I awoke to the distant, eerie, spine rattling, inhuman wailing of the creatures that had been tracking me for almost a year and a half on end now. The sound was a sort of warped bone chilling cross between a human scream and the creepiest wolf howl. How did they find me so quickly? I thought as I slipped on my thermal boots.
“Avery, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
I whirled around to face Evera, my twin sister and best friend. She was sitting on her bed, her thoughtful topaz blue eyes full of determination.
“What do you mean?” I asked, desperately trying to sound confused.
“I know you too well to believe that you have no idea what I'm talking about,” she retorted.
“You don't want or need to know, it will simply endanger you.”
“More than not knowing will? The phrase ‘What you don't no won’t hurt you’ that you always say is purely circumstantial and more often misleading than not.”
“Trust me, this is not a circumstance when that is true. You heard those things, do you really want them nipping at your heels?”
“Not if it can be helped. Have you ever thought that I might be endangered already? If those things mistake me for you I’ll have no idea what I'm up against or why I'm up against it,” Evera said, twiddling nervously with her locket as the creatures’ unearthly moans carried across the valley and echoed off the mountains.
“Are you sure?” I asked, sitting down on the bed
“I’m sure,” she said sitting attentively, waiting for me to begin. Her wavy hair was in loose ringlets, the color of hazelnuts, falling down across her shoulders.
“It all began when I was about eleven, and had started getting strange dreams about the past. Of course I didn't know that then, but the dreams sparked a curiosity inside me. I wanted to learn about these dreams, so I went to the museum. After that the dreams intensified. So one day I stayed in the museum after closing and snuck into the secret restricted personal area below the basement. I got some answers there. However, the dreams continued more frequently than ever, so I, needing more answers, broke into The Head Mountain of Arvadia.” The Head Mountain of Arvadia was the base of Arvadian operations. It was a mountain with lots of hollowed out spaces with stalactites hanging menacingly from the ceiling. Some rooms were huge and cavernous, and others so tiny I could barely stand up straight without being speared by one of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The rooms were connected by a crisscross network of narrow tunnels, all heavily guarded with highly trained soldiers carrying all sorts of deadly weapons, from high-speed-high-power-auto-shoot/aim-guns loaded with jagged spike covered bullets glopped with strong poison, to the low tech not-usually-deadly large specialty metal bullets crisscrossed with electricity.
“What?” Evera’s eyes widened with horror and surprise, “You actually broke into The Head? What were you thinking?” then she remembered.
Evera and I were pretty much identical, aside from the fact that I was an inch or so taller and my hazelnut colored hair was sleek, straight, and scattered with only slightly noticeable streaks of chestnut. Aside from that there are only two major differences. I had piercing eyes that were a bright emerald green, unlike her deep topaz ones. The biggest difference, though, was the fact that I was reckless and reacted quickly on instinct alone, while my sister thought carefully and logically about everything before planning out the best course of action both of these talents had gotten us both out of more than one situation.
“Anyway,” I started again, “I got two things, all the info I could have ever wanted or dreamed of, including the horrifying truths behind Arvadia.”
“What’s the second thing?”
“I got caught,” I said with a sigh, “A strange cloaked man, the ruler of Arvadia, sicked the wolves on me. I only escaped because a fourteen year old boy showed me secret passage. The mutant wolves have been tracking me ever since. It’s been a year and a half now.” There was a small moment of silence before I said, “I’d better get going now,” I stood, grabbed my thermo jacket, and slipped it on.
“I’m coming too” It was then that I noticed she was fully dressed.
I almost said ‘I don't have time for you to pack,’ when I remembered that she was probably well packed, and had been planning thoroughly months.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“You already know the answer to that one,” Evera said, pulling a backpack out from under her bed.
I knew immediately she had packed lightly, thoroughly, and carefully. I smiled knowing she’d be well equipped for the journey ahead. She probably had done quite a bit of research as well.
“Let’s go,” I said, grudgingly knowing Evera wouldn't take no for an answer.
As we started into the woods, Evera said with a smile, “Let’s call them ArvaWolves.”
“Perfect” I said grinning.
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Dedicated to EveryDayBGT for being my awesome editor!
