Scottish Wolves

Chapter One

Adelaide walked slowly through the dense dark fragrant pine forest aware that she was barefoot in the middle of autumn and no matter how slow she treaded, the crunching of fallen leaves underfoot gave her every footstep away, suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks... 'what was that?' she thought to herself as she heard a loud snap that seemed to echo endlessly throughout the trees, it sounded like a large twig breaking but too loud a noise for a rabbit, fox or other small animal to make.

She held her breath waiting for any other noise, although now the loudest noise was the beating of her own racing heart. She dared not shout out to see if it was a person that made the noise. Adelaide heard the noise again but this time it had come from behind her and sounded a lot closer than before, she spun round and her waist length auburn red hair flicked like a TV advert for shampoo but as she turned round she was now facing the setting sun that was now filtering through the trees in concentrated beams of intense light that made her squint her eyes trying to find the source of her panic.

She crouched down behind a tree and tried to calm her thumping heart that now wanted to leave her body, she could start to feel her body tremble as she held her breath and closed her eyes desperate to try to regain some sort of control, 'SNAP' the noise came again but was now followed with a very low noise that sounded like a growl.

Her eyes flew open in terror but she refused to move her frozen body, although she allowed her eyes to scan the forest trying to catch any movement that would alert her to where and what the noise was coming from. For what seemed like an eternity she lifted her slender body up the side of the tree still trying her best to stay hidden but as soon as she done this she seen movement behind a clump of bushes, she was frozen in place as something dark caught her eye and what she seen made her scream!

Adelaide screamed from the top of her lungs only for a few seconds until she felt warm hands cup around her face... she had been dreaming again!

"Hey baby its OK it's only a nightmare!" a kind voice spoke patting down her now sweat soaked hair that looked as though she had been dragged through that forest feet first and then back again.

She opened her eyes to see her mum's warm grey eyes staring wearily back at her, Adelaide knew that the nightmares she was having every night was also affecting her mum as she felt so powerless to help her. "Maybe we should see a doctor, maybe there's one out there that help with this sort of thing?" she mumbled nervously.

Her mum had suggested this before, but every time they had told her that there was nothing to worry about and they would just disappear in their own time. After all it was just a dream, dreams can't hurt you. "Oh and that's now half eight" she said glancing at her watch.

"Oh my god" Adelaide jumped she had thirty minutes to get ready for work, she quickly switched the shower on and stepped in allowing the warm water to wash over her and wash away the frightening images of creatures from what can only be from some horror film, "Nah that can't be it as I love horror films, I have watched a lot worse" she thought then shivered at the thought of the more gruesome films she has actually watched.

"Adelaide, hurry up your dads going to give you a lift if you are quick!" Her mum shouted from downstairs. Adelaide sighed then rung the water out of her thick hair before grabbing her fluffy towel and wrapping it round her like a large cocoon. She quickly dried herself and slipped a black knee length skirt on and her white blouse with her name badge on it, she sat at her dressing table and although her hair was still wet she tied it up in a messy bun, one thing that didn't seem to bother her was colds, she was one of those lucky people that had a really good immune system, she sighed again as she knew her mum was going to get on at her for this, she could hear her mum shouting "You are going to catch your death if you go out there with wet hair!" Adelaide laughed to herself as she put black mascara on her Sapphire blue eyes, she loved her mum with all her heart but she can be so predictable.

"Adelaide!" Yelled a masculine voice "I am coming.... just a sec" she called to her impatiently waiting dad as she finished with some clear lip gloss and took one more look at herself in the mirror before heading out the bedroom and bounding down the stairs.

"Finally" her dad groaned like a teenager, Adelaide couldn't help but laugh as he stood there with his arms crossed before dramatically staring at his watch even though she had seen him looking at his watch quickly as she was coming down the stairs.

She grabbed her cropped leather jacket before a voice screeched behind her "You are not going out with that jacket, put on your long one......what have I told you about going out with wet hair, you will catch a head cold!" Adelaide turned and gave her mum a kiss on her forehead as she was a lot shorter than Adelaide was. "Don't worry dad's giving me a lift to work so I will be in the car and the heating will be already on in the cafe" she reasoned "And anyway when have you ever seen me getting a cold?" She finished trying to make her point "That's not the point" huffed her mum putting both her hands on her hips.

"When you two are quite finished" her dad interrupted pointing to his watch again, 'one of these days I will hide that damn watch' she thought with a smile "OK I'm coming" she hugged her mum goodbye then headed out the door into the passenger side of their huge land rover, 'We really need it out here,' she thought looking at the stunning scenery surrounding them in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. Although it was beautiful, it could also be very deadly; People always seemed to disappear around here, mainly tourists and hill walkers that underestimate the unpredictable weather. It was a common sight to see search and rescue helicopters flying over the vast snow covered mountains.