Curse of the Oak

Chapter Seven

Never in her life did Des ever think she would be gambling with the idea of an ancient legend possibly being true. Even after experiencing strange dreams, and evidence from her mother's journal. If she could look at herself now, there would be a padded room calling her name, which included a strait jacket as well. But here she is, planning to drive out to Windsor Forest and wait with Griffin to see if the legend of Herne truly exists, or if her mother was just as mad as the town.

Des zipped up her jacket, pulling the hood over her golden hair and grabbed her pack from the corner. It wasn't like she needed permission to leave the house, or to even sneak out of the house. Her dad would never know, but her Nan was a different story. Always popping in at odd times, most likely spying on the youth, seeing what trouble she was up too.

Although, tonight she didn't stop by the house. There was not even a phone call made, nor text to ask about her day, or to scold her for skipping. Des smiled, thanking Lucy for her discreetly silence.

Des checked the clock on the wall, showing half past eleven. Griffin should be pulling up any minute, dragging her on another mission that would get them into trouble. She knew that she was acting like the crazy person in horror films, running into the room where the killer was hiding, waiting to gut her like a fish.

She made her way down the stair, Oscar lounging by the door as if he was trying to persuade her to stay, making her rethink her decision in the first place.

Scratching just behind his ear, she picked up the hefty feline and went in the kitchen to grab some water. Des placed Oscar by his food bowl giving him an extra can of food as a favor to silence him about her little adventure she was about to partake in.

Grabbing some bottles of water from the fridge and some protein bars, she then made her way to the front door, where Griffin's truck sat waiting for her. As she was locking the house, she could hear the purr of the engine, letting it calm the anxiety building up inside her.

After firmly locking the door, she gazed up toward the night and saw the moon at its crescent. The time for a celestial event to come forth in this time of need. Or even to destroy the land people had come to take advantage of. She remembered Lucy speaking of it last week, relating the information of the moon's significance to life on Earth.

She peered just to the tree, hoping to see the owl slumbering away to dreams of the night, like she wanted to do. But she didn't see it. The owl had been there for years, sleeping next to her, watching over her as a guardian.

Maybe it knew of her mischievous deeds to sneaking away in the night.

Or it was just an animal hunting in the night.

Des opened the door, frozen in a state of terror after gawking at Griffin. He was no longer wearing his usual clothes of joggers and hoodi, but instead covered in solid black silky material. It was skin tight on him, layering him like a second skin, showing off his muscles and body shape.

She was so delighted to discover him wearing black pants to cover the bottom half of the outfit.

"What are you wearing?" she asked, too stunned to go on.

"Do you like it?" Griffin asked, running his hands down the suit. "I just ordered it off the computer. It's a new geothermal suit that military uses to hide when they're on secret missions. And it supposedly blocks heat signatures. Cool, right!"

Des was unsure how to answer, seeing Griffin play along this game of a stake out amused her. But it also made her question Griffin's state of mind, even if he was playing along.

"It sounds expensive to me," Des commented, not wanting to upset him.

"Just something else for mom and dad to pay for," Griffin shrugged. Griffin spent his parents' money on many useful things, mainly donating to charity. Although, he did spend some of it on toys and gadgets.