Alli had the pressing feeling of not being able to breathe. The thick shadows seemed be suffocating her, stealing her breath. Instead of her lungs moving, the shadows seemed to move of their own rhythm. They moved closer with every passing second, expanding and contracting, inching closer.

She shouldn't be scared of shadows. Shadows were just spaces with less light than the surrounding area. She shouldn't be scared. But every part of her screamed that she was. There was something out there, she was certain of it.

She could feel her feet moving before she realized she was even going forward. Her feet pounded into the ground trying to make sure they wouldn't slip on the wet dirt; as the skies seemed to open and pour down.

She could hear a rumbling noise drifting all around her. The fog carrying the noise until it covered her. It sounded vaguely like an engine maybe, but the more she heard the noise it became very clear. The noise was something living. That was something, she should be scared of.

She began to consciously run faster, Her body swerving between trees and brush. Her feet leaping over logs and into puddles. The shadows seemed to be reaching out, beckoning for her to come back. Branches tugged on clothing. Seams ripped to be free of the shadows' grasp.

Suddenly there were the cliffs. The cliffs overlooking the ocean. Her body jerked backwards to maintain a solid footing on the ground. Breath panting she looked out at the stormy waters below. The water seemed to be afraid, just like her. The waves were rushing around, crashing into one another.

She turned around as the rumble began to start again. Glowing eyes peered back from the edges of the shadowed forest. The rumbling, the deep growl was coming from it. Part of her wanted to take a step forward, towards the growling animal. But she knew that would be a bad decision. She turned again facing the water.

She jumped.

Alli groaned at the sound of the opening guitar riffs of her alarm clock. Upbeat music was supposed to motivate her to get up. The Features starting singing as the volume slowly increased to guarantee her not going back to sleep. She took a few deep breaths as she rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, mind caught in the vivid imagery of her dream, before turning off her alarm and slipping out of bed.

She threw on a pair of socks to protect her feet from the icy cold tile as she shuffled down the hall, pausing for a moment to bang on the singular bathroom's door as she walked by. "The bathroom is mine in 20 regardless if you are done or not Jase." She didn't wait to hear his inevitable snarky reply.

Finally down the stairs and into the kitchen she threw a piece of bread into the toaster and pulled the peanut butter and an orange from the fridge. She wasn't actually hungry. Her stomach seemed to think it would be funny to be flipping inside of her instead of actually letting food settle. She managed to keep down the orange and a few bites of toast.

Her mom sat down across from here. Alli was a near spitting image of her, all cinnamon skin and brown eyes, with cascading dark hair framing their faces. Alli just had the subtle difference of her hair being curly, courtesy of their father.

He mother spoke up after a moment of observing the food left on the plate. "That nervous?" Alli gave her a look in response that clearly said, you have no idea. She gave a small sympathetic smile. "I know this has been tough: your Dad, moving back to where I grew up, a new school, but you got this. One year left and then your future is up to you, not held captive your mother moving across the country."

"Like I am ever leaving you." Alli smarted back with a grin.

"You better. I'm not letting you live rent free for the rest of my life." Her mom pushed forward a glass of water and two small pills. "Don't forget. Did you pack your emergency meds too?"

Alli nodded, swallowing the pills and finishing off the glass of water. "Yep. I have to get started on my career of a drug dealer if I am ever going to pay your rent prices. I feel like I have a very promising future."

"Aw, cool. My sister is going to deal drugs! Can that be my fun fact as school today?" Jase interrupted as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Alli rolled her eyes. "You can't steal my fun fact. Maybe you should tell them that you spend an hour manscaping every morning instead." She darted up the stairs laughing at her brother's shouts.

She quickly climbed into the shower taking the opportunity alone to check in with herself. The hot water was calming, which was good. She needed it right now. She could feel her heart beat a little faster than she should and her fingertips were tingling. She could get through today. She could do it.

She realized she spent a little too long in the shower and rushed to get ready throwing on a cream sweater to help combat the moist chilly air. Her blow dryer was still packed, she would just have to let her hair air dry. She quickly threw on some makeup and ran downstairs grabbing her bag on the way out.

Her car was a peice of junk barley running anymore. It took a few times to even get it to start. It was a champagne colored Chevrolet Monte Carlo that was almost as old as her. It probably would last a few years if she knew how to take care of it. She definitely didn't know how to care for it unless it was just giving it encouraging words while it started.

