FURIES by Shannon Burton (great novels .txt) 📕

"I'm good but there's something I really need to tell you." she whispered back.

I took a seat by her bed and waited for her to speak.

"Zhara, something was out there. I didn't hit anything but something definitely hit me and sent me crashing off that road."

Tera confirmed what I had already thought. Things were changing in this small town and I had a feeling Damien and Talon had something to do with it.

Tera began to recover from her injuries and we saw less and less of Talon and Damien.On the third day of Teras' hospitilization they disapperead all together.Tera began to remember more and more about the crash since her concussion was healing but nothing seemed to make since.The police came to the hospital and questioned her on the crash.I told them about the blood and feathers on the front of the car and they said they would check it out.The day that Tera was discharged from the hospital the police came back and reported that there was no blood or feathers on the car.Someone must have cleaned up the feathers and wiped up the blood.

Once we reached my house I walked in to hear the phone ringing off the hook.I ran into the kitchen to pick it up and heard my moms' voice on the other line.

"Hey Zhara I heard about Tera.How is she?"

"She's fine.Her mom said she could stay here for a few days."

"Oh that's good.Now I called to tell you to be very careful out there.I heard on the news that a man was found dead in his car two days ago about two towns down.The police said it was pretty gruesome and they won't release any images and they won't say if it was a murder or not.So you two need to watch your surroundings at all times.Okay?" My mom actually sounded worried for my well being.

I told her I would be careful and hung up.

"Hey my mom said a guy died two towns down and she told us to be careful.She thinks it was a murder."

"Wow that's so crazy!" Tera exclaimed.

Nothing crazy ever happened in this town but it seemed that that was about to change.

From that point on things had died down and went back to normal.

Tera stayed at my house for the next few days and we both couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going to happen in this town.

"I really don't think it was a bird Zhara. I know it sounds crazy but it was a winged creature.It was so heavy when it hit my car that it ran me off the road." She said shakily.

As crazy as it sounded I believed her. I did research on mythical creatures over the next few days. The best things I could find to fit her desription were Griffons,Pegasus,and Sirens.I felt like I should have been put into a looney bin for the stuff I was taking notes on.Eventually Monday rolled around and me and Tera woke up to a foggy morning.We got ready slowly and talked about how we dreaded the day ahead.When we were finished getting dressed we headed out to the garage.Since Teras' car was totaled I decided to take my truck out. We drove silently to school. The only sound was the radio playing a Sia song.

"Lets try and lay low for today.People are going to be all over me about the accident." Tera murmured.

I nodded my head in agreement and continued watching the road.We made it to school five minutes early and moved fast throught the crowd to avoid all of the questions and stares.

We got to our lockers and grabbed our books for Mr. Elis' class but were suddnely stopped when Lucas popped up in front of us.

"So word is around town that you got knocked off the road by a bird." He said. Everyone in the hall stopped to listen for an answer.

"No there was to much ice and snow on the road and I had a hard time getting the steering wheel to go in the right direction so I skidded into a ditch.Anymore questions?" Tera lied smoothly.

People were satisfied with her answer and so the morning commenced.We walked to Mr.Elis' class to see him fast asleep with his head on the desk. Mr. Eli was always so bright and cheery and greeted students at the door and so far we were the only ones in there.I walked over to his desk and gave him a light shove and this caused his face to turn in the direction I was standing.I couldn't hold in the terrified scream that escaped my lips.

The police showed up at our school to investigate the murder of Mr.Eli. We gave them our statements on what we had witnessed and then they sent us home.

The drive back to my house was scary. Both Tera and I were jumpy and shaken up. I couldn't get the image of Mr. Eli out of my head.His face..Oh god his face! His mouth was contorted as if his jaw had been broken and his skin was a pale gray. The worst part was his eyes.His pupils and everything surrounding it were a pitch black and his eye lids had dark blood stuck to them.The police seemed baffled on what in the hell could have done this to him.

When we reached my house we both seemed drained of all energy. This whole week had been a trial and it had left both of us weakened.The house felt cold and even more empty than usual.I didn't even bother turning on lights.I just walked to my room and crumpled to the mattress.Tera crawled into bed next to me and looked at me like I might have answers.

