The Silver Wanderer [BOOK ONE of Angora]

Chapter Two

The thick, deep red liquid trickled slowly down my finger, I cursed underneath my breath and winced as I touched the edge of my index finger. Paper cuts were always the worst thing to have when trying to write in this beat up journal, that's why I stuck to computers.

But unfortunately, computers just weren't safe places to keep private thoughts.

I picked out a few tissues from my pocket and tightly wrapped them around my now throbbing finger. The small ounce of pain still lingered, but it wasn't that bad. The tissues slowly became stained with red and I cringed my nose at the sight of it. I never liked blood, it was just something my stomach didn't agree with, so watching criminal investigation shows were out of the question. This small cut I could deal with though, and I was almost done with my journal entry. I couldn't let one tiny paper cut stop me from finishing it.

“This is all your fault, you know.” I wrote at the end of the entry, “All your fault.”

A few tears began to form and I brushed them away just in time for my aunt and uncle to burst through my bedroom door, not even bothering to knock. I was about to tell them off for interrupting my concentration when they began to run around my room, grabbing whatever their eyes could see and throwing everything into a large navy blue hiking backpack.

I stood up from my study desk. "What the hell are you guys doing with my stuff?" I asked both confused and annoyed.

"Honey, I'm so sorry for doing this, but it's of your own safety." Aunt Sarah answered, her voice cracking slightly as Uncle James started grabbing all the clothes from my wardrobe. What were they doing, kicking me out?

I shook my head. "Look, I know what I said earlier was selfish, and I'm sorry. But do you really have to kick me out?"

They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me. "Emery, we would never do that to you, this is something much more serious. Here," Aunt Sarah handed me a sealed envelope, "This will tell you everything. You must only open it when you cross the White Line." She placed her hands in mine and squeezed tightly.

I began to panic and backed against the wall slowly. The White Line? Why would she send me to the line?

When I was little, my best friend Ryker and I were playing by the creek at the edge of the city. We decided to explore the place a little more, so we did, and we came across this mysterious white line. It was long and seemed to run across for miles, it looked endless. I didn't know what would happen if we crossed it because whoever put it there, they probably did it so nobody would trespass.

I ended up bringing it up at dinner conversation that night and I've never seen the colour drain so quickly from the faces of my guardians. Uncle James choked on his food and Aunt Sarah was sent into a fit of coughs. It took some time but they both regained themselves and they made me promise to never go near it again. If the white line was scary enough to set my aunt and uncle on their high-tails I had no problem steering clear of it, after all I was a trouble-maker, but I wasn't dense.

"A-Aunt Sarah, what...?" I began to ask, but my voice trembled in confusion. Why-especially after they specifically told me not to go there- was she telling me to cross the White Line?

"Just trust me darling and do what your Uncle and I say." Her soft pink lips twitched into a weak smile and her brown eyes were filled with sadness and pain.

"Do you have your necklace?" Uncle James spoke quickly. My hands unconsciously lifted to my chest, where the rough pendant that was given to me by my parents before they left lay. "Good. Keep it safe," he cupped my face in his soft warm hands and looked into my eyes. "It is imperative that you keep it safe, understand? Here hide it," he shrugged my jacket over my shoulders, the familiar feel of the leather was soothing and I managed to get my breathing under control before I gulped down the last of my protests, “There you go, good girl. Emery we love you so much, I'm so sorry...”

I continued to thumb at the object as it grazed the nape of my neck. The necklace was oval-shaped with a fox-like bird wrapped around it. Diamonds and jewels I did not know the names of littered around the pendant and sometimes at night I watch them twinkle in the moonlight. My mother called it the Silver Wanderer when she gave it to me. She said that the necklace had been passed down through five generations of her family and that it was deeply special. Maybe whatever this was about was because of the necklace.

"U-Uncle, you're scaring me-"

"Do you remember what I said about the necklace? Emery you must keep it safe, you must." He repeated. I gave him a short nod. My bottom lip trembled as he handed me the big bag. "Go to the White Line. I promise everything will be alright, but you must hurry." He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

After letting me go, Aunt Sarah gave me a short kiss on the cheek. "Stay safe, Em." She whispered, sending waves of melancholy throughout my body.

I obeyed what their orders and hurried out of the house. I knew they wouldn't lie about something like this, they looked too serious. I was in real danger, I saw it in their eyes, but I didn't want to leave.

Stepping out into the street many cars sped past and gushes of wind messed up my straight blonde hair. This was the first time I've had it down all year and now was the time to ruin it. Aunt Sarah always told me I hated having my hair down because the soft long strands tickled my ears, annoying me. I pulled out an elastic from my pocket and tied my hair into a high ponytail.

Clutching the straps of the bag tightly I jogged all the way to Ryker's house. He only lived a few blocks away, but the distance seemed to run on forever. I was so scared, scared that my Aunt and Uncle had done something wrong and were going to get hurt.

What did they do? This city had many laws, but I didn't think Aunt Sarah and Uncle James would break any of them. Why were they in such a rush to get me out of this city, more importantly why did they want me to cross the white line?

I reached the gate and swung it open after what seemed like hours and stopped to catch my breath. His bricked house was a small one-story building with a rusty metal fence surrounding it. Unlike many of the houses in his street, Ryker's was the only one that looked like it had been abandoned for years, with its boarded up windows and moss covered roof. I quickly walked up to the front door and knocked frantically, hoping somebody, anybody would answer the door, peering over my shoulder periodically in fear of being followed.

I heard an unattractive grunt before the door swung open, revealing an exhausted, shirtless Ryker. His head tilted as his gaze fell upon me, his chocolate orbs shining with perplexity. "Emery?"

I didn't want to break down and cry in front of my best friend but my body urged me to let the sobs out. I couldn't speak. I only stared at him with tears stinging in my eyes.

“Shit Emery, what happened?” Ryker pulled me into a tight embrace and I let my body fall into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

I had trouble choking back the sobs and he noticed this and squeezed me even closer to his chest, his hands resting gently on my waist. I cried silently into his bare shoulder, I realized Ryker was the only one I had left. My family.... I didn't even get to say goodbye. They were going to disappear, the same way my parents had. There was no knowing what would happen to them. I should've turned back and demanded to know everything.

Ever since the disappearance of my parents I'd slowly become more and more rebellious, owning me an expulsion from every school I attended, a couple busted lips from cat fights and a best friend I couldn't live without. I heaved the last of the cries from my chest and hiccuped as I started up at Ryker, he gave me a reassuring smile and pulled me into the comforts of his home.

I tried to convince myself that I would see my aunt and uncle again one day.

But I knew now... now they were gone too. My only hope of finding any of them again was to cross the White Line.

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A/N:

So I thought I would update this again to make up for the long wait. Enjoy! :)

Picture of necklace to the side >>>

~ Lion and Crow