It was October—wet, cold, and dark. Everyone was excited for Halloween. I was too. For once, I got to wear a mask and hide my face. Most people at school considered me ugly. I got bullied constantly, called names, laughed at for things I couldn't change. My name is Mikhail Volkov. They always said my Russian accent sounded weird. I had friends, though. Dmitri, Nikolai, and Anya. Anya liked me, but I didn't feel the same way. I cared about her, sure, but more like a sister than anything else. Anyway, I was walking home from school one afternoon. Rain drizzled from the gray sky, and a thick fog rolled between the trees. The usual road I took home had been closed off, so I decided to cut through the forest instead. Big mistake. The deeper I went, the quieter everything became. The trees seemed taller somehow, their dark branches twisting overhead like crooked fingers. The fog swallowed the path behind me, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. Then I heard a noise. A crack. I froze. Another crack. Something was moving through the woods. My heart started pounding. I turned and ran. Branches scratched my face, mud splashed onto my shoes, and the sound behind me only seemed to get closer. Then my foot caught on a tree root. I hit the ground hard. Everything went black. I don't remember much after that. But when I finally opened my eyes, rain dripping from my hair, I realized I wasn't alone. A woman was leaning over me. No... Not a woman. A witch.