Chapter Three

I felt the water rushing over my face. My lungs were still burning. We broke the surface of the water, gasping for air. I coughed up the water that had collected in my lungs and looked to the guy holding me. It was Shane. I shoved him away frantically bumping into someone behind me. Another set of arms went around me.

"I got you" Glancing behind me I saw Derek. He helped me to the edge of the water where Nathan and Miranda were waiting. They pulled me out of the water, Miranda encircling me in her arms while Nathan helped Derek.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Miranda cried, literally. Tears were streaming down her face when I pulled back to look at her. I reassured her that I was okay. Surprisingly not many people had noticed my near death.

"Ladies we need to leave" Nathan put an arm around me and plastered on a fake smile. "Now" Miranda got a confused look but propelled me along as we headed away from the crowd. Nathan leaned behind me and whispered something about a scythian. My plunge had sobered me quite a bit, but I didn't trust that I heard that right. Right or not, Miranda was scared. When we hit the edge of the woods, Nathan pulled us into a run.

I stumbled and fell a few times, but he didn't let that slow us down. We circled around the lake to the beach. Miranda quickly found our things then went to find the twins.

"What's going on?" I asked, more than confused and slightly scared. At first he wouldn't look at me, just kept watching for something.

"Stay here" Nathan said "don't leave this spot till Miranda comes back for you." He left jogging towards the road. I opened Miranda's duffle bag and grabbed a pair of athletic shorts and a gray t-shirt. I was shaking, an uncontrollable, terrifying sensation.

"Where's Nate?" Jaylin asked coming up behind me.

"He took off towards the road." I said pointing in the direction he went.

"Let's go then" Jadyn said taking my hand. We were running again. I still don't understand from what I had my own demons to run from and I feared they weren't that different from theirs. We came up to the road where Nathan was waiting. Miranda threw open the back door and dove to the far side. I jumped in behind her followed by Jaydn. The front door slammed shut and Nathan hit the gas.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" I said. Glances were exchanged but no one said anything. "What the hell!" I screamed, not sure how else to react.

"Avery" Nathan met my gaze in the rearview mirror, sending chills down my spine. "I need you to be quiet, I'll explain everything later." Something in his eyes made me feel small and fragile. Traffic swarmed around us, horns honking. Then came a high pitched siren. Miranda and Jadyn exchanged glances then looked to Nathan, who gripped the wheel tighter.

"What is that?" I asked.

"What's what?" Jadyn laughed nervously.

"That high pitched noise? It sounds almost like a siren." I said glancing around the car.

"You can hear it." Nathan skidded the car to a stop next to the curb. He whipped around to look at me directly. "You hear the siren?" I still wasn't sure if he was asking a question or making a statement. I nodded my head.

Nathan punched a number into his phone and pulled back onto the road. "Yea I'm two minutes out." He was silent, listening. "My girls and a fledge."

The ride was silent. We slammed to a halt in front of a faded blue house. A man stepped out of the front door, shotgun in hand, the shadows of others flanking the doorway. Nathan was gone from the driver seat and a second later was at Jadyn's door. He let her out, giving her a push towards the house, then reached in for me. Taking hold of my arm he yanked hard, practically dragging me out of the car. The door flew shut behind us as Miranda came up on my other side.

Looking around the neighborhood, I saw this happening everywhere. Kids I had seen at the beach fleeing from their cars, running full speed to the protection of parents waiting just outside the doors.

"Guys what is going on?" I asked. The fear of the situation began to sink in. There was something seriously wrong. And the whole town was panicking. Moments later we were inside the house, locks clicking in place behind us.

"Lady Jays and Miss Miracle, lovely as ever to see you." A guy that looked exactly like Nathan, but a little older, was leaning against the front door. "Who's this young one?" He asked eyeing me.

"This is Avery" Miranda said. "Ava this is Danny, Nathan's oldest brother. And there should be another one lurking around somewhere…"

"Lurking? I wouldn't say I lurk." Another guy was standing by the window in the living room, holding the curtain aside. His hair was lighter than his brothers but not by much. "I'm Casey" He turned to give me a smile then went back to his watch. I stood there, small and awkward. We were in a tiny hallway that lead back to a kitchen. Opposite of the living room was a dining room, the table lined with guns and other weapons.

"Well we need to check in" Jaylin said heading to the kitchen with the other girls. I glanced towards the front door but Danny was still blocking the way. The feeling of being trapped settled over me. I went to follow the girls but smacked into another person. It was the older gentleman that had been outside earlier. He was clearly the father but only looked ten years older than his sons.

