Disclaimer : No ownage. Wait..... nope I'm sure.

Life's obsticles

"Derek!" My shout echoing in the middle of the forest. I took two steps in the direction he had gone.

I was truly panicking now. What was I supposed to do? Surely I had to go after him, but I know nothing of this forest and I could easily get lost.

Something creaked behind me. I turned around but I couldn't see anything clearly. Another creak to my left.

I started to feel paranoid, my heart beat and breath accelerated.

It was probably just some little forest animal. A bird squawked nearby, my hands at my mouth to stifle my yelp. My hands began trembling, not just because of the cold, but because of the fear. I could see my every breath in little puffs of condensation coming out of my mouth. Everything was quiet then. Eerily quiet.

I tensed.

Maybe I've seen this too many times in movies, but whenever there was no music and that everything was quiet, something frightening tended to pop out of nowhere.

I stood there listening, but nothing came.

I was truly being useless over here. What I should be doing was looking for Derek. So with my arms around myself I began walking in the direction Derek had gone.

With the trees blocking the only light source I had, I couldn't see one thing. Having enhanced abilities would sure be beneficial sometimes.

I had to feel my way through the forest, with no clue if I was going in the right direction. I tried to look for any signs that Derek had been around. I listened hard into the motionless forest to see if I could hear him. Nothing.

Maybe I had gone the wrong way. Or maybe Derek was many kilometers away from me so that I really couldn't find him. But Derek can be very quiet and he could probably sense me coming his way just by sniffing the air, or just listen for my stumbling and heavy breathing.

There was absolutely no way in the world I would be able to find him in this forest unless he was the one who came for me. I was officially lost, with no knowledge of how to get back to the house. I could only pray that Derek would change, come find me and bring us back.

Since I was stuck in this forest, I might as well keep on looking for him. I couldn't get more lost that I already was.

I stopped and put my hands like a cone to my mouth.

"Derek?!" It echoed in the forest. I listened very carefully, but again, nothing came.

I started feeling my way through the forest screaming his name as I went when I fell landing face first in the muddy ground.

I wasn't so sure I fell on my own that time. I actually felt like I've been pushed. I could still feel the punch from the push on my back.

I scrambled up, wiping the mud off my face and clothes. I looked around me very slowly.

Something suddenly hit my head. It stuck in my hair.

It was a pine cone.

I turned around to see a faint glow crossing my peripheral vision very quickly.

I tried looking for it, already knowing it was a ghost. Though it wasn't just any ghost, it was an Agito. Maybe it would be able to help me.

"P-please sh-show yourself."

It flashed very quickly again behind the trees.

"Show yourself, or...or I'll make you, and I think you know what I am." I said firmly.

Ten seconds passed.

"Are you still here?"

"Yes," said an unexpectedly timid voice coming from the trees in front of me.

I saw the little boy peeking behind the tree. He had a very fresh, lovely face with short dark brown hair, nice big green eyes, beautiful full lips with some freckles across his cheeks and nose. His clothes were all tattered, like he'd been out here for a while before he... died.

"Oh, hi there little boy. I didn't mean to scare you." I tried to use the most soothing voice I had.

He stepped around the tree a little hesitant. I encouraged him to come forth.

"That's okay, I won't hurt you." As he came closer I crouched down to his level.

"Hi honey, what's your name?"

"Collin Hopewell."

"That's a nice name. How old are you Collin?"

"Seven."

"Do you know what happened to you?" I really hoped he knew he was dead, unlike Liz.

"Yes, but my mommy didn't tell me a lot at the time. We were running away from mean people who wanted to kill us. Me and mommy got separated. I was in here for a long time. No one ever found me and I never found my way out. I don't know how it happened." His voice had gotten very sad and he was getting teary eyed.

My motherly side must have kicked in because I wanted to hold him, console him and say that everything was going to be okay. But there were a lot of reasons why I couldn't do that.

"I'm so sorry Collin." I wondered if he actually knew of the supernatural world, and if he knew he was an Agito. "Do you know who these mean people were?"

"No, but I think my mommy did."

