Chapter 1 Prologue

The cold wind hit her, making her curl up in bed. With her eyes still closed, she searched for the blanket. It was at this point that she realised she was alone in bed. She opened her eyes and turned on the bedside lamp. She shifted her gaze to the other side of the bed, and it was empty. She searched for the blanket, and it was on the foot of the bed.

She sat up on the bed and slipped her feet into her slippers. She stood up and grabbed her robe from the stand, standing next to the bed, close to the wall. She put it on and tied the robe.

"Ethan," she called out to him, walking towards the bathroom.

She opened the door.

"Ethan, are you in there?" she asked as she pushed the door open.

Her eyes searched everywhere, but the place was empty. She closed the door and headed for the door.

"Ethan!" She called out to him, as she reached for the door knob.

She was soon outside and headed for the staircase. She hurried down the staircase while yarning. She walked past the living room and headed for the kitchen, turning on the lights as she walked past the switches.

"Ethan," she yelled his name, but was met with silence.

The obvious dawned on her. She was alone in this big house. She opened the refrigerator, not sure what she was looking for in there. She closed it and looked around. Nothing was out of place.

"Where could Ethan be at this time of the night?" she thought and shifted her gaze to the clock.

It was 15 minutes past 2 a.m.

She was staying in San Francisco with her husband. Their apartment was very close to a vast land of forest.

She stood in the kitchen, leaning on the middle counter, which had the stove, and a space for other things. She heard a loud howl, which made her shift her gaze to the window, but she quickly moved her gaze to the lights, which started flickering. The light went off, covering the whole apartment with darkness, except for the moonlight that penetrated the kitchen through the slightly opened window, providing very little visibility.

She slowly walked in the dark, recalling the direction of the second counter where she kept the stove lighter. With her hands stretched forward, she found the counter and ran her hand on the table and found the lighter. She quickly lights it up, only to find someone standing next to her. She jumped out of fright, dropping the lighter in the process, and the place turned dark again.

She screamed her heart out as the hands grabbed her in the dark.

"Gwen, Gwen, calm down. It's me, Ethan," she heard the familiar voice and stopped struggling to break free.

"Ethan?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me," he replied, still holding her.