CRIMSON MOON

CHAPTER 1: THE EDGE OF THE DEAD ZONE

IRIS'S POV

The humming in my head is constant now. It isn't a normal headache. It feels like a swarm of bees is trapped inside my skull, vibrating against the bone. I lean my forehead against the cool metal of my locker, closing my eyes tight.

Every time I close them, I see him.

He stands in a world of shifting shadows and smoke. He is tall and powerful, but it’s his eyes that haunt me. They are molten gold, bright and burning, with tiny flecks of blood-red bleeding into the centers. He doesn't say a word. He just looks at me as if he knows me. As if he’s waiting for me.

"Iris? Hey, Iris! Are you still with me?"

I snap my eyes open. The bright lights of the school hallway feel like needles. My best friend, Lyra, is standing there with her eyebrows pulled together. She’s looking at me with that worried face she always makes lately.

"The dreams again?" she asks softly.

"The dreams, the images, the headaches... all of it," I mutter, rubbing my temples. I tuck a stray strand of my deep red hair behind my ear. It feels like my hair is too bright for this world, just like my eyes. They are traits I am beginning to get tired of. It pulls too many attention for my own good and attention is just not what I crave for in my life.

"I feel like my brain is vibrating, Lyra. It’s getting worse."

Lyra sighs and hooks her arm through mine, leading me toward the exit. "It’s been a long day. You need to clear your head. Let’s go to the playground. My treat on the snacks later."

I let her lead me out of the building. The fresh air helps a little, but the hum is still there, a low-frequency buzz in my blood. We walk toward the open field near the school playground. Most of the other students are heading to their cars or the gym for practice, but I just want to be away from the crowds.

Lyra pulls a small ball from her bag. She tosses it to me, and I catch it with a sharp thud against my palm. The physical sensation helps ground me.

"So," Lyra says, her voice turning playful. "Are we going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" I throw the ball back to her.

"Leo. The soccer captain. The guy who has been staring at the back of your head all through math class." Lyra catches the ball and grins. "He’s making his move, Iris. He’s practically begging for a chance to take you out. Why do you keep shutting him down?"

I catch the ball again. I look toward the school building and see Leo standing by the bleachers with his friends. He’s tall, athletic, and rich. He’s part of the 'Elite'—the group of kids who have everything. Money, status, and perfect futures.

"I’m just not interested, Lyra," I say, my voice flat.

"But why? He’s literally the most popular guy in school!"

"That’s the problem," I explain, tossing the ball back with a bit more force than I intended. "Look at him. Look at his world. Those people... they are the upper class. They live in a bubble of money and power. I don't belong in that world. I don't feel a spark with him. I don't feel a spark with anyone here."

I think about the man in my dreams. The golden eyes. Compared to that vision, Leo feels like a cardboard cutout.

"You’re too hard on yourself," Lyra says, catching the ball. "You’re beautiful, Iris. You’re smart. You could fit in anywhere if you just tried."

"I don't want to fit in," I mutter. "I just want the humming to stop."

We continue our game of catch for a few minutes. The rhythm is soothing. Throw. Catch. Throw. Catch. For a second, I almost feel like a normal girl having a normal afternoon.

Until the air turns cold.

"Look what we have here," a sharp, mean voice rings out.

My heart sinks. I don't have to look up to know who it is. Selene.

Selene walks toward us, flanked by her two best friends. She looks like a model, but her eyes are full of a poison she only saves for me. She hates that Leo looks at me. She hates that my hair is a color she can’t buy in a bottle.

"Playing catch? How cute," Selene sneers, stopping just a few feet away. "I didn't know the school allowed freaks to use the playground after hours."

"We’re just leaving, Selene," I say, stepping forward to grab the ball from Lyra. "We don't want any trouble."

"Too late for that," Selene says. She moves fast, stepping into my personal space. She reaches out and grabs the silver locket hanging around my neck. "What’s this? A little treasure?"

"Give it back," I say, my voice low and dangerous. My headache spikes, a sharp needle of pain behind my eyes. "That belongs to my parents. It’s all I have left."

"Oh, poor little orphan," Selene mocks. She yanks the locket, the thin chain snapping with a clean pop.

"Selene, stop it!" Lyra shouts, trying to move toward us, but Selene’s friends block her way.

Selene holds the locket up, letting it dangle in the air. "You want this? You think you’re so special because you have those weird eyes and that freakish hair? You’re nothing, Iris."

She looks toward the edge of the playground, where the manicured grass meets the thick, tangled wall of trees. The Dead Zone. No one goes in there. It’s a place of shadows and old stories that make people's skin crawl.

"If you want it so bad," Selene says, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "Go get it."

She flings her arm back and tosses the locket. It sails through the air, a glint of silver against the gray sky, and disappears into the dark canopy of the woods.

"No!" I scream.

Selene laughs, a high-pitched, cruel sound. "Have fun, Iris. Hope you find it before the sun goes down. I hear things like to eat freaks in there."

She and her friends turn and walk away, leaving a stunned silence behind them.

"Iris, don't," Lyra says, grabbing my arm. Her voice is shaking. "Forget the locket. It’s just metal. We can buy you a new one. Don't go in there. It’s the Dead Zone, Iris. Everyone knows it’s not safe."

I look at the dark line of trees. I can feel the humming in my head reaching a fever pitch. It’s almost as if the woods are calling to the vibration in my blood.

"It’s not just metal, Lyra," I say, my voice trembling with rage. "It’s my mother’s. I’m not leaving it."

I pull my arm away from her. I don't look back as I walk toward the trees. I can hear Lyra calling my name, her voice full of fear, telling me to come back. But I can't. The anger is boiling over, and for the first time, I don't want to suppress it.

I reach the treeline. The air is different here. It’s heavy and smells like damp earth and something ancient. The light seems to fade the moment I step under the first branch.

I push through the thicket, my eyes searching the ground. The branches scratch at my arms, but I don't care. I have to find it.

I go deeper. The sounds of the playground disappear. The silence is absolute. It’s just me and the hum in my head, which is now so loud it feels like a roar.

I see a silver glint between two twisted, gray branches.

"Found you," I whisper.

I reach out, my fingers trembling as I move toward the locket. But as my hand gets closer, the air begins to ripple like water. A cold, electric shock runs up my arm, and the ground beneath my feet feels like it’s no longer there.

The world behind me tears open like a bleeding wound, and before I can even scream, the shadows swallow me whole.