CHAPTER ONE
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𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘, Katia Aguilar never said she was good at running her exact words were always "I'm alright, I guess." whenever someone asked. However, no one cared about what she had to say, because now she was being chased by something that wouldn't let up.

"Gods," She muttered to herself. "I should've taken track."

But, we're getting ahead of ourselves now. Let's go back to the beginning.

The day started normally.

Katia had woken up at the crack of dawn, cursing that she had to wake up before the sun was even shining. Luckily, no one else in her foster home was up just yet. So, it gave the girl a few minutes of quiet and gave her just enough time to leave the house and head to school.

When she arrived at school she was greeted by the same teens, who ignored her every chance they got. Despite having been their classmate since Middle School, everyone seemed to have this disgusted hatred for the young girl.

She wasn't sure why, it wasn't like she did anything wrong. Scratch that— she did know why but what happened was not her fault. How was she supposed to know putting fertilizer would cause someone to seize? Also, Katia would like to add she was 10 and thought it was just dirt.

To answer your questions: No, the girl didn't die. Yes, Katia was punished. No, she didn't go to jail. Yes, she regretted it...kind of.

After that people seemed to start hating her more than usual. You'd think they'd get over it but ten-year-olds hold grudges, who knew?

So, instead of trying to reconcile with them, Katia decided it'd be best to ignore them. And it worked. After a while, the glares and whispers stopped. Now, people just ignored her.

Fun!

The rest of the day went smoothly. That is until she returned home.

By the time Katia had gotten home everyone had already returned. As she entered her house she was met with the rowdy noise of the Carter family - aka her foster family.

Her foster mom, Trudy, was in the kitchen cooking whatever slop she'd decided she wanted to give her kids, while her husband, George, sat on his recliner watching whatever sports game was on (this time it was football). She then saw the youngest members of the family, Molly, and June, fighting over their dolls.

As she climbed the steps, the noise grew louder. She turned to see two of the older kids, Lily and Mason, screaming at each other in the bathroom while, Ruby (their older sister) stood by the mirror fixing her heavy black makeup. While, Evan and Jake were loudly playing video games in their room, yelling at the littlest brother, Jesse, as he was covering their view.

All the kids, except Lily and Mason, were foster kids. Why the Carters kept getting more children was beyond Katia's comprehension. She'd hardly call them fit parents.

They served them mush for dinner, would starve them for a week as a punishment, and didn't even care for any of them properly.

Hell, Katia was living in the attic because there wasn't any space for her.

Katia was the latest victim of the Carter fostering family. She'd moved in with them when she was 13 (she was turning 15 in a month) and nothing had changed.

The entire time Katia had been there she had been ignored. No one cared about her, other than maybe Molly, but she was only 6 (and only liked her because of the one time she gave her ice cream for dinner).

Katia opened the hidden door and climbed the stairs up to her room — her ears ringing from all the noise.

One perk about living in the attic was that no one would bother her and she got her bathroom. However, everything was 10x smaller than usual and if Katia was any taller she would've hit her head every time she tried to stand.

Despite that, she was happy...well as happy as she could be.

Katia got changed, throwing on a pair of leggings and her favourite shirt and sweatshirt. After a few hours of homework, the girl began to grow tired. She figured it would be best if she were to rest, and she was right because the second her head hit the pillow she passed out.

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𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Katia woke up, the sun had given way to the moon outside the attic window. She groaned, glancing at the clock on her nightstand – 11:23. She had slept much longer than planned.

On her dresser, she found a plate of food with a note attached. Molly's messy handwriting read:

Goodnight. Eat.

Katia chuckled, appreciating the effort. The six-year-old left her some stale bread, peas, and what looked like meatloaf – something she wouldn't eat as a vegetarian. Although, she probably could considering there most likely wasn't any meat in it, to begin with.

Katia quietly enjoyed her meal while listening to music on her dad's old cassette player. When done, she sneaked downstairs to dispose of the plate, avoiding trouble. Not feeling tired anymore, she decided to get some fresh air – a decision that would prove to be a mistake. She grabbed her bag with mixtapes and headed outside.

Katia made her way to the back of the house. It was connected to a huge forest that seemed to go on forever. She had been in the forest numerous times, it was where she felt the closest to her dad and was the only place she could escape the Carters, especially the abandoned treehouse, a short walk away.

As the wind chilled her, Katia, armed with a flashlight borrowed from the shed, made her way to the treehouse, music playing in her ears. A sudden noise startled her, and she hesitated, calling out into the dark.

"Hello?" She called out.

No one answered.

"It's probably just the wind, Kat, chill." She said to herself and continued on her way.

Katia reached the treehouse only to catch a fleeting shadow, something that looked like a lion. Shoving her headphones into her bag, she climbed up, thinking if there was an animal it probably couldn't climb.

(She was wrong.)

A crashing sound signaled its presence – a creature resembling a lion, covered in yellowish fur from head to tail came crashing into the treehouse. Yet, it wasn't a lion. Katia could tell as it faced her, revealing a distinctly human head. A long tail extended behind it, resembling that of a scorpion, adorned with hundreds of spikes. Massive wings stretched out– so enormous that a mere flutter threatened to shake the entire forest.

Katia screamed.

The creature growled at her as she reached for the metal bat that she had, thankfully, left the last time she was there. She grabbed her bag and did the only sensible thing to do in these kinds of situations...she ran.

And boy, did she run.

This might have been the fastest Katia had ever run in her life — no, it was the fastest Katia had ever run in her life.

Dashing through the dark forest, illuminated only by the moon and her swinging flashlight, Katia encountered a narrow path. She hadn't been passed the treehouse before so she had no idea where it would lead.

The creature's growls became distant, but Katia didn't stop for a second. She cautiously moved through the endless amount of woods.

The growls began to echo again, closer this time. Panic surged through her veins as she quickened her pace.

Katia had no time to react when the monster suddenly lunged from the shadows, its claws narrowly missing Katia as she stumbled to the side. Adrenaline surged through her, and she sprinted faster.

The moonlight flickered through the trees as Katia dodged branches and roots, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. The monster's roars echoed around her.

Katia's heart pounded in her chest as she desperately searched for any sign of escape.

In the distance, Katia could see a faint glow. "Help!" She screamed. "Please!"

The monster, hearing her cries, came at her. Katia lost her balance and fell on her back. There were tears of fear coming out of her eyes.

The monster roared at her, its breath feeling like fire against her skin.

Katia's eyes closed, excepting her fate.

Here I come, Dad.

But the moment never came.

Instead, she heard the monster whimper. She opened her eyes to see arrows from behind her attacking it.

The last thing she heard was someone yelling, "Get Chiron." Before she passed out.

INEZ SPEAKS
i'm so excited for this book. i have like a million different ideas. it's gonna be so good.

lmk what you think! and please comment cause that gives me so much motivation!