1 year later

I felt the familiar feeling of car sickness curling in my stomach as the ancient car drove over the cliffs of southern London.

I glanced at my reflection in glass of the window, frowning at the pale girl I saw within. The contrast of colours between my hair and skin reminded me of the moon nestled into the night sky.

But that wasn't what bothered me. It was my eyes—obsidian ringed with gold— that were surrounded by light bruises, proof of countless sleepless nights. They had long ago lost the spark of happiness, and bringing it back had only become a wish in the last month.

Looking past my enervated reflection, the panorama was a gorgeous expanse of glittery blue, summer finally washing away the choppy, dark waves of the London coast. The sun was out from behind the clouds, casting rays of light and flashing shadows across the ground.

I twisted in my seat, swivelling to face a grinning Kaylee Clarke, who was occupying the driver's seat, humming in time to the radio.

Her long, brown hair was tied back into a neat, cheerleader's high ponytail. A spray of light freckles were sprinkled across her nose, and that combined with her unusual London tan was proof of hours in the sun.

"Are we there yet?" I whined at Kaylee.

"Clearly not," she replied, without even flickering a glance my way.

I sighed at her comment, adding a roll of my eyes for good measure. "You know what I mean, Kay! How far away are we?"

Kaylee's hazel eyes darted my way, acknowledging me, before examining a nearby sign. "Nope. A few hours? At most."

"Ugh!" I groaned.

"Hey, it's not that bad is it? At least you've got me to talk to!" she protested, her trademark chirpy voice.

Kay made even the most sombre sentences sound happy, cheerful; that was something I'd needed after my father's death. Happiness was treasured, and laughter only came in the rarest of moments.

Kaylee had changed that, bringing me out of the endless dark pit of anger, horror and despair. I had finally bounced back in the few weeks I'd been in London, tucking my grief away instead of letting it rule my life.

"Talking to you sucks, Kay," I joked, grinning at her face, which was open and gaping like a fish.

"Hey!" she said, lightly slapping my arm.

Talking to Kaylee wasn't awful, but the long-standing inside joke between us said otherwise. Kaylee's popularity was unquestionable, whereas I was only even regarded in the tight-knit social ladder because of our friendship.

"I am stellar company, hon," Kaylee said seriously, though a small smile played about her lips. "You should be forever grateful that I bless you with my presence."

I feigned doubt, causing her to glare at me. "You have some uses, I suppose..." I considered, laughing, although it was true. Kaylee was filthy rich, and I hadn't even known the extent of her wealth until recently. She claimed that she hadn't wanted people to befriend her because of her luxurious bedroom; she wanted to be liked for her personality.

"Hey!" Kaylee slapped me again, with enough force that I winced. "I am an awesome person, unlike you, who doesn't even know the meaning of the word."

"That you are, my friend," I said, raising my arm in a mock toast. "But I have to disagree on the second count."

"Whatever." Kaylee agreed, satisfied. My childish humour had rubbed off on her, making name-calling and teasing a common pass time to be enjoyed.

My phone's ringtone sounded, so I held up my index finger at Kaylee, indicating her to hold on a minute and I accepted my mother's call.

"Hey darling," mum's voice echoed on the other side of the phone. In the background I could hear light music, the soft classical album she loved. I always pretended to hate it, but secretly I found the music beautiful. All light, airy notes and soft twinkling of pianos.

"Hey," I replied, casually.

"How's the road trip?" she asked, nervously.

"Fine," I said, frowning. Her behaviour was curious enough to warrant suspicion, tone of voice suggesting something wasn't right.

Although some may call my wariness an overreaction, my mother was prone to releasing bombshells, whether they made me furious or upset.

"Um... If you need anything, you will call me. Right?" Although it was a motherly question, her undertone suggested desperation.

"Of course, mum," I said, beginning to worry.

"And... Don't mention that day, Kat. To anyone, okay? Remember that what you saw..."

Anger bubbled in my throat as I hung up the phone, throwing it at the floor in frustration. I couldn't believe that she was actually going to mention that day to me. The day she lied about.

Mum told me that what I saw wasn't real, that the monster was a fragment of my imagination, and the doctor's put the hallucination down to hysteria. But the thin scar along my forearm from where the creature had scratched me proved otherwise.

Mum claimed dad died from a heart attack. After the funeral, at which only strangers whom I'd never met showed up to, mum moved us to London.

I rubbed at the spot between my eyebrows, blowing at a stray strand of hair angrily. I wound down the window, letting the cool air caress my face.

"Kat? What'd she say?" Kaylee asked.

I mumbled a muffled response, something in between, 'it's fine' and 'don't worry'.

The wind coming through the window wasn't enough to drown the inevitable heat sizzling in my body. At first I put it down to anger, but pain built up, stabbing me with a million invisible knifes. I suddenly felt claustrophobic, the metal walls of the car closing around me.

"You okay?" Kaylee asked, her voice clouded with worry.

I barely heard her. An unimaginable pressure was gathering in my head, my thoughts whisked away like autumn leaves to make room for the pain. I doubled over as my stomach curled into tight cramps.

I didn't cry, but I did let out a piercing scream, pain flowing freely through me, coursing through my veins like a torturous, burning venom.

Kaylee must have pulled over, because the next thing I knew, I was on my knees, gravel pressing into my sore legs hard enough to leave an imprint.

