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Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
This book is dedicated to Keeley Smith. Without her this book would never have been created and would not have been as much fun to create either. It has been my dream for as long as I can remember and thanks to you my dream has become a reality.
Myself and the other writers, Demi Summers, Siobhan (Shimi) Thomas and Fiona Newcombe have thoroughly enjoyed the months of work (even the stressful times) that have led up to the release of our books. Thank you for putting up with me stressing out and almost missing deadlines and I promise to work even harder on my second book.
1
A Memory Or A Nightmare
un.
That was the only thought that ran through Scarlet's head.
Run and don't look back.
The morning, if you could call it that, had started so well and now nothing could have been worse for her. She had never met the infamous monster that was chasing them and had never imagined she ever would. Each step that she took away from it only made everything worse. Scarlet had never been this afraid and the fear had taken over her senses, intensifying everything. The low growl rumbled louder, the stench permeated the air and all the energy dropped out of her body faster.
Suddenly, there was a crash from behind her, she couldn't help but turn and look. Her parents were still behind her and she couldn't just leave them if they were hurt.
Soon she would come to regret that decision.
The moment she turned around the fangs pierced her father's skin and she swore she could hear the beast laughing at her. Its golden eyes would have looked beautiful if they hadn't been staring right at her as it murdered her father, making her feel like her soul had shattered.
Her mother was laid only a few feet away from her father but she couldn't bring herself to look more than once. A single glance at the mangled body of her mother was too much to handle. Blood was everywhere.
The colour.
Red, just like her name.
It had once reminded her of love and passion, but now all she saw was death and pain.
Right then she would have given anything to trade places with them, to save their lives and give up her own, but it was too late for that and she knew her parents would want her to live on. Her father had pushed her to run ahead of them in the first place and she felt guilty leaving them. There was nothing she could do. The last thing she saw before she ran was the final glimmer of light fade from her father's eyes.
She ran as fast as she could, letting the tears trickle down her face and drip onto her clothes. She didn't want them to stop. The tears were the only thing reminding her this was all real and not just some terrible nightmare. Even after she was far away, the image of the mayhem that used to be her family's place, one where they could relax and enjoy themselves, would not go away. She couldn't run anymore and her legs crumbled beneath her, leaving the sobbing girl sat on the cold hard ground, alone.