PROLOGUE.
people disappear here

In the midst of her own divine cataclysm, stood Edith Munson.

She was once a daughter, a sister, and even a lover. But above all else, she was still a mother, and she wouldn't go down without a fight.

She was aching and beaten, bloody and bruised. As she dragged herself across the pale white room, her nails digging into the tiles on the floor, she was trying with the little strength she still had left to escape through the set of doors she initially entered through. However, it was far from easy, the woman continuously gasping for breath, spitting out the clots of blood that had gotten caught in her throat, the brutal metallic taste carving into her tastebuds and searing into her tongue. It could all mean only one thing, that he had caused more damage to her collapsing body than she had originally thought, and the chance of escaping with her life intact, especially after she broke in unnoticed, was slim to none.

     What was she thinking? Why did she think she could withstand a force as powerful as him?

     That was the thing. Edith Munson wasn't thinking. The moment she discovered the monster from her childhood was still alive in the very town she was raising her child in, she knew she had to act. She couldn't sit at home and wait for him to come for her and her daughter. She had to do something, anything, to protect her family and herself, and even if it was the last thing she ever did, at least she could leave this world and know she tried. And if there was one thing the woman knew for sure, she would fight for her life and the life of her daughter's until her last dying breath. Even if she was not the one to defeat her beast, she had to hope someone strong, stronger than she ever was, could and they would.

Edith continued to claw her way closer towards the door, grunting in pain when she felt a sharp stabbing sensation shoot through her ribcage. She was no stranger to the pain inflicted on her during this very moment. She had endured it once before as a small child, suffering all sorts of broken bones before she even reached high school. It should've weakened her, and every time the pain erupted in her side, Edith was convinced it was just enough to send her to sleep, but she didn't falter. She gasped for breath, and continued to use her strength to try and escape to the other side of the door in time.

But then she heard his footsteps thump quietly against the tiled flooring, each step sending shockwaves through the woman's trembling body. That was when the fear and inescapable dread settled in her bones and forced her to move as fast as her aching body would allow her to move. She felt the shooting pains in her side, and this time they were worse than before, agonising even. She cried, the salty tears rolling down her bloody cheeks and dripping into her open cuts. She gasped for what little breath she had filling her deflating lungs. Then she screamed, hoping there would be someone lingering close by who could rescue her, but no one came to rescue her from the murderer she once called family when they were just children.

     However, they were no longer those seemingly innocent children. He was a monster. And she would soon become another unwilling victim to his relentless pursuit of evil.

     That was when she heard him laugh. "You always like to put up a fight," He chimed. He was amused. He found all of this, her pain, her endless anguish, and desperation to escape with her life, he found it all funny. "Ever since we were kids, you just couldn't surrender to me. That's what made you incredibly difficult to kill the first time," He continued, his footsteps continuing to echo throughout the room.

     Edith let out a breath, shaky, but filled with relief when she finally managed to reach the door. She then reached up, pulling all her weight upwards to latch her hand onto the door handle, and just as hope was in her sights, his voice broke through her light and flooded her hope with darkness. "I won't allow myself to make the same mistake twice."

And in that very moment, Edith felt her body become lighter. It didn't take long for her to realise she was no levitating above the ground, her frantic eyes looking below her for a moment before she looked back to see him again. She saw his golden waves of hair, his piercing blue eyes that darkened with rage and a glimmer of death the second they laid eyes on each other. The sight of his angered expression, accompanied by the murderous glance that cut into her soul like a knife, it was enough to suck the life out of the woman's body and bury her six feet under. At least it would've been less painless than the excruciating death she was bound to suffer any moment from now.

She was lucky enough to escape her fate once before. He would never let her escape it again.

Slowly, her frightened gaze drifted from his eyes to his hand, watching as he raised it in front of him, twisting and contorting his trembling fingers to move her very being to his decree. All he had to do was focus, and she would soon succumb to the death he had planned for her. Edith had seen what happened to her parents, and to her little sister all those years ago. After years of growing up with her brother and believing there was something wrong with him, her beliefs and suspicions had been right, and she'd lost her entire family as a result. She couldn't imagine the pain of her bones snapping in half, or the shock as her eyes would soon explode within her skull, and she tried to escape it for a long time.

     But if her dreams were telling her the truth, then she had to ensure her daughter's safety from the frightening future ahead.

     "Henry, please—"

     Edith didn't even get the chance to finish her sentence before he swung his hand, forcing her body to fly across the room and slam with full force into the stone wall, creating an unprecedented amount of destruction before Edith fell to the ground with a thud. The woman let out another loud cry of pain, her entire body trembling and throbbing in pure agony. When she lifted her teary eyes to meet his again, he was approaching her, his twisted mind moving her up the wall so they were now at level with one another. When he stopped in front of her, that was when he decided to speak. "You think you can appeal to my good side, dear sister?" He asked in a rhetorical manner.

     "No," Edith managed to choke out, spitting some blood right back into his face. He didn't even hesitate. He just blinked a few times before staring straight back into her eyes, her expression burning with hatred with a mix of defeat. "I was just trying to buy some time."

     He laughed in response, shaking his head. "You've never changed," He informed. "I wonder if that daughter of yours shares your bite. I'm looking forward to finding out. Maybe she'll put up a better fight than her mother," He elaborated, the mere mention of her daughter being enough to make Edith's eyes soften.

     "She's your niece. You can't hurt a child," She pleaded. He was amused again.

     "You and I both know I'm not above killing family," He argued back. "And your daughter, she's powerful. She possesses the power I need after I one day break out of this prison you helped them put me in."

     Gasping for breath, Edith shakes her head. "She is nothing like you," She then speaks through gritted teeth.

     "That's where you're wrong. Her and I are more alike than you think. I've seen it. I've felt it," He replied, lifting his pointer finger to point to the side of his skull. "Right here," He whispered, his voice sending chills up and down Edith's spine.

Her daughter. Her baby. She was nothing like him. She was kind, and pure, and could never inflict terror the way he has. The last time she saw the girl, she was playing with blades of grass in the sunlight, smiling from ear to ear as she tied each tiny blade of greenery together with her fingertips, all while her brother was learning to play guitar on the steps of their trailer park home, and she would hum along to the melody. That was the kind of person her daughter was. Soft. Whimsical. She could never hurt another person. Not in the same way this pathetic excuse of a man in front of her had done, and would keep doing if he wasn't stopped.

     "You're wrong. She will never be like you. You won't ever get out of this place. You will never find her, Henry," Edith's voice continued to tremble, her words being enough to make him laugh once again.

     "I will find her one day, and I will make her my instrument to get exactly what I want. And do you want to know the best part?" He probed, raising his hand to wrap a firm grip around the woman's throat, squeezing at tight as he could to constrict her airways and force her lungs to collapse in her chest. He could use his powers to kill her, but he wanted to make it last. He wanted it to hurt — the knowledge that she could not save the most important person in her life. He then took a step forward, his grip tightening as Edith continued to choke to death, their faces inches apart.

     "You won't be around to see it."

━━━━━━━━

authors note.
So what are we thinking? How are we feeling about Edith's death?
Honestly, I'm so excited for this book and to dive into the absolute mess that Sabrina is about to fall right into the centre of. My girl will not be catching a break and I fear this prologue is just the start of all her suffering.

Until then I hope you guys enjoyed this little intro and I'll update again soon!!