SATANVILLE - THE BEGINNING

Part 1

When you think of orphans you think of Oliver Twist and Annie, right? Even now that I am one, I can't think of myself that way. It's ridiculous! I feel like I should be wearing rags and begging on a street corner somewhere, not resting my head on the rain-spattered passenger window of a Prius. I'm pretending to be asleep. Aunt Justine has been so sweet these last two weeks, but I just don't have the strength today. It comes and goes, you know, some days I feel 'brave' and ready to tackle all the well-wishers, but other days, like today, I crave quiet.

I miss her every day. There won't be a day when I won't. In the end, she was so sick I missed her even before she died.

New England, or what I can see of it through the fog, is beautiful. So much greener than New Jersey - a lush, thick blanket of evergreens rolls ahead of us as we drive towards Statenville. I rub a little porthole in the steamed up window to get a better look. Darkest, emerald as far as I can see. You could drown in it. I'll miss everyone back home, but for once I agree, this change will do me good. There's too much to remind me of Mom back in the city.

'Hey hon, you're awake.' As she turns the steering wheel, Aunt Justine's bangles jingle and clatter up and down her forearm. 'We'll be hitting Statenville soon and then it's just fifteen minutes or so to the farm. I just bet there'll be steaming mugs of Ava's special tea ready and waiting.'

My grandmother, who insists we call her Ava, brought some of her special tea to the funeral. It tasted of mown lawn, but did have an oddly soothing effect. 'Great!' I try to sound bright and perky.

'Don't worry, Taryn, we'll have you unpacked and settled in before school starts, I promise.'

'I know. It's just been a long drive and...' I stop. From nowhere I get a sharp, stabbing pain behind my eyes. It's blinding and all I can see is white fire. And then it's gone. I'm fine again.

'Taryn?'

'Man, i just had the worst headache. Like right behind my eyes.'

'Are you OK?'

'Yeah, it's gone now. That's so weird.'

'Well, we just passed the town sign, so we can get you some Advil as soon as we're home....oh darn!'

I look out of the windscreen and see flashing lights. 'What is it?'

Justine sighs and flicks her faded lavender hair over her head. 'There must have been an accident. We'll have to go through Milner's Woods.'

She doesn't sound happy about this. She reverses the car and we take a sharp left. 'What's up with that? Is it a big detour?'

'Oh come on! Don't tell me your mom never told you the legend of Milner's Woods?'

I feel a now familar jolt of sadness as she mentions Mom. 'Nope,' I say.

'Look at it, this way, kids never come into these woods after dark!'

'Why not?'

'OK, where to begin? Are you ready for a story? Once upon a time, a weary traveller, or something like that, was walking through the forest when he came across an injured lamb. Pretty weird right? Anyway, the lamb limps away and the traveller follows it through the trees, getting more and more lost with every minute. The lambs leads him to this big, old, twisted oak tree and vanishes into the roots. When the traveller looks inside he sees the lamb has gone, but there's a beautiful girl tangled up in the undergrowth.'

I can't help but smile. 'And you believed this?' The forest is almost closing up around us, branches weaving fingers, shutting out the light. the road is little more than a dirt track and I can see why Justine was reluctant to come this way. Thick, heavy dots of rain splatter onto the roof of the car.

'Wait! The girl is very, very beautiful and the traveller falls hopelessly in love..'

'As one does.'

'...and she tells him she needs an offering if she's to be freed from her prison. A blood offering. And this is where it gets really weird. About a hundred years ago, there's  a recorded case of a drfiter abducting kids, killing them and leaving their bodies in the hollow of an old oak tree.'

I cringe. 'OK, well consider me officially creeped out. It's a true story?'

'That's what he told them when they caught him. He said that the devil had told him to do it...'

'Justine!' I scream as a figure darts out of the trees and in front of the car. At first I assume it must be a deer, but then I glimpse pale skin and realize it's a human. Justine floors the brakes but it's too late. With a hefty thud, she hits whoever it is. They slam into the bonnet before bouncing off.

'Oh my God!' Justine grips the wheel, her face sickly white. 'I hit someone....I...I hit someone.'

I unclip my seatbeat. 'Don't panic. Aunt Justine? Don't panic. We weren't going that fast, they'll be fine.' I open the passenger door and step over a vast pudle. The rain is now a downpour. I race around the car and then freeze.

Justine did hit someone. A guy. I'm already soaking wet but I just stand here. I can't explain it. His mud-covered body is totally nude and his handsome face is pressed into the dirt, eyes closed, mouth open. 

He looks dead.

He's beautiful.