Deep in the forest a boy leaned casually against a tree. His dirty blonde hair framed the top of his face in soft waves. Hazel green eyes stared in the direction of the east shore. Though his stance was relaxed, those who were near him could see his clenched jaw and the occasional twitch of his eyebrows. A taller blonde stood slightly off to the first boys right. His hood was pulled up over his face, throwing half of it in shadows. The half that could be seen was marred by a scar that ran from his forehead, down over his eye to his chin. Though he was much taller then his counter part he didn't dare speak in haste for fear of angering his shorter companion. He chose his words carefully before daring to speak.

"You did not authorize that storm or fire last night. Was it the girl?" His low voice drawled. He sucked in a sharp breath as he noticed his companions body stiffen. The shorter boys eyes narrowed as he pushed off his tree.

"I don't know, but I WILL find out." He growled as he started walking into the forest. He had been in a good mood yesterday and had not called for any thunderstorms. When the storms didn't stop on his command he went to see what was wrong.

He controlled everything on this island, even the sky. Never had anything disobeyed him before and it was driving him mad. He was outraged when a lightening bolt struck down, narrowly missing him, and struck a fire in the forest, HIS forest.

It was then that he noticed the sea was acting up as well. Enraged he had gone down to investigate when he noticed a body sinking in the water. He had dived in and grabbed the body and hauled it out onto shore. It was a girl, barely eighteen. Her long brown hair clung to her body as the water ran ripplets down her face. Her skin was pale against her dark hair and lashes and she was very tiny. As he dropped her onto the sand he realized he had never seen her before. He narrowed his eyes as he studied the stillness of her chest. No one came or went from the island without his permission. So who was she and how did she get here?

As he continued to study her strange appearance her eyelids began to flutter and suddenly she was on her side puking up sea water. She coughed until she was dry heaving and could barely hold herself up. She flopped onto her back with heavy breaths and stared with hazy eyes up at the sky.

The boy leaned down over her with a glare. Her murky blue eyes stared blanky back up at him. Fear crept into her eyes as he stood up straight and turned to walk away.

"Wait.." He heard her call feebly behind him but he didn't stop. This girl is throwing my island out of balance. With a murderous glare he headed back into the forest.


The sound of birds could be heard over head as heat from the sun bore down relentlessly. Aria's eyelids twitched before slowly opening to reveal bleary eyes. Immediately she screwed her eyes to shut out the blinding sun and threw her arm up over her face for extra shade only to wrench it away. She bolted up right cursing whoever to hell as sand shifted into her eyes, causing even more discomfort.

It took her a few moments to get her bearings before she finally realized she was on a beach. She stared around in confusion as the waves crashed up onto shore a few feet below. What happened? Where am I? Images flashed through her mind of the strange man who chased her. Her body shivered as she remembered her painful plunge into the dark waters and the struggle to find the surface.

She frowned and narrowed her eyes as she remembered the arms dragging her from the water and onto shore. She could still feel the spot on her arms where strong hands had gripped her.

Glancing behind her she finally decided to get up and figure out where she was. She had never been out of the country before so she had no idea what any islands actually looked like. How long was I out? Kansas was two states away from the nearest coast. Just where the hell am I?

With a quick dust of her legs she started to make her way to the tree line. Massive palm trees loomed ahead as thick bushes surrounded her on all sides. With a deep breath she squared her shoulders before venturing into the unknown woodlands.


A prickle of unease had begun to make it's way through her body the farther inland she went. She had been walking for hours yet had not run into any indication that anyone lived here. Well someone does. My rescuer didn't just appear out of no where. She knew she hadn't imagined him. The memory of his grip was still very real.

Once or twice she thought she heard a twig snap nearby but merely chalked it off to the wildlife. Every now and then the hair on the back of her neck would stand up as she got the feeling of being watched.

At some point she had found a long thick stick and was carrying it around for defense. Back home she had always loved the woods but here, she felt like prey. Suddenly she froze as her eyes flew open wide.

"MY ALCHOHOL!" She threw her head back and wailed in despair. She had just remembered the 100$ worth of alcohol she had bought last night to bring home to her friends. "Ah fuck, my friends!" She kicked the nearest tree in frustration that she had forgotten she had had friends over. "Ow, fuck!" She hobbled around on one foot as pain shot through her leg. She cursed loudly and plopped down on the ground for a break. Slouching up against the nearest tree she gazed up at the sky through the canopy. Guilt knawed at her insides as she thought of her friends back at her house. They should've noticed by now she hadn't come back.

She winced as she remembered Destiny was there. She could only hope and pray that her friend knew her enough now to know she wasn't the same as when she was fifteen.


The walls of the sewer echoed with the sounds of sobs. A young girl around fifteen was sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried low.

"How can he do this to me? Doesn't he know I love him?" She said aloud to no one in particular. She winced as pain shot through her ribs.

It had been a great day. Brad had asked her to hang out at the park much to her delight. Since their last break up she had been trying desperately to get back together with him. She knew he was toxic and abusive but she didn't care. She had convinced herself that only he could love her for what she was. She was convinced that if she made him love her again then the violence would stop.

Aria was small for her age but she was greatly feared by any and all who knew her. One look had people frozen in fear and choosing their words carefully. Despite her reputation however she was always soft hearted and girly for one boy in particular. Brad. The boy who held her heart captive had sought her out in sixth grade and quickly won her over with his dorky ways. But everything changed when they entered high school.

He had met a new girl and had fallen for her, leaving Aria behind with no explanation. She had refused to accept their relationship was over and had tried everything to get him back over the last two years. But Brad had turned violent, not just towards others, but especially towards her. He would be fine and playful one minute, but if she said the wrong thing he would pick her up and slam her down onto the concrete. Thanks to football he was growing stronger by the day and she was starting to limp.

