The Girl and the Wolf

Chapter 1

(Mary)
I wake up to someone yelling my name.

"Mary. Mary! Wake up!

I recognize the voice anywhere, it is Allison. My best friend, she always wakes me up early on Sunday's.

I groan and lazily get ready for the day. She just stands ther playing with her strait and long hair. She looks nervous and excited. I know something interesting must have happened. I stop brushing my curly hair and turn to her.

"Who is he?"

" I don't know what you are talking about."

She stands there pretending to be clueless but I see through it. I've been her friend for many years. Plus she's just bad at lying. Her eyes look down at the ground when she lies. I give her a Doubtful look. She stares at the floor for a minute then sighs.

"James Ferrel"

" Thee James Ferrel. As in the preachers son?"

James is very easy on the eyes. He also came from a high class family making him highly respectable. It is the reason why I am surprised when she told me it was him she's been seeing. Allison and I came from low class families. Usually this barrier in society was never crossed.

We walk towards the field. Were we spend half of the day tending to our crops. I break away from the other people in the field to get a drink from the creek.

The cold water feels so good after a hot day in the field. Out of the corner of my eye I see something move. I turn and look seeing nothing there. All the sudden anxious my heart starts beating loudly in my ears. Lord I really am starting to go mad.

I look in the water at my reflection. My red cape makes my curly brown hair stand out. I look around to see if anyone is around. I see Todd walking to the wood shed. I start to walk towards him. Todd and I have been really close since the day I was marked different. He is one of few people that treated me like a person. Our friendship was one of the things that keeps me going. I know he likes me but that was only one way.

I knew the partnering day would come soon. It is a day I dread the most. Our village requires each once each young girl turns nineteen, she must find a man of eligibility and bond with them for life. My problem was I didn't really love any man in the village. I have to choose one it would be Todd. He was very attractive, he had a striking look about him. Many of the other girls admire him regularly. I find it funny he shows no interest in them.

"Hey little lamb."

I smile, as I always do when he calls me my childhood nickname.

"What are you up to Todd?" I ask in a fake doubtful tone. Try to hide the fact that I'm still shaken from seeing shadows.

"Oh, you know just the usual murder and theft stuff."

I laugh at his joke. We reach the wood shed he opens the door something falls over. A mauled body lays in between the rows of wood. It is face down but I recognize the dress immediately. It is Allison.