"Hello" His eyes were kind but firm. "I'm Corey Hale"

"Avery" I said "Nice to meet you." I wasn't sure if that was true or not yet. "Can I go home now? My dad's gonna be worried." The overwhelming urge to run was building stronger.

"One question first, do you know what's going on out there?" He said motioning towards the street. He didn't seem to concerned either.

"Not a clue" I said. "But like I said my dad will be worried."

"Avery, do you know what a scythian is?" He asked leaning closer.

"A what?" I couldn't believe he was asking silly question. I wanted to go home. I needed to leave. It felt like I was being beckoned to something. Glancing towards the door again, I noticed that Danny hadn't moved.

"A scythian is a demonic creature, a shell of their former self. That is why all of this is happening." He waved a hand nonchalantly, as if the panic was normal. Apparently it was. "Scythians hunt, Avery. It's rare for them to focus on someone specific but it happens. The blonde boy that pulled you out of the water is a scythian and he is hunting you."

That was all I could take. I doubled over laughing, still feeling a slight buzz that hadn't been scared off. The idea that Shane was hunting me, that he wanted to hurt me was ridiculous. There was silence from everyone. They all stared at me. After a moment I stopped myself and stood silently.

"There's nothing funny about this." Danny said crossing his arms over his chest. "Scyths kill people Avery, doesn't matter what race they are. A life is a life."

"You all actually believe this?" I said in astonishment. "You're talking about fairytales and myths and, and things that just don't exist."

"They're not myths Ava" Miranda said returning from the kitchen. "Vampires, werewolves, witches and scythians, they all exist. We stay hidden from the world because you know what would happen if we didn't. River Falls is our safe place."

"Mir you know that sounds ridiculous right?" I said. "Saying that supernatural beings are real and now one of them is hunting me? To kill me? He wouldn't do that…" I trailed off in thought. Shane had been such a sweet kid until...

"Wait" Casey turned from the window and walked towards me. "You know who the scythian is? Any information can help us neutralize this threat. We need to know, we need to stop him before he can hurt anyone else." Casey took hold of my arms and leaned in over me. "Tell us who he is." He wasn't asking.

"I-I don't know" A lie "He just didn't look like a killer."

"They never look like killers Avery." He was shouting now.

"Case that's enough" Nathan put a hand on his brother's shoulder. When Casey didn't back off, Nathan shoved him away. "I said enough" A red haze appeared around the brothers.

"I wanna go home" I meant to sound more confident but it came out as a shaky whisper. Terror was ripping through me, my heart racing. I felt my legs go weak and my knees give out.

I could hear the voices around me. My blinked open, vision blurry. Everyone was standing around near windows and doors. I could see funny lights in the center of each person's chest. They had a glow that surrounded them, mostly orange and red. I blinked a few more times and the colors disappeared.

"Hey you're awake" Miranda was sitting on the floor next to the couch.

"I need to go home" I said. "Now, I need to go home now."

"Yea sure" Miranda got to her feet and went to Nathan. They exchanged words I didn't hear and glanced my way. "Come on" Miranda helped me off the couch. "Let's get you home."

The drive seemed long and quiet. I sat quietly between Nathan and Danny who was driving. Casey was standing in the bed of the truck keeping watch. We came to a stop in front of my house.

"Stay here" Nathan said to me, exchanging a look with his brother. They exited the vehicle and headed towards the house with Casey. I slipped out of the door and waited, trying to see what they saw.

"The hell you doing here Blackwood?" Danny was the one talking. I noticed a guy sitting on the porch steps. At first all I could see was shaggy black hair. The guys shifted and we locked eyes. Those soft blue eyes held my gaze. I felt a connection of some sort between us, like we were drawn to each other.

"He asked you a question freak" Casey shoved the guy's shoulder. He fell back on the stairs, oblivious that the guys were there. He broke his gaze with me. Without saying a word he left. The Hale brothers stood watch till he was out of sight.

"Who was that?" I asked making my way up the sidewalk.

"That was Jasper Blackwood." Nathan said escorting me to the front door. "You steer clear of him Avery, I mean it. He's bad news and I don't want you mixed up with him." I nodded my head slightly. "Inside, and lock the doors."

"Yea I got it." I closed the front and locked it. Quietly I made my way to my bedroom. Checking the time, it was nearly four. Dad would be getting up soon. I changed into dryer clothes and flopped down on my bed. I let the events of the night wash over me, in all it's insanity. What if this was all real? If I had been dropped into this unnatural world. How did I fit in then? I am only human after all. I pondered this as I drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.