A Light In Darkness

Chapter 4

Authors note: I'm terribly sorry for the delay, I've ben having family.and internet issues and I'm renovating my house since I'm moving. And i'll try to make the chapters longer.

(Maritza's POV)

It's been 4 weeks since we moved from New York. We had just finished unpacking and fixing up the house. I was trying to get used to life here. It was WAY different from what I'm comfortable with. The, weather was warm and sunny unlike NY. It was freezing this time of year. Iv'e discovered that our house had some woods behind it. I had nothing else to do, so I decided to go there.

I step out of my house and onto the soft, jade tinted grass that surrounds my house. I begin waking slowly. I approach the entrance to the woods. I carefully venture inside. I glance upwards and the trees are towering at least 50 feet above me. They cast an almost ominous shadow onto the ground. It continue my journey deeper into the trees. The forest,seems to grows thicker with every step I take. I feel a strange energy to it. As almost if the forest is alive,and breathing with me. Watching my every move. I find an open area with that happens to be a cliff. The cliff overlooks the untamed wilderness of southern California. The hills are plagued with trees and what appears to be rivers. It's beautiful. I sit down and watch the golden sun dip below the horizon. The sky turns orange with drips of pink and purple swirling clouds painting the sky. It realize it's getting pretty late and I should head back home. I get back on my feet and I forget from which way I came from. A hint of panic arises in me. But I keep my cool and try to recall the path I took. I kind of remember and begin returning back home. The darkness seeps in through the trees and follows me. I feel as I'm being watched. I look over my shoulder and I can see only distorted shadows. I quicken my pace until I'm practiclly running. I trip over an uplifted root and roll down a hill. I stand up and look up to where I tripped. On the hill was a silhouette of a person. It had a strange whitish-gold glow around it. I looked closer,and it was a bit transparent. For some reason, I wasn't afraid of this one. Unlike the one I experienced in my house. This onehad a peaceful aura to it. It comes closer to me. I don't run away. It keeps approaching me, until it's about 5 feet in front of me. It's a woman, with golden strait hair and intense blue eyes. She's wearing a green dress and holding.a leather book. She has a part of her hair braided around her head. She looks so familiar, but I don't seem to recognize her. She looks at me and smiles.

"Maritza, I've been waiting for you to return." she says. She has an Italian accent.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I am Katerina. And I believe you are the Catalyst."

"The Catalyst? What do you mean?"

"You will see, you must fulfill your Destiny my young one. But, be cautious, they are after you and your ability. You have been warned."

After she says that, she vanishes into the trees

"Wait!" I yell.

No response. Then I hear whispers in the trees.

"You must leave! Now!"

I begin running fast. I feel them behind me. But I know what they are. I forget everything and focus in getting home. I finally see my house in the distance. Thank god.

I run inside and slam the sliding door. Shutting away them. I catch my breath and tip toe to my room, hoping my parents wouldn't hear me.

"Maritza." My dad says.

'Damn it' I think to myself.

I turn around and face my father.

"Yeah dad?"

"Come sit down. I need to speak with you about something."

"Okay."

We enter the kitchen and sit down at the table.

"What is it dad?"

"Well, i enrolled you into Lincoln High school."

"What? Why?"

"Because you need to go, and I hear it's a great school. You start next monday."

"Okay." "

"Don't worry Mari. Hey, want some pizza? I'll order."

"Yeah sure. Thanks dad."

He smiles at me and kisses my head.

"Now, get outta here kid."

I smile and go upstairs to my room.

I remember the leather book she was holding. It looked familiar too. It had a strange design on it, but I couldn't really make it out.

I wonder who this woman was. And what does she mean by fulfill my destiny? I undress and step in the bathroom. My hair falls onto my shoulders. It looks darker. I keep staring into the mirror and in an instant a flash I saw a young woman, the same blond hair in a black lace dress hanging from the celling a noose around her neck. She had blood dripping from her side. And cuts on her face. She was pale and motionless. Then it returned to normal. It was just me in the mirror again. I stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. It cascaded down my body. It felt relaxing. I ran the water through my hair. After about 10 minutes I got out. I dressed myself in red shorts and a white t-shirt. I went downstairs and found my parents sitting at the kitchen table. My dad was on his laptop and my mom was reading some papers.

"Hey Mari, come eat."

I sat down and ate 3 slices of pizza. We were taking about school and about my dads new job. He works at the hospital now as a surgeon. So he's gonna be working late. I go back upstairs and throw my body onto the bed. I snuggle into the covers and try to sleep. I can't.

A hear a loud thump and I sit up, glancing around my room to find the source of the noise. I look in the corner and see a black figure.

"Get out!" I yell at it.

"Get the hell out of my house!"

It zooms out my doorway and down the stairs. Then I hear a loud shriek come from the first floor. My mother. I leap out of bed and fly downstairs. I cannot believe what I saw. This changes everything.