chapter one

Another new school

CAROLINE

It's my first day at Mapeson high school, my eighth school in the last five years and, take it from me it's not a bit fun. My alcoholic dad decided it was wise to move back to my birthplace, mapeson after the last attack.

Ever since my mum died or got kidnapped, as I would like to believe, we've been on the run from God knows what, the same being that I saw that night. 

 My mind trailed back to the event that took place ten years ago right in this very house. Tears streamed down my face as memories came flooding back.

I can still remember how I stood still as I watched mom fight for her life. It was shattering, having to leave her there.

Dad on the other side, didn't stop searching for mum for years, her disappearance broke him. After years of fruitless search, he gave up, gave up on life too, alcohol became his best buddie, "the alcoholic sherif " as he is normally called. He might still be here but ,Mum took him along the day she disappeared.

My mascara is ruined now. So much for promising myself never to cry again. I grabbed a wipe fom my vanity and cleaned my face. Now I have to redo my makeup.

It was late already so I hurried downstairs . Dad was snoring loudly on the couch, still on his robe, a navy blue robe mum had given on the last birthday they shared. Though the color faded, and the robe worn out, dad has refused to change it.

"Dad" I tapped him. He didn't wake up but the snoring reduced.

"Dad" I tapped him again, this time with so much force.

He groaned and then opened his eyes slightly.

" what's wrong honey?" His voice sleepy.

"I'm off to school, it's my first day here remember? "

"Ohh! Skipped my mind. Let me drop you off honey". He tried standing up but ended up kicking one of his beer bottles.

I winced as the stench of alcohol hit my nose. He reeks so much of alcohol. 

So much for a new start.

I lowered him back to the couch as I hurried for the door, scared that If I stay there any longer, I was going to have a breakdown. 

I grabbed a sandwich on my way to school from a cafe nearby, I had intentionally skipped breakfast.

Funny how then, dad and mum always made sure I had breakfast but now it's quite the opposite. I had to learn to grow up overnight, working different side jobs just to pay bills. It was hard at first but I had to learn to get used to it.

It took me fifteen minutes to get to the school as I had to walk, it might have been quicker if I used a taxi.

Mapeson high school, the heart of Mapeson, the place where my parents first met each other. They were high school lovers, prom king and queen, cheer leader and rugby player. The perfect combo. 

Coming here makes me feel connected to my mum.

I headed to the principals office to sign some forms and get my class schedule.

Mrs green, once the biology teacher, now the principal. She is on an orange pencil dress that went down all the way to knee. The dress complimented her figure perfectly.

Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulder, to her chest region, elevating her beauty. I looked at my brunette hair which I had forgotten to brush this morning and sighed.

Mrs green and my mum were best of friends then, they were both cheerleaders and the queens of Mapeson high. She always came over to babysit me whenever my parents would go out on a date . I can still remember how we used to dress up as princesses to play aurora. It used to be so much fun.

She finally raised her head from the file she has been intensely studying since I stepped in. 

"Oh my God! Carrie, it's so good to see you again" she smiled wildly, exposing her perfect straight teeth.

She rushed over and embraced me in a warm hug. Her perfume caught my attention. For someone that looks this sophisticated I expected her to wear a strong smell, but rather, she smells like lavender but that shouldn't come off as a surprise seeing that she has a vase of lavender on her table.

Reminds me of mum but hers were jasmines.

" oh my Gd how have you been? I thought your dad was joking when he said you will be comings to this school" she entangled our hands and led me to my sit, opposite hers. She radiated unbridled joy.

"Nah he wasn't, I'm just trying to start over you know" my lips turned as I smiled ruefully.

"Yeah I get" she nodded her head to show her understanding.

"It's so sad what happened but we have to let go of the past Carrie and still try to live life, you've got your whole life ahead of you Carrie. I don't want you lurking in the past you hear me?" She speaks so softly.

" I' ll try but you might want to tell that to my dad too" i snickered.

"I agree" she laughed too.

