Eternal Series Book 1: Everlasting

New Beginnings...Again

Chapter 1

New Beginnings...Again

2012

Lawrence, Pennsylvania

Tessara Knox

Another nightmare. It was the same thing every time. Girls, always two of them, but never the same ones, being killed every night. The girls were sisters, sometimes even twins, other times they were friends, or they didn't even know each other. But none of that mattered because they were always murdered together. They were always killed in different ways: shot, ran over, beat to death, stabbed, hung up and tortured until they couldn't take it anymore. The people killing them were always either in trench coats or cloaks, with their hoods pulled up over their heads. I was tired of seeing blood every time I shut my eyes and waking up in a dead sweat with my blankets wrapped around my legs.

Last night's nightmare had been one of the worse. The girls—they didn't know each other this time, but they were both Asian with dark hair and eyes—had been kidnapped. There were seven men, all dressed in black cloaks with hoods over their faces. After being taken to an underground holding cell, they were dropped into deep pools of water, their arms and legs tightly bound together. They let them drown, until there were completely out of air, and had passed out. Seconds before it was too late, they pulled them out of the water, and then they did it all over again when the girls were revived. This went on for hours until the men had finally screwed up pulling them out of the water. The girls died, looking like old prunes.

I woke up with a scream in my throat and felt like I was choking water out of my lungs. It hadn't been real, I reminded myself. But it sure as hell had felt like it was real. My flaming red hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat. And deep breaths were all I could do to stay sane.

But today I had bigger problems than constant nightmares. It was our last day of school before we moved to a new state: Utah, of all places. We were leaving for Salem right after school, and I didn't have a choice. It was time to uproot my life, again. Something, I really thought I'd be used to by now.

I pulled myself out of bed and found the only pair of clothing I had not already boxed up. I hated how empty this room was. All that was left was a mattress on the floor, my backpack, a fantasy book—something I never left home without—and the nightgown I had just taken off. I also had a makeup bag that I was now using the contents of, along with a comb.

"Tessara! Come on, you're going to be late!" Aunt Emmaline yelled up the stairs. This was it. Saying goodbye to all of my friends, once again. Leaving a life behind that I was comfortable with, maybe even happy with. My sister and I had moved in with our aunt almost a year ago when our mother had died. We had finally made lives for ourselves here in Lawrence, Pennsylvania, and we were actually happy. It had taken so long to get to this place after Mom died. I didn't want to leave. Now, we were headed to a new town, new school, and another new house. Also, it was March, the middle of the semester, and I was so close to passing my Junior year with all As and Bs—something that would change the second I started an all-new curriculum.

Also, I read minds. It's really not that big of a deal anymore; it started when I was five, and I've gotten used to it. Once I learn the atmosphere of a place and have an idea of how many people are there, I can pick and choose who I listen to. Until then, the pain is unimaginable. All those voices pressing in on my mind would feel like a thousand needles were being driven into my skull. It could make me do things I later regretted—things that would make me wonder if I would even have a later. A new place means starting over on learning everyone's mind. Of course, no one knows—well my mother did—it's my problem too bare.