Why Should I Tell You Anything? COMPLETED

Another Story

I sit on the floor of the kitchen watching all three boys eat in front of me. My bowl-plate warm on my lap filled with thick broth smelling of beef and freshly cut mint leaves. The odd combination is enticing as it is curious. Chopped carrots dot the surface along with tiny onion slices adding to the wonderful flavor.

A thick napkin lays across my lap with the strange three-in-one utensil in hand. When I asked about the utensil, Gideon and Adrien looked at me as if I were crazy and told me there couldn't be separate three separate utensils and that it was stupid they would split it up. It would only create more dishes and confusion on which one to use. But Shiloh came to my rescue and explained it isn't very difficult once you get used to it.

Now we sit on the floor eating in silence. I organize my thoughts to tell them my life story just as they have done for me. It feels unfair to short them on this, though there isn't much to tell since my life has basically been the same pattern since I was born. I glance up at Gideon who happily takes a bite of his soup before flashing me a smile.

"Go on then," he urges excitedly, "tell us your story."

I pause for a moment. My eyes flick to Shiloh who has been staring at his soup for a while now. My mind wanders for a moment, thinking about what his story could be. Gideon said early on if they were going to share their stories then it would have to go in order meaning Shiloh's must come next. I don't know what to expect from his. His story will explain his scars, his silence, and even how he changed from being human into this. Whatever this was.

"Well..." I begin slowly, avoiding Adrien's hard gaze. I stop eating and set the strange tool against the side of the sloped edge. "It begins with the forest. Um, like most stories in our town it always does. We didn't know what was killing people, just that something was. It started suddenly when a family of hikers went in and never came out. My mom told me this happens more often than you'd think because people can get lost but this time... it felt different.

"My dad was called, since he was part of the force, and went after the family with a couple of other guys. But when they went in... their radios stopped working and no one heard from them. They sent in another team but they never came back like the family of hikers and my father's team. This time, more people were sent in, though the town is beginning to panic thinking something had happened to them. Which... something did.

"I know now that it was the Masser but at the time, no one had a clue of what happened. They thought it was a bear attack or even a serial killer roaming the woods but... it was a horrible display. You guys saw it... it-, well... anyways, that was the day my father died. The bodies were so ripped up it was unrecognizable, all of them were. But there was no way he would have survived. Mom was devastated and had to raise me alone, though the town did help quite a bit.

"After that, people who went in never came back out. Soon it became our town's horror story, the ones that you only hear about in ghost stories. I was raised to be afraid of the forest, knowing it took my father and many others. But soon enough, after I stopped having nightmares when I was around seven, I started living normally. I went to school, got good grades, I was living a very normal and boring life despite the fact people were being murdered in the forest that lies in my backyard.

"I've always laid low, stayed out of trouble, and did my own thing. I don't have any best friends, just people to talk to at school. I don't... do much. In all honesty, the most exciting part of my life is this. My most traumatic experience is something I can't even remember because I was only one. And a few recent ones with you guys..." I take a deep breath feeling awkward under their gazes. "So... yeah. That's basically my life. It's not a lot and it's nothing compared to your's-"

"As I said before, all stories are important," Gideon cuts me off with a soft smile. "And now you've got us to make things exciting."

"And your mother?" Adrien asks quietly, "What's she like?"