Mary-Lynnette wasn't at all nervous as talked. Her family had lived in Briar Creek since town was first established nearly one hundred years before and she knew more than most kids her age about its history.
"Were-people, who could take on the forms and characteristics of animals, were also known as shape-shifters. They would use this ability to harm others," she read from her paper. "In the guise of a raven, a were-person could spy on its neighbors and learn their secrets. As a fox or wolf it could dig up and destroy crops or kill livestock. As a deadly spider or rattlesnake, it could even creep into a home and commit murder, without leaving behind a single clue to its human identity."
Mary-Lynnette paused and looked around. Everyone was caught up in every word she said. Mrs. Kameta, her teacher, was nodding approvingly. This is an A for sure, Mary-Lynnette thought, glad she had worked so hard on her report. She continued aloud. "While a shape shifter was in its beastly form, it would not age a single minute... and it could not be killed. Only when it was in human form would it grow older and finally die.
"Most people thought that the wicked life of a were-people was a horrible curse," Mary-Lynnette explained. "They believed that to become one, you had to be bitten by were-person. The bite had to be deep and draw blood."
She lowered her voice dramatically, "But at one time in the history of Briar Creek, the countryside was plagued by three terrible monsters who had been willing prey of a very powerful were-being. They terrorized their neighbors, and were finally hunted down and killed."
Mary-Lynnette had found one of her great-great-great-grandmother's old journal and that was what her story was based on.
"John Timer, had presided over the trial when the trio was finally captured and brought to justice. And the justice of some one hundred years before had been swift. In a field near the edge of town, there stood a huge tree...a hanging tree that had supported three sturdy ropes for the accused shape shifters. The doomed villains had died without confessing the name of their leader, the one who had corrupted them all, but because the vandalism, theft, and murder had stopped, the search soon ended."
Merry-linnet had studied the journals and wondered what kind of imagination her grandmother Linda had. She was the first to suspect whom the murderers were she even clamed that there was a secret world of people that where not human.
Her grandmother Linda had been terrified of the hanging tree. She believed that the tree was curresed and that if she went near it something would happen to her. Mary-linnet could easily see the tree from her bedroom window. The tree never bloomed and nothing grew in the field around it.
"The next day after John Timer himself executed the body was gone!" Mary-linnet said, lowering her papers and whispered. "In fact on one knows what happened to the bodies at all!"
"Thank you, Mary-linnet" Mrs.Kameta said. "That was an excellent short story. You may take your seat."
After class, Mary-linnet and several of her friends stopped in at the local bookstore to buy the newest issue of their favorite scary magazine Tales from the other side. "Hay weight a minute, ok? I'm gonna get the new issue of stargazers too."
"What is it with you and the stars?" Mindy asked.
"I can't really explain it" Mary-linnet said flipping thought it.
"Hay Marr, Mindy!" Bunny said. "Look at this stupid cave monster," she complained. "It couldn't frighten my baby brother. I think the were-people of Briar Creek are a lot scarier, and they really existed!"
Mary-Lynnette laughed and shook her head. "No, they didn't. It's just a stupid Story! I made it up from my great-great-grandma's journals, that's all."
"But."Bunny began. "What about your story? You said that your own grandmother helped to catch them."
"Look she was some repressed woman from the old days and she made up this fantasy life. She was probably crazy anyway."
"But..."
"But nothing" Mary-linnet said.
"You should take the writings of your grandmother to heart Mistress Mary-linnet" someone said from behind her. Mary-linnet turned to see a withered old lady glaring at her with sorrow in her eyes.
"You are you" she asked feeling a chill go up her spine.
"Think of me as an...old family friend" there was a dark look of hate in her eyes as she turned and walked away.
"Who was she?" Bunny asked when the woman was gone.
"I don't know" Mary-linnet looked out of the stores front window but the woman was gone.
"It's such a lovely night," Mary-linnet said to her father," I think that I will go stargazing tonight."
"Ok," her father said, "but go put on a jacket it's going to get colder out."
"Ok," she ran up to her room. When she got there she saw her jacket lying by her window. When she looked out the window she saw something strange. There was a shadowy figure in the field just under the Hanging Tree.
She decided to check out what was going on, so when the woman left she headed out to the tree. She could see that the woman had been digging so she reached down in to the freshly dug earth and started digging herself. She saw something small a white gleam in the moonlight. When she brought it close to her face she could see that is was an oddly shaped tooth.
Something in the tree moved.
"Ahhh" Mary-linnet starred in horror as icky green eyes starred back at her and moved closer. Mary-linnet backed up and tripped over a rock and fell down.
She got up and turned around and ran as fast she could. When she got back home she slammed the door shut behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. "Claudia (is that her name?)? Dad? Mark? Is anyone home?" She saw a note on the table. It read: Went to the store be back in an hour."
Mary-linnet locked the door and when to her room. "It was just an animal" she said saying to herself. She heard something scratch at her window." What could that be?" She got up and opened the window and looked out." Hum, must have been the wind." she yawned "I had better get to sleep." She changed in to her night cloths a crawled in to bed forgetting to shut the window.
A furry creature the size of big dog creped on through the window (it had claws like a big cat) its fur was white and its teeth gleamed in the moon. It cast a shadow over Mary-Lynnette's bed as the moon hovered overhead.
Mary-Lynnette's eye opened slowly "What?" she said groggily and rubbed her eyes. "Who's there?" her hand dug in to her covers. She heard a snarl from the foot of the bed.
The creature jumped on to her bed "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"her scream was muffled as the creature tore in to her throat.
Ash Refern felt a pain go through his heart.
"Ash are you ok" his little sister Jade asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he shook the strange felling off.