She dropped her brother off at the middle school first and then parked outside of the high school. She wouldn't get out of her car quite yet. The thought of walking into a brand new high school alone, especially in a small town, was enough to make her heart speed up with anxiety again.

She screamed as taps sounded on her window. She looked over to see her cousin Quil laughing. "Alli! I thought you were never going to get out of that car." He laughed at his own joke and opened the door for her.

She lightly smacked him on the arm. "I was getting things ready. Is that how you greet all of your family. I ought to tell your mom." Quil's laughing stopped immediately. "I'm joking Quil. But seriously, when did you get so big? Is there something in the water here?"

Alli hadn't been back to the reservation in two years. Last time she had seen her cousin Quil, he was a gangly 15 year old. Now he towered at least 6 inches above her, and much buffer than she last remembered. He made her look like a mouse compared to him.

Quil laughed and wrapped her in a hug. "I can't be going and telling all the tribe council secrets can I? But I can tell you that we are going to be late if you don't get your schedule from the office soon."

They headed in together, a quick stop at the office and then after looking over her schedule, she had to leave her cousin to attend different classes. And right on cue of her cousin leaving her stomach began to flip again.

She was lucky. Her first class was math, and no one seemed interested in her existence there at all. The teacher rattled off an insincere comment about how it was a joy to have another student in their classroom and then they were off learning about statistics. But the next class she wasn't as lucky. The overly excited teacher was all too eager to pull her up to the front of the room.

"I'm Allison, I mean I don't normally go by Allison I go by Alli. But I guess you can call me either. I used to live in Portland, but my mom is really excited to have us live where she grew up too." She looked over at the teacher who gestured for her to keep going. This had to be a version of hell, because this was quickly becoming torture. "I- I guess-um-I like reading?"

"Fantastic Allison, we are overjoyed to have you here."

Alli couldn't move fast enough back into her seat. She quickly slipped her hands under her desk and squeezed them hard together to help quell the shaking. Deep breaths Alli. You can handle today. You got this.

She felt a hand tap her shoulder. She turned to find a boy she found vaguely familiar. Maybe one of Quil's friends? She had seen a few of them in photos he would occasionally send her while they emailed. She zoned it as his face turned more concerned. "-you need to go to the nurse? You look pale."

She blinked a few times before understanding his words. "Sorry no. I'm okay."

He gave a small smile but clearly didn't believe her. "You should have seen her in the beginning of the year. We all had to sit in a circle and talk about who we really were, and our goals for the class. I tried to tell her that I liked cars and she told me that was merely a surface reflection of the beautiful spirit I actually am." That got a small giggle out of Alli and he gave a smile back. "I'm Embry. You are Quil's cousin right?"

Embry. That name suddenly clicked. She had met him before, two years ago. He was Quil's best friend alone with that Black kid. He was unrecognizable now. His long hair chopped to a crew cut, fully filled out just like Quil, now practically monstrous. She held back her disbelief and just nodded. "That's me."

The teacher began to drone on. They were put into groups of 5. They were told to start organizing a small demonstration of Q'waeti and the formation of the tribes of the Olympic Peninsula. They would each be leading a boat at the end of the year for the middle and elementary aged kids and telling them the legend.

"We got Quileutes." a group member named Sadie said with a laugh. "Well that makes things easier. Q'waeti saw no one living in this land but wolves. So he turned the wolves into people and told them they should forever be protectors and warriors of the peninsula."

Embry was still laughing when he walked Alli to lunch. "I don't get what is so funny?"

Embry just shook his head. "The legends man. They are just funny. I can't talk about it. Just trust me." Alli rolled her eyes and they walked into the cafeteria. She grabbed a random array of foods and sat down at an empty table. She had been sitting for barely a few seconds when her tray disappeared from in front of her.

She whipped around to watch Quil carrying her food away. "You aren't eating alone, come on." She darted after him mumbling something about how she could do what she wanted and then annoyed, plopped herself in the seat in front of the tray.

She could feel her nerves grow again, surrounded by a giant wall of tall boys all shouting at one another. She picked at her food until Quil sat down next to her gesturing to her.

"This is Alli. Alli you've met Embry." She nodded and he gave her a smile. "That's Jake, Jared, Seth, Leah, and Paul." She nodded and gave small smiles to all of them.

Her eyes met Paul's. She could feel a warmth start in her toes and rapidly race up to the top of her head. She watched as his face changed from awe to fury in the matter of seconds.

Alli grabbed her bag, turned, and ran.