Chapter 9

Sierra didn't sleep hardly at all. So at 3 in the morning she gave up, turned on her light, and after her eyes adjusted to the new added brightness, picked up the book of "Beauty and the Beast." The calico cat was spread out and sleeping soundly. Occasionally its ears would twitch when she turned a page or the cat would purr for no reason obviously dreaming.

An hour and a half later she put the book down and turned off the light so she could look out the window again. Immediately her gaze fell on the forest where she saw a strange orange light as if there was a small fire burning in it. Her brow creased in curiosity, and as usual her curiosity got the better of her.

She went down the stairs put on a heavy, long jacket and went outside. Going into the garage she got a flashlight and a large hunting knife her father had as she was never too fond of the her protective alternative... the shot gun. After it was safely in her hands, she made her way into the forest in search of the light. She didn't know why, but something inside of her told her she HAD to find its source.

After another hour of searching she came to the edge of the forest where the lake could be seen. She was oddly enough extremely sleepy now. She sat down, then as the drowsiness became slightly more demanding she laid down thinking, *just a couple of minutes, then I'll go back...*. Then the minutes slowly turned into hours then to camping out for the night.

She had 2 days off from farm work in a row with her parents gone and Geoffry off with them. A few hours later the sun climbed into the sky, but still she slept.