His latest explosion had caused her a cracked rib and bruised hip. She couldn't take the pain and betrayal anymore and ran away. She ran to the fancy neighborhoods and took shelter in a sewer. Annoyed by the relentless buzzing of her phone she shut it off and threw it to the side.

Hours passed by as her sobs slowly died down to silent whimpers. The sun was starting to set and she was growing cold. With a twinge of guilt she realized her parents were probably looking for her. Suddenly footsteps could be heard coming into the sewer. She stiffened and waited with baited breath for the newcomer to make their presence known. She wasn't in the mood to be hauled off to the sheriff station and questioned.

With a sigh of relief she relaxed as she realized who it was. Destiny came in hunched over at the waist and was shining a flashlight around. Her dark wavy hair had been braided back in a quick bun and she was dressed half in her band uniform. She must've just come from practice.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you! Brad called your parents and said you ran away?" She stopped short as she noticed Aria's swollen and puffy face. She sighed and stared down at her friend in pity. She had never understood why her wayward friend allowed such a scumbag of a boy to treat her like this when she would rather die then let Destiny go through this.

Slowly Destiny slid down to sit beside Aria and wrapped her in her arms. She leaned her cheek on Aria's head as the smaller friend began to sob again.

"What did I do wrong? What did I do to make him hate me?" She sobbed into Destiny's chest.

"He's not the only one out there Aria. Someday I promise you'll find someone who loves you for you and who won't try and change you. You just have to have faith." Aria sat quietly and mulled over her friends words.

"You really believe that?"

"With my whole heart."


Aria cringed at the memory. She had refused to let another boy have that kind of power over her ever again, and yet she had let someone do way worse to her this time. Not only did she give Julian her heart, but she gave him her body and soul. She scoffed at her stupidity. Never again. I'll never give my heart to another guy as long as I live.

She stood up again, determined to find someone or something and set off in a random direction. She had just pushed her way through a stubborn bush when she heard voices up ahead. Immediately she dropped down on all fours and crouched down behind a bush. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as her body smoothly molded into a stance similar to a cat.

When she was younger she had been super into a book series called Warriors. It was a book about wildcats who went through multiple journeys and lived in clans. Her friend Brye had been a huge fan as well and they would often act out scenes from the books. Walking around like a cat and hissing at people was a lot less embarrassing when you were twelve. God please don't let anyone see me like this! She sent a silent prayer up to the heavens as she slowly moved her right arm forward and placed her hand gently on the forest floor, careful not to crunch the leaves.

Her body moved on instinct and her legs folded easily into the hunters crouch. With each step forward she cringed at the naturality of her motions. Slowly she crawled forward until she could see through the bush. Keeping her body low to the ground she peered through a gap in the bush to watch the newcomers.

It was a small group of little boys, all no more then ten or eleven, dressed in dark green hoods. They bounced around excitedly and talked amongst each other in squeaky voices.

"Did you hear, there's a girl on the island!"

"What no way? Girls don't belong here."

"Is she going to be with us?"

"I don't know but its got the older boys in a frenzy!" They chirped excitedly as they passed by, completely unaware of the girl in question being a few feet away from them.

So they know I here, and from the sound of it there's a lot of guys here. So why are these little boys the only ones I've seen? Where are their parents?

Despite their excitement at her arrival Aria got the sense that making her presence known to these boys wasn't a good idea. She held her breath until the last boy had vanished out of sight through the trees before she finally crawled out of her hiding spot. Standing up straight she stared in the direction they had disappeared in. With a final check to make sure no one was coming back she headed in the direction they had come.


The boy watched as the girl stumbled through the forest. The longer he watched the more he was sure that she wasn't from here. Her clothes were made from fabric he had never seen before and she spoke of weird things. Every now and then she would talk to herself (sometimes having a full conversation) and she was very clumsy. She was constantly tripping over nothing and twice she walked right into a tree despite it being right in front of her. Her favorite word apparently was "Fuck". He was impressed by how often and easily she blended it into her sentences.

It became increasingly clear that she didn't know anything about living in the woods.

Every now and then she would stop and stare at the sky with her hand pointed up and would bring it to the ground where the shadows were, as if attempting to tell the time and direction, but would set off in the opposite direction of the shadows. At this point the boy had no clue as to what her goal was. He couldn't detect any thing about her that made her special and she clearly wasn't very smart.

He stiffened as he heard a group of his boys nearby. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb as he realized he had forgotten to make the forest off limits while this girl roamed around. First she changes the island now she's taking over my mind. Just who is this girl? He scowled.

His interest was peaked as he noticed that the girl had apparently heard the boys to. She stopped and listened for a moment before suddenly dropping down on all fours. The boy stared dumbfounded as the girl proceeded to move forward like a cat. He couldn't hold back his laughter and doubled at the waist as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. She looked ridiculous!

"Does she think she's a cat!" The boy said aloud as he continued to laugh at this odd girl. She stayed hidden as the boys passed by her before she got up and moved in the direction they had come when they passed.


Soon night began to fall and the girl was growing noticeably tired. Her pace had slowed considerably and she was falling more and more. Finally she slumped up against a tree and stared up at the sky.

"Fuck guys I'm so sorry. What the hell have I gotten myself into?" She whispered quietly as a single tear rolled down her face. From his spot in the tree the boy had a clear view of her face as she stared up at the sky. The moon reflected clearly in her eyes and her skin was as pale as snow in the moonlight. He watched with a stony expression as she slowly drifted off to sleep.