The Guardian

Prologue

My name is Rachel Greenwood. I’m nineteen years old. A social butterfly with a pretty substantial social media following... Or, at least, I was. I used to be a perfectly normal, slightly sarcastic, teenager.

Until it happened. The Event that took away my security, my cozy little life, and its menial little problems in one swoop. Now, within one week, I’m a completely different person. I’ve been in pretty bad situations and met some pretty nasty people. I’ve changed. Grown stronger. More... Everything.

I guess I should start at the beginning. A dark alley-way... how cliché. I was the hunted, on the run from the typical New York predator.
Panic filled me, fueled me with adrenaline, and robbed me of intelligence. The click of heels echoed behind me, each step sending shivers down my spine. My heart pounded in my chest like a drumbeat of impending doom.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I darted through the labyrinth of alleys, my pursuer hot on my heels. Shadows danced around me, swallowing me whole as I plunged deeper into the darkness. Every corner turned felt like stepping into the jaws of a hungry beast, ready to devour me whole. But still, I ran, fueled by sheer terror and the desperate urge to survive.

The stench of garbage and decay assaulted my senses, mingling with the metallic tang of fear in the air. I could feel the cold sweat trickling down my back, my body trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and adrenaline. Tears blurred my vision, making it difficult to see the path ahead, but I couldn't afford to slow down, not for a second.

And then, like a cruel twist of fate, I found myself cornered in the dead-end alley behind Reggie’s Veggies. The darkness seemed to close in around me, suffocating me with its oppressive weight. I turned to face my assailant, my chest heaving with exertion and fear.

That's when I saw him - a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness, his features obscured by the dim light. But I didn't need to see his face to know the danger he posed. I could feel it in every fiber of my being, a primal instinct screaming at me to run, to fight, to do anything to escape his grasp.

But it was too late. Before I could even muster a scream, his hands closed around my throat, squeezing the life out of me with a merciless grip. Pain exploded through my body, white-hot and blinding, as I struggled against his hold, gasping for air that refused to come.

It felt like an eternity, trapped in that suffocating grip, every second stretching into infinity. And then, just when I thought I couldn't bear it any longer, everything went dark. Peace enveloped me like a shroud, drowning out the pain and fear with merciful oblivion.

And then waking up in bed, my own bed, with only fragments that soon faded, and the sound of my mother sobbing downstairs and my father’s voice raised in frustrated anger.

A soothing voice that answered with non-answers.

More frustrated anger. Louder sobbing.

Silently slithering out of bed, I was seized with an anguishing pain far worse than anything I’ve ever felt.

Including the Event. Voices echoed in my head, reminding me of a promise I don’t remember making.

Instinct made me want to scream and sob, but something else kept my mouth shut. My back split open, then healed differently, like a badly set bone.

I felt hot and cold at the same time, and electricity crackled over my skin, scorching and burning, leaving no physical trace.

The scream behind my lips built, but could not find its way past clenched teeth. Finally -finally- it went dark again, and the pain shut off like a light switch being thrown, and I collapsed like a tonne of bricks.