House Of Night (Fanfic)

Chap. 1 The Woods

BEEP BEEP BEEP
Went my alarm clock as annoyingly as possible. I rolled over, flung my arm onto my bedside table and felt around for the snooze button.

"Shut up!" I yelled as I hit the button, "I get it, I get it! I'm up!" I rolled onto my back, rubbed my eyes and opened them to, blurrily, stare at my ceiling for a few minutes before actually moving.

After I lay there for about five minutes realizing how horrid having to get up and move really was, I sat up, threw my legs over the side of my bed an stood up. I slowly made my way to the little kitchen that my roommate, Zoey, and I shared.
There on the counter I found a semi-steaming cup of coffee. I took a closer look at a paper that was sitting beside it.

Dear, Bumpkin
I had to leave early this morning and figured I'd leave you a cup of coffee. I hope its still warm by the time you wake up.
Love, Z

I smiled at her sloppy morning hand writing, took a sip of my coffee, and made my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

I shut the door behind me and began shuffling down the hallway to the exit door that lead out to the woods.
I pushed the door open, took a step out into the beautiful morning light and just stood there, taking in all the smells and surrounding beauty. I looked down at my feet and could still see the little drops of morning dew on the grass and surrounding plants.

I lifted my arms slightly, tilted my head to the sky, closed my eyes and whispered, "Earth, come to me."
Immediately I felt myself surrounded by my affinity. My senses enhanced, I felt the blades of grass tickle my feet, the gentle breeze swirling around me, smelled the mustiness of the forest. I felt awakened and refreshed.

"Thank you, Earth. You can go now." I smiled as I felt Earth leave me. I began walking towards the dark, cold, crowded, woods. It's where I felt most at home. I made my way to a little stream and watched the little fish trying to swim up river, only to stay still as the water rushed by them. I giggled a bit at how little and cute they were before I hopped the stream and continued on my little journey into the woods.

I stopped for a second, looked around, and saw this amazing, old, weeping willow off to my left. I gasped, hurried over to it, and lightly placed my hands on its ancient bark. I immediately felt a slight jolt go through my palms all the way up my arms. "Wow, you have a lot of energy in you, huh? More than any other tree I've come 'cross," I said as I lightly ran my hands down the bark.
I looked up into the massive branches that spouted from the trunk and stooped down, making it look like one mammoth umbrella. A gust of wind wooshed by, making the swooping branches sway with it. This tree was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen. It was almost as if it was glowing with a white haze. It was hypnotizing.

My hypnosis was broken as I heard a loud crash from what sounded at the top of tree line. The sound was getting closer and faster. I could hear large branches breaking and snapping under the weight of the thing crashing to the ground. I quickly got behind the tree, away from the falling noise.

BOOM

The sound of it hitting the ground was ear piercing. I threw my hands to my ears and covered them as the pang of pain subsided from them.The thing had reached the ground. What ever it was, must be absolutely mammoth. Nothing makes that loud of a crash landing unless its big.

I was scared to look out from behind the tree. I had no idea what I was going to find. A UFO? A fallen satellite that NASA failed to launch? Maybe some alien race had come to invade Earth and I'd be their first victim. "Earth. . . Come to me," I whispered as quietly as I could. I felt the rush of comfort and protection from my element.

I, very slowly, peeked my head around the corner of the massive willow, preparing myself for the worst case scenario. There was a giant crater in the ground about twenty feet away from me. I began walking cautiously towards the crater. One step after the other, placing my feet carefully. When I reached the edge of the crater, I prepared myself, and peeked over. Down in the bottom of the crater was a massive, crumpled, black, furry ball of some sort. I bent down to my hands and knees to get a closer look. I couldn't help my curiosity. Then it moved. I moved back so just my eyes could see over the edge as I watched the thing move in an awkward way. As I was watching it, I noticed that the black fur ball wasn't actually fur, they were feathers.

A wave of fear, horror, shock, disbelief, anger, and all the bad emotions shot through me like a bullet. I threw myself back and whispered in a shaky, horrified, voice, "R-Raven Mocker. . ."