Initiation

Chapter 8

Mom got home an hour later. She asked what I was doing there, and I told her I wasn't feeling well. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. She must have sensed something was up, as all moms can, and she sat me down and said
"Spill. I know I'm not around a lot, but you can talk to me. I'm here now."
"Mom, there's nothing to say. Im just feeling crappy." I said
"Are you sure?" She asked, "you seem distant." Did I? Hmm, I wonder what could've caused that. But if I wasn't going to tell my best friend, I certainly wasn't going to tell my mom. I did love her, and we talked about almost anything, but I was not telling her about this. Not until I'd figured it out for myself. I looked at the clock. 3:04. I still had time to visit Jess and Allison, they were working on a trig project and I was supposed to help them.
"Is it ok if I go to Jessica's to help with homework?" It was going to sound lame, considering I had just said I was home because I was sick, but I really needed to get some normal girl time in.
"Absolutely not. You need to get better, considering the fact the school just called to let you know about 3 major assignments." My mom scolded. I knew that was what she was going to say, so I'd just have to wait until she left at 4:30.
The time passed pretty quickly, I catnapped through most of it. When I woke up, it was 5:24.
"Dammit!" I yelped. It was starting to get dark at this time these past few weeks, and the sun was just starting to dip towards the horizon. I was late, but I still wanted to see Jess. I threw a sweater on, grabbed my keys from their little dish by the door, and walked outside. I hopped in my car, and turned the key. The car made a sound like a dying horse, and the lights flickered on for only a moment. "Come on! Really?" I growled, as I tried again and again. The car was not turning on. This was bad news. We didn't have the money to fix a car, so I had to hope it was trivial. I glanced at the clock. 5:30. I could walk there before it got too dark, I reasoned, it was a 25 minute walk. Grumbling to myself about crappy cars, I climbed out and started walking. If I jogged, I'd make it there in 15 minutes, so I started off at a light trot. About 5 minutes in, I was huffing and puffing. It was a bad idea to run. I have a light case of asthma, and it only shows when I run long distance. I regretted not brining my inhaler.
I slowed to a walk, and rounded a corner on the forest road. The trees came right up to the asphalt out here. I stopped to take a breather when I heard a rustling in the woods. I immediately thought to the gruesome scene I had witnessed the other night in the woods. Could I be the next victim? I shook my head. These thoughts weren't helpful. It was probably just a squirrel. Then I heard a grunt, as if someone was pulling something heavy. I started towards the sound.
In retrospect, if I had just continued on my jog, and not investigated, my life would be so much simpler. But I did look, and I did go into the forest, and my life was changed forever

•~•~•

I crouched low, behind a large fern. I heard low voices, whispering in hushed tones. I tried to peek through the leaves, but any movement would tip them off that I was there. Besides, little to no light got though the thick bushy forest canopy, and it was already almost dusk. It was difficult to see anything really. The voices started moving off, and I heard the crunch of leaves and the snap of twigs as the group moved away. I guessed there were about 3 or 4 of them. I waited a few seconds, then silently shifted out of my hiding space, and started following. I'd always been good at stealth, I used to hunt with my dad before he left. I scurried to the next bit of cover, a fallen and rotting oak. I peered around the bark. I was 5 feet from the ledge of a short cliff, maybe a five foot drop. I watched as the group of people, one tall boy, one short boy, and two girls who were both blondes, made their way down the drop. They were moving pretty quickly, almost like they were being chased. No, like they were chasing something. It was then I noticed a short teen, a boy, scrambling over a rock about 15 feet away, looking scared out of his mind. The group caught up to him easily, about 30 ft away. I watched, from the safety of the oak, as they formed a circle around him, almost trapping him. The tall boy with dark hair started yelling at the short teen who was running. I only picked up a few words, along the lines of 'trespass', ' expose', and 'reckless'. The kid was on his knees now, sobbing and rocking back and forth.
     Just then, I heard my phone give off a slight beep, an incoming text. Then another, then another. I hurried to turn it onto silent, clicked the button and sat stock-still. There was no possible way they could've heard that, yet the tall boy turned to look at my hiding place. I stifled a scream; it was Dylan. He started towards me, but the blonde girl beside him grabbed his arm and shook her head, pointing to the kid on the ground. I breathed a small sigh of relief. Then I sat, transfixed by the scene that was unfolding before me. The boy on the ground was still pleading, but the group seemed to show no mercy.
     I watched as the tall boy, Dylan, shouted one last word and raised his hand. This time, I actually did scream as Dylan brought down a blow with ferocity I didn't know existed in humans. Blood splattered from the poor kids neck, and I saw the entire group turn to where the shriek came from, me. The kid was lying on the ground, clearly still alive, blood pooling around his head. It must have been a trick of the light, but his eyes looked like they were glowing red. It was probably just reflecting off of the blood around him. The blonde that stopped Dylan earlier flipped her hand once, and it almost seemed as if she was wearing dark brown/black nail polish on REALLY long fake nails. Then she brought her hand down in a quick decisive stroke that ended it. I screamed once more, the group started to move towards me, and I passed out.

