Terräe's Necklace

Part One: The Quartz

Warning: This book contains mature content.
Please be aware I'm not the best writer and that I'm a beginner. Feedback is great, thanks!
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My dad screams at me with words I hear too many times. I should be getting used to this, but I flinch anyways. I could smell the strong stench of his whisky even though I was only a few feet away. He begins to clench his hands and I knew he was about to throw something. He picks up the nearest thing, which was the potted plant (that I planted myself, thanks dad) and chucks it at me. I ducked just in time. The vase hits the wall behind me and explodes into thousands of pieces. That was the 6th object he broke this month. One piece hits me right in the cheek, but I didn't have time to check if I was alright. I quickly dodge him and dash up the stairs before he could throw anything else. I hear him scream something about mom and I slam the door behind me, muffling his voice. Sometimes I wished I never existed, but before Aunt Lea died, she told me that God put me here for a reason and I should believe that. I can't think of any other good reason why he put me down here but only to be a living reminder of my mother's death. Was God moody that day when he created me? Probably. I pick up a picture of mom and sit down on my stiff bed. It was her taking a hike in the woods. She was smiling warmly and holding a baby bunny in her hand. I wish she was here. I feel something wet on my face and realize I have been crying. I wipe the tears off and gaze out the window. I spot what seems to be like a fluffy looking mouse thing perched on a tree, staring right at me. It scowled at me like I said something wrong and extends both of its arms to show me flaps of skin underneath. Oh. It was a sugar glider. For some reason, I felt like I've seen this sugar glider before.. The sugar glider then turns its back at me and takes off into the morning sky. I all of a sudden begin to feel like something had punched me in the gut. I realize I haven't been outside in awhile. I got stomach aches whenever I've been inside for too long. Plus, I needed to get out of this house. I rolled off my bed and placed mother gently back on my dresser. I then grab my cardigan from my bedside table and scrapbook. As soon as I felt the rush of the warm summer air as I opened my window, the nausea had slightly gone away. It was daytime and the sun was shining brightly through the thick trees of the woods. I proceeded to climb carefully, but quickly out of the window and slide down the roof, careful not to be seen by dad. I landed with a soft thud on the tall unmowd grass. I was relieved.
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I could hear the birds chirping away in a sweet tune and the frogs croaking along with. I guess you could consider the woods my safe haven. I came here whenever I felt upset, which was most of the time. I ran my hand along the trees and plucked every new flower I saw. In the distance I could see a family of deer taking a sip of water from the creek. I sat along the other side of the creek and took my scrapbook from my pocket along with several different colored washi tape. I placed the pile of flowers next to me and began to tape the flowers to the pages. Each flower got its own page and description. I never knew why I decided to make a scrapbook, I guess it's  because each one of my ancestors had one. A drop of blood hits the page and then I remembered the vase piece hitting my cheek. Seriously. I touched it gently and winced. It was deep cut. Another scar to my collection. I went over to the water and cleaned it up, but something caught my eye in the water. You couldn't see it from where I was standing, but I knew something was there. I put the scrapbook along with the other items away and kicked off my beat up sneakers. I slowly stepped into the water. The water was fast flowing and cold, perfect for a hot summer day. Fish moved away as I made my way to the spot. I reached down and searched around until I felt something rigged. I lifted my hand out of the water and found some kind of wooden box covered in algae. After I took all the algae off, I opened it. What the.. It began glowing the moment I opened it. Inside contained a necklace sitting on a silk cushion. It reminded me of something a hippy would wear. The necklace included a white quartz with bronze wrapped around. There were two multicolored beads on each side and instead of a chain there was a leather string. It looked pretty ancient. It also had this kind of aura on it like 'this necklace is worth a lot, don't lose it'.  Slowly the object stopped glowing.
"Ava!"
I jumped back and realized it was my stupid, idiotic brother calling for me. What did he need now? I shove the box into my pocket along with the other things. I turn around and I notice a figure. It was the same sugar glider I saw on my tree. It was perched on a bush this time and as soon as I saw it, it took off.
"I'm coming!" I screamed back.
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"Where were you, you dummy I've been calling you for five minutes straight." Michael says as soon as I stepped out of the trees.
"I was in the woods in case you haven't noticed." I roll my eyes.
He was dressed in his usual clothes. Ripped jeans, a douche shirt, and his basketball cap.
"Anyways Lev, Jake, and I are going somewhere. When we get back, you have better cleaned the house and cooked us dinner. If not, you remember what happened last time. We'll be back by 4."
By somewhere, he meant by go smoking weed. And last time I didn't do what he said, I got hung upside down for almost an hour. I muttered 'whatever' under my breath and trudged back to the hellhole.
Like always, dad wasn't home. He was either at a bar or at a casino. I sighed and took the necklace from my pocket. I decided I should try the necklace on and so I headed to the bathroom. I put the necklace around my neck and tied a tight knot. The necklace showed off my hazel eyes and fitted perfectly with my body. It was beautiful.
"Ah!"
I take a step back from the mirror and squint. It glowed once again, except the moment I tried it on, it glowed 10x brighter then it did last time for a good 5 seconds, and then stopped. I kept telling myself it was my eyes playing with me, and I shouldn't worry about it. I decided to forget what just happened, and start cleaning because it was already 2:00.
After I was done cleaning the mess dad made, I began making Kraft Mac & Cheese when I suddenly heard loud laughing from outside. I turned off the stove and wiped my hands on my apron. The sound took me to my backyard. The sun was almost about to begin setting and I could already see one or two fireflies glowing around. The retards were hunched around in a circle poking at something.
"I should feed this to Ruggy. He would like this as a snack." Jake said.
"This thing deserves to be punished. This is what it gets for biting me." Michael says.
"What are you guys doing?" I ask pushing them to the side.
In the middle was a small creature the size of my hand. It was snarling at Michael and attempting to bite him. It was the sugar glider I saw perched on my tree and bush. I notice it was bleeding on it's left arm. They were taunting it with sticks. All of them had red eyes and I knew they were high.
"Stop that!" I say yanking the stick out of Michael's hand.t
"Or what?" Lev teases. He then lifts the animal by the tail and starts swinging it side to side like it was some kind of toy. The sugar glider hisses and tries to claw him.
"Is this making you mad, Ava?" He snickers.
Without even thinking, I punch Lev in the stomach. He drops the sugar glider and I quickly grab it in mid air. Wrong choice.
Lev hunches over and spits blood onto the ground. He then laughs coldly at me. "You think you're so slick and all huh? I'll show you who gets to be slick around here."
He jumps at me but I knew what to do. Run. I sprint to the thick trees.
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I knew my way around the woods from the back of my hand. I drop the sugar glider into my overall pocket and continue to run deep into the trees. I look behind and see Michael pointing at me and laughing. What a great brother. Lev and Jake chases after me while Michael just stands there. Their voices echoed throughout the woods. I ran as fast as I could with my short legs. Left, right, straight... After awhile, I stopped running. I smiled to myself. I think I lost them. I couldn't hear them screaming threats at me anymore. Then I immediately holted. Right in front of me stood Jake. Jake was a big guy. He had a double chin and smelled like eggs. He also had a tooth gap the size of a arena. Crap. I try to duck and make a run for it, but he grabs me by the hair. He gives a evil grin at me. "You're dead meat."
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"I found her!" Jake yells into the night sky.
"Let go of me!" I scream. I try to kick him but it was no use. He was much stronger then me. A moment later Lev appears with a shovel the size of my whole body.
They were gonna kill me.
"Stop it you two are high!" I scream at their faces. They smoked too much. This was the end of me.
Lev snickers. "We had enough of you.. No one wants you around here. It's time for you to go bye, bye!"
Lev swings the shovel right at me and suddenly, my instincts took over. My hands fly up and now everything around me was in slow motion. My necklace begins glowing like it did earlier. I feel something powerful inside of me like I've never felt before. I squeeze my eyes shut.
-
Everything was quiet. The crickets seemed to stop cricketing. I couldn't hear the creek flowing. There was a burning sensation in my fingertips and I could feel my hair was free from Jake's hand. I slowly open one eye and see nothing in front of me anymore but a dropped shovel. My necklace stopped glowing. What just happened? Did they flee? What did I do? Then I hear muffling, but from above me. To my horror, I look up and see the two of them, covered in thick, bright green vines. Their eyes were wide and filled with fear. They were squirming around, hanging upside down on a tree.