Levtirest Book 1: Intrus

Chapter 2: A Strange Place

Everyone in the Jones house awoke to a loud crash. Emily instinctively took note of the time: 1:32 am. Emily went to Victoria's room to make sure that she hadn't fallen. Before Victoria could say anything, Lucille entered the room. She went to the girls and whispered, "Someone has broken into the house! I've already contacted the police. We're going to the neighbor's house." They all began to crawl out of the window. Emily and Victoria hit the ground first, but just as Lucille began to climb down the window, they heard something from inside the house that sent chills down their spines.

They heard a man's voice say, "There you are." They heard the back-door creak open. Emily grabbed Victoria's hand, and the two girls ran into the woods with all their speed and might as Lucille hid herself in the room once more.

Victoria asked, "Why are we in the woods?!?"

"Because we're a lot less likely to be found here than if we'd run to the neighbor's house." Victoria rolled her eyes. Emily had so much of her dad in her that sometimes it worried her. Instead of going to the safe place as planned, if Emily knew there was someplace safer and knew there weren't rules in place that said otherwise, she would go to that other "safer" place. Victoria knew that, at this point, it was best for them to stick together.

Thankfully, Emily had a near-perfect memory of the woods in the Jones's backyard. The Jones family had lived in the same house for over ten years, and the girls practically grew up playing in those woods. Because of this, Emily knew exactly where to turn and how much and in what direction in order to get away from the Jones's house as quickly as possible. As the girls continued to run, Emily tried to be as quiet as possible, but even so, they could hear footsteps behind them, as if they were being chased. That pushed them to run even faster and even harder. Eventually, though, they were going to have to stop.

Emily slowed up at what she felt was a good stopping place, and they hid behind a giant oak tree. They tried to catch their breaths as quietly as possible, and Victoria began to wonder if the footsteps they'd heard had just been their own. She began to feel silly. Emily, however, was convinced that the man had chased them into the woods and wasn't too far away.

Victoria began to ask Emily a question, but Emily shook her head, insisting that they not speak. She then pulled out a necklace and motioned to it. Victoria nodded her head and pulled out a necklace as well. The girls had found the matching necklaces one day while wandering the woods when they were around ten years old. The necklaces stuck together whenever put close enough to one another. Victoria always figured they were magnetic, but Emily wasn't convinced. She'd tested hers and found that it was not affected by other magnets.

The girls put the necklaces together. That was something that had always brought comfort to the girls during a time of stress. They'd put the necklaces together and stare at them. It especially calmed Emily down. She viewed the necklaces as herself and Victoria. Some people had reasons for why they were best friends and stuck together, and others were baffled. Either way, they were always together, and they'd stay that way.

Just then, they thought they heard footsteps again. The two girls froze. Victoria knew that if Emily felt they should run again, she'd already have them up and running, but she didn't. Victoria didn't know what to do, so she just stayed as still as possible. Emily, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was doing. By this point, the man probably wasn't entirely sure of where they were. If the two of them remained as still as possible, since there wasn't much moonlight or starlight that night, it was very likely that the man would not see them, even if he walked right by them.

Emily looked over to Victoria and mouthed, "Don't move." Victoria nodded her head, getting the message. The two girls remained completely still, doing their best not to move. Just as Emily figured, the man soon came around. Victoria had to do her best not to shake, but Emily was so still one would think she was a stone. The man entered their line of sight in such a way that they were behind him. He moved past them, not even taking a second look towards the giant oak. Very quickly, however, a shiver was sent down Emily's spine. The man looked familiar, but it wasn't until she spotted the tattoo on his neck that she recognized him. She realized he was the same man who'd broken into the school. By this point, Victoria had closed her eyes. Because of this, she missed what happened next.