Author P.O.V.

The next morning, Malila woke up with a pounding headache and no recollection of how she got to her bed. On her nightstand was a glass of juice and a couple of pain pills, which she gratefully took. Getting out of bed, Malila stretched and went to take a hot shower, for her muscles seemed very tense. She stripped herself of her clothes and investigated her body, not seeing any sort of scratching or bruising anywhere that would help her brain remember what happened after the bonfire.

Coming out of the shower, she wasn't any closer to knowing what her brain was protecting her from. Malila got dressed and wandered down to the kitchen to see if anyone was around. To her surprise, Kanti was sitting in the kitchen next to Leah, while Bella was on the other side of the island, nursing a cup of coffee. They all looked up as she stepped in, and her twin immediately came to her and checked to see how she was.

"Hey," Kanti said, giving Malila a hug. "You gave us a scare last night. How are you feeling?" Her eyes searched for anything out of the place, and when she didn't find even a hair out of place, she turned them on the ones so like her own. Malila just smiled, reassuring Kanti that all was fine.

"I'm fine. I had a headache when I woke up but I took the pills you gave me and took a hot shower." Her eyes flickered over to the natives, seeing that Leah looked mildly concerned for her, where Bella looked ready to hop out of the seat to check her for any injuries. Normally someone besides her sister fussing annoyed her, but she found that the pale girls concern was cute and sweet.

She felt shy at her stare, but smiled to ease Bella's worry. Malila while Kanti set a plate of food in front of her, knowing that it would help her feel better. The four teens made small talk at the island the other three not wanting to overwhelm the girl with questions just yet.

"So I'm guessing you guys want to know why I freaked out so bad last night?"

Bella and Leah's eyes snapped to hers, not expecting her to bring it up just yet. They were curious, yes, as Kanti wouldn't tell them anything, but they weren't so insensitive to push her into something clearly traumatic.

Glancing quickly at Kanti, Bella cleared her throat before speaking. "Yes, we would like to know, but only if you want to tell us. If you don't want to talk about it, then we completely understand."

Malila just listened while finishing her breakfast. She knew that these two deserved an explanation, even if the memory was so hard to handle sometimes. She sighed, setting down her fork deciding to just get it over with. Kanti reached across the island and grabbed her hand, giving her a comfort that only a twin could.

"When we were 9, Kanti and I got into this big argument about sharing or something. We ended up saying some things, we didn't mean, and I was so hurt that I ran outside to get away from her. Our house at the time was surrounded by this thick wood with hundreds and hundreds of trees. I was playing in them and time went by so fast that it was so dark and I couldn't see a thing."

Kanti was crying already, thinking about the things that were said that night and how scared that whole situation made her to this day, she was fiercely protective of her sister. Especially when someone went to insult her.

"I got scared, because I had never played in the woods by myself I couldn't remember the way I had come from, so I ended up wandering for hours. It was dark and cold and I was tired. At some point, I got to this clearing, and before I could do anything, there was this growl. I turned, and this giant coyote was standing no more than 5ft from me. It was so big and I was frozen with fear until it started moving towards me. I started backing up, but did not go far because there was this tree and I had backed myself up to it. Just as it got two feet from me, this blur came and crashed into it. I swear they flew clear across the clearing and into the darkness on the other side. I could hear growling and snapping and what sounded like howls, and it occurred to me that I should probably run. So I did."

Both girls were crying at this point, and Bella and Leah seemed horrified that this girl was almost killed. The part about the blur crashing into the coyote confused then. They only knew of a few things that could take out animals that big, and none of them should have been out in that part of the country.

"I felt like I was running forever, and I was so tired and I just wanted to go home. Suddenly, I heard something behind me, and when I turned to look I tripped on a tree root and hit my head. It knocked me out, and I came to to being carried in a woman's arms. She was so beautiful, with this long blonde hair, and it seemed like her skin was glowing. I thought I was dreaming or in heaven or something. I must have passed out again, because the second time I woke up was in the hospital. They had to put stitches in my forehead and an IV drip in my arm. I was also covered in blankets because I nearly froze from being out there for so long."

After that, Malila completely broke down, laying her head on the counter top and sobbing. Kanti came around and pulled her twin in her arms, still feeling guilty for the things that were said that day. Bella and Leah were looking at each other, knowing exactly what and who it was that saved Malila that day. And as soon as they could, they planned on confronting them about it.