She Came From the Forest (James and Tera: book 1)

2

Since it was a Wednesday, I always stayed after school to run the track. I kept a plastic bag of track pants in my book bag so I could use my legs better than being in jeans. Since the track surrounded the football field, I used the locker room near the stands to change. Usually I would time myself for each lap I ran. 4 laps was a mile at the track. I liked to test myself and try to beat my time from the days before. If I didn't beat it, then the time I get is the time to beat for next time.

When I got done running, I usually walked Sage home from his extra credit classes. He always had something to make up for, whether it be Biology or History. But today he actually got his work done in all his classes and got to go home after school. Eh, who knows, maybe he stopped by the record store to listen to the new shipments that came in every other Tuesday. Today, I was alone.

The sun was about to be fully out of sight when I finished. Mom never liked me walking in the dark. She always felt like I was in danger, like I would get held up and robbed or attacked by some animal. Coyotes were common in our parts. I've seen a few in trash cans on the way home, and I enjoy watching them. They're beautiful to me. But they never harm me. If they know I see them or if I'm near them, they'll scatter.

I had made it to my house and was walking up the driveway towards the kitchen door when something out of the ordinary caught my eye. At the edge of the woods, I saw a figure. It was the back of a girl, wearing nothing but a pair of blue jeans and a denim vest with a cow skull on the back. Her hair was in a ponytail, and it swung each time she took a step.

I dropped my bag on the porch and followed behind her. It was dangerous out here, and I wanted to make sure this strange lady was alright. She must have been one of the new neighbors. I could tell, because only hunters go into the forest with no worries, on account of them having guns.

But she had no worries. She was new here, yet she stepped over each stump, each tree root, as if she knew these parts of the forest. I knew them because I usually take walks through here. But she walked like she grew up in these woods. As if she were nocturnal.

I followed her for only 2 minutes before I got stuck in some thorns and lost sight of her. It took me a few moments to get out, but I managed. I had come this far, might as well go the rest of the way. There was a cliff I liked to sit at nearby, and judging from how much light was coming through the trees, there must be a full moon, which would really be beautiful to look at.

When I finally got to the cliff, where there was a clearing, I saw her. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Her body, naked and in strong shape, stood at the edge of the cliff, the half-full moon lighting her body. Her hair, hanging half way down her back, was black and straight. I was petrified at the sight of such beauty.

The wind blew from behind me, and it blew her hair as well. I heard her take a deep breath and, slowly, she turned around to look at me. I stared back, and there was something in me that was telling me to run, while something else told me to stay.

"You smell good." She said in a rough but seductive voice. Her eyes were a dark yellow color, the color I had never seen anyone have in their eyes.

"Wh-who are you?" Was all I managed to ask.

Her eyes suddenly glowed, a now lightened yellow in her eyes. "It's not very safe to walk alone in a forest. You never know what beast is lurking around each corner." She took a step towards me.

I instinctively took a step back, only to trip and land on something hard. My eyes stayed open, staring at the moon. I started to fade, hearing footsteps getting closer before I finally fell unconscious.
.......
My head was killing me. I sat up, but immediately put my head back down and let out a groan of pain. I opened my eyes, but the room was spinning too fast. I lay there, staring straight up at the ceiling. But then that big question rose: how did I get home?