It was my birthday, October 17. I turned 12 and was at the market with Suzana for the day. Nothing seemed odd at the time, but looking back at it I can remember some very specific things. Like how Mr. Natoshi wouldn't sell us a handmade doll saying that our interest would cause a curse to be placed on us. Or how Mrs. Sentiance had vanished that afternoon. Suzana had said that she had seen some strange men in cloaks walking through the allies of the marketplace.

It mustn't have taken long, because by the time that I got back home, which was only around 10 minutes later, I was empty-handed and there was a note on the door. I hadn't taken too much notice of the note and was too excited to tell Suzana about the presents that I had gotten from my parents and older siblings. I quickly made my way inside with the note in hand.

"Andorea! I see you have made it back safe and sound," my mother called.

"Yes, Mom! There was a note on the door," I called back.

"Oh? What does it say?"

"It says, Dear Andorea and Family,

I would like to wish you a happy birthday as well as warn you, there are people after you. People who wish you dead more than the Sentiance family. A prophecy will come true. We will find you. Your family of 17 will be dead by the end of the week we promise you. Your life is not truly yours.

Sincerely,

-Your Hunters"

I froze after reading the last line. Why were we being hunted? What did this have to do with the Sentiance family? I was aware of our family's feuds, but I was not aware that Mrs. Sentiance wanted something from us. I looked up at my mother, her face had paled and fear was in her chocolate eyes. I found myself losing to my thoughts. What did Suzana's family want from us? Sure we were considered as one of the higher familial groups in town, but so was Suzana's family. That was why I could be friends with her.

"Oh Andorea," My father's voice must have spooked my mother because she seemed to have jumped at least a foot up into the air.

"Yes Father," I called back.

"We got you a present!"

I could see what looked like a form of relief in my mother's eyes as my father spoke. I wasn't sure what they were talking about. Of course, I had at least one present. I always had a present.

"Come and open it right away Andorea!"

"Okay!"

When I walked over was a smallish box. It was wrapped in brown butcher paper. I looked up before looking back down and unwrapping the box. Inside the box was a loop of rope. I looked up confused at my father. What could a rope mean?

"It's a collar," My Father said unable to hold back a grin any longer.

"Like for a dog?"

"Yes! For a dog."

I couldn't help but smile. I had been asking my parents for a dog for years. Ever since I was 6 I was asking for a dog. My oldest brother Marvin came out holding a little white and brown spotted puppy. I grinned and hugged the little friend.

"What are you going to name him Andorea?"

I looked up at my brother and quietly I muttered the name that I thought fit him the most, "Singer"

Looking back on the memory I had set myself up for heartbreak and not the normal kind that people would think of when I say heartbreak. I never fell in love, probably never will, but that dog was my whole world and horrible things happened to that poor pup. Nothing however happened until later that day. I had once again left with Suzana to tell her all about the pup that I had just gotten. We weren't sure where we were going, just on that, we were wandering to talk. We weren't sure how long we had spent just chatting, but by the time that we were done, it was dark once again.

"Hey, Andorea how about we walk to your house today? Since you live closer to where we are right now," Suzana muttered.

"Okay that makes sense," I replied.

But when we made it to my house we saw a horrifying sight. There in the dark green grass, lying in a puddle of blood was Singer. There was a long cut down his stomach and his eyes were still wide open. The only thing I could feel was sadness. A breaking sadness that was overflowing my heart. I could barely hear Suzana walk away. The crunching of the grass under her feet seemed to make the situation so much worse. All I could hear for several seconds was the crunching of the grass echoing throughout my brain. I felt myself collapse to my knees with a sob. Behind me was an echoing laugh.

"So you are one of the chosen three. What a pathetic thing. Easy to crush. Even easier than that horrible Gnome. I will find her just as I have found you," the voice launched out from behind me and I could feel a cold breeze brush past me.

In front of me, the corpse of Singer started to fly up. Tentacles of darkness enveloped him and I passed out. When I woke all I heard was the sound of fire. Panicked I looked for Suzana but, as usual, she wasn't there. Looking back up at the burning remains of my house I stood up and took a deep breath before starting to walk over. Knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to salvage anything from the house I decided that I would try anyway. When I got to the house a gentle wind blew by. Black ashes flew from the burning wreck towards me before a larger piece of paper blew towards me as well. I couldn't help, but attempt to read what was on it.

"We will find you.... we promise you. Your life is not truly yours." The words on the burned paper brought the events of the day back to my mind.

Looking back at where I had come from, there was now no mark of Singer having ever been there. I took one more deep breath, causing me to burst into a long run of coughing. The moment I finished coughing I realized that the smoke hurt in my lungs I decided that it would probably be best to find the rest of my family before they got too terribly hurt. My steps seemed slow as I head around the front of the house looking for the rest of my family. All I could see was black smoke, burnt grass, and no people. I couldn't help but wonder why no one was coming to help. Taking a deep breath I headed to the back of the house. There I saw something that I have always wished that I could unsee. There in the backyard was my 14 siblings and my parents were laid down in a circle. There were large cuts across their stomachs and their livers were gone.

Once again the world around me turned dark and the same voice spoke out, "I will get you before He does."

I spun around trying to get a good view of the person behind the voice, but couldn't see anyone. As the darkness cleared I could see the gruesomeness that surrounded me. The grass was burned and there was blood everywhere, but in the middle of it all, there was a paper. Knowing what the note from that morning said I cautiously picked it up. On it was written

Dear Andorea,

It seems that we had just missed you yet again. However, seeing as you are proving difficult we will enjoy the chase. We hope that you will also enjoy the run. We will not be afraid to take out other targets along the way. Do not take this lightly as you are still our main target.

Be afraid,

Your Hunters

I took a sharp intake of breath and looked around. Who were these hunters and why were they hunting me and my family? What was it worth to them? Quickly banishing those questions I had to pull reality back to me. I was not safe, so I decided that the best course of action was to change my name and cut my hair. So I quickly thought of a name. I took a glance around me for ideas. All I could see was the burning house, the bodies of my family, and the wall of the village. That's when it came to me. All of my family was missing their livers so I was going to call myself Liver. I then had to figure out how to cut my hair. Taking a deep breath I took my first steps away from my family