Hey Guys! This is my first story and I'm really nervous about how it'll go, so pleeeaaase comment and give me feedback! I don't really have much else to say at this point, so hopefully you guys enjoy!
Alex's keen, grey eyes scanned the forest below her, looking for the slightest movement. She was sitting in a tree, and after just collecting eggs from the nest she'd found there, she was hoping to catch a rabbit or squirrel for that night. She had found enough berries and nuts earlier to last a couple of days, but it had been a while since she last went hunting.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slight movement, and within seconds her bow was drawn and aimed towards the forest floor. Alex had all but stopped breathing as she waited for the small creature to emerge from the bush it was hiding in. The little head of of a squirrel peered out, and Alex waited for the rest of the body to follow before she let the arrow fly towards one of the tiny white dots of fur on its back.
She nimbly jumped from the tree and retrieved the squirrel and arrow, placing the latter back in her quiver. Smiling, she surveyed the squirrels body, and, as always, she found she had perfectly hit her mark. Alex Skye never missed, thanks to the hours her brother, Michael, spent teaching her to hunt, his choice of weapon also a bow. He had shown her how to throw small knives and spears, as well as setting traps, but brother and sister both agreed it didn't have the same sensation as holding a bow did; fingers curled around wood, the tension of the string as the arrow was pulled back, the satisfying twangand thudas the arrow was released and hit its mark.
Grabbing her catch, she began to head back home. The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees, the light catching on her long, light brown hair, as she walked to the cabin she had lived alone in for years. She couldn't be sure exactly how long she'd lived there by herself, but before her brother disappeared he had taught her how to tell the time of month just by observing the moon cycle, so she was guessing it had been around four years at least. The lodge didn't have electricity or plumbing and was kind of run down, but it was still home.
After arriving at the cabin, Alex abandoned her load to grab a bucket, heading to the nearby lake to fill it multiple times. Most of the water ended up in a large vat over the fire, Alex dragging it off to wash herself before it became too hot. After she changed, she used any remaining water to scrub down her threadbare clothes and boil the eggs in a pot. She cooked the now skinned squirrel over the fire, retrieving her nuts and berries from her bag to eat as well.
Finishing cleaning the pots and plate after her meal, Alex began to walk past the empty rooms that once belonged to her brother and parents and into hers. She traded the candle in her hand for the book sitting on the nightstand, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was by far one of her favourite books, along with the first and third books in the series, Philosopher's Stoneand the Prisoner of Azkaban. Reading was her second love, after hunting of course, and most of her days were spent curled up inside with a book. She'd read all the books in the cabin multiple times, and yearned for new stories, new characters, new adventures. Crawling under the covers, Alex began to read from where she had left off. She knew there were more books in the series; Harry hadn't actually killed Voldemort in Philospher's Stone, and in Prisoner of Azkaban Peter had run off to join the Dark Lord, as Trelawney predicted.
A good, solid hour of reading later, Ginny had disappeared, leaving Harry and Ron to find out Lockhart wasn't all he was cracked up to be. Placing the book back on the nightstand, Alex blew out the candle and snuggled deeper into her blankets. She let her mind wander, thinking of life with her parents and brother, before she fell into the blissful unawareness of sleep.
"Okay, steady."
Alex had her bow drawn and aimed at the bird sitting in the tree ahead of her, breathing deeply as she tried to keep her focus, which was getting increasingly harder as her brother kept trying to encourage her.
"Michael, if you don't shut up this arrow is going through your eye instead of the bird's."
She heard a low chuckle emanate from a few feet away, and the scowl on her face deepened. He wanted her to concentrate, but how was she meant to do that when he kept distracting her? Inhaling deeply, she let the arrow soar towards the bird, only to have it miss by an inch. The startled bird flew away, and Alex swore under her breath and turned to her brother, furious.
"Uh uh uh. Language."
"Seriously?"
Michael feigned a look of innocence. "Well, yeah. Ladies shouldn't talk like that," he said, flashing her a smile
"You know what I mean."
Michael shrugged. "You need to learn to operate under pressure. You're already easily distracted, and that could make the difference between whether you fail or succeed. Whatever your hunting, at that moment in time, is the only thing that matters in the world, and all your attention needs to be directed at it. You wouldn't let a deer get away because you had a branch digging into your back, it's just a wasted opportunity."
Alex mumbled something under her breath about 'wasted opportunities in not shooting you' and began searching for another bird. After she found one, her bow was drawn and locked onto the small animal. From her left, she heard her brothers voice, but this time all her attention was on the bird. Seconds later, the bird fell from the tree, an arrow piercing its eye, and Alex turned to face her brother, her face split in a wide grin.
