Good, Evil, and the Gray Area (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 17: I faultlessly execute my powers of stupidity.

ok first off i would like to thank TwiFreak for making me an awesome book cover! u should have her make u a cover- she is awesome! if ur reading this TwiFreak THANK YOU! guys, tell me if u like the cover or not, if you think it fits the story, etc.

anyway, on to the story.

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 I had been flying for around three hours when I saw it. A trail. I can't imagine that Ava would make a trail, she's to careful, but who knows? So, curious, I descended into the woods.

I morphed back into human form to better check out the ground. It looked like someone had been purposefully making it, either to fool someone, or to remember the way they had come. Either way, it could be Ava, so I followed it.

I walked briskly, not breaking into a jog because I wanted to conserve my energy, and because I was still a little winded from all the flying. I had covered a lot of distance as a bird, watching for Ava the whole way. I was hoping I would see a sign of her, since I could be going in the complete wrong direction.

I came to the end of the trail a moment later. It looked like someone had stopped purposely making the trail, or started being careful. I looked around for a moment, hoping to see Ava asleep in a tree, but no luck. I had known she would be more careful not to leave a trail right to herself.

I scrutinized the ground for anything, anything at all. I was hoping to find either a continuation of the trail, or some sign that it had been Ava. I didn't find anything, so I kept walking.

Then, probably thirty minutes or so from the end of the trail, I smelled blood. I have a good sense of smell, so the blood could be up to a half mile away. It was faint, but could be lots of blood a long ways away. I began to morph, into a panther. I would have a better sense of smell as a cat, and needed to be able to cover ground and look for the source of the smell.

I prayed that it wasn't Ava, but at the same time hoped it was. At least then I would know where she was, and could nurse her back to health. I ran in circles, slowly widening them, thoroughly covering all the ground from the point where I had started, within a half mile radius. The smell was stronger as a cat, and as I made one of my circles it became so strong that I almost gagged. I could finally tell where it was though, off to my left. I abandoned my rhythmical searching, and loped off in the direction of the smell.

I stopped, not daring to look. I couldn't hear any heartbeats, so I knew it was safe, but if Ava was laying on the ground, dead, I might lose it. I morphed back to my human self and leaned on the rough brown trunk of a tree. Some leaves tickled the back of my neck, and I brushed them away irritably.

Finally I had worked up the courage to look. I stepped into a clearing.

The dusty ground was bloodstained, and body lay face down in a pool of blood. That would be what I had smelled.

It looked to big to be Ava, but I had to be sure. I picked up a long branch off the ground and flipped the body over. When I saw the face, I gasped.

It looked like a werewolf, like Ava, but it wasn't her. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew. It looked like Ava's face, but the expression was of anger, and the face was screwed up in a scowl. Ava, I hoped, would never die that way.

Plus, the body was way to big. It couldn't be Ava, I assured myself. However, I almost doubted that Ava was alive, even if this wasn't her. Angrily, I banished the thought from my mind. I couldn't give up hope. Ava was one of the only things that I had to live for.

Then, I noticed a trail. It looked like someone had been running, in a hurry, not concealing their tracks. It didn't look like one made on purpose, like the one I had seen earlier.

Could I dare to hope that it was Ava?

I ducked into the forest, following the broken branches and footprints in the dirt. The footprints could be Ava's, they were small enough. Then, I almost cheered for joy when I saw the trail go from footprints to pawprints. It had to be a werewolf, and I didn't know any werewolves with as small feet and paws as Ava had.

Hurrying now, I ran down the trail she had made. The body was pretty fresh, so I figured Ava had to be pretty close. She couldn't be injured, because there was no blood trail, no irregular foot/paw prints that would indicate a limp.

I was so exited that I wasn't careful, and I fell right into a trap.

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thanks

-austin