Chapter 3

I won't mention what was exactly in the book, but it was definitely intriguing. The moment you opened it, the moment you set eyes on the first page, it sucked you in. You couldn't get out of it. You were stuck to the story, your whole mind focusing on it until you forgot everything that was going on around you.

'Excuse me girls, but the library is about to close, and I'm definitely not leaving you two in here alone!' a sharp voice screeched in my ear. I jumped and looked up. Ms Stone, the batty old librarian, was bending over me, her grey hair pulled back into a severe bun, her old reading glasses dangling precariously off her sharp nose, an annoyed expression on her face.

'Sorry. Uh... we'd like to borrow some books,' said Kay, gesturing vaguely. She got up slowly and Ms Stone clicked her tongue impatiently. Mad old bag. Kay gathered up the encyclos and books and Ms Stone headed off to the counter.

'Should we take it?' I whispered, picking up the leather bound book. Kay thought for a moment, then nodded. I stacked it on top of the stack of other books and we made our way after Ms Stone. She seperated all the books and stamped them like she was trying to stamp the life out of them. She re-stacked all the books and placed them in front of us, but she'd seemed to miss out the leather-bound one.

'Uh, Ms Stone, you forgot a book,' I said, pointing to it. Her eyes followed my finger and she frowned.

'Don't be silly, there's nothing there. I'm not in the mood for your foolish young pranks. Now, do you have anymore books or not?' she answered crossly.

I threw a curious look at Kay. She shrugged. We shook our heads and picked up all the heavy books, including the leather bound one. As we walked out into the sunlight, I fished it out of the pile, nearly causing a mini-book earthquake.

'Don't you think its' weird that Ms Stone couldn't see this?' I asked Kay while she struggled to gain control of her steadily wobbling pile. After getting it secure, she nodded. Then she shurgged. 'Maybe she needs new glasses,' she suggested, and laughed. We were about to cross the road when I grabbed Kay's arm. She turned to look at me. 'What? You need glasses too?' she asked.

I wasn't listening. Something was happening. The air around me was shivering slightly, like it was unstable. Then I saw it. I saw us, standing right where we were standing and there was a fast approaching car. And then a firl stood across the road. Her features were blurred, but I recognised her hair. Amanda. She saw me and ran. There was screech of tyres and I shut my eyes quickly, hardly daring to scream outright.

"Vick! What's up?' I heard Kay calling me. She sounded so far away. Gingerly, I opened my eyes. There was nothing in front of us. No car. No Amanda. I stared in amazement. Seriously, what had just happened? Kay shook me. 'You're all cold and shaky, Vick. You went all rigid and you were staring into space. What happened?'

'I... I would really like to know myself,' I replied shakily. "I-I saw Amanda... she was right in front of us, I swear. A-and there was a c-car....' my voice became unnturally high. Kay was staring at me like I'd gone mad. Then a look of agony crossed her face and she shut her eyes.

'Remember what we read? When something like this happens...' Kay took a deep breath. 'I think you've had a premonition.' Now it was my turn to stare blankly at her. Premonition. I read it in the book. Premonitions were never good news. They usually had something to do with death. Nobody could escape it once you'd had a premonition. But... why was I suddenly having them?

I saw a patch of black in the corner of my eye. No. It couldn't be. I wish to God that I was just dreaming. But I knew I wasn't. Amanda Jones stood directly across the road from us. 'Vicky!' she yelled happily, and started crossing the road to us. Kay and I dropped all the books and started flapping our hands at her, trying to make her go back. She stopped in the middle of the road, looking confused. She started backing away slowly.

I tried to make her go faster. 'Amanda! Go back! Qui-' My words were drowned by a screech of tyres. Amanda screamed. "Vickyyyyy.....!' I heard. It was the last thing we ever heard from her.

And to this day, I can still hear her voice screaming my name.