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Chapter 1
"You'd better get in soon before they come!" Melanie's father called from the door way.
"I will, I will," she waved her father off. The door shut behind her, tumblers locking and blind shifting up and erect. The rest of the town followed suit.

Melanie sighed and walked to the graveyard. She scratched her nails across the stone, the only noise poluting the silent air. A few blazes still gingerly warmed the long horizon in their colorful glass flowers. Not another soul seemed to linger in the graveyard, it was deserted.

The muffled steps stopped. They rested in front of a tree that spewed fruits of a bloody red. At the bottom of the tree was a makeshift plaque with the scratched in words, "Lost, but never forgotten."
Some sort of cry escaped Melanie's lips. She stared at the engraved rock, small tears staining trails down her face. She yanked an apple from above her head and knelt.

"'I know a place where to get some fruit, I'll be right back.' Well, why aren't you back? Mom's killing her self over you and dad won't let me go. Come back here, you damned twit and fix this mess! What kind of little brother are?" Melanie clenched her fist around the fruit, puncturing the red skin with her nails. "Where are you?"

But the plaque revealed no answers, there was no reply. Just more hollowed out silence. The sky pulled on a downcast coat, leaving Melanie as unsatisfied as she was when she came.

"I know you're not dead. You're alive somewhere in this damned infested lands! Here I am praying to the blasted creatures of the land, the monsters, whatever they prefer to be called. Yeah, little brother you'd better come back so I can get up off my knees. I thought if we respected these superior beings, we'd be safe. Then why is the most devoted family missing their son?"

The latter of her tirade was directed towards the tree line, the dark, creature infested forest. Melanie put the apple down on the plaque and got up. She kicked a rock and it rolled into the tree line.

"Go find my little brother, mister rock. Hopefully you won't dissappear like he did, too."
But the rock did the exact opposite, it dissappeared. Melanie's jaw unhinged and was left hanging. That was impposible. There was no logical way that was possible, but that rock just upped and left. Melanie stared, her mind completely baffled. Something was obviously in whack beyond the tree line.

She should run. Melanie knew she should've ran back to the warm place called home, but she did not do such a think. She stood rooted to the spot and blankly stared at where there once was a rock in which she kicked. Then something clicked and Melanie took a step toward the tree line, but halted right there. It was foolish, why would some one go into a deep wood that they are completely ignorant of? It did not make sense for her to go into the woods, especially considering the day. Things, monsters, creatures, were supposed to be lurking within those trees. Sure, during the day there were little fairies and angels about, but that was in the light. The light creatures clearly warned the nightly beings were hungry, ghastly persons with not a drop of mercy. She had no buisness with nightly beings.

Suddenly, a new thought struck her.
"That rock," she started, "went into that forest because I told it to look for my brother. It is my concern if the rock found something. Perhaps the rock found a significant clue. I shall go follow it and see if my hypothesis is correct. For if it is true, then I will be a step closer to finding my little brother. My little brother, not those things in the trees' little brother. So if they do pertain to his aburt leaving then yes, I do have buisness with those frightening figures!"

Melanie boldly walked by the apple tree and into the forest. The forest hung overhead, like vultures waiting for the prey. The forest was overwhelming, it seemed to suffocate everything within it. It was even darker among the trees, not a stray ray of moonlight pierced the canopy. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat and marched forward.

It was a pleasant feeling, like ribbons of air, but soon grew into a feeling as if chains were crushing her chest. She managed out a strangled cry.

"Help," she said desperately. "Help!"
Then she was gone.