UPDATED : Accidentally skipped a chapter, so I added it here :)

When I woke up, my body ached slightly, but it was a blissful relief from the night before. The memories were hazy, as though I was drunk the whole time or something. I reached over and checked my phone, shocked when I saw it was almost midday.

Sighing, I sat up and got out of bed. My wrist felt light, and I noticed that weird rock Daniels taped there was gone. I'd had to ask someone what that was... It could be a real life saver for people with chronic pain.

Talking about chronic pain, what the hell happened yesterday? It slowly dawned on me that out of all the weird, unexplainable things that happened in this town, that had got to be the weirdest. What kind of school puts its students into lockdown without telling them why? Why was I in so much pain but with no physical injuries or any particular reason, and no one thought it would be a good idea to take me to a hospital? Why did a bloody rock stop the pain?

Why did Levi come looking for me?

Why did he look like he'd just come from a battlefield?

I padded down the hallway, rubbing my eyes at the bright light.

"Oh," I stopped, blinking in a moment of confusion. There were a lot of people in our living room.

Levi was on his feet immediately, startling me. Estelle tugged him down slightly, giving him a hard look. He looked at her, breathing deeply, then sat back down. I frowned - the gash on Levi's cheek was gone, and he didn't seem like he was suffering from a chest wound. Maybe I was hallucinating yesterday...

About seven other people stared back at me in a moment that truly defined the word awkward.

"You're awake," a voice from behind me said. Alex. He pushed past me slightly, looking at me intently. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine..." I trailed, very confused. "What's going on here?"

Alex averted my eyes. "Just some visitors coming to check on the patient. You sure know how to get sick, don't you." He laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood, but I knew him well enough to hear the slight dishonesty in his words.

I narrowed my eyes, looking back at the group of people. Aside from Levi and Estelle, I didn't even know the names of the others. There was no way they were checking up on me.

"Are you going to introduce me to my concerned visitors?" I asked sarcastically.

"Right, uh. Danni, these are Kyle, Harry, Dylan, Reed, Patrick and Cole. Cole and Harry are in your year, and the others Levi went to school with." The guys nodded solemnly at me, one or two offering a smile, but other than that they seemed pretty serious. But at the same time, they were almost...respectful? It was hard to explain, but they were giving off some strange vibes.

"Well nice to meet you. Thanks for coming, I guess...."

I looked over to Levi and Estelle, who were engaged in a very intense staring match. Levi looked restless, like he needed to go run a few miles. Estelle looked exhausted, but determined.

"So um," I said in an attempt to break the awkward silence. I was still standing in the doorway, and felt quite exposed in my pajama shorts and singlet. I wondered how I had gotten into them. Please let it have been Estelle. "Does anyone know what happened to me yesterday? What happened at the school, why we were on lockdown?"

The room got ten level more tense. Looks were exchanged, throats were cleared. Everyone avoided my eyes.

When no one answered, I kept talking. Maybe if I kept pushing someone would break and tell me the secret I knew they were all keeping. "I don't remember much, but I do recall Daniels calling it an alpha phenomenon. Anyone know what that means?"

Estelle stood up. "I think we should go get you cleaned up, you must be dying for a shower."

I ignored her. "I guess I could google it. God knows what it could mean though."

"Danni..." Alex trailed, pleadingly. "Please. We'll discuss this later."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I'm so sick of everyone running around with some secret explanation of the crazy stuff that happens in this place! Why can't I know? What could it possibly be? Are you running a drug organisation? Are you undercover in witness protection? Are you all bloody vampires?" I ranted, getting more and more angry as my frustrations boiled to the surface. Things, unexplainable things, were happening to my body constantly and I knew they all knew what was going on.

"I think we should go," one of the guys cleared his throat, looking at Levi.

I threw my hands in the air. "Of course you do. Tell me! What is it!?"

The guy, Patrick I think, visibly paled. "Is that an order?"

I glanced at him, my anger turning into confusion again. "What?"

Patrick looked at Levi pleadingly, who shook his head slightly. Exhaling, Patrick slumped back into the sofa, running a hand through his hair.

"Levi I think you should just-" another one of the guys was cut short by a cold look from Levi. The look on his face was so dark that it almost scared me. I lost a bit of my confidence from the outburst, beginning to feel like a petulant child.

Levi looked at me from his seat across the room, his face clearing. "Danielle, please, calm down." His voice was soothing, and although I wanted to fight it and be mad at him for participating in this patronising group and for being one of the biggest sources of confusion, I found it hard to ignore. Impossible even. It was like his voice alone was able to calm me.

"I don't want to calm down, I just want to know the truth." My voice had lost its determination though, and I just sounded hurt now. Pathetic really.

I couldn't bear to be in that room anymore. "I'm going for a walk." Not waiting for anyone's response, because I was 18 and perfectly capable of taking myself for a walk, I left the room. Grabbing my coat and slipping on some shoes, I left the house and headed up the long driveway.

A short time later, I heard feet pounding up the gravel behind me. Groaning, I was ready to tell Alex to just leave me alone, but it wasn't Alex.

Levi jogged up to me, his beautiful face unreadable. "It's not safe to be out alone." He fell into stride with me. I wanted to tell him to go away, but my body wouldn't let me.

