The moon flickered, its alluring light drowned by the darkness of an ominous cloud. A cloud darker than the night itself. Rain fell from that cloud, its droplets soaking her cloth, drenching her. With each droplet her strength sapped, as if her soul was sucked away. Nearby, the coyote watched her, watched her drop to her knees, then drop to the ground, writhing in agony and despair. She is weak, it thought, she poses no danger to us. The dry leaves had turned wet, and emitted no sound as the coyote's padded feet struck them. It disappeared into the night.

Once more, the rays of the moon struck the forest ground, revealing a figure lying on the forest floor, cloaked in black. It seemed, for a second, the shadows tried to approach her, but the light of the moon enveloped her, and they dared not advance. She awoke bathed in a white light. The Others have come for me..., she thought. She felt a new strength from within.

"...Alliyama kakulita charinaya ichigori,
Nakuliam chariruya elixialum,
Elikur sumbuli kalino..."

As the clouds gently moved across the full moon, she listened to the faint chanting as it moved across the now dark, rolling hills. A young girl, in a black cloak was briskly walking down a path. Thankful for the darkness surrounding her, she knew they could not see her. They had been watching her constantly. Ever since the incident. Although it had been years since she had last seen Them, the effects were everlasting. Biting her lip to hold back her anger, she repressed those memories. This was not the time to bring them back. So much had happened since then.

She took in a deep breath and looked around. Everything seemed to be the same, but something was different. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she had never been there at night, but she doubted that. There was something else, something more. As she walked further down the path, towards her favorite waterfall, she could hear its friendly greeting: the same, gentle bubbling. It was glowing in the faint light of the moon; more beautiful than it had ever seemed. Looking again at the path, she smiled. She knew it well. Every rock, tree and bush was an old friend. As she scanned her eyes over the night sky she heard the mocking bird sing its song, far off in the distance. She had so many memories. Long summer days spent with laughter and picnics, the carefully constructed tree house her father had worked so hard to build her when she was five, and finally her favorite memory. She smiled as she remembered that day. It seemed so long ago.

Suddenly she heard a faint rustling a few feet ahead of her. Two bright eyes shone through the darkness. It couldn’t be them. They never confronted her. They only watched and followed. Stepping cautiously toward the eyes, she realized it was only a coyote. Breathing a deep sigh of relief she knew that things would be different from now on. The past twenty-four hours had changed her life more drastically than she could have ever imagined. Her new friends would help her. That is, if all went well tonight.

She needed to hurry. The Others were not to be kept waiting.

here i go....i hope you all like it!!!

A story. First, Amaris writes a paragraph, and then Mike, and then Emerald writes a paragraph, and then Amaris, and Mike, and then Emerald, etc. We are not allowed to communicate about the story. Needless to say, it will be interesting.