Evangeline Kail and Raina Sun were besties from the day they met. They did everything together. Evangeline loved Raina's parents and raina loved Evangeline's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kail were kind, but somewhat cautious of outspoken, dare-devilish Raina. There had been many incidents concerning Raina in which Evie had gotten hurt. They worried about the influence Raina had over their daughter. 

    And one final mistake was all they needed to pull the best friends apart

    It was that day, a beautiful spring afternoon. The two girls, only eight years old, were skipping through the town to the meadow. It was bright outside and the sun shone down on their red cheeks. 

    "Evie," said Raina. "Do you believe in witches?"

    "Yes, Mother says that they are haunting spirits that float around in the Dark Forest and kill anyone who sees them."

    "Hmm, are you sure. I was trying to go to bed last night but I heard my parents talking about my grandmother. Father said she was a witch, but Mother

corrected him and I'm glad she did because it's awfully rude to call people witches once you've never met them before."

    The girls reached a large tree with a swing attached. There was a small boy sitting on it. He had brown, curly hair and green eyes.

    "Who are you two?" he asked, looking up with his shy face.

    "Who are you?" said Raina. "Please get off, I want to push Evie on that swing."

    "I was here first," the boy retorted indignantly.

    "Yeah, but we want the swing now!" Raina yelled.

    "Ray," Evie started cautiously. "Ray, it's okay. We can come back later and play on it."

    "Yeah," the boy said. "Just leave me alone! Creep."

    Raina's eyes widened and she ran forward and pushed the boy off the swing. They both fell to the ground and Raina started to whack him in the face yelling, "Don't call me creep! You're a creep!"

    "Raina!" Evie shouted. Raina didn't stop. Evie ran to her friend and grabbed her arms to try and stop her. "Raina, please stop."

    Raina struggled and then shoved Evie backwards, "I have to teach this boy a lesson."

    "Stop!" the little boy pleaded, covering his hands with his face. "Please, or I'll tell my dad. He's the mayor."

    "The mayor!" Evie exclaimed. "Ray, get off him, we're going to get in so much trouble!"

    "Only if he tattles!" Raina said as she got up, staring at the boy angrily. The Mayor's son ran away.

    That night, Evie returned home to her parents stern glare. She shivered as her mother said, "Evangeline, guess who was here today?"

    "The Mayor?" Evie guessed as they both nodded. "I'm so sorry Mother, me and Raina were-"

    "Raina?" her mother exclaimed. "No wonder the Mayor's poor son got injured so badly."

    Her father stepped forward and said, "That's it! No more playing with her. She is obviously a bad influence and you have much better friends at school."

    "But-"

    "No," interjected her mother. "Our decision is final."

    They sent her to her room where Evie cried well into the night.

                                    .    .    .    .    .

    Sickness was everywhere. Evie was running back and forth from houses, the silly doctor's mask making her 

face sweaty. Her mother was hurriedly caring for one patient after another, but most died. The plague was spreading so fast that the small amount of doctors in the town couldn't get enough help to save the people. Evie and her mother had enlisted to care for others. They both knew what it was like to loose someone they loved to the plague. Evie's beloved father had been the first to die.

    "Evie!" her mother called, "Fetch Dr. Pilkar! There is something he may want to hear!"

         Evie immediately stopped what she was doing and ran out of the building. The Doctor's house wasn't far and she reached it as Dr. Pilkar's son opened the door.

    "Oh, Alexander, is your father here?"

    "What is it?" said Jaxon Pilkar as he stepped around Alexander.

    "My mom says that she found out something."

    Jaxon and Evie rushed back to the building where Mrs.Kail was covering a dead woman with a blanket. "Oh, Jaxon, you're here!" she exclaimed. "This woman told me that her husband had been the second person to die, after . . . mine. But my husband was friends with this woman's husband so maybe he was infected by him. I asked her if he had touched anything or eaten anything that could have caused the plague and she told me that