Chapter Five

I felt nervous as we walked to the door. It was familiar walking to the door. I could feel the panic from the night before, but I still couldn't pinpoint what that panic was. We entered the house and stopped at the living room that was directly to the left.

"Hey guys" Nathan said leaning on the arch frame. There was two guys that look very much like Nathan sitting on the couch, playing video games. "You remember Avery right?"

"How is the newbie?" The older one said.

"Newbie?" I said looking to Nathan.

"New friend, that's all" Nathan shot a look to the older boy. "She doesn't remember anything from last night."

"Really? Nothing?" The younger of the two asked. I shook my head. "Well then, I'm Casey, Nice you meet you… again." He laughed and pointed to the other guy. "This is my brother Danny."

"Wow, this is a lot more awkward than I thought it would be." I said.

"No worries" Danny said. "You should probably sleep off the rest of that hangover."

"That's probably a good idea." I said rubbing the back of my neck. My head was still pounding. Nathan nodded and lead me up the stairs. Down the little hallway he opened the last door.

"You can sleep in here." He said "I'll be down stairs if you need anything."

"Thank you Nathan" I said. "I really appreciate this."

"No problem" He said with a smile and closed the door behind me. I was alone with my thoughts again. I laid on the bed and fell asleep instantly.

The dreams came again, but not scary this time. I was in the woods following the sound of rushing water. It only took a few moments before I came upon a beautiful waterfall. The water crashing down was musical, birds singing overhead. I caught a glimpse of someone inside the waterfall. It was hard to see what they looked like, dark hair and slightly taller than average height. Then I was being pulled away from the waterfall. I didn't understand until I woke up.

Miranda was sitting on the bed next to me. I blinked hard. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Well, my head doesn't hurt as much." I mumbled. "What time is it?"

"It's after six, I brought you some dinner." She motioned to a plate sitting on the nightstand.

"Six?" I glanced towards the window but it was still light out. "Why did you guys let me sleep so late?" I asked.

"First hangover is a doozy." Miranda said. "You need the rest, some food, and lots of hydration." She handed me a glass of water and waited till I drank it. Empty glass in hand, Miranda left, closing the door behind her. I sat up and grabbed the plate of food. One whiff of the chicken and my stomach twisted.

I shoved the plate aside and bolted for the door. Luckily the bathroom door had been left open so I didn't have to search for it. Whatever was in my stomach came back up, which wasn't much. I rinsed my mouth with water from the sink.

The upstairs was still quiet when I left the bathroom. I made my way to the stairs and waited. It sounded like all three brothers were in the living room. I sat a few steps from the top and watched as an older man entered from the kitchen. He looked just like Nathan but older, probably Nathan's father… Corey. His name was Corey Hale. I don't know how I knew that.

"Did you find anything?" Danny asked.

"Yea, I talked to the sheriff. He was able to get us a photo of the blonde scythian. We still don't know his name or why he is after the girl, but we know he is going to hurt people." Corey said handing Danny a picture. Danny looked at it for a moment then passed it to the next brother. Finally they set the photo on the coffee table. It was hard to see but I could make out the features on Shane's face.

The memories of last night came flooding back. The near death, the panic, and the fear. I sat quietly, listening.

"How are we going to find him?" Danny asked.

"If he's hunting the Scott girl then shouldn't we just follow her?" Casey asked.

"And risk her life?" Nathan said.

"We would be right there." Casey said.

"And what if we're not fast enough?" Nathan shot back. "You know damn well that a scyth is way faster than even you. Are you willing to let an innocent girl die to kill one scythian? Because I'm won't!"

"That's enough" Corey said. "We are not going to use the girl as bait. We will exhaust every option before we will reconsider."

"Dad you can't be serious!" Nathan was on his feet now. "Avery is not a pon to be moved. She is a person."

"We will do whatever is takes Nathan. I am the head of this pack and you will do as I say. The town looks to us to fix matters of this nature. If one life it what it takes to save the town, then it is a choice we may have to make."

"Do you think Blackwood has anything to do with this?" Casey asked quietly. He was looking down at his fingers, intertwining them back and forth.

"We don't know" Corey said, there was something more in his voice. Like this was a difficult subject, but it only seemed to affect Casey.

They were going to serve me up on a silver platter for Shane? And somehow the guy in front of my house last night was involved? This was ridiculous. All of it was. Shane wasn't a supernatural being, he was just a little psycho, but was he a murderer?

...It was the summer before sophomore year. Mid July and it was hot. Amber and her boyfriend were supposed to meet Shane and I down at the lake. It was a hike through the woods to get there, but it was worth it. The tree canopy opened to let the sun shine down on the lake, glistening across the water. It was our place of peace from school and our parents.

Shane and I had just got to the lake. Amber had called, saying they were going to be late. Shane jumped in the water right away. I kicked off my shoes and ran in after him. I had met him the fall after I lost my mother and we were friends instantly. We had grown closer over the years and I had come to see him as the brother I never had.

"There's something out there." Shane said headed towards the middle of the lake. I went after him. We reached the middle and stopped.

