Aliana walked through the brightly lit streets of Denver. She didn't know where she was going or what she hoped to find, but... she kept walking, hoping for some kind of clue.

The air grew brisk as the sun dipped below the horizon. The lamps lighting the streets were buzzing softly.

Aliana hugged herself, rubbing her arms to keep feeling in them. She strode purposefully down the sidewalk although she had no clue what to do next.

Something murmured down the alley to her right.

She turned and stared intently, trying to make something out of the darkness.

The quiet whisper continued, mumbling words in another language. But... not Greek, because she couldn't understand it. Either way, it wasn't normal, which meant that was probably where she needed to go.

She sighed. Why couldn't this quest lead her somewhere pleasant? She turned and walked into the dark alley. She had a bad feeling about this, meaning she was on the right track.

The temperature dropped dramatically as she continued down the narrow alley until her breath plumed up in the air.

She shivered. No way was this natural.

The murmuring suddenly stopped. A menacing laugh echoed out of the shadows, raising the hairs on Aliana's arms.

"No." She breathed. "This isn't possible. I'm not asleep."

A familiar silky voice answered her from the dark. "You're right. You're very much awake." It chuckled. "But now, you're close enough to my realm that I don't need to wait for you to fall asleep." A group of shadows solidified into an unidentifiable mass. "You're mine."

Aliana stumbled back, drawing her venomous dagger desperately.

The voice laughed. "That won't help you. You may not be asleep, but I'm still in your head."

A black tendril shot out of the dark and slapped her against the brick side of the alley.

The knife flew from her grip and she felt her ribs crack. She slowly rose to her hands and knees. Every breath hurt. She forced herself painfully to her feet. "Go ahead!" She dared him. "Kill me! I have nothing to live for."

He didn't answer.

"Finish it!" She cried in desperation, clutching her aching stomach tightly.

Another laugh resounded from the dark, quiet at first, but quickly gaining bravado. "Foolish Girl, I don't want you dead. I want you to suffer until you realize that you will help me."

She straightened, taking a deep breath to suppress her scream. "You'll have to do without, because there's no way I'm going to help you. I'll die before I do."

It released a long sigh that sounded more like a growl. "So be it."

A tendril lashed out and wrapped around her neck. Another wrapped around her chest, forcing the air from her lungs.

She tried to scream in pain, but she couldn't. The black tentacle cut off all air, all noise. She was helpless and dying. Her vision blurred, rimmed with black.

Light flashed across her sight line as she lost consciousness. The last thing she saw has a smudgy silhouette walking towards her.
* * *
The world faded back into existence as Aliana slowly roused. The first thing she noticed was a burning pain in her chest, then the light, then her strange surroundings. She sat bolt upright, immediately regretting it when a wave of pain pulsed through her body. The jolt made her cough, which only made it worse.

"Woah." A voice said beside her. "Easy there. You fractured most of your ribs."

Aliana looked at the speaker. He was a boy about her age with shaggy black hair and blue eyes that almost looked like an overcast sky. He smiled weakly at her, flashing his dimples. He had a splatter of freckles across his nose and cheeks.

"Where am I?" Aliana asked, staring the boy down.

"Well," he ran a hand through his thick hair. "I guess you could call it a hideout. Though, to be honest, it's just an abandoned apartment."

"I can tell." She examined the disheveled room. "Who are you?"

"Mason." He introduced. "The guy who saved you from... you know I'm not really sure."

Aliana scoffed. "Neither am I. I assume you couldn't see it."

"See what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly." She leaned back on her hands.

They sat awkwardly for a moment.

Aliana bit her bottom lip. "So... Mason," she waited for him to look at her. "why did you help me?"

He shrugged. "It was the right thing to do?"

"You sound so certain." She teased.

He chuckled. "Okay, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what I was doing there. Everything just sort of... happened."

"I know the feeling." She agreed. She squinted at him. "Are you a half-blood too?"

He half chuckled "Uh... no." He took a long breath. "But someone close to me is."

"Who?" Aliana asked.

"You... wouldn't know him." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Try me." Aliana challenged.

"Trust me." He assured. "You wouldn't." He stared at the floor.

"What happened to him?" She asked, noticing the sad look in his eyes.

Mason slowly met her gaze. "He's... gone."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath and blinked back what looked like tears. "But that was a long time ago. I just realized you haven't told me your name yet. Given everything I've revealed in the last five minutes, I think I've at least earned that."

She chuckled. "I would have to agree." She offered her hand. "I'm Aliana."

He clasped her hand, flashing a dimpled grin, and shook it. "It's nice to meet Aliana."

A/N
Hey! I probably could've uploaded this earlier, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to end the chapter here or not.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed.
-Cheshire