In the Woods

Chapter 2

Lily kept squirming and slipping her hand into my hair all night. I probably got five hours of sleep at the most when I could have gotten ten. Finally, at around 6:00 am - two hours from when we were supposed to wake up - I had had enough.

"Lily, get up." I stood up out of the bed, immediately starting to shiver. "Good god, it's winter time in Oklahoma."

"I'll make you warm." Lily volunteered. "My and my pink teddy bear." She held him out for me to see. "Look! Gaze upon his cuteness, his adorableness, his..."

"Lily Elizabeth Anderson, I swear if you do not stop messing with me you're going to sleep on the couch." I threatened. I am not a morning person what so ever. Whoever thinks that I am is out of their minds. "And if you make a big fuss I'm telling John."

Lily shrank back onto the bed. "No, not Johhny!" She begged.

"I don't get it." I threw my hands up in the air. "Why do you even hate John so much? Wait... but you can't hate him, you follow him everywhere like a dog tracking steak."

"I don't hate him, I simply dislike him." Lily shivered. "He always creeps up on me and tickles me, and he's so creepy when he's mad! Just like Uncle James was." A look of horror crossed across her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of your dad..."

"Just go to sleep, Lills." I sighed and crawled into bed. It seemed like minutes until I was shaken awake... by John, of course.

"Get up! It's fifteen minutes past 8:00! Adia if you snap at me..." He looked annoyed at the early morning as well.

I stuck out my tongue at him andd went into the bathroom to get washed up and dressed. I could hear Lily's scream when she saw John as the first thing when she woke up.

I rolled my eyes - he's such a brother to her. I know she claims to dislike him, but she really loves him inside... she's just too young to hide it. I need to tell her security things before she's old enough to get a crush...

John bumped into me when I was coming out of the bathroom. "Oops... sorry!" He pretended to be Calin and flipped his hair. "Didn't see you there, beautiful."

I sighed. "John, stop teasing me."

He smirked. "No. I can get what I want from you with this guy."

"How did you know I like him anyway?" I asked, curiously.

"Well, I saw you blushing when he approached you over the summer, so I started teasing, you responded, and I knew."

I cursed under my breath. "Shouldn't have responded."

"But you did." John pointed out blankly. "Therefore, I know that you like Calin... and I also know you like Dillan."

"I do not!" I said, shocked.

"Actually, I didn't know that you liked Dillan until you responded..." John ran into the bathroom and locked the door before I could beat him up.

---

"Okay, okay, everyone in the car now!" Mom shouted, obviously a bit annoyed.

"Am I riding with Uncle Josh, or with you guys?" Lily asked.

"With us, Josh's car is full. Come on in, Lily." She lifted Lily and another girl - who's name was evidently Susan - into the car and started it.

The ride was beautiful. So much scenery and surprisingly, not many houses amongst the trees. It was so unpopulated, and the road so unused, that we often saw deer grazing. It made me momentarily sad that it all had to be torn down and the deer had to once again relocate.

Lily interrupted the silence. "Why are we going to the beach in the spring?" She asked, curiosity spiking her voice, making it even higher than it already was.

"Because the beach is the only place where it's warm." My mom replied tiredly, as if fed up with answering the same question over and over again. Finally, we arrived at the beach.

"We're at the beach!" I yelled, turning a few cartweels down the sand.

John tackled me and I got a faceful of towels as the bag he was carrying emptied out on me. I pushed him aside and starting shaking out the towels and folded them, putting them neatly in the bag before turning back to mom.

"Can we go into the water?" I begged. "Please, mom?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Wait for John and Lily, and only go where it's safe, I'm not having a shark episode."

I sat on the grass and rolled my eyes. Ever since Mom saw Jaws she's been paranoid at beaches.

Finally, John and Lily were ready and we were able to race down to the sea. I spotted something weird among the trees, but I shrugged it off and decided to investigate...later.

I tripped and fell headlong into a wave. John pretended - and failed - to walk on the wave and went under, pulling me down more in able to get up.

I looked around underwater and was absolutely astounded. The fish swimming around me tickled my feet, and when one got stuck in my hair I had to gently lift it out. It was all slimy and slippery, and I wiped my hands on some seaweed before remembering one thing:

I couldn't breathe. Like, at all. The sides of my vision were already becoming black. I swam up to the top and got a few breathes before a big wave made me go under again. Finally, I got back to the shore.

"What was it like out there?" Susan asked me. She's afraid of the sea, so she never goes swimming.

"It was great!" I said, grabbing a towel from Mom's bag so I could dry off. "You should go."

"No!" She said, wide-eyed. "I'm never going in there! It's too big."

"Suit yourself." I shrugged. I lied down on the sand, rolled up in the towel, and went to sleep.

***

I woke up to the sound of laughter. I sat up and looked at my legs in horror. I had been buried in sand!

I combed it out of my hair and spotted Lily and John in the water, laughing and pointing at me.

"Well, at least they bonded." I grumbled, getting all the sand out of my hair and growling at them.

I walked towards them, sighing. "Really guys?"

"We're going on a treasure hunt in the woods with Aunt Rosa and Uncle Josh, you coming?" Lily chirped, splashing me with water.

I shrugged. "Heck, why not?

Mom and Uncle Josh had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and we did the same. We all walked into the forest, laughing and talking.

"Okay guys, so this is the first clue." Mom gestured to some claw marks on a tree. "Don't worry, Josh went through all of this before we came in."

I ran my hands over the marks on the tree, marveling at the definition of each one. We kept going.

"The split rocks." Mom pointed and handed John the map.

"We're getting closer!" John exclaimed. "Look, there are the five palm trees... and the pillar of sand... and..."

"Wait." I said suddenly. "What's that sound?"

There were noises all around us as we walked right into a clearing. The sun was setting, and casting strange shadows on the tees around us - shadows of wolves.

"Run!" John screamed, and everyone ran back the way they came. I ended up being the last of the party as we ran back to the beach, and I could hear feet behind us. Finally, something struck me hard on my back and I fell. No one heard or saw me fall, as I was the last in line. Everyone disappeared behind a few trees, and then all I saw was darkness. The last thing I heard was a howl.