𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬

Chapter 1

A crescent moon hangs low over the quiet town of Union, her beams illuminating the rustling grass in a light blue hue. No candles or torches can be seen tonight. The townspeople have retired rather early, it seems...

But from the loft of the Fier home comes a burst of lamplight. One...two...three.

In the window of the house across the way comes a similar pattern. A code.

When the signal is finished, Sarah Fier smiles to herself, the moonlight casting a glow on her face. She quietly tiptoes downstairs, making sure that her younger brother Henry and her father don't see her sneaking out.

The back door gives a horrifying creak as she slowly closes it. Sarah crouches down in the shadows and holds her breath for a few seconds. Seconds that seem like forever as her heart pounds like a drum in her chest. Only when she is sure she cannot hear footsteps from inside does she exhale.

With a bit more carefulness than before, she takes off to the woods. The cold grass feels good against her bare, dirt covered feet.

Only the bits of moonlight that poke through the trees allow her to see where she is going. This is not the first time that she has snuck out before, so she knows exactly where she is headed. But there is always the sneaking suspension that someone or something is watching her in the night-

" BOO!" comes a voice from behind her and Sarah feels a pair of hands grab her shoulders. She whips around and pulls out her knife that she keeps underneath her shawl for times like these.

" Woah there!" the voice says again and somehow this time Sarah is able to recognize it. " Go easy on me, Sarah!"

Sarah sighs as she puts her knife back in its sheath. " Isaac, you blundering fool!" she says with a laugh. " I could have killed you."

You can see half of Isaac's big grin in the moonlight, the rest of it is shadowed. The boy apparently thinks nothing of the danger he could have been in. He just laughs it off, as always.

A rustle comes from behind him and they are soon joined by Lizzie and Abigail. Luckily, they were smart enough to bring a lantern. Sarah and Isaac have to cover their eyes in its bright glow.

" I see you've found her," Abigail says as she dims the light a bit.

" He almost found the blade of my knife, too." Sarah tells her with a bit of a chuckle. Then she turns to Lizzie. " So...does a full moon rise before night fall?"

Lizzie smirks as she holds up her shawl to reveal a jug of applejack under arm. " It's a good night to enjoy the fruit of the land."

Isaac gives a cheer and the girls tell him to quiet down or else they'll get caught.

" Way out here in the woods? Unlikely."

They begin to trek to their familiar spot that they come to on nights like these. When they can no longer contain their wild young spirits anymore. When the hardships of this new world become almost too much to bare. The woods call to them.

They are nearly there when Sarah stops them in their tracks. " Do you hear that?" she says as the sound of footsteps that aren't theirs crunch on dead leaves. All of a sudden, it stops.

The teenagers stand there in a petrified silence. Lizzie clutches onto the bottle of applejack and Sarah places a hand on her knife.

Abigail pushes Isaac forward. " Go see who it is." she tells him.

" Me?" he says. Seeing that the girls will not be moved, he takes the lantern from Abigail and slowly steps towards where the noise had came from.

" Oi! Anyone there?"

Silence.

" If that's you following us again, Thomas, I'll beat the bloody lights out of ya!"

The footsteps start up again, coming directly for them. None of them know who or what exactly to expect, but each of them pray that they will not be punished too harshly.

Sarah now has a firm grip on her knife. She fingers the grooves on its leather handle and feels the coldness of its blade.

When the figure finally comes into the light, they let out a sigh of relief to see that it is just a girl. She has long hair the color of honey, rosy cheeks, and an embarrassed smile on her face. The lantern and moon light combine to create a heavenly glow around her.

Sarah could almost swear that it is an angel before her instead of a girl.

" Holy Hannah Miller?" the dark haired girl says with a wonderfully surprised smile.