Chapter 1
Mary Anne watched as the taxi pulled up to a small red house. She got out and paid the driver and then grabbed her bags from the trunk. As the driver pulled away, she turned and looked back at the house. She still couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Running away from home all because of some picture. But this was where she was meant to be at this time. They needed her. Even if they didn't know it. She knew. She sighed. She always knew. It was as much a gift, as a curse. Her father thought she was evil. He took every free moment to make her remember that she was evil.
She shook her head out of her thoughts and walked to the door and knocked. The door was opened by a man in a wheel chair. His eyes widened in shock as he took in her appearance. She was short. Very short. 4'11" to be exact. She only weighed maybe 95 lbs. on a good day. She looked exactly like her mother, only with lightly tan skin because of her father. Her hair was so black it looked blue. A combination of her mother and father, who both had black hair. But her features were all her mothers. She got her mothers nose, mouth, the shape of her face, and the shape of her eyes. But her eyes were a crystal blue. The kind that looked like they were looking into your soul. Like she already knew all your secrets. But then again, she did.
"Hi, I'm Mary. I'm sorry to bother you, but I just learned that your my mother's brother."
His mouth moved for a moment, but nothing came out. She looked down at her feet then back up at him.
"I'm sorry if I came at an inconvenient time, but, you see, I have no place else to go.....my mother died when I was born, and my father.....well, he doesn't want me."
He seemed to come out of his shock at the mention of her mother.
"Your Wendi's daughter?" She nodded. "Well, then come in. Your right, it is a bad time, but I'm sure we can fit you in here. I will be glad to get to know my sister's daughter."
She followed him in and looked around. The living room was small, but cozy. You could tell there used to be a lot of love in this house, but now, it was in mourning. She set down her bag and touched the couch. She closed her eyes.
Pictures flashed through her mind. A woman round with pregnancy. A small boy chasing after identical girls. A man kissing his wifes cheek when he came home from work. The same man sitting on the couch looking as if his world had just ended. The same twins holding bags and yelling at their father before walking out the door only to never come back. A teenage boy and a pale girl sitting in the kitchen, the girl looking like she had the world on her shoulders. A teenage boy being told that he is now responsible for the lives of hundreds of people, perfect strangers, and he will never be able to see the love of his life again.
She pulled her hand away and opened her eyes which were filled with unshed tears. It was worse than she thought. The house wasn't in mourning, it was dying. She knew then that she had made the right choice to come here. This is where she was meant to be.
"Upstairs and the first door on the left is my daughters old room. You can make yourself at home there. Why don't you go ahead and put your bags in there, then come back down and tell me about yourself. I have to make a phone call and let my son know that his cousin has come home."
Mary smiled at what he said. Home. Yes, she was home. She felt it. She felt this was the last place she would ever live. She didn't need her sight to tell her that her future lied here.
Billy watched as the girl climbed the stairs. He picked up the phone and dialed the number from memory. A female voice answered and he quickly asked to speak to his son.
"Dad? Is anything wrong?"
"Well, that, son, is negotiable. There is a girl here claiming to be my long lost sister's daughter. I believe her. She is almost identical to Wendi."
"She just showed up on our doorstep? Isn't that a bit suspicious? I mean, this is the first I have heard of your sister let alone I have a cousin."
"She seems sincere. She's a tiny little thing. Why don't you bring Sam over here and you can hear her story first hand."
"K, Dad, we'll be right over."
Mary walked up the stairs and opened the door he said. She seen twin beds on either side of the room. The room was painted a dark purple, and there were two nightstands and a closet. Other than that, the room was bare. She put her bags on the bed and pulled out a box.
She carried the box back down to living room, where her uncle was hanging up the phone, and she sat down on the faded plaid couch with the box on her lap. He turned around to face her with a smile on his face.