I signed my necessary documents and Mrs green directed me to my classroom, not before telling me to meet someone named Nina who is supposed to give me a tour of the school.

With the number of schools I have gone to, you would have expected me to be used to being the new girl by now, but no, I still get tremors from the number of stares I get from students. Just like now. My hands are shaking and I'm doing that cool thing I learnt online -you just count numbers to distract yourself, and I must say, it's working.

It worked so well that I got distracted and bumped into something hard. I looked up and my eye met the most beautiful hazel eyes that I have ever laid eyes upon coupled with the golden ring around the iris I think. 

My eyes wandered around his face, he has a chiseled face with strong jawline giving him a masculine look alongside his tanned skin. And his chest too.

He has full lips with the shade of red, his nose pointed with a mole on it, his hair brown and curly. Handsome 

"Are you going to move or should I make you?" his voice cut me off from my trance, frosty, cold, too cold rather. 

The guy beside him snorted. I did not notice him there.

"What?" I frowned, a bit embarrassed though.

"Don't act dumb miss, you were standing there drooling over my face" he smirked.

Pretty, so pretty . Gosh I'm so stupid!

I face palmed " ok… you got me but you don't have to be so rude about it"

"Rude? You know what rude is? It's you standing stupidly in my way"

Too bad he has an attitude, what a douchebag.

"There are lots of spaces around her so if you can't go over, then you can continue standing there."

The guy beside him laughed out wildly, seems this drama is interesting to him.

"Look new girl" he stepped closer, his piercing gaze was like daggers, cutting through me with anger.

I shuddered but I didn't move, he doesn't scare me one bit.

I met his gaze, mine filled with fury. He wants trouble? that he will get. We were in a staring contest for a minute until the guy beside him spoke.

"Blake let's just go, this isn't worth our time"

So Blake is the name huh.

"Noah stay out of this" he said, unyielding.

"Okay so what? You're just gonna stand there and stare at each other? That's stupid man."

It took a moment before he relented. He looked at me with an expression I can't discern before he walked past. I let out a huge breath i didn't know I was holding.

"That was intense" phew!

It took me minutes to finally locate the physics class after that fiasco and according to my time table, I'm like ten minutes late to the class.

At first, I stood outside, unable to gain the teacher's attention. 

The physics teacher is a man in his late forties I think, and a bit short. He is on a gray pant trouser and a black button down shirt giving him a younger look.

He looks proud, standing with one hand in his pocket as he talked about wave-particle paradox. He had a smug smile on his face.

"Who is that at the door?" I guess he has finally noticed me.

I moved to the door entrance so he could clearly see me. I made my hand into a fist to hide my tremors. 

"I heard I was having a new student today, is that you by chance miss?" He said.

I nodded my head, too distracted with my tremors to say anything.

"Then come in and introduce yourself. I don't have all the time"

"Yes sir" I managed to say

Standing at the front, watching all those eyes staring at me, like they were boring holes into me, I wished for the ground to open and take me away. Maybe to my mum.

I thought I was ready, to start a new life again, why do I feel tears trying to make its way down my cheek.

My eyes wandered around the classroom until it landed on a certain familiar one. Hazel eyes. 

He was looking at me intently, his lips tightly pressed together, as if trying to figure me out but yet his facial expression made me think otherwise.

"We're waiting Miss" the teacher's voice cut me off.

"My ….uhmm.. my name is…Caroline. Caroline Adams." I stuttered.

"Okay? What else Miss Adams?" The teacher said.

"Do you have a boyfriend brunette?" A blonde guy from the back shouted getting the whole class cackled up.

"Shut up Charles " the girl beside him said as she smacked his head playfully.

I didn't know what else to say except my mum was murdered then kidnapped when I was eight and my dad is an alcoholic and I have been to like eight schools in like ten years. Fascinating.

"Nothing sir" I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Okay then, welcome to Mapeson high, I'm your physics teacher and I go by the name Mr Owen. Go in and get yourself a seat" 

Finally, the nightmare is over.

