( 1 ) CHAPTER ONE | OWEN SYKES

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Trials & Tribulations: Book 1

The moonlight shoots through the open window, illuminating the room, reflecting off the tiny shards of glass that litter across the wooden floor, from the shattered full-bodied mirror on the sidewall

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The moonlight shoots through the open window, illuminating the room, reflecting off the tiny shards of glass that litter across the wooden floor, from the shattered full-bodied mirror on the sidewall. The cool wind sends a shiver down my spine as it sends the curtains fluttering. It seems to whisper a familiar melody in my ears as I can't help but stare at the scene unfolding around me.

I feel a presence behind me and as I turn around, a shadow of a person disappears through the gaping window and that feeling dissipates into thin air as quick as it came.

I'm alone.

The air quickly turns cold, chilling my bones. I begin to notice blood is everywhere. The stench of unseen human flesh invades my nostrils, nearly turning my stomach.

Everything fabric-wise in the room has been slashed and drawers from the chifferobe have been ripped open; clothes and personal items strewn about as if they were searching for something.

The place has been thoroughly ransacked.

Suddenly, I'm not in my room anymore. I open my eyes and I'm out in the open. The trees sway above me as the wind picks up. The forest begins growing colder by the second and I begin to shiver. It doesn't take me long to realize that the t-shirt I was wearing is suddenly gone and I'm exposed.

The air is cold, lifeless and damp. The bubbling in my chest started to grow, my skin crawling with uneasiness, feeling trapped -- claustrophobic, like a fish in a bowl without water. I need out!

A lifeless body lays before me, on the ground, their flesh torn to pieces.

Steeping closer, I'm unable to see their face . . . to make out who it is. Kneeling down, with shaky hands I, for some reason, pull the body onto my lap. The feeling of fear was becoming too overwhelming for me to control. My body was shaking with it from head-to-toe and my breathing was becoming labored. The identity of the young man was unknown to me, his face was drenched in blood, my vision blurred from the tears cascading down my face that I was too numb to notice until now.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I open them again only for the face to remain the same. Blurred.

Everything was now dense and hazy. My senses on high alert and my entire body was screaming for me to run. I didn't know what from, but my body was aching all the way to my toes. The tears rolling down my cheeks landed on the ground below, kind of like raindrops . . . One by one. I'm frustrated from being unable to see exactly where I'm going, but I'm running and the idea of stopping anytime soon was not an option I'd like to consider even only slightly.

The unknown of what could be coming for me was frightening. My eyes were rendered useless to helping the onslaught of what was to come. It was a matter of life or death at this point. Just which one was it?

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