Add to Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon

Jessica’s eyes sprang open. It took her a moment to realize she was awake. Her room was dark, and only a thin line of light shone through the slit under her bedroom door. A haze of sleep clung to her mind, and she couldn’t understand the panic in her chest. She was shaking, and her heart thumped wildly in her ears.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before sitting up in the bed. She couldn’t shake a strange sensation of pain in her hands and feet. For a moment she thought she might be having a heart attack. It took her another few seconds to recognize the connection she’d blocked out for so long. Something was wrong with Elizabeth.

Jessica threw back the covers and hopped onto the floor. The cold boards sent a shock through her body, but it was a sound that froze her in place. She was midway between her bed and the bedroom door when the panic increased tenfold. The pain in her limbs intensified, and the fear for her sister was the only thing that convinced her to move. Jessica reached the door, grabbed hold of the handle, and then pressed her ear to the wood.

A series of sounds echoed across the hall outside the room, ending with a muffled cry. Jessica clenched her teeth as she pressed down on the handle. The door slowly cracked, and she slid her eye to the opening. The entire floor was cloaked in darkness, but moonlight offered a view into Elizabeth’s room. Jessica pulled open the door enough to squeeze through. Her foot touched the floor out in the hall when a shadow crossed the light in Elizabeth’s room followed by a loud thump. Another muffled cry struck Jessica’s heart with terror.

She rushed across the open space and pressed her back against the wall outside Elizabeth’s doorway. The sounds of a struggle intensified, and Jessica tried to gather her courage. She was through the doorway before she knew what she was doing. The moonlight revealed several figures standing throughout the bedroom. The main struggle came from Elizabeth’s bed, where at least two people stood over the girl.

Jessica’s mind seized up as several figures lurched toward her. She managed to get out a scream before they grabbed hold of her. The initial impact flung Jessica onto the floor. The side of her head smacked the ground, and her vision blurred and then filled with sparkling lights.

She tried to yell again, but something was forced into her mouth the moment she opened it. Confusion erupted within the room as all of the shadows moved at once. Jessica made one last attempt to roll over when a vicious strike caught her on the back of the head and everything went dark.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon