Prologue

The night was wet and cool as I walked through the center of town. The town I lived in was small and quaint. It was the kind of place where everybody knows everybody and no secrets can be kept.  

I could smell the rain and see the big, full moon shining down on our small town. I felt the breeze caress my face and blow through my long, dark hair.

‘Best kind of weather,’ I thought.

As I continued my walk, I heard him call my name,

“Violet!”

I paused and looked back. Lucas. There he was, just standing there, looking handsome as ever. He was about six inches taller than me with with big brown eyes and dark messy hair.

Immediately, the wonderful feeling of being in love rushed over me. I skipped over like a little girl and hugged him. He chuckled and smiled at me. When he looked at me, I felt a roller coaster feeling in my stomach. I felt that something wasn’t right. Suddenly, his face was stern and serious.

“Vi, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“I found this.”

I tilted my head in confusion as he handed me a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it and read aloud,

‘Send her to the alley on Sycamore St. at dawn.  -Anonymous’

I looked up and rolled my eyes at Lucas,

“I’m not gonna fall for your little trick. No one’s stupid enough to go to that alley anyway.”

He looked at me in shock.

“You think I did this?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said bluntly.

“Well, I didn’t.”

He looked hurt and I realized he was telling the truth. We were being threatened. I then realized how serious this was and tears started to flow. I was scared; for myself and for Lucas.

He immediately took me in his arms and whispered,

“It’s ok. I’m here.”

Usually, I felt safe when he held me. But right now, I felt afraid and insecure. The tears kept flowing and he only hugged me tighter.

“Lucas, you realize I have to go, right?”

“You’re not serious!?”

“Yes, I am. If I don’t, whoever’s doing this might come for you.”

“Violet. Don’t you worry about me. We’ll figure it out. Ok?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed and continued to try and talk me out of it.

“You know I love you, right? You know I love you more than anything? Violet, you’re my whole world!”

The tears started flowing again. I looked at him and nodded. I was at a loss for word at this point.

But deep in my heart and mind, I knew I had to go. I couldn’t let anything happen to Lucas and I would protect him with my life.

Part One

That night, as I was laying in bed, I thought of all the possibilities that could come from this. I felt even more afraid than I did before. I started to cry again. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up, got dressed, and almost knocked over a lamp in the process.  

I looked at Lucas’s bed. He was fast asleep. He looked so sweet and innocent. I felt bad for leaving him like this. I loved him so much.

‘Snap out of it! I have to do this!’ I told myself silently.

If I didn’t do it for myself, then I had to do it for him. He was my everything! I knew how much he loved me. I knew he would do the same thing. How could I not do this for the person I loved?

“I love you, Lucas, more than anything.” I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek.

So I set out to find them. The one who sent that note. The one who wanted to separate me from Lucas. The one who wanted me in that alley at dawn; and why.

About a half an hour after I left, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was the shadow of a man. The way the man slipped around the corner made a shiver roll down my spine. Then I got curious.

I followed the shadow around the corner. I came to a dim-lit room and I couldn’t believe what I saw. A young girl, tied to a chair, was silently sobbing. When she saw me, she begged for help.

I was suspicious of her.

‘It might be a trick,’ I thought.

I circled around her and noticed her face was bruised. I tilted my head in confusion and continued to observe her. She had be at least 16. She was wearing a soft pink dress and nude colored heels. Her hair was in soft curls that fell past her shoulders.

‘She must have come from a sophisticated family,’ I assumed.

All of a sudden, a man came out of nowhere. The girl screamed and covered her face. Again, she started to cry. She looked up at me. The man followed her gaze and saw me. He observed me and grinned.

“Hello. Who might you be?”

I hesitated and replied,

“Violet.”

“That’s a very pretty name, Violet.”

I had a very bad vibe from this guy and him calling me by my first name made me shutter. He walked up to me and reached out his hand. I quickly backed away before he could touch me.

He shrugged and walked over to the girl instead. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. He chuckled and stroked her hair. My eyes widened in disbelief. I was disgusted. She was so young!

He looked up at me and grinned slyly.

“Let me show you something.”

He motioned to me and I followed him into another room. I picked up a stick on the way, just in case. I looked around the room and I started to cry. Bodies. Bodies lying on the floor. Seven to be exact.

“These are her sisters,” he said.

I gasped and started sobbing. He tried to touch me again and I hit him in the gut with my stick and ran. I heard him grunt and fall to the ground.

I saw the girl still in the chair and I couldn’t just leave her. I ran over to her and untied the ropes. She grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as we could to the police station which was only a few blocks away.

“What’s your name?” I asked out of breath.

“Rose,” she told me.

I smiled and shook her hand.

“Violet,” I replied.

We lead the policeman who was there back to the room where I left the man lying. But by the time we got there, he was gone.

Part Two

Rose turned and looked at me with fear in her eyes. I looked back and tried to be reassuring but I was scared too. I saw a tear roll down her cheek. I walk over to her and wiped it off; trying to be comforting.

“It’s gonna be ok, girls,” the policeman told us.

I nodded in agreement and looked at Rose. She looked at the policeman and nodded.

“It’s gonna be ok,” the policeman said again, as if he was reading our thoughts.

“We’ll find him.”

“I’m sure you will,” I commented, trying my best not to sound doubtful even though I was. Rose turned and looked at me.

“What?” I asked after the policemen left.

“I know you don’t think they’ll find him,” she said matter of factly.

“You're right, I don’t,” I replied.

She sort of half smiled, like she was trying to assure me they would find him.

As we walked around the corner, I saw someone walking towards us, and then, I heard his voice.

“Violet!”

It was Lucas. He started running toward me. He grabbed me and hugged me.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again!” he said firmly.

Then, the man, the one who had escaped us earlier that day, jumped at Rose. He grabbed her arm and yelled,

“You’re gonna pay for what you did!”

Rose screamed and started wailing for help.

I ran and tried to tear her from his grip but he was to strong. I looked at Lucas and pleaded for his help. He leapt onto the man's back and he and Rose fell to the ground.

She got up as fast as she could and ran to me. I held her as she sobbed in my arms.

Lucas held the man’s arms behind his back. Rose and I ran as fast as we could to the police station.

“We found him!” We almost screamed at the policeman.

We jumped in the car with the policeman and sped down the road. The policeman jump out of the car and took the man from Lucas’s arms.

The policeman grabbed the man by his shoulders and grinned.

“Great job, my friend.”

The man who we all thought was a policeman, was an imposter! We ran as fast as we could but both men were faster. They surrounded us and I watched at one of them grabbed Lucas’s head and snapped his neck. His last words were, ‘I love you.’

Then went Rose, and then me.