Chapter 1 -- A Terrible Dream

The tumultuous winds and the monstrous thunder were assaulting the once dazzling land. The mountain that had, just moments ago , stood majestically in all its glory, began to crumble down into the widening gaps that were growing beneath their feet. The ground shook with a violent force and Lane began to lose her balance. Behind her, the rocky ground on which she stood, opened itself with an angry crack and Lane fell backward. The young man that she was with dove toward her, reaching out his hand. Lane screamed in utter terror as she caught the hand of her companion. She looked down at the vast emptiness below her feet

“Look at me,” the young man instructed. “Just hold on. Do not let go. I am going to save you. You will not fall.” Rocks and debris were plunging all around them.

“I can't hold on!” Lane cried out in anguish as she dangled by one hand above her apparent doom. “I can't do this.” She shook her head and as she opened her mouth to cry out, her rescuer lost his grip and Lane let out a terrible howl as she fell in to the deep nothingness.

Lane Deveaux shot open her eyes when a starling crash of thunder interrupted her horrible nightmare. Her face and bed clothes were soaked in sweat and her heart was beating so rapidly she could have sworn it was going to beat right out of her chest. The roaring winds seemed to have been taken straight out of her dream. She glanced over at her window and saw the curtains dancing in the whirlwind coming in from outside. Still entranced by lingering thoughts in her imagination, Lane seemed to have floated out of her bed and made her way to the window. Her waist-length sandy colored hair whipped around behind her and the wind began to roar louder. Rain drenched the world outside and brown and orange leaves scattered about in the air. Power lines threatened to collapse and rooftops were being ripped apart, shingle by shingle. Across the street, a gate that had been left unhinged, swung angrily, banging the fence it was attached to. Underneath the wrath of the weather, Lane heard a deep, mysterious voice. It was a woman's voice, she thought. She couldn't quite make out what it was saying, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was saying something. She quickly dismissed the thought and slammed the window shut. After one last glance out, she crawled back into her bed and fell back asleep.

The next thing Lane heard was her alarm. With much reluctance, she got herself out of bed. Down in the kitchen, Lane's mother was already getting breakfast started. Lane could smell bacon frying, making her stomach growl. After a quick shower, she made her way downstairs. 
 

“Good morning, Love,” her mother smiled. She was still in her robe and slippers, coffee in hand.

Lane yawned and mumbled back the greeting. She sat down at the kitchen table and waited while her mother finished up the eggs.

“That was a crazy storm we had last night, huh!” Lane exclaimed, attempting to start a conversation. “It woke me up in the middle of the night. I had to shut my window! I'm surprised we still have power after that!”

Lane's mother looked at her, perplexed. “What on earth are you talking about, dear? What storm?”

“You didn't hear it? Wow, I don't know how it didn't wake you up! Take a look outside!”

Her mother shook her head and turned her gaze to the window. “No, honey. You look outside.”

Lane got up and walked to the window. She gasped as she saw a dry, sunny day. The leaves were dry and had not yet fallen. There were no puddles. There was not one hint of a storm outside. Not one. 
 

“Amazing,” she finally let out. “It must have been a dream, then. But it was so intense. So...real!”

“You have quite the imagination, I suppose!” Her mother smiled as she put her arm around her. “Now sit down and eat before you are late for school!”

Lane couldn't believe it and she couldn't stop thinking about that voice. It was so peculiar and it resonated in her mind. It was just a dream, she thought. Just a dream. Lane sighed and began to eat.