"Ha! What were you saying about being easily…" her voice trailed off, because where Michael used to be there was just empty air.
"Michael? Where are you?" She slowly turned, looking for any signs of her brother.
"Ha ha ha, very funny. You can come out now."
Alex didn't notice the darkness and cold creeping in until she was standing in the pitch black woods. Her breaths came quicker, and she wildly looked around for her brother. A small way away from her, she heard footsteps approaching her.
"Michael?"
Her voice sounded small and far off, and the footsteps continued toward her in silence. She turned and began running through the woods, not seeing where she was going. Suddenly she was tumbling across the forest floor, and when she finally came to a stop the footsteps were right behind her. Alex let out a small whimper, and when a large hand came down on her shoulder, her scream echoed all around her.
Alex woke up the next day, the recurring nightmare of being chased through the woods already fading from her memory as she launched into her usual routine. She ate the last two eggs and some berries, and started to read Chamber of Secrets again. After she finished, she went on to Prisoner of Azkaban, knowing that when she finished she would still be left wondering about Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the wizarding world. By late afternoon, Alex had abandoned her book in favor of her bow and arrow, hoping for another squirrel or nest to pilfer to feed her for the night.
Two hours later, Alex was walking back to the cabin with five eggs and a rabbit, and though it had been a good afternoon, something didn't feel right. She knew the feeling, she just couldn't place it. The feeling grew more and more unsettling, until she finally realised where she knew it from. Michael and her used hide in the forest, and the first person to find their sibling, sneak up on them and 'kill' them won. Her brother was usually victorious, and though it was meant to be one of many hunting exercises he made her endure, Alex had the feeling Michael just wanted a chance to show off. Anyway, this was the same feeling she got when Michael had found her and was waiting for his opportunity to strike.
Could it be…? No. Alex pushed the thought from her mind. If it was Michael, why was he spying on her instead of just coming to her? But no, it couldn't be Michael, could it? He had disappeared years ago, so why come back now to see Alex? It had taken her months to convince herself he was actually gone, so she wasn't about to let herself get her hopes up.
Alex arrived at the cabin and went to get water as per usual, the feeling of being watched still following her. When she went inside for the night it lessened slightly, but was still there none-the-less. Although she had a gut feeling something wasn't right, she ignored it, passing it off as paranoia.
She tried to read before she went to bed, but was too unnerved to be able to concentrate on her book. Settling into bed, she tossed and turned for hours before falling into a fitful sleep.
Night was falling and Alex was silently flitting from shadow to shadow, listening for the slightest indication of where Michael might be hiding. She couldn't, wouldn't, let him win this time; it was her turn to show him what she was made of. The crunch of boot on undergrowth made her wince with every step she took. From her left, she heard the sudden shuffle of leaves, making her freeze. By now everything was silent, Alex waiting for Michael's stare to burn into her back as she continued on her quest to finally beat him. But the cold stare never came, though she was still paranoid he would find her and declare his victory. Again. No, she could do this. She had to do this. Slowly, she placed one foot after the other, moving more quietly than was humanly possible.
An hour later, she was still creeping through the forest, no sign of Michael anywhere. The cold was beginning to seep through the forest, though Alex's determination never wavered.
Even when she heard footsteps slowly shuffle towards her.
In hindsight, she should have known Michael would never let himself be heard on a hunt, but her desperation to win caused her to whip out her bow and arrow and spin around, hoping if she had him rendered helpless first she would be announced 'the best' for once. Her wild hope turned to confusion as she stared at the empty space behind her, her bow and arrow slightly dropping as she looked around, sure he had been right there.
"Dammit," she muttered, hearing someone approach from her left. She slung her bow back over her shoulder and turned to face the trees where she was sure Michael was hiding, waiting for him to emerge and the taunting to start.
But it never did.
Instead, the footsteps gradually travelled closer to Alex, and she began to feel uneasy.
"Michael, you win, I give up, it's getting late. Can we get this over and done with and go home?"
No response.
The footsteps neared Alex.
"Michael stop it's not funny," she said, an edge of panic creeping into her voice.
The footsteps were getting closer with every second, and Alex, finally accepting whoever was coming for her was not Michael, turned and ran.
Twigs and branches tore at her skin and clothes as she stumbled blindly through the forest, breathing heavily and operating only on adrenaline. She knew running meant getting away and being safe, stopping... well, she wasn't exactly sure what that would entail, but instinct told her it wouldn't be good.
"Michael!" she yelled, wanting more than anything for him to find her now.
"Alex?" he called, a note of worry in his voice
"Michael!"
"Ale-," before his sister's name could leave his lips, there was a massive thud and the two were sprawled on the forest floor, both scrambling to their feet immediately. Grabbing his hysterical sister, Michael dragged her behind a tree and clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Shhh, you need to calm down ok? Ok? Alex? Alex stop, you need to listen to me."
Alex looked up at her brother, her eyes filled with panic as she hyperventilated and shook uncontrollably.
"There's someone in the house, Alex, stop, please, and you need to wake up, ok? Then you need to run, don't worry about them just run, yeah? You need to calm down, you'll be alright, I promise. Just wake up and run, ok?"
"Micha-? What? What do you mean?" Alex searched his face, looking for a hint at what her brother was talking about, only to find concern etched across it, his mouth forming a sad smile.
"This is only a dream Alex, but you really need to wake up. Promise me you'll do what I said, you'll be safe."
He wrapped his arms around her, gave her a small kiss on the forehead, and disappeared with everything else.
Alex bolted up in bed, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. A sliver of moonlight crept through a crack in the curtains, glinting off the knife she had pulled out from underneath her pillow. Realising she was in her bed, she let out a sigh of relief and lay back, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down. Just as she began to feel drowsy again, she heard the creaking of floorboards somewhere in the house. Sitting back up slowly, her grip tightened on the handle of her knife as she all but stopped breathing. Upon hearing the sounds again, Alex quietly swung her legs out of bed, and after slipping the knife into the waistband of her pants, she grabbed her bow and arrow from where it was leaning on the end of her bed. Drawing an arrow, she quietly stepped around her door and down the hall.
Another creak, accompanied by a strange hiss and click, reached Alex's ears. Freezing, Alex remembered her brothers warning.
"There's someone in the house... Don't worry about them just run, ok?"
Should she slip back up the hall and out her bedroom window? Or try and evade the intruder and escape through the front door? 'Stop,' she thought, 'it was just a dream. He never warned me of anything, and there's no one here. It's just an animal.' But what about the hissing and clicking? She'd never heard an animal make that sound before. It was almost... Unnatural. Alex inwardly groaned in frustration. Why was she being so paranoid today? First she was being 'followed', and now this? Somehow it all had something to do with Michael, she knew it, though she wasn't sure what.
Hissssssss, click click click
Alex's heart was pounding against her chest as she continued down the hall, not sure what she was going to find at the end of it. Peering around the corner, her whole body tensed as she tried to swallow a scream. In the middle of the living room stood a creature she'd never seen before, and frankly never wanted to see again. Scaly and covered in some sort of armour, it's head swung slightly toward where Alex was, before making the same hisses and clicks Alex had heard earlier. Before long, another one joined the first one, and after what Alex thought must have been a hushed conversation, it left again.
'Now's your chance...'
Alex closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, hoping she would hit a weak spot on the creature and kill it immediately... But what if it didn't work? What if there were more in the house, but she only knew about the two? She lowered her bow and leaned back against the wall, starting to shake. She should've turned around before and jumped out the window; she would've be fine in the woods for a few weeks, or however long it took for those things to get out of her house. Just as she was about to try and sneak off back down the hall, she heard another conversation start, but this time one of the voices belonged to a human.
"I'm sorry, but I don't recall you being announced leader of this little expedition."
Alex stayed glued to the spot, torn between running or staying to see what these people... Well person and... Things... Wanted.
Hissss click click hisssss
"While I may have failed him, he has still put me in control, and I will not tolerate any insubordination on your behalf," the man ground out. Alex was half scared, half awed by the man voice. This was the first time in three years she'd been around another human, and even though she was in a potentially life threatening situation, she couldn't find it in herself to run.
A growl emanated from the throat of the clearly aggravated creature, and it stalked off into the next room. Gathering the last remaining shreds of her courage, Alex forced herself to sneak a look around the corner once again, this time hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who had spoken before. Menacing authority. His very being screamed it, and Alex felt pity for anyone who found themselves under his cold hard stare. Even the sight of him in his green, black and gold armour and cape caused Alex to shrink back against the wall, where she considered her options. 1) Back to her room and out the window like "Michael" said, or 2) Find out why this guy and his... Friends were in her house (even though the thought of being anywhere in his vicinity made her skin crawl). Before she could decide, the stranger's voice rang out again, seeding a shiver down her spine.
"Waiting here is becoming tedious: it's better to be early in the course of our plan than late. Go get the girl."
'Crap.'