Daughter of Light; Key of the Elders

Chapter 2

"Run!" He shouted from behind me. I couldn't see the boy who shouted at me, but I followed his instructions. The creature wasn't far behind. It had long curved horns tipped with steel. It had the face of a ram and the body of a cheetah. It chased me through the woods. The boy who told me to run materialized in front of me.

"Be careful, the emvolo is close to you. Don't let it touch you with its horns. They can poison you quickly and you'll die within minutes."

"Who are you?" I asked. He smiled a cocky smile. His dark hair hung close to his eyes. He wore a black hoodie and a black bandana. Underneath his hoodie was a grey t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"You'll find out soon enough. No need for me to ask you, I already know who you are," He told me. I started to say something, but my eyes opened.

"Miss," a man said and shook my shoulder. "Miss, this is the bus' last stop." I looked around. I was in a small bus in some city. I didn't know if I was even in Tennessee anymore.

"Where am I sir?" I asked. He sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"You are now in Cleveland, miss." I stared at him.

"Cleveland! As in Cleveland, Ohio?" He shook his head and laughed at my confusion.

"No, you are in Cleveland, Tennessee. A town near Chattanooga. It's okay for the confusion, most folks are confused about it too." I stood up and grabbed my bag. I waved nicely to the bus driver and hopped off the bus.

"Where am I going to go now?" I thought. I looked around searching for a sign telling me where to go. Suddenly, I saw the same boy from my dream last night. I sprinted toward him, trying to reach him and see what he wanted from me. When I was about to reach him, he disappeared into a shadow. I looked around and screamed out in frustration.

"You alright, honey?" A young woman asked me. I looked at her. "Where are your parents?"

"In Nashville," I snapped at her. She stepped back.

"Did you run away?" She asked. I nodded.

"Uh duh!" She took out her phone and started to dial a number.

"I'm calling Child Services and getting you back to your home. It's not safe to run away you know."

"You think I don't know that! If I knew what I was doing then I wouldn't have ended up in Cleveland, Tennessee." I looked around for anything to help me. I saw a sign for Prentice Cooper National Forest. For some reason, I felt like I needed to go there. I saw a train leaving for Chattanooga and a plan formed in my head. I took off running down the street.

"Come back here!" The woman shouted. She started to run after me. The train began to chug out of the station. I ran faster and faster as the train sped up. It was almost out of reach, but I lept toward the end of the train. My hand gripped around the metal bar of the back platform.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Woo hoo! I made it out of here! So long lady!" I waved smugly at the woman, cursing at the edge of the platform. Silently I opened the door and snuck into the train. I sat down at the bar in the dining car. It looked like an old fashioned diner counter.

"Now what would you like, miss?" the young woman behind the counter said. I looked at her name tag. It said Fiona. She looked a lot like me or I looked a lot like her.

"Can I get a chocolate milkshake, my favorite dessert?" She nodded and turned to make it.

"So, what brings you to Chattanooga?" She asked. I shrugged, nervous to explain my motives to a stranger.

"Just wanted to go," I told her. She put the milkshake down in front of me. I looked at her name tag again and it flickered. It changed for a moment and read, Feya.