye." Replied Ava, not even waiting for a reply before walking away, her pink heels making a clinking noise as it connected to the ground.

"Bye guys." Anna said, waving shyly.

"Bye Anna." Bella and Mel said at the same time.

Anna smiled at them before walking away.

"Let's go." Bella said, holding onto Mel's hand as they walked to the parking lot.

Bella took out her keys from the back pocket of her trousers, unlocking the doors to her black Mercedes.

Bella's parents were, to put it mildly, filthy rich. While Mel's parents were on the brink of bankruptcy for almost a year now.She was only able to go to school because of the scholarship program she was on. She never told Bella though she didn't want to be treated differently.

She opened the door to the passenger side of the car, getting in as she dropped her bag in the back seat.

As Bella was about to get in the car, she heard the familiar voice of Tyler calling her name.

She smiled, using her eyes to search's for him in the busy parking lot. She finally spotted him running to her, his brown hair bouncing up and down.

He heaved a deep breath as he got to her.

"Hey babe." He said after catching his breath, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

They started dating two weeks ago, and they were so I love with each other.

"Hey bae. I was just about leaving." She said, blushing at the look of admiration he gave her.

"Yeah, okay. I'll call you." He said, smiling shyly, heat coating his cheeks.

"Okay. Bye." She said in a breathy voice.

"Bye. Bye Mel." He said to both of them before leaving.

Mel sighed as she looked at his retreating form which was soon blocked by Bella as she got into the car and drove off.

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Bella parked her car at the front of her home, which was just beside Mel's house.

Both houses were beautiful, painted with a sparkling white and standing tall

As they stepped out of the car,the autumn leaves crinkled beneath their feet.

Bella turned to stare at the creepy house opposite theirs. The only neighboring house to theirs in the vicinity. All that could be seen for miles were trees leading to the woods.

A wooden shed with woods chipped off in some places and creaky floor boards stood crookedly opposite theirs Mr. Wilson ,the old creepy man who owns the house was in the front porch, reading a newspaper with glasses on.

He looked up at Bella, eyebrows raised,making her toes curl. She had always been scared of the old man since she was little. Who could blame her, he never said a word to anybody and lived alone. Not even a cat.

She quickly looked away, swinging her bag pack across her shoulders, she waved Mel goodbye and walked into her house, her dog, max, braking as his tail wagged in seeing her.

She chuckled at his cuteness, ruffling his hair before going inside

Bella greeted her parents, walking into the kitchen and picking up an apple.

"Hey sweetie. Hands now." Said her mom, pointing to the sink.

Bella groaned as she washed her hand, picking up the apple and taking a bite when she was done.

"How was your day honey?" Her dad asked, looking more interested in his phone.

She mumbled a "fine" before going upstairs to look for her little brother, Jason, he was thirteen years old.

"Hey bro." She said on seeing him in his room playing a zombie video game

"What?" He replied rudely.

She walked up his television screen, blocking his view.

"Hey. Get outta the way." He cried out in frustration.

"Hey bro." She repeated, smirking.

"Hey sis. Now can you please move outta the way."

She chuckled, walking out of his room to her's

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Meanwhile Mel dropped her bag at the base of the staircase, the sound echoing through the empty house.

She undressed, getting under the shower, she sighed, feeling the stress of the day opting out of her system.

After her shower she decided to take a nap,her parents must have come back from work by the time she woke up.

They worked in a struggling publishing company together,scarcely getting paid.

They weren't always this poor, the size of their house was proof of that.  Her parents used to be best selling authors, millions filled their bank accounts everyday.

Then suddenly, one day she's listening as her parents tell her that their almost broke.

They wouldn't tell her what they did with the money. All she knew was that it was gone.

She sighed, scrapping the depressing thoughts out of her head.

She closed her eyes, letting sleep engulf her.

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Mel yawned as she woke up from her deep slumber.

She blinked a few times, trying to get used to her surroundings.

It was already dark out, she checked the time on her phone.

8:50pm

Her parents should have returned form work by now.

She flipped the light switch but nothing happened.

She groaned in frustration. Their power must have been cut since her parents couldn't afford to pay for it.

She picked up her phone, turning on the torch.

She decided to go the basement to find a lantern.

She rubbed her still sleepy eyes as she opened the basement door.

She lazily walked around, heading to the direction she thought the lantern might be.

As she turned into a tight corner full of old boxes, directing her phone lights to the top the shelves , she stumbled on something, causing her to lose balance.

She fell to the floor. Her phone falling from her hands, making the torch turn off.

Everywhere was pitch black. She couldn't see a thing.

She held onto whatever it was she stumbled upon. Getting on her knees, she used one hand to search for her phone, still holding onto what she stumbled upon.

After what felt like hours of her searching, she finally found her phone.

She quickly turned it back on, fear already creeping in on her. She had always been scared of being in the dark for too long.

She sighed in relief when her phone turned on. Turning on the torch, she choked on air at what was before her.

What she held onto for support when looking for her phone was her fathers legs.

Fear gripped at her heart.

She gulped before slowly crawling towards his body.

She screamed at what she was met with. Her fathers face was completely pale. His mouth was sewed together eyes open and completely black.

She crawled away. Tears falling down her eyes at rapid speed.

"No no no." She kept on repeating.

She stood up shakily on her feet. Using what little strength she had left to run away.

She once again stumbled against something, losing her balance. She fell first to the ground, she could feel her consciousness slowly slipping away. Turning her head she was met with her mother's lifeless body, mouth sewed together and eyes pitch black, just like her father.

"Mel. Mel. Oh my God." She could here the scream of her best friend, but she had no strength left in her to remain awake.

Her eyes closed as her consciousness was swept away.