The bell rang for the end of another day. Kouri sighed, her heart racing from the sound. Her head still lay on her backpack, having rudely been awakened from her nap. Last period lecture always did this to her. The teacher droned on about some political something or other that she had no interest in and when she closed her eyes...

She thought back to the dream she'd been having. In the few seconds of haze, there was someone, calling to her. The voice of someone she only recognized from countless dreams and even nightmares since she was a child. It seemed to age with her - but it was still the same person. Or so she thought.

She was always on the edge of a path, suddenly feeling a need to step off - to where she didn't know. Nothing but black lay before her. And every time she went to step, that's when they called out. It was always ethereal. A warped tone, always a few steps behind. Sometimes, she'd turn to find a hand reaching out. More often, Kouri would turn to a fork in the road, the echo of the voice so far that she couldn't tell which direction to go.

She never made it down either path before waking up. This nap was no exception. But...it was different. The voice, this time, had whispered something different.

"I'll see you soon."

Kouri stood and gathered her things, wondering if that meant anything. It was new. It was different. She'd never actually seen the person who had said her name. Despite herself, she smiled in her cardigan sleeve as she stepped toward her locker.

She never really smiled at much. Her typical nature was stoic and she liked it that way. No one at her school really spoke to her, nor did she reach out to them.

This had been the fourth school for Kouri since she was 12. At the age of 16, she had gone from being shy to just not caring what others thought of her or who she might give any interest in if she were leaving again. She'd been at this private school for about six months and had moved in during the middle of the school year.

Valkyrie Prep in dreary the dreary Oregon peninsula wasn't so awful, she considered. It was rainy, dark, and rarely ever bright and sunny. Most days were cool enough that she could dress her pale, thin frame in a bulky sweater over her uniform.

As she trudged across the lawn in her water togs toward her dorm room before dinner, she glanced toward a group of girls forming a large cluster in front of her. She grimaced, not wanting to step through them, not wanting all of their screeching and awing to being so close to her already sensitive ears. If she didn't need to grab her texts for a math test, she might have considered heading for the library instead.

But then, something halted her. A voice.

THAT voice.

"Please," he pleaded, coming closer. "Let me through - don't touch me there!"

A boy, about 6-foot-tall and dark, shaggy hair, stepped through the crowd, stumbling as a girl grabbed at his leg to pull him back. He glanced and Kouri met his gaze in shock. Her knees began to shake and her breath caught in a gasp.

Everything went black.

And voice called her name.