Prologue
It is 2065, August 5, first Wednesday of the month. The once
blue skies are now a dull green. The once lively chatter of the bluebirds
are now replaced by the shrill squawk of a large crow. The grass
is a greenish brown because of a two-year long drought. I am one
of the survivors, of the war, that is. My name is Alice Hilly, and this
is my story. The events that took place during my only year in high
school were very odd. I hope the reader will forgive me if my retelling
is confusing, but it must be this way. This is told in total truth,
and in as much detail as I can remember of what happened to me. So
if in some parts, I don't give a lot of detail, it's because it wasn't
important enough for me to remember. So I pray, fellow readers that
you sit down, and read the harrowing, but quite interesting, tale of my
life.
Chapter 1
When the U.S. had gone to war, I was so into my group of friends that I didn't even know that we were at war. All I cared about was my life and having fun. My friend Mary convinced me to go to the Fall Homecoming Dance. That dance is where it all began.
I was sitting on a chair rather glumly when a tall guy in a black suit asked me if I would dance with him. I happily said yes because I hadn't had anyone ask me yet, looked up at his face and was startled to see a white mask covering his right side of his face. I was curious, but decided not to question it. I was obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera. So, needless to say, this guy fascinated me. I slowly found out from dancing with him that he was an excellent dancer. When the song had stopped, he bent down and whispered in a silky musical voice,
" My name is Erik, Alice."
I was surprised because I didn't have any clue as to where I could have met him. How could he have known my name? Before I could question it, he had me in another fast dance. I found myself looking at his eyes, which were unlike any I had ever seen before in my life. They were crystal clear blue, like a calm ocean on a clear sunny day. Erik sensed that I was getting a little nervous, so he started singing. The rest of the night just flew by me.
When the dance was over with, I said goodbye to Mary,
then let Erik escort me out. As we walked to my house, I noticed
how beautiful the sky looked. Then I realized that I had not asked
how I knew him. Once again
before I could ask, Erik started singing a soft lullaby, which went
something like this:
Dancing colors blow through your hair
How I long to be there
How do I explain to you?
Just how I feel
In time, maybe you will understand
Once you learn to look at the soul, not the face
Maybe I could have you live at my place
I didn't realize how weird the song was, I was only concerned with how beautiful it sounded. I would have fallen asleep on his shoulder had we not arrived at my house at the end of the song.
" Well Alice, I promise that we shall again met very
soon. I hope you had a pleasant evening like I had." He lifted
my hand to his lips, kissed it, and suddenly vanished. I was so startled
that I stood there, staring into the darkness before running up the driveway
and into the house. Had I been imagining it? I assured myself
that it was probably because it was midnight, and the lighting wasn't that
good outside anyway. I kept that in mind as I changed into my pajamas.
When I went into the bathroom, my earlier assumptions that I was going
crazy resurfaced because I could hear Erik singing! It sounded like
it was coming out of the mirror! This time his
voice was a lot lower, husky even.
Come to me please, sweet angel
I have asked God to give me a gift like you
Do not deny me
Do not betray me
Become me
What truly frightened me was that it was so seducing, that I actually tried to walk through the mirror! When my head made contact with the hard cold glass, I came out of the trance and decided that it was time for bed.
After I had said my prayers, I found a ring on my pinky finger that I did not recognize and didn't remember putting on. It was a gold band with tiny gems arranged in flower patterns all around a small red heart in the middle. What troubled me was the fact that I could not get it off my finger. By now, it was almost one thirty. I decided to take care of this odd problem tomorrow. As I laid my head down on my pillow, I heard Erik's song again. Little did I know that his voice was dangerous, and that it was in my ears, not my imagination.