The Forest Lurkers

Chapter I : School time

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock buzzing, on my nightstand. I smash the snooze button and lay in the bed wide awake. Five minutes later, the buzzing starts again. When my mom enters my room, her head quickly follows the flying alarm clock, smashing into the wall.

''Julia, I just bought you that yesterday! If you keep breaking them, I won't buy you another one...!''She stated.

''I prefer my alarm clocks smashed on the wall, also, I prefer you'd wake me up, instead of that freaking annoying buzzing machine.'' I muttered, half-asleep. 

''You know I don't have the time to do that sweetie..''

''You don't have any time for ANYTHING! It's all about work! You don't care a single bit about me!'' I yelled.

''You know that's not true Julia, oh sorry, the phone is ringing, I better get to work. You better get yourself ready for school'' She said, before leaving.

''Yeah, go isolate yourself in your office all day won't ya?!''

The truth is, me and my mother never liked each other, ever since my dad died... He had been in an accident during work. He used to work as a lumberjack, and while he was trimming a tree, apparently his harness malfunctioned and he fell into the machine that was used to grind the tree's wood. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye... He loved my mother, and the only reason I didn't fight with her when he was at home was because she made him happy. Ever since he 'left', me and my mother have been in arguments almost everyday.

Anyways, I think now would be a good time to introduce myself. My name is Julia Stone and i'm 17 years old.  I'm in 11th grade at Pine Hill high school. I have green-ish blue eyes, and I have long auburn hair, that reach to about a little pass my shoulders. I measure about 5''5,considered small because almost everyone in my grade is taller than me. At school, I have three best friends, Landon, Owen and Aaron.

 Right now, the four of us are trying to solve a mysterious murder case that happened in Pine Hills' forests. A body of a girl had been found, severed in two, with wolf-like bite marks all over her body. Me and my friends have been many times in the forest, without permission, examining the case. Every time the police came to investigate, we would flee the forest as fast as we could. Right now, all we have found is some saliva on the bites that match the DNA of wolves. But we don't think a wolf could leave such huge bite marks, it must be much bigger than an ordinary wolf. 

As I put my books and lunchbox in my backpack, I slide in a kitchen knife, for protection, since me and my friends are planning to go in the forest tonight. It has a rubber lining protector, so I don't have to worry about cutting my bag or myself. I fashion my hair in a messy bun, I put on my blue Adidas hoodie and my black leggings. I run downstairs, and even before being able to put my shoes on, my mom appears in her office doorway, located close the the staircase I went down.

''Julia, I wanted to talk to you about something.''

''What do you want?'' I grunted.

''I wanted to tell you to stay far away from Pine Hills' forests...'' She stated.

''Why?'' I asked, out of curiosity.

''Some people have reported seeing big creatures, not even being able to describe them. The police say they're only bears, and apparently the people are hallucinating.''

''I'm pretty sure they're trying to cover up the truth...''

''Maybe, but I don't want to to get hurt out there, okay? I don't want to lose you too.'' She said, with a sad expression.

''I'll try to avoid it, I promise.'' I said, lying.

After finishing to tie my shoes, I run into the kitchen to go grab a quick breakfast before opening the door and walking out.

''Oh and, mom, I'll be out late tonight.''

''Why?'' She asked.

''Apparently there's this awesome party happening at a classmate's house, and I wanted to go. It ends at 11:00 pm.''

''I guess you can go, but don't stay up too late!''

I'm soon walking between a big neighborhood of houses, almost all identical. The only thing that differences them from the others where the colors. I walk about a block until I end up in front of a massive school, highlighted with vibrant red bricks, and a landscape decorated with red and pink rose bushes. I can see my group of friends, in particular Landon, waving at me. I make my way up the school steps to join them.

Now, I think I should describe my friends. Landon, the one who was waving at me, has short black hair and bright blue eyes. He measures about 5''8, the tallest of our group. He has a pretty tough personality, rather charming. Owen, the one standing next to him has medium brown wavy hair, styled with short sides. He has light brown eyes, and he measures 5''6. Owen is pretty much the comedic one. He likes to make people laugh, but he can be serious if needed. Finally, there's Aaron. He's standing to my right side, beside Landon. He has dark brown hair, styled in a short spiky haircut. He has green eyes, and he measures 5''7. His personality can be rather complex. He's charming, friendly, but also defensive. These's are my best friends I had since elementary school. We always stuck together, no matter what.

As soon as the bell rang, everyone entered the school. Lets see what awaits me there.