"My son and his friend will be here soon, so we'll wait till they get here, in the meantime, why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"Um...sure. My name is Mary Anne Black. My mother was Wendi Black, and my father is Christopher Brandon. My mother met my father in Mississippi. She became pregnant with me and died at my birth."
She stopped talking because two huge men walked into the room. She knew that one was her cousin, Jacob, but she had only seen the second one. She didn't know his name.
"Mary, this is your cousin, Jacob and his...friend, Sam Uley. Jacob, Sam, this is Mary Anne Black. She's my sister's daughter."
Mary stood up, a little intimidated by their height, but held out her hand anyways. She didn't even flinch when she felt the heat. She knew what they were. She would let them keep their secrets, though. They would tell her when they were ready.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said. They both looked her over, then Jacob said, "Your so small."
She laughed. A sound that sounded like tinkling bells and said, "Well, we couldn't all get the same genetics, could we?" They men shared a secretive glance before looking at her.
"Well, now they're here, why don't you tell us how you came to know that your mother had more family?" Billy said. She nodded and sat down. She put the box on the coffee table and opened it.
"About a month ago, I was cleaning the attic. I guess when my mother was pregnant with me, she gathered mementos and such from both her side of the family and my fathers and put them in a box for me. I think she knew something.... Anyway, I found the box and started to go through it. I found a picture of a little girl and what looked like her brother. There were also letters to me...." She looked up at the men. "She really wanted me to know where I come from. She wanted me to know her family. In the letters she told me the traditions, and legends. How the old ways were with the tribe. That her family come from a long line of Chiefs. Anyway, I got curious. My father really didn't know my mother. It was more of a one night stand kind of thing, so I couldn't ask him. He never wanted any kids. I looked up your name and here I am."
She looked at each of their faces then back down to the box. "There was a reason she wanted me to know my family. She wanted me here. I guess, I just wanted to respect her wishes. I understand if you don't want another teenager in your house, I could go back home. But, I just really wish to get to know my family."
Her uncle was going to say something when the phone rang. She watched as they all looked at each other before Billy picked up the phone.
She casually set her hand on the couch and focused on the person on the other end. She saw flashes of the same girl she saw in the living room only she looked ten times worse. She watched as the girl hung up the phone and left the house. The pictures changed to the girl walking through the woods and coming into a clearing. Then there was a man with bright red eyes talking to her. Mary got a sense of terror through it all. She cut the connection when she felt the fiery pain in her neck.
She opened her eyes and gasped.
"Mary are you ok?" Jacob asked her. She frantically wracked her brains for a reason for her cousin to save the girl he loved, all the while playing on scenarios in her mind.
"I just remembered what the taxi driver was saying when he took me here. He had told me to stay out of the woods because there were hunting parties combing the woods for killer wolves. I hope none of the hunters get hurt." She tried to look innocent while she looked for something of the girls to touch. She need contact with something of the girls to see if she survived.
Sam stood up and looked to Jacob. "Emily is supposed to make us dinner. I think we should get going."
Jacob nodded and said bye. They both almost ran out the door. Mary got up and paced. She hoped they would get the hint. Billy came back into the room.
"Sorry, that was an old girlfriend of Jacobs. They broke up last week and she isn't taking it so well. Now, you must be tired why don't you go up to your room and take a nap. I take it your still in school?"
"Yes, I'm a sophomore."
"So are Jake and his friends. It's only a week or so till spring break, so I'll enroll you after that."
She nodded and walked up to her room. She put her clothes away and set her things on the nightstand. She rifled through a box and pulled out a picture of baby Jacob and concentrated on that.
She got a picture of five wolves walking into a clearing. Then the pale man from earlier running. She scrunched up her nose when she seen them tearing apart the pale man. She looked farther into the future and seen Jacob talking the the girl. They looked like they were arguing but at least she was alive.
Mary nodded to herself and put the box away. She layed down and closed her eyes. She did a good job today. She didn't know why, but she felt that the girl would be vital to the future.