Out of The Shadows (Shadow Series #3)

1 - Arrival

        Trees blur together in a neverending mass of green. I duck under a low branch, not losing my fast pace. I push myself faster when I lose sight of the brown haired girl up ahead. One hand reaches behind me, grabbing ahold of my bow and slipping it over my head. I briskly run through the trees, agile like a panther. The coyote that I have been chasing for the past ten minutes along with the two people abruptly stop. I jump behind a tree, hidden from view. 

        Barely panting, I grab one of the arrows I had specially made with a tranquilzer dart in the arrow head. As soon as the arrowhead is imbedded in the skin, the dart will launch itself in the body. I've learned a lot from France. My back is flush against the tree bark as I draw back the arrow. Peering around the side of the tree, Allison and Isaac Lahey are standing side by side. A tranquilizer gun held in Allison's shaking hands. 

        My eyes subconsciously roll. Lydia has kept me up with all of the drama that has gone down in Beacon Hills while I was gone. I know all about what Stiles, Scott, and Allison did to save their parents. I understand that there is a dark spot in Allison's mind now, but you would think that she would still be able to shoot a gun with no problem at all.

        I angle my bow past the two of them. Shutting one eye, I focus on the coyote, that everyone here believes is Malia Tate, a girl who supposedly turned into a coyote the night her family died in a car crash. A man steps in my line of view. I curse under my breath, losing sight of the coyote. Quietly, I sneak forward, hiding behind trees until I get to a better area. Now, I recognize the man as Mr. Tate, the man Lydia had informed me that has been going crazy after his family's death. 

        Allison and Isaac are much closer this time, close enough that I can hear their conversation.

        "Allison, there he is. Hit Tate. Use the Tranq on him." Isaac says to her. 

        My eyes waver on the shotgun in Mr. Tate's hands. He's going to kill the coyote. Allison's hands are shaking too much for her to shoot him. Groaning to myself, I shift my bow over a little in Mr. Tate's direction. I breath out of my mouth, and release the arrow. The arrow soars through the air, past Isaac and Allison, and buries itself in Mr. Tate's shoulder. The gun falls from his hands to the ground. 

        The coyote takes off running before I even have a chance to reach for the last arrow. Mr. Tate crumples to the ground just seconds after he yanks the arrow out of his shoulder. 

        "Clara?" 

        I lower my bow, bringing my attention back to Isaac and Allison, who have both spotted me. My eyes harden at the two of them. I swing my bow back around my shoulders and take off running in the woods, away from them. I've been doing so well at staying hidden from everybody the past week. My legs carry me out of the Beacon Hills Preserve and to my sleek, black Scion. I quickly unlock it and throw everything inside, including myself.

        Tires squeal against the road as I speed away. I drum my fingers against the black steering wheel, mumbling to myself about how stupid I am for being seen. I wasn't going to wait another week to announce my return back to Beacon Hills. I knew that me coming back would be a huge deal here. Only Lydia knew I would be returning this month. