A Grave Problem

23. Through the Trees

That week, school seemed to fly by. History was still awkward, sure, but the rest of the time seemed great. Mia talked to Zev more in P.E. that week than she had in the entire time school'd been in, and she was glad to realize their kiss hadn't just been a spur of the moment thing. She got dressed as fast as she could both before and after class, trying to get as many extra seconds with him as she could.

Now that it was Saturday, Mia was almost disappointed. It was the first day since the dance where she didn't have any plans to see either her friends or Zev. She tried to console herself with the knowledge that she'd at least see them all again on Monday.

At 5:00 she'd gotten on the bus heading downtown. It was a little earlier than she usually went out, and the sun would still be up for another hour or so. But she wanted to go hunting as soon as possible. She hadn't been in a few days, and she needed to make sure she found someone. She tried to tell herself that that was the reason she was out so early – not because she was getting tired of worrying about banshees every night.

Mia stared absently out the window as the bus drove through downtown. She'd been looking for a good place to get off, but somehow that perfect spot never seemed to come. Finally, the last stop came up, and Mia's decision was made for her.

As the bus pulled away from the curb, Mia looked around. She'd passed the last stop in downtown almost twenty minutes ago, and now she was in a part of the city she'd never been to before. Unlike downtown, where Mia usually went, it was much quieter here – much more serene. The sun was hanging low in the sky, and Mia knew she had about twenty minutes before it was completely dark. She decided to walk around – get to know the area a bit. That way, she'd know a little about what to expect when it did get dark.

Mia walked causally down the streets with no particular destination in mind. The area was full of houses, each of which had at least one tree in the yard. The wind blew lightly around, and Mia took in a deep breath of the cool winter air. It was refreshing – not like downtown where the smog from all the cars seemed to settle between the buildings.

She wandered down the streets, curving with the road and turning from time to time. She tried to match her footsteps to the sound of the crickets chirping, glad to be walking in the dusk. She'd always liked the silence; it was calming – peaceful, even. As she lazily turned another corner, Mia found herself on a street bordering the forest. It was strange, Mia had known that the city was on the edge of the forest, but she didn't know it was this close. She'd never been to these woods herself – ever since her experience in seventh grade, it just didn't have the same appeal.

She peered into the woods, surprised by how dark it was. The sun still hadn't quite set, but it was almost completely black beneath those trees. She stared a few minutes more, thinking about how it was almost beautiful, especially with how naturally dark it got. Eventually, she turned to leave. She couldn't stand on the sidewalk all night – she needed to get to someplace with more people.

She'd only gone a few steps before she heard it: a long, low cry off in the distance. Mia shuddered involuntarily; she knew exactly what that sound was. A banshee. Fear ran through her, and Mia took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. Nervously, she laughed at herself – how could she be afraid? After all, she'd seen a banshee – it was just a sad little girl, wasn't it?

But when she heard that sound for the second time, Mia remembered that tortured look, those long skeleton-like fingers, and the bloody clothes that one of them had been washing. The fear came crashing down on her all over again, chilling her to the bone. With the image of the banshee still burning in her mind, Mia turned and walked as quickly as she could in the direction she'd come from.