"I'm so scared Tera." I admitted.

"Nothing is making sense any more.I have never even heard of a murder in this town and I have lived here my whole life. I noticed that Damien and Talon didn't show up to school today."

I looked at her curiously.

"I don't think they killed Mr. Eli but I think they know who did. I over heard the police talking and they said it was just like the one in Middleford.You know,that guy your mom was telling you about.I honestly think we should find Damien and Talon find out what's happening because crazy things didn't start occuring in this town until they showed up." Tera stated matter-of factly.

I sighed inwardly because I knew she was right about it all. But then I remembered Adas' words about not unraveling things to quickly and I began to think that maybe going after them wasn't the best idea.On the other hand I couldn't watch the people that I cared about be killed.

"Ok here's the plan, you will tell your mom that me and you are going to go camping and then we will head out to Falling Creek.The thing is Falling Creek is surrounded by a huge dark forest and it might take us days to actually find them.I've never even actually been there.I just remember when Lucas and a few of his friends made that bet to go in there they had gotten lost and were found near a creek near the middle of the forest.The search and rescue team took a picture and named it Falling Creek.Ever since then, no one has actually gone in there."

"Yea I heard about that to.So we need to be sure that we want to do this before we actually do?" Tera asked.

I nodded my agreement but I knew there wasn't really a choice.

"Do you want to leave tomorrow?" Tera questioned.

This was what I loved about her.Just like me, she knew there was not a choice.We could sit back and watch people die or we could help stop it.

"Ok so we will need to get tents,sleeping bags,food and water,and heavy clothing." I listed off.

"Perfect! We can pick that stuff up tomorrow at Big 5 and Walmart."

"For now lets get some sleep.We are gonna leave early in the morning." I yawned out.

My sleep was interrupted by nightmares.I would be standing face to face with Damien on the cliff but I was backing away from him.For some reason I knew that he was the source of all my pain and I could see the remorse and guilt etched into his features.I turned and looked at my suroundings to find that everything around me was burning and in the center of it all was me and Damien. He was destroying my whole world and I hated him for it.

"Damien why are you doing this.I care about you."

"I told you to stay away.You should have listened." He whispered back.

The roar of the flames was so loud I could barely hear him but with his next words the flames and the burning came to a halt.

"Dont forgive me." He whispered before he pushed me off the cliff.

I woke with a start. For years I thought he was telling me not to forget him but I was so wrong. He was sending me a warning.

I decided not to tell Tera. We still needed to find Damien and Talon and after that we would forget them.Our lives would go back to normal and everything would be alright. I couldnt sleep for the rest of the night so I got up and made tons of sandwiches and packed anything we might need.

"What the hell Zhara!"

I turned to find Tera standing in the front entrance of the kitchen looking very angry.

"Did you not sleep?" She asked.

"No I just wanted to get a head start on today."

"Mmmm well I am going to hop in the shower and when I get out you better be relaxing in your bed with some hot chocolate..Got it!?"

I nodded in defeat and made myself some hot chocolate. I added more wood to the fire and got cozy. Tera came out twenty minutes later and I hopped into the shower. The water soothed my muscles and made me forget my troubles. When I got out I felt refreshed and ready to go so we ate some breakfast and headed to the stores that we needed to get more supplies from.

Once we had everything we needed we got back in the car and I whipped out a map that showed an over all view of the forest surrounding Falling Creek.We drove for three miles before we reached the entrance of the forest.The trees stood tall and dense and had very few remnants of snow hanging on their branches.We were the only ones on the road so we pulled our car off to the side of the road behind a tree and covered it in branches.

"Are you ready?" I asked Tera.

"Not even a little bit but lets go."

We began our tread through the woods. As soon as we walked a few feet in we were surrounded with the sounds of the forest.Only a little bit of light was shining through the canopy and we used this to guide our way.A few birds were chirping,water flowed with a gurgling sound,and the wind brushed through the trees.It was like being wrapped in a bubble of beauty and I found myself sighing in awe.

"I love it here." Tera whispered.

"Yeaa it's wonderful." I whispered back, not wanting to interrupt the flow of sounds.

We walked until late morning and took a break.I didn't want to find a