Hungry eyes watch the inhabitants of the town eagerly, the dark hearts of their owner throbbing with anticipation. **There are so many possible targets to choose from...which one shall we try first?**

One pale, pallid hand strokes a gaunt chin. **The boy might prove interesting...he bears further watching.** A slow, predatory smile curves fleshy lips, showing tiny, pointed teeth. **For now, we wait, and watch. And when the time is right, we strike.**

((End interlude))

Victoria Evans finishes unpacking her suitcase and flops down on the single bed.

There isn't much on her side of the room; her school and gym uniforms hang neatly in the closet, next to a Boston Red Sox jacket and a selection of jeans and skirts. The desk is bare of anything save a stack of textbooks and a Hawthorne Academy binder.

She slides off the bed and looks out the window at the students moving to and fro on campus. **Do they know how lucky they are?** she thinks. **I'd give anything to be like them.**

She looks down at the delicate white hands with perfectly-tapered fingers that clench on the windowsill. She's hoping that this time, things will be different.

**Please, God, let this time be different.**

She's here.

I saw her on Move-In Day. I could feel the way she was stalking me, wanting to take my life away.

I'm not going to let her. What right does she have to come and take away everything I love?

I have to do something. I'm not going to let her take everything away from me. I just can't.

Why did she have to come back?