My breath came quickly, too quickly, and I exhaled hard, in and out, as if breathing would take away the pain. My lungs almost burst with the effort of drawing breath. The pain intensified, going from a poisonous throb to a roaring fire.

I heard Kaylee's voice, as if through water. "Hyperventilating—." Her voice cut out, drowning, and all I could hear was my own unsteady heart beating.

The warm summer sun morphed into a blazing heat, scorching me. My only thought was that I was dying; the only possible explanation for the pain.

And that's what it was. Pain, pain, pain. Pain in its purest form. Darkness blossomed at the edges of my vision, a hazy cloud of black that cursed me with the inability to see.

I was aware that I was now lying down, writhing on the floor. Time meant everything and nothing; each second a treasured gift and an agonising curse. I wanted it to be over, to slip into the bliss of nothingness, but I also wanted to live, that much I knew.

I felt bitter wind rushing at my sides, pinpricks of icy air unable to penetrate the unbearable heat surrounding my weak, shaky frame.

I felt hands underneath convulsing torso, lifting me up. My head spun at an alarming pace, a tornado of agony, whirling at an uncontrollable pace.

It felt like I'd been through into a volcano, whilst someone was cutting me apart, piece by piece.

I felt the pressure underneath my arms dissipate, and I knew I was in Kay's car, hopefully on the way to a hospital.

The minutes dragged out into eternities, and Kaylee's reassurances were lost in the roar of sound that accompanied the aches in every inch of my body.

My head pounded, throbbing, and I heard a small voice in my head whispering my name, over and over. "Kaitlyn Black. Kaitlyn Black. Kaitlyn Black."

The whispers rose, ever louder, thousands of unearthly wails screeching my name in perfect sync. My own broken voice added to the noise, pain coming out of my mouth in whimpers, the only noise I was able to form.

The pain began to build up, dancing through my blood in an excruciating waltz, every second speed building up. As the pain reached its pinnacle, I let out a window-shattering scream.

Then came the release.

#

The pain flooded out like water in a dam, the initial draining fast, the aftermath not so much.

My headache subsided, leaving me shaky and weak, the thought of the heat pounded into my mind. I could still feel the ghost of the pain on my skin, my mind unable to shake the memory.

The darkness parted in swishing waves, colourful smudges morphing into actual objects.

Kaylee's face swam into vision, the memory of tears tracks on her cheeks like snail tracks and her face a picture of fear. She was bent over me, biting her lip, waiting for signs of life.

I smiled at her, weakly, and she hiccupped with wide eyes. "Oh my god, Kat! You were... You were dying!"

Her voice was barely audible, quiet with an uncontrollable pitch that seemed to be climbing with every word. She was sobbing now, her tears wetting me as they fell unceremoniously. She wiped at them furiously, but they kept falling.

"I'm fine, Kay," I whispered, lying. I was left emotionally and physically damaged. Mentally, I was okay, which I guess prevented my half-hearted answer from being a downright lie.

"Oh, Kat!" She hugged me tightly, sending a shoot of pain across my back. I returned the hug, somewhat awkwardly from my position lying across the back seat of the car.

"Sorry," she muttered, when she caught my wince.

"Where are we?" I asked, elevating myself up onto my elbows in a futile attempt to sit up.

"I had to pull over, Kat. I'm so sorry. I wanted to get you to a hospital, but the car stopped working." Her face contorted, and she pushed me lightly back to lying down. "God, Kat. What happened to you?"

I shut my eyes rubbing my hands over my face and savouring the coolness in my palms.

I surveyed the area, hoping to find something other than the dusty road and cliff we'd been travelling on for hours. No luck.

"I'm not sure. I just... I've never been in so much pain before and I... It was like..." I broke off, not wanting to tell Kaylee everything, not wanting to tell her about the anger that I was positive caused the pain.

"It's okay, Kat," she said. "You'll be fine."

"I know," I whispered. "I just... That pain doesn't come from nowhere."

Kaylee nodded. "That's why we are going straight to a hospital. You have to be checked out."

"But the game!" I blurted. Now that the pain had vanished, lying in a hospital seemed too extreme, reckless, somehow. "We have to make the game! Kaylee, this is the biggest game of the year!"

Kaylee looked at me incredulous. "Your life is more important than a freaking volleyball game! You could have died, Kat."

I felt my eyes widen. "An hour? I thought I... I never thought I was out?"

Kaylee shook her head. I gasped, although it wasn't very amazing. I was shocked that Kaylee had to sit through that.

"What did you do, like, while I was out? Listen to Taylor Swift?" I joked, though I was still unsure about the time I was unconscious.

Kaylee giggled, but her laughter was short-lived. "No, Kat. I never left your side. I just... God, never do that again."

"I'll try to not almost die next time, sure."

My body still felt like it had recently been rolled over by a truck, but I sat up, much to Kaylee's disapproval.

"How will the car get going again?" I asked, my eyes flitting around the car briefly. "Let's get out of here."

"That works," Kaylee said. "And let's get you into the hospital."

I glared at her. "No, let's get to our volleyball game. Most important game of the year."

She gave me her pitiful puppy dog eyes, begging. "I don't want you to be hurt."

"I'm not," I lied.

She eventually gave in, much to my relief. "And don't tell anyone about what happened."

No emotion showed on her face, she only nodded monotonously. "Okay. I thought you would say that."

"Why did you think that?"

She looked at me with sadness, her hazel pupils darkening to a deep brown. "Because you would never allow anyone to see you as vulnerable."