Monsters and the Ones They Hunt

Chapter Two

Nara ran a hand through her hair and then rubbed her nose, which was running. It had been bothering her all week from allergies. She let her cousins think that she was sniffling because she had been crying. It wasn't any of their business, either way.

    Aunt Marian passed her a packet of tissues and Nara considered her. They stood in the front hallway of her aunt's home, staring at the clock on the wall. It was eleven o'clock, and Nara's dad had promised to be here ten minutes ago. Aunt Marian checked her watch again as if it would show a different time.

    "For goodness sake." She muttered.

    "Maybe his car broke down." Nara offered lamely. Her heart wasn't in the argument.

    "Don't be ridiculous." Aunt Marian said. "He's just lazy and probably forgot to wake up.

"I'll wait outside, then. You don't have to stay with me."

    Nara had only half-trusted her father's offer to come live with him. But then he'd shown up to help her pack up her mom's place and all her things, and he'd bought them both plane tickets and asked about her favorite foods. He'd been generous and patient with her over the past week, so while Nara still felt as if there was some sort of big catch to this all, she was willing to give him a chance. Besides, she reasoned, if he was awful to live with, she could simply come back to California and move in with her aunt.

    She'd never realized how many things she owned until she'd had to pack it all into a storage unit.

    "I'm not leaving you anywhere, Nara. Just wait here while I call him." Aunt Marian walked off into the kitchen to find her cell phone. She returned with it clutched in her hand and ran a considering eye over her niece.

    "Nara," She said, "You don't have to do this." Narah looked at her aunt. She felt a pang of guilt at leaving her. Nara had lost her mother, but Aunt Miriam had lost her sister too.

    "I want to go," Nara said dully. It was a lie, but she'd always been a decent liar. Her aunt hesitated, then pulled her in for one last quick hug.

    "We'll see each other again soon," she insisted. "You can come back whenever you want. I won't ask questions."

    "I'll be fine," Nara said. "Don't worry about me." Aunt Miriam kept staring at her, then she shook her head and went back to the kitchen, unable to look for any longer. Nara watched her go, then hefted her backpack and pulled her suitcase out the front door.

    As it happened, Nara's father was pulling up as the door shut behind her. He shot her a smile and climbed out of his rental car to help her with her bag. They drove to the San Francisco airport with the windows rolled down. It was warm out and Nara tried to soak up as much of the California sun as possible. She wore a green t-shirt and jeans, despite the heat. The last thing she wanted was for people to stare at her stitches.

    In the Appalachian mountains of Georgia, the small town of Blue Ridge existed. It was just as hot there as it was in California, but the town itself was nestled beside a lake that the residents could soak in. Nara had been born in Blue Ridge and lived there for seven years, back when her family still functioned as a family ought to. Nara had been back since her mother had left with her, though with less and less frequency as she grew older. What started as a month spent with her father had quickly dwindled to a week and then to a mere phone call once or twice a year on holidays.

    Nara didn't remember the town well. Her father had always been busy with work and had confined her to their home, unwilling to show her around the town she had been born in or introduce her to most of their neighbors.