Murder Out By Caster Bridge

Prologue

If you had foretold me that today would be a living hell, I would have thought you were a mentally insane nut job and run you off into the next millennium if it meant you would get out of my life forever.

I'm not one to believe in fortune-tellers or prophets, but a part of me did wish someone would have warned me about today. If you had, maybe, just maybe, I would have listened and wouldn't be in this predicament. Then again, with my luck, this was probably bound to happen sooner or later because destiny or fate always had something up their sleeve to make my days miserable.

Oh, great, now my thoughts have gone off into a tangent. Then again, hiding out in this damp, cold, miserable cave all alone would probably do that to just about anyone. I didn't have much I could do except to look out at the miles and acres of desolate trees that were not only dead but looked like they had been burnt and charred by a massive fire of some kind. Could it have been that dragon? Was that why the grass looked black?

Speaking of dragon, that was the reason I was stuck hiding in here. The second I landed in this weird place, I was being pursued by a large gray dragon that had to weigh about eight hundred pounds or more because every time it stomped, the ground rumbled like a freaking earthquake. Even now, I could hear the dragon's roar, which hurt my ears. I've learned pretty quickly to run and hide instead of letting this monstrous creature turn me into a crisp or eat us up in one gulping swallow.

Why did I have to be here in the first place? This was a question that was running constantly through my mind.

I didn't do anything!

I was unwillingly brought here. One second my friend and I were investigating a strange door, and then the next thing I knew I was alone in this place and getting chased down by a dragon. Was this some kind of punishment for sticking my nose where it didn't belong?

I'm fighting hard to contain the jittery anxiousness inside me as I sit here restlessly listening to the roars and stomping, as well as my shaky breathing and chattering teeth.

How did I wind up in this unfortunate situation?

Well, it all began that Thursday morning.