Skinwalker - Completed

CHAPTER 6

(Rylie's POV)

Rylie thought that she will get a better sentence than being stuck in the house. Apparently, her mother and grandmother are worried sick. They grounded her for the rest of the summer inside the house. She even bartered for her freedom but to no avail. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere, and she was losing her mind over it. But she also promised herself that she will not cause her mother another worry. Besides, she already learned her lesson from disobedience. That's why she is staying inside her room like a good girl.

"Ah! I'm so bored!" She threw a hand in the air. And her eyes landed on the camera on top of the study table.

Rylie was sure she captured the eyes on her lens, but she when inserted the card into her laptop. There was nothing, just a blurred image of a deer and the trees. She clicks the right arrow to find more shots, but there were no yellow eyes!

Rylie stood up and stretch her back a little. She went towards the windows, opened them, and welcomed the crisp air of the summer. Rolling the right sleeves of her t-shirt, she went to her bag and got the Totem out. She held it up. The Totem is like that Totem the girl was holding in the ritual. There was nothing special about its wood or the carvings.

Why did her father talk about the Totem? And the writings on the temple also described it.

Nature grants a way to be one. Offering a sacred object and praising the divine. Walk in the shadow of the wolf, and your path shall be laid down for you.

Rylie's eyebrow furrowed. "Nature grants a way to be one. Hmmm...."

What does it mean, dad?

She went to her bag again and got her father's journal out. There were fascinating drawings of wolves transforming into men and vice versa. They all touched the Totem on the first drawing, then the second drawing shows a man turning into a were man, into a giant wolf, then into a man again. Another illustration shows a man touching the Totem again and transforming into a were a man. Below that drawing, there was the same first drawing. The second drawing is a man transforming into a were man then into a wolf. It all starts with the exact pictures but ended differently.

Rylie scratched her head. Does it mean that werewolves have different stages?

She looked at the Totem. It seems to glow yellow in the afternoon summer sun, which she finds odd. Holding the journal in her right hand. She flipped it to find anything about the werewolf's transformation, but she couldn't find anything.

She sighed. She scratched her head and decided to come down. She finds her grandma grilling a chicken outside of the house. There were other people outside of the house that she wasn't familiar with.

"Oh, Rylie!" Grandma Pep ushered her towards the unfamiliar neighbors. "These people are the Hamptons."

Rylie extended her hands to shake theirs. There were two people her age, both girls, who looked at her with amazement.

"Rylie, right? Don't you remember me? It's Bianca. We used to play here during summers." The blond girl said.

"What happened to you? You looked cool during those times, but now you just transformed into a nerd."

The girls both giggled at her. Rylie forced herself not to roll her eyes. She knew them. They used to play before, but as the summers passed, she couldn't come that often to her grandma to spend the summer with Bianca and Rica Hampton. Her grandmother wasn't within earshot; that's why these two clowns can say that to her. She already hates these people. She opened her mouth and was about to speak what's on her mind when she noticed a pair of yellow eyes on the thick bushes behind the two girls.

It was clearly an eye! She stepped towards it and ignored the weird looks the girl's exchanged with each other. But they didn't stop her. She was about to reach into the thick bush, but a hand on her shoulder made her jolt around.

"Rylie? What are you doing?"

Rylie looked at her grandma guiltily. "Nothing, grandma. I just saw a beautiful butterfly on this bush, but it flew away."

Her grandma Pep looks at her weirdly but didn't say anything. She followed her grandma and looked one last time to the bush. There were no yellow eyes there now. She rubbed her eyes. Indeed, the encounters with the wolf made her hallucinate.

"Grandma, I'm going back up." She glanced at her grandma, and the older woman nodded. She cast a glare at those two girls before heading back up. God, she hates those kinds of girls. They're not even pretty, and they also had a destructive manner.

Rylie went back inside her room, flopped on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. There was no clue on the journal and even on the Totem. Does she have to go to Shasta mountain again? But what if she reencounters those people? Are they wolves?

She shook her head. Is it really possible? She turned on her side and looked at the Totem again. There was nothing magical on it except that it was made of wood. She got up and took the Totem. She needs to hide it somewhere safe. She got the feeling that those yellow eyes are wolves, and they will take it back from her.

Night came, and Rylie doesn't know what to do. There was nothing to do inside her grandmother's house. She didn't go down to mingle with the Hamptons. They ate dinner, and her grandma got to her bed early.

"Goodnight, Rylie." Grandma Pep hugged her. She tapped her grandma's back.

Her grandmother smiled at her and kissed her temple.

"Goodnight, Grandma."

Her grandma nodded and went to her own room. Rylie went inside her room and closed the door. She was about to close her window when she noticed a light in the bush below, where she saw that yellow eyes again today. She rubbed her eyes. Is she already sleepy? Rylie shook her head and proceeded to close her windows. Maybe her eyes are playing tricks on her again. She locked it and let herself fall down on the bed. But after a while, she couldn't fall asleep.

She got up and took the Totem out. She held it in her hands. "Nature grants a way to be one. Offering a sacred object and praising the divine. Walk in the shadow of the wolf, and your path shall be laid down for you."

Rylie repeated the words she saw on the temple, she waited for something to happen, but nothing happened.

She sighed and put the Totem back to where she hid it. After putting it down, Rylie missed the way it glowed before it dimmed down. She stretched her arms out, but she stopped and brought her arms down. Her nose smelled something funny. There was a mixture of wood and herbs that she can smell like it was just an inch away from her nose. She can also smell an earthy musk.

She crinkled her nose. She can hear voices, and if she concentrates enough, the voices became more precise.

"Dad. Those Scots are just arrogant. They think we are a charity case."

"The old woman doesn't know, but I stole a chicken."

Then it was followed by a burst of laughter.

"Very good."

Rylie's eyebrow shot up. They stole a chicken? Then they talk bad about her grandma and her! Those voices belong to those two Hampton girls! But why the hell can she hear them? Are they within earshot? She scrunched her eyebrows, but she was sure they are far away. She can listen to the sound of clinking plates and hear the T.V's sound in the background. It appears that they are watching the vampire diaries.

Her eyes went wide when she realized something. How the hell can she hear them?!