Chapter 3

The ride to Garibaldi was exhausting to say the least. It was awfully long and very sad and lonely. It was also difficult to tell who was more exhausted. Her, or the driver. Destiny Hills looked outside the bus window and let out a sigh. She saw the huge G on the top of the hill, overlooking the small town. Garibaldi. Yes. It was the most secluded place she could think of. It was far from Beaverton, true, but it was also safer. She preferred to be close to the cold Pacific Northwest beaches than to suffer another day with her toxic boyfriend.

She wondered how on Earth did she ever end up with that loser in the first place. The bus then stopped suddenly and Destiny quickly got off. She at last made it to town and kept walking. All she needed to do was find a place to stay. A motel perhaps, at least until she could find an apartment. She did after all take the money from her boyfriend.

Destiny was rather tall for a girl her age. Sixteen, and yet she was now homeless. At least for a little while anyway. It was not like her parents were around to help her. She thought of them often. Wondering how cold their bodies were in the coffins her Uncle bought for them.

"This is my stop. Thank you." said Destiny to the driver.

"Garibaldi huh? I gotta say, you picked a good place to live in." said the young female driver. She was a stout lady, African American, and with a kind face. She was wearing very large round earrings and her glasses were very shiny, at least to Destiny.

"Thank you. I chose this place to get away from it all." said Destiny.

"Well, don't get lost in the forest. I hear strange things happen in those woods. People say Bigfoot could be hiding around here." said the lady with a wink.

"Bigfoot? That would be something." replied Destiny.

"Stay safe out there little lady." said the driver as she rolled up her window. Destiny waved goodbye as the lady sped away.

After a minute, Destiny breathed in deeply and let out some air, relaxing herself as she stepped into the unknown. Literally. She's never been to Garibaldi before. There was much to look around, as long as she was mindful on where she was going. She turned to look around and something caught her attention. She noticed a boy standing in the middle of a road leading up to a neighborhood. He wasn't wearing any shoes and he was wearing only his PJs with clouds on them. Destiny turned to see if the boy's parents were around, but there was nobody.

"Is anyone there?" she called out. No answer. She quickly turned to the boy.

"Little boy? Are your parent's around?" she called out.

The boy did not answer. He kept on walking, very zombie-like. It gave Destiny the chills. But still… she couldn't just leave the boy alone.

Destiny chased after the boy and pulled him. "Stay here! I'll call the police." she said aloud. Then, with an inhuman strength, the boy pulled away from Destiny's strong grasp and he kept walking.

"Little boy! Stop! What's going on?!" she called out. Now she was getting freaked out. This has never happened before. She needed to see what was going on. She ran after the boy, who was walking into the woods. Destiny kept on going until the boy stopped. Then he turned around to see Destiny.

"Little boy, is everything alright? Can I take you home?" offered Destiny softly, offering her hand to the boy.

The boy didn't say a word. He simply raised his hand towards Destiny and pointed a finger at her. Then he spoke. Not with a boy's voice. An adult's voice. A strong feminine voice with a commanding authority.

"This child belongs to the Earth. I shall return it's body and bones to where it originated from."

Destiny didn't scream. Instead, she frowned. Then she pulled the boy with her strong arms and carried him off.

"Whatever is taking you, don't let it take you!" she cried angrily. Destiny was never much of a believer of supernatural phenomena. But seeing this made her blood boil. Whatever it was that possessed the boy, it was taking his body. His being. It was a form of toxicity that made Destiny very angry.

It took a while, but the boy's consciousness started to come back and he started to cry.

"It's okay! You're safe now! I'm going to take you home. Where do you live?" asked Destiny gently.

The boy didn't answer. He kept on crying and Destiny breathed in deeply. She then looked up and saw what appeared to be a cloaked figure standing in the forest. Within seconds, it vanished. Destiny looked at the boy, then at the forest clearing again.

"What on Earth was that?" she asked aloud.