I made my way to the first vacant seat I saw and unfortunately it's two seat away from Blake, who till now, haven't stopped staring daggers at me. What's his deal ugh!

"You must be the one Mrs green asked to see me right ?" Someone beside me said.

I turned to see who it was. A girl with curly auburn hair. She is a bit chubby giving her a moon face. Her freckles, well defined, easily noticeable giving her this unique and self- confident demeanor.

She looks like those princesses in my childhood stories with her red flowered dress and the red ribbon she has on her head.

"Nina?" I asked and she nodded her head in affirmation .

"So I guess we will do that tour after the physics class" Nina said 

"Yes"

"What's going on there miss Gabriel and miss Adams?" Mr Owen called out. A few heads turned to our direction with questioning look.

"Uhmm.. sir I was just enlightening her about some few things " Nina spoke up before I could.

"Can't that wait until after the class?" Mr Owen asked, his voice stern.

"I'm sorry sir" Nina bent her head as her face gloomed.

Mr Owen looked at me, as if wanting to say something but decided against it.

"Let's continue " he said.

The class went on for more thirty minutes before Mr Owen finally left the class.

"I hate that man so much, he makes me wanna ditch physics class but I can't" Nina said immediately, throwing her hands in the air in anger.

I chuckled at her little tantrum.

"So how about that tour?" She asked as she exhaled.

"Yeah, I'm ready"

"So you're the daughter of the hunter huh?" Nina said as we stepped out of the classroom.

"I'm sorry I don't get" I said, my brows raised in confusion.

"Are you not the daughter of the legendary hunter?" She asked again.

Still confused, I said "I'm sorry but I have no idea of what you are talking about"

She stopped walking and then turned to face me.

"Are you not the daughter of Nalia, Nalia Adams?" 

"Yeah? But she is no hunter" I said, a bit surprised that she knows my mum.

Nina laughed out loud, attracting the attention of a few others. something I said seem to sound funny to her.

"Wait are you pretending not to know or you just don't know?" Her upper lip raised up as she asked amusingly.

"I don't know for real Nina" I said.

"Sounds unbelievable to me though"

"I seriously don't, tell me" I said, my mind laced with curiosity.

"So where should I start?" 

"Anywhere" I replied.

"So we have the hunter and the hunted. The both have similar powers but hunters use them for good-to stop the hunted,, who have turned evil. So the hunters start hunting the hunted. 

The hunted are more powerful though and it takes a lot of power and strength to defeat them" she looked at me, as if trying to know if I'm following.

Totally confused, I said " what powers and hunters, and hunted? That doesn't make any sense. Are you making these stuffs up or what?"

"Surely not Caroline. Tell me you know about supernatural gifts and that you have one or even know yours?" Nina said, a bit serious this time.

This time around, I was the one cackling up. She can't be serious right?

She folded her arms and watched.

I stopped laughing as it looks like she is actually serious.

"You're a bit dumb for the daughter of a hunter" she finally said.

"I'm confused okay, I don't really believe in all these stuffs plus my mum never told me anything about being a hunter. She was an FBI agent"

"What? Is that what she told you?" Her eyes widened with shock.

"Yes"

"I see" she exhaled. " I'm going to show you something mind blowing but before I do, promise me you can handle it?"

"Yes I promise" I said, quite intrigued.

She walked to a closet and I followed.

"So just stand there and watch" she said as she went to lock the door.

"Okay?"

"This would blow your mind" she said

She spread her palms, focusing intently, her eyes turned strange as her teeth tightened. Nothing prepared me for what happened next. How is she making fire from her palm.

Taken aback, I said " how on earth are you doing that?" 

"I told you, supernatural gifts" she said as she made a fist, stopping the fire.

I stood, frozen in disbelief, still unable to believe what I had just seen.

"Do you believe me now?" Nina asked.

"Yeah and I need the full story" 

"I will tell you the rest as we continue our tour"

A lot of questions were beginning to cloud my mind. If mum is somehow connected to all this, those that mean she also has a supernatural gift? Does that explain Elfreda?