    Being unconscious is a weird thing, and I guess it's different for everyone, but for me, it felt like I was on that drug dentists give you for your wisdom teeth, hazily aware but still definitely out of it. I wasn't sure how long I spent in that dream like state, but I eventually woke to hear murmuring, and whispering. I opened one eye slowly, and inconspicuously. Maybe I could make sense of what was going on if I listened in.
     "...saw everything. Your claws, the kids eyes, and Dylan killing someone, twice. We can't let her just walk away from that." Said a female voice.
     "Yeah, well we can't just kill her, can we?" Said, what sounded like, Dylan.
     "Why not? It'll just add to the history of animal attacks in this town." Whined the girl.
     "Because, her best friend's uncle is a hunter. You don't think he'll put two and two together?" Countered Dylan.  I had no idea what they were talking about. But I guess someone noticed I was awake somehow, because they hissed.
     "She's up! She's awake!" I sat up groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
    "Where am I?" I asked.
     "You're safe," answered Dylan, "you're about 10 minutes from your house." It was then it hit me, I was sitting in the presence of a murderer. I struggled to my feet, but the blonde girl shoved my back down.
     "Woah there missy," she snapped, "you're not going anywhere."
     "Just let me go, I swear you'll never hear from me again, just let me go!" I begged. "Please! I promise" I was on the verge of hysterics, but the other guy in the group, the stocky one, yelped
"Shut her up! There's someone out there."
     "Help! Somebody please help!" I screamed. Maybe whoever was there could get me out of here! The blonde tore a strip off her shirt and tied it in front of my mouth. All I could do now was make muffled noises. I tried to untie it, but she said
     "I wouldn't do that if I were you." It was the cold look in her eyes that told me she meant business, so I slumped back against a rock. It was that action that probably saved my life, because just then, I heard this cracking sound, and the girl jerked back and fell to the forest floor, blood spurting from just above her stomach. I screamed. There was a guy, WITH A GUN, where he could get me. My brain went into hyperdrive, adrenaline coursing through my veins like fire. I bolted upright and sprinted towards the fallen oak I'd hid behind before. I had almost made it, when I heard
     "Jas! Get down!" It was Dylan, hurtling towards me at a speed that shouldn't be humanly possible. Maybe I should've listened to him, but my stubborn brain insisted on doing the opposite of whatever a murderer said. So, I hesitated a split second, and it cost me. There was another loud CRACK! and I felt pain rip though my system. I looked down at the blood that was now gushing from a wound in my side, just above the bottom of my rib cage. I started to feel numb, and I knew the bullet had hit at least one vital organ. I slumped to the forest floor. There were more bullets ricocheting all over the area, yet I managed not to get hit again. I lay, unmoving, 4 feet from the oak. Then, I felt strong hands lift me by my arms and drag me towards the shelter the oak provided. I heard mumbled curses as hands tried to stop the bleeding. "No no no! Jas! Come on!" Dylan was yelling now, "Come on!" I looked calmly at his face. I couldn't feel anything below my upper back, and it occurred to me then that I had been hit in the spine. I was paralyzed from the stomach down.
      "Oh shit, shit shit shit!" I whispered. Dylan looked torn, at war with himself. He seemed to come to a decision, and he grabbed my arm. He said
     "Sorry about this," then he raised my arm to his mouth, and opened it. He had the longest incisors I'd ever seen. He brought his jaw down with huge force, and the bastard bit me. At first, there was nothing, I still couldn't feel anything. But then,

the pain began.