"What did you see?" I asked. Without a word he drove under the water. He was under the water for a long time and I started to get worried. I put my face under the water, but it was too dark to see the bottom. Coming up for air, I saw Amber just beyond the treeline. Before I could call for help something grabbed my leg. I was dragged down further and further. I struggled and thrashed but it didn't help. A long moment passed before whatever had me let go and I swam up fast. I broke the surface gasping for air and screamed. A second later I was pulled back under. My foot was caught in a tight grip again. I frantically tried to kick at whatever had me. A face appeared in front of me. It was Shane. He pulled me with as he sank to the bottom like a rock.

I blacked out before we hit the bottom on the lake, inhaling water as we went. I woke up in the hospital a week later. Amber had called 911 and saved my life. The doctor explained that my heart had stopped three different times and it was a miracle that I was alive. It was medically unexplainable.

I snapped back to the present, sitting at the top of the stairs. I knew I was scared but all I felt was anger. A rage that I could barely control. I clenched my fists and locked my jaw. Even with every right to be angry, I shouldn't be this mad. I took a deep breath and calmed down. The guys were quiet in the living room. Too quiet.

Peeking around the rails, I saw an empty living room. I hurried back to Nathan's bedroom and sat on the floor, head in my hands. This was all just nuts. A whirl of emotions swarmed through me. Nothing making sense. I don't even think mom could have sorted this out for me.

My phone buzzed from my purse. I reached for it, checking the message. LEAVE NOW, it was from an unknown number. I deleted the message, shivers going over my skin. Was it Nathan? Was he warning me? Then I remembered Miranda had put their number in my phone. I scrolled through the contacts till I found Nathan's number.

Someone else knew I was here, knew I was in danger. It gave me a scary feeling. Was someone following me? There was a soft knock on the door. I looked up as Miranda walked in.

"Hey" She said.

"I need to go" I said getting to my feet, clutching my purse with shaky hands.

"Ava what's wrong?" An orange glow appeared around her. I tried hard to blink it away like before. I must have hit my head hard if I was seeing colors.

"I have to go home" I headed for the door, squeezing past her. At the top of the stairs silence floated up from down stairs. There was no one around till I reached the front door. Danny was there, suddenly, leaning against the door.

"What's the rush little bird?" Danny said.

"My dad said I need to come home now." I lied. His brows raised but he didn't say anything. He knew I was lying, but how? Danny opened the door and waved me out. I stepped into the darkness a little confused. It was still warm, with a cool breeze. I made my way down the sidewalk. There was only a handful of blocks between Nathan's street and mine.

I felt a prickling feeling crawl over my skin. It felt like there was something or someone following me. Was is the person that texted me? Glancing around, I only saw darkness. I turned down my street, walking faster. There was a dark patch of trees in between the next two houses. I moved closer to the road, staying near the street lights. The street lights that started flickering. As I glanced up at them, a hand covered my mouth and I was yanked backwards into the trees.

"Be quiet" A deep voice said in my ear. "We only have a few minutes." I was spun around and shoved against a tree. It was Shane who was holding me, hand still covering my mouth. "I'll remove my hand if you promise not to scream." I nodded feeling a rush of emotions come over me. This was it, it all ended here. Part of me wanted to sit and cry. The other part wanted to fight back, to hurt him. He dropped his hand but held me firm against the tree.

"Are you gonna kill me?" I asked with a shaky voice. Shane looked shocked.

"Why would I kill you?" He said. "I want you to turn, to come back home with me. I don't want you dead, quite the opposite."

"Turn me into what?" I asked.

"There's no time to explain. Those damn wolves don't know how to stay out of other people's business." He glanced over his shoulder. "Trust no one." With that Shane disappeared. I stood there shaking, not sure my legs would hold me if I moved. Shane wanted to turn me? And make me what? I made my way back to the sidewalk, stumbling in the darkness. Seconds later, I was surrounded by the Hale clan, one in particular was steaming mad.

"Where is he?" Casey demanded.

"Who?" I said getting frustrated and annoyed with him. His short temper would get him nowhere with me. My emotions were jumping all over the place. I was overly terrified about running into Shane, but it didn't match the anger I felt now. It only made me more confused.

"The scyth, where is the blonde guy?" Casey was getting louder.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to keep the rage contained. I wasn't going to give him anything, even if he was right.

"Bullshit where is he?" He stepped towards me. I stepped up and stood my ground with confidence that I didn't have. Danny put a hand on his brother's shoulder, pulling him back.

"Avery" Corey said drawing my attention from Casey. "I know that this must be very confusing and upsetting. There are a lot of things you don't understand yet. We need to know where he went."

I glanced to Nathan, who shrugged and looked away. He wasn't going to stand up to his father and I wasn't going to make him. It was an internal struggle not to give in to what they wanted. Shane was a monster at the least, but did I really want these guys catching up with him and doing? What? What were they going to do to him? I assumed it wouldn't be anything good. Not that I really had good wishes towards him. Silently, I motioned towards the trees where Shane had grabbed me. They all took off except Nathan.