|| What Have I Done

My hand covered my mouth. This can't be true. Even if I didn't know him so well, he was a good guy.

"I don't know, I've been asking the officers here but they won't speak up."

"Wait, are you at the scene right now?"

"Yeah," he replied, "This is insane"

"Um, are the police officers still there?"

"No, they left just now, only reporters are here," he answered, "Why do you ask?"

I guess dad left already, I need to go there. I know something is there. I've had a glimpse of it.

"I'm coming."

"Adria, no" he denied, "Stay at home" I groaned internally.

"Zen, I think I know the reason why," I said, "It's fine I can go alone."

"No. I'll come with you" he quickly said, "I'll pick you up in ten"

I hung up the call and quickly got up, closed my books that were as fat as Texas. I got a small bag and packed two torches in it. Well, if dad arrives home earlier than I do I might be in trouble. Maybe I won't because he doesn't really check on me at night.

I ran downstairs only to find the front door locked. Really? My phone rang and I picked it up, "Zen the door is locked,"

"Damn," he says, "Can you jump?"

"What?"

"Can you jump from the window?"

"Are you crazy?!" I nearly screamed.

I walked upstairs towards my window and looked down, one drop from here and I'm going to have a hell lot to pay.

I watched Zen stand near the house right beneath me, his phone pressed to his ear. He looked at me and waved with a small smile, "Trust me I'll catch you," he says over the phone.

I bit my lip and tossed the idea around my head. Twelve feet drop from here and you can find the reason for Tylers death and maybe for the other three murder cases and if I don't I lose my only chance to sneak out and find Tylers murderer.

You can't trust him! screamed that little voice at the back of my head- I shook my head, I have to do this at least for finding Tylers murderer, I can do this. Also It's not that high. I sit on the window edge and dangle my legs, Zen quickly gets ready to catch me, "C'mon Adria!"

I gulped and shut my eyes close, and let myself fall, and with that– ladies and gentlemen I have officially made the worst decision in my life.

Rough winds brushed past me, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for the impact.

But it never happened.

I opened my eyes and found a grinning Zen holding me, "Told you,"

He gently placed me down, my heart was beating fast, "Thanks."

We walked down the road towards the Silvergrass forest, Zen talked about how the scene looked like and how he knows Tyler. He seemed pretty sad about his death. I really felt sorry for him. I still can't believe he is dead.

We reached the dark forest earlier than expected. The moon was glowing faintly in the black sky. The forest was dark and looked sorta creepy with the moonlight casting a faint glow to the branches. No we did not go to the sealed area, in fact we were way ahead of it.

"Do you know where to go?" he asked me, flashing the torchlight forward.

"Yeah," I replied, "I've seen a small cottage not very far from here."

Zen nodded and kept close to me. The forest was so eerily quiet that you could hear your own breath.

"What's Adria short for?" he asked, lightening the silence which grew.

"Um, people don't usually ask that," I replied, "It's short for Adrianna." I wasn't paying much attention to him. My eyes searched around but it was too dark.

"It's really nice." I could feel as my cheeks tinted pink, thank the heavens it's dark

He abruptly stopped walking and became silent. "Adria," he whispered, "Look at this"

I flashed the light in his direction. A strange symbol was carved on the tree, so I walked over to it. "Don't touch it." he whispered under his breath. My heart was beating fast and I was shaking. It wasn't supposed to be there, maybe we should go back.

A shiver ran down my spine, as I felt someone was watching us.

The pain slowly grew in my head, this definitely was not the time for this. I regret taking my pills. The migraine grew, and the pain was now becoming unbearable.

I looked around for the cottage, I couldn't find it in the distance my flashlight could shine, "It has to be here," I muttered trying to distract myself from the migraine.

My heart stopped, in a distance two ice blue eyes glowed. I wanted to run away but my legs didn't get the information.

An ear-piercing howl filled the forest. This reminded me of the unforgettable memory when mother ran with me through the dead and terrifying forest. My grip around the torch tightened as I registered what was ahead of me.

A wild wolf.

Before I could blink the giant furry wolf rushed on its four towards me, its jaw opened wide revealing two sharp razor-like teeth. A scream escaped my throat. But it didn't attack me. Zen was keeping it down.

"Adria!" he yelled, "Get away!"

No. no I can't run away like this, like a coward. I looked around and spotted a few more wolves sliding through the bushes. I wish I never came here, I wish he didn't have to face this because of me.

The wolf in front of me growled in anger, it approached me slowly. I couldn't move or scream. It looked straight at me, its ice blue eyes burning my soul.

"Adria!" Zen yelled at me, he was struggling to keep the wolf off himself, "Please!"

The wolf circled around me, like a predator would do to its prey. It stopped and sniffed me. My mind had already stopped working. I couldn't make sense of my surroundings, it all turned blurry. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping it's some dream but it wasn't.

Darkness started to engulf me as I dropped on the grassy cold floor, the headache grew stronger and my head was in agony. I screamed. A huge wave of energy suddenly flowed through my body and escaped it.

And I fainted.

-x-x-x-

"Adria" a voice spoke softly in my ears.

"Adria," it called again "Wake up"

I opened my eyes, Zen frowned at me "Finally," he forced a smile. I was resting against a tree, my mind was still hazy, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, and got up still trying to make clear of my surroundings. We were still in the same forest.

"I freaked out when you fainted"

"What?" I asked, weren't there any wolves?

"You fainted out of nowhere," he said, "Were you on any meds?"

"Uh yeah." I replied.

"Let's get out of here," he said while taking my hand and leading the way, "It doesn't feel good in here."

"No!" I almost yelled at him, taking my hand out of his grasp. "Are you okay?" I asked him, but I found no scratches or bruises on him.

He raked his dark disheveled hair, "You're not well, you need to go back home" He was right, my mind is spinning right now and my breathing is ragged.

"But what if–"

"We can search here some other day if you like," he smiled. He definitely thinks I'm crazy.

I thought about it and eventually agreed. Was I dreaming about the wolf attack? This might be the effect of my pills. But it felt so real.