Maybe they were running away from Dr. Lyle since he was half-demon. Only Agito ghosts could move things. But Dr. Lyle dies at least sixty years ago.

"Do you remember what year you were born Collin?"

"Yes, of course. I was born June 27th 1937."

It was possible. A moment of silence. Then I remembered Derek.

"Do you know this forest very well?"

"Yes quite a bit. I've been here for a long time. There isn't much better to do but scout the place."

"Would you help me find my friend then? He's lost and I can't find him."

"Okay."

We searched, listened, and called to what seemed a little while. Then I remembered that Derek would probably want something cold, like the water earlier, to help him.

"Collin, is there a pond or a river in this forest?"

"Yes, there's a river that flows not far from here."

"Could you lead me to --"

A very loud wolf howl cut me off. And it was pretty close to where we stood. I froze.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the house

Simon walked up the stairs to see his brother. He opened his door, but his brother wasn't there.

He frowned. "Derek? ... Yo man if you're trying to scare me it won't work." He waited for his brother to come out.

"Derek?"

He went back downstairs, to the kitchen where Tori was sipping on her hot chocolate.

"Have you seen Derek? I can't find him and he's not in the room like he told us."

"Why should I know where he is. I don't keep tabs. But now that you mention it, Chloe hasn't been around either."

Simon stepped out of the kitchen. " Andrew?"

"Yeah?" Andrew said walking into the kitchen.

"Have you seen Derek or Chloe around? Because I haven't and I can't find them."

"Are you su--"

A piercing wolf howl echoed from outside, in the forest.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Tori.

"Simon, has Derek said anything, or looked sick lately?"

"I - I don't know. He said he was going for some sleep after supper, but he didn't look that bad right? I mean I don't always pay attention to him all the time and he barely said anything at supper. So didn't really have the reason to. I'm sorry, but I have no clue. It could be him. Maybe he worsened during his sleep or something? And he always brings Chloe right?"

"What ?! He brings Chloe along?!" Andrew stormed.

"What's wrong Andrew?" Tori said a little shocked.

"Andrew, listen to me, he's not like that. Trust me. Derek wouldn't dare hurting anyone."

Andrew raised his eyebrow.

"He's changed. He's not like that anymore. He knows how to behave himself and he's trying very hard."

"Well I still say we go look for them. It's really dark outside and they'll get lost."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Was that Derek trying to lead me to him? Maybe he needed help. But if that was Derek then that meant he fully transformed. But what if it wasn't Derek and just some ordinary wolf? How was I going to tell the difference?

"That came from the river," Collin said quietly.

"Could you lead me to it?"

"But there's a wolf there." He looked confused.

"Yes I know. Could you still show me the way please?" I said calmly.

Though I may have looked calm, inside, my heart was pumping in overdrive. I was anxious, paranoid and scared.

Was I scared to see what Derek looked like? Or that he would hurt me?

It was pretty pathetic of me, but I had a right to be scared, but not just of Derek, but of everyone else in the house, including me, because we were all facing the unknown.

Collin led me the way to the river soundlessly. The closer we got, the louder was the stream.

There was finally a clearing, about two meters of flat grass before the actual river. I could finally see once more, with the moonlight glittering beautifully on the river.

I looked around for Derek, or maybe I should have been looking for a wolf. Now that I was here, I kind of wanted to do this alone. I didn't want Collin to see this.

I turned around to him. " Thank you so much for bringing me here Collin, but you shouldn't be here right now. It really would be best if you didn't see this."

"But why? There's nothing here. I think the wolf must be gone too."

"I'll explain later, I promise. Now have you seen an old Victorian house? It's probably the only house in this forest."

"Yes, I know where it is."

"Good. Go there and go to the second door on the right on the second floor. That's my room. I'll meet you there in the morning and explain everything, okay?"

"Okay. I trust you. Make it quick?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can alright? Please be careful Collin."

He turned and I couldn't see him anymore. He was a really nice boy. I've never felt like this towardsa child before. I felt so much sympathy and protectiveness. He must have been so lonely, disoriented and scared without his mother. I know I did.

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YoursTrulyUlysses