"How am I meant to know that if no one tells me anything?" I didn't want to sound so sad, I wanted to sound nonchalant and calm, but my voice broke slightly. I ducked my face, not wanting Levi to see me like that.

"Hey," he stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. He carefully reached over and tipped my chin up, forcing me to look at him. His face was so open and the intensity of the look he was giving me was scary. "You have to know it's for your own safety."

"I feel so much more unsafe being in the dark. At anytime, something unexplainable can happen to me, and no one will ever tell me what or why. I know you all know what's going on."

His hand traced to the top of my head, and back down my cheek, brushing a strand of hair back, making it very difficult for me to concentrate on what I was saying.

"I know it's hard, I'm so sorry it has to be this way," he almost whispered, his eyes never leaving mine. It was a wonder I was able to stand. I was frozen for a moment, but too angry to remain that way.

"It doesn't have to be!" I exclaimed in frustration. "Whatever it is, I can handle it. I can maybe even help."

His lips turned up into a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You can help by keeping yourself safe."

This was going nowhere. "That's not enough. I can't... I can't do this, I can't talk to you all like this." Using all the strength I could muster, I pulled myself out of his magnetic hold and kept walking. I got a few steps away, then a small part of me remembered the whole safety thing, so I spun around and ran back to the house. Levi let me go. I'm sure he could have caught up to me, but he let me go.

--

By the time I calmed down and realised that running away probably wasn't the most mature way to handle my problems, I was too embarrassed to leave my room. I'd acted like a child and I didn't know for sure if all those people were still in our house. I really didn't want to face them.

So I had a big dinner of half a packet of crackers and spent the rest of the evening tossing and turning in bed, trying to figure everything out. Maybe if I'd stayed friends with Cara and Kimi, and stayed clear of Levi and Estelle, things wouldn't be so weird. I mean, I loved Estelle, and Levi was, well, Levi, but weird things seemed to happen when they were around.

I guess I eventually fell asleep, because when I next woke it was 3am.

But that wasn't the weird part.

No, the weird part was that I was standing in bare feet. In pajamas. In the middle of the forest.

But I'd somehow remembered to put my watch on?!

I gasped, jumping slightly as my feet registered how cold the forest floor was. How the hell had I gotten here?! I had absolutely no recollection of leaving my home, and walking for god knows how long to god knows where.

This is how I die. This is the premise for a cheap hollywood horror where every single female character dies. I'm the first to go. This is the end.

Breathing heavily, I began to run. In hindsight, figuring out a direction would have been good, but I kept running straight ahead. My heart was racing and I was making a lot of noise, which was great for hiding from whatever predators roamed these woods.

Oh god. My blood ran cold as I remembered my last experience in the forest. A chill ran up my spine and I became almost paralysed with fear. I fell to the ground, searching frantically in the dim light. I could only see a few feet in front of me, which made it all that much worse.

I could hear noises, every crack and whistle sounded like something coming for me. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face, bracing myself.

Eventually, my rationality began to set in. There were two options - I could sit here and wait to be eaten, or I could make an effort to get out of the woods, and maybe die trying. Either way I would probably die, but at least I had a slim option of survival.

So I somehow got up and began walking slowly, my head constantly checking over my shoulder. I knew I shouldn't have played slenderman. Bad idea.

What felt like an eternity but was probably only five minutes of walking, I saw a faint light in the distance. Safety.

I got closer and closer, and it appeared to be the light of a fire. Who was lighting fires this deep in the woods? That was slightly ominous. I knew I must be deep in because of the suffocating silence and the density of the trees.

Sounds got louder as I got closer... voices? I could make out a few figures standing around the fire in a small clearing... Wait, that was more than a few. Squinting, I could see maybe 20 people standing around.

Alarm bells rang in my mind. What were 20 people doing in the middle of the forest, standing around a fire at 3am?

So of course I kept going. Until I was close enough to make out faces, through the flickering light of the fire.

Fighting back a gasp, I slammed myself behind a huge tree trunk as my eyes locked on the people.

I knew these people.

Four of them had been in my house earlier in the day, a few of them I'd seen around school and the rest looked eerily familiar.

What kind of a sick cult were they in?! That's what it had to be. I couldn't think of any other explanation. Some kind of devil worshipping cult... Oh god. These people had been in my house. What if they kidnapped me and took me into the woods?! What if I managed to escape and then passed out, and now I'm walking right back into their trap.

My hands shook as I ran them over my face. Calm down, Danielle. I could just turn around and keep walking in the direction I came from. Determined, I stood back up and snuck a glance around the tree back in their direction.

They looked like they were talking, I could hear voices but I couldn't quite make out the words. They didn't look like they were doing anything dangerous or evil, but I still felt unsettled.

My body was screaming at me to run, but something kept me standing there, watching. It must have been fate, or the universe taunting me, because what I saw explained everything yet explained nothing at all.

Three things happened at once.

Levi stepped out from the shadows and spoke to the group, his voice louder than the rest.

Five of the guys suddenly began running, lept into midair and were somehow, inexplicably replaced by fucking wolves.

I let out an ear piercing scream.