Chapter 1
I looked to the pink tinged sky. It was freezing cold, yet the humidity kept the air dry and warm somehow. Of all the days it had to rain, it had to be today. The surrounding forest looked wet and unwelcoming, yet I urged myself to go on into the mysterious place.
My cell phone rang in my bag, and I frantically searched for it. I was waiting for a girl that is in my class named Emily. She was part of the wildlife preserve that was hidden in the forest on the side of town, and she said she would give me a tour. Its been ten minutes from when she said she would be here. There were stories of witches and fiends that lived there. Lately the people of Stonehill were worried about the forest though. Apparently there was hazardous waste in it, which is hard to believe. When I was young, I used to explore those woods when I stayed with my Aunt, and I never saw anything dangerous in it. Meanwhile I stood at the entrance of the preserve waiting for her, hoping that none of those stories are true, or more like became true.
I caught glance of my phone in the jumble of mess in my bag, and I fumbled for it. My ring tone sounded louder as I pulled it out of my purse. I sort of realized that one day I had to clean out my purse as I answer my cell.
"Hello?" I asked uncertainly. I wished I had my other cell phone right now, but one of my sisters had to use it. She was lucky because she gets to go on vacation to France on an 'educational trip' while I get stuck in the rain with a cell phone that hardly works, produces a series of beeps for a ring tone, and has no caller id. This is me though, the one that easily gets harried with the most stupid conflicts. At the end of the day though, it's better than having no cell phone.
"Hey Kelsey! I'm so sorry I'll be a little late. I'm on my way right now. My mom wanted me to feed some of the dogs over at the Pet Palace. Adriane will be over there in a minute. She's the girl I was talking about. She lives at the preserve," she went on in a rush.
Emily, like me, has a love for animals. Her mother is a vet and is the owner of an animal clinic, just a couple blocks away from where I live. They also own a sort of pet daycare place which they call the Pet Palace. I, on the other hand, came from California where raving wild fires swamp the forest. My mother and I used to help animals injured by the fires. So pretty much Emily and I are similar in some ways, but it seems like I have more losses to greave for. When my mother got sick just about a year ago with some skin disease, we were forced to move here so my aunt could take care of her. My dad died in a car accident when I was four, and all my other relatives either hate me or live over in Canada. Therefore we had to come here to Pennsylvania to live with my aunt. My mother seems to be in a worse state than before. It seems as if it is getting worse.
"Okay. How will I know it's her though?" I asked in a confused way. It was always up to me to make things confusing on the easiest things.
"She'll be with a wolf. You'll know her when you see her. I'll see you in a bit. I just found Kara. Bye!" she said hurriedly and then hung up.
Typical of her. She's always rushing around, even at times she doesn't need to. At least she's being friendly. I just moved here and I absolutely don't know anyone except for my Aunt. Emily was the only one that really tried to be friendly to me at school. Kara acted like a snob all the time with that Tiffany girl. I still don't understand why Emily puts up with her. All Emily would say is that Kara was an important part of the preserve, and without her Ravenswood would have been dug out of the ground for a golf course.
I caught a glint of the stone that was woven into my necklace. I found a stone here in these woods that I thought was neat when my Aunt and I came to visit some woman here. I'd say the stone was purple and round when I found it. I was young though so perhaps I just imagined it over the years.
I took the stone up in my hand. It shined even though I never had to polish it. It was a crimson color that shined as if it was nearly polished. It was very smooth and slippery in my hands. It is shaped as a star with an arrow carved on it. In an instant it flashed a blue color that surprised me I fell back into the leaves that covered the ground out of surprise. The stone turned really warm, warmer than the humidity that I felt in the air. That was odd. It never acted so strangely. I lifted it up to look at it, still lying on the ground. I was invisible, but I could still feel it. Right about now I should probably be scarred. I'm not though, for confusion once again came to mind.
I heard a sound in back of me, and soon noticed that there was a girl standing in front of me. She had black hair tied up in a low lying ponytail. She was dressed in a dark blue sweater and a pair of black jeans. She was looking down at me, and offering a hand. There was a gray wolf to her side. I'm guessing this was Adriane.
I grabbed her hand and she helped me up. I looked back at my stone held in the clasp of my necklace against my throat. It was back to the way it was, crimson and smooth. Weird, I thought. I all of a sudden relaxed as if a sudden mist was dumped over me. I rubbed the leaves off my legs and my back and looked up to the girl to realize the she was starring at me. Her arms were crossed and she looked like she was in a regretful mood. I picked up my bag from the ground. Great! The embroidery of colorful flowers and shaded leaves was ruined and pulled apart. I wondered how that happened. It was only wet leaves and mud it sat upon. I groaned as I brushed at it, wondering if there were any ways of fixing it.
"Huh. So you're Kelsey I'm guessing. Welcome to the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve. Did you meet Kara yet? She's part of the preserve animal wise," she said in an almost mocking way. We stood there in silence for a couple seconds until we both giggled. That's a way to put it.
"Welcome Spellfighter," said a voice that was near. It was almost calm and peaceful, yet disturbing, for it did not come from outside the head. It turned around to see the wolf that accompanied the girl earlier. Was I just imagining it?
"Did you hear that?" I said sharply. I did not like this. First the stone, now I'm imagining things. All I need now is the sky to fall down on me.
"Storm," she gestured toward the wolf," says hi. She's a wolf here at the preserve. Emily told me about you. Could I see your stone? I have one too." She said fast-paced, trying to change the subject.
She lifted up her arm, and pulled down her sleeve to show a stone. It was shaped like a paw print in an almost gold-amber tinge. I pulled out my necklace on its chain and handed it over. An explosion of power erupted from us as I handed it over to her. I was slammed against a tree nearby as she flew back toward the gate to Ravenswood. This was close enough. First I found out that my natural stone can change colors in an instant, then I found out I'm hearing voices, and now some imaginary force can make me fly back, or gravity is corrupted. Either way, I think I'm done.
I looked back at the tree that I slammed into. Flash. A tree stood by the sidewalk of a street while soon enough a car was pushed into it by another car. An ambulance sounded a couple minutes later. I tried to push myself out of my invisible bonds. I tried to reach out to the blue car that was smashed against the tree. I know I'm not here. It already happened, the death of my father.
My eyes burned from the tears and the sudden pain that struck my face. I looked over to Adriane. Flash. A little girl with strawberry blond hair in a dark green dress came out into the clearing of the woods followed by another little girl with black hair dressed in a black dress. They ran around playing tag until one of them fell. The dirt rumbled by the girl in black. A pile of dirt whirled around while buzzing. I remembered this. This was the first time me and Adriane met. We both forgot about it over the years.
"Are you all right?" I cried out in pain I stopped in thought to catch my breath. My back ached from the hard hit on the tree trunk. The sky was turning darker as the trees whirled out of sight. I heard a faint response, and then everything turned black.
