It was night when it happened. Sleep was not coming easy to Terraline as she lay in bed, her hair sprawled messily over the pillow. The room was silent with the exception of the sound of the ticking clock. It was often that the girl stayed up, deep in her own thoughts. She knew she probably thought too much into everything. With a sigh, she sat up and picked up a notebook off her side table. She had written at least twenty songs in here. Whenever she needed something to do, she'd write a song. They always came easily to her. Terraline relocated to the window sill so the moonlight would cast upon the page. As she smoothed down her night gown and readied her pencil, the sound of a sudden thud came from outside her room.

Terraline jumped to her feet and moved to the door faster than a person normally would. Someone else might stop and wonder in fear if a robber was in their home. Terraline was not the type. She threw caution to the wind on most occasions. She opened the door to find her dark-haired brother getting to his feet. His piercing blue eyes met hers as he towered over her. "Go back to bed." He said simply, his expression cold and empty. 

"No Xander, what are you doing?" She demanded. Xander was a hard boy to understand. Though closer with him than with her sister, she would not  be able to guess his thoughts in a million years. There were times he'd be smiling and charismatic to people then alone or with his family he never smiled. All the girls in school were head over heels for him. She guessed he fit the tall, dark and mysterious boy girls swooned over. He seemed able to make anyone he want like him at any time. No one even bothered trying to run against him for class president. Intelligent, handsome and charming, what more could one want in a person? Terraline begged to differ. Something had always been off about him. Maybe it was in the same way her sister was insane but at a more subtle level. Something was wrong with him. 

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance at her inquiry then suddenly he was gone. She rubbed her eyes and looked left and right in shock. Where the heck did he go? She shrugged, deciding she was just tired. Terry spun on her heel to go back into her room, only to stumble at a sudden loud scream.

[i]Mom.[/i]

"Mom!" Terraline bolted out of her room and down the staircase, her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage. The scene she found in the living room made her freeze midway down the stairs. 

There were several people in all black uniforms and masks that hid their faces completely. One of them held a small, brown-haired woman by her hair. She looked up at Terry with sad, tear-filled eyes.  She began mouthing things as a knife was brought to her  neck and her head was roughly yanked back by her hair.

[i]Run. I love you.[/i]

Blood spilled over her silk button-down as the knife dug into the flesh of the woman's neck. Terraline felt like she forgot how to move or speak. Her gaze traveled to the unmoving male that had once acted as her father as the woman felt lifeless to the floor. She took a step back and cried out as she tripped. Her body painfully hit a couple stairs before she sat up in time to find her parents murderers staring at her.

"The order was to eliminate the offspring whether or not they showed any signs." came a voice, Terry wasn't sure which one of them said it. 
"Roger that," someone else answered. 
She hastily got back on her feet and climbed up the stairs, only for her a bulky hand to wrap around her ankle and drag her back down. Terraline screamed and kicked at her attacker as they dragged her down the stairs. "Don't worry, little girl, it won't hurt too bad." 
The man grabbed her and sat her on her knees. She had never felt a stronger grip in her life. A knife was placed to her neck, the cool metal slightly digging into her skin, "Any last words?" A sharp pain entered her arm as she tried to get up despite the odds. Her gaze fell on the large needle entering her arm. Movement had suddenly become impossible. She felt as if her limbs were frozen.

"Aw can't we play a little first with her first? She's so cute." A shudder went through Terraline's spine as a rough finger caressed her cheek.

"No. There's two more in here somewhere and we got around five more houses to do before the end of the night." came a woman's voice.

The finger traveled down her chin and neck, "Maybe I can just keep her for myself then..."

"Kill the bitch already, god damn it!" groaned an impatient male.

"Fine!"The coolness disappeared from her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as a knife was brought fast through the air and toward her neck. She shut her eyes tight, tears threatening to spill. However she felt no sudden pain in her neck. She waited a few seconds before opening her eyes. There was no longer anyone holding her. The door was wide open as more people poured into the room. With now blurry vision, all she could do was watch as figures moved around the room, unable to decipher anything they were doing. Though still paralyzed, she fought to move. Where was Xander? Josie?  Why was this happening?

Maybe this was all a dream. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier as darkness came to drown her. The room disappeared into blackness.
When she opened them again, she found her body under a warm, white blanket and her head on a big, soft pillow. The room around her was a bright white. Nausea and dizziness swept over her as she slowly attempted to sit up, her long hair unfortunately falling blocking half her vision as it messily fell over her head. 

"Now, now don't sit up too fast, dear. You almost died, you know that?" Terry stared groggily as a young woman took her shoulders and laid her back down. "They got you good with that poison."

Confusion made her head hurt twice as much as it had been already, "What? Where am I?" She asked softly. The memories suddenly hit her like a speeding train. Her parents bloody lifeless bodies... Her mother's last words... It really all happened.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she hastily glanced up at the bright ceiling light to keep them inside.

The woman put some ice on her head, "Oh where are my manners? Welcome to Riverwood Academy: your new home." She smiled sadly at her, patting her head, "whether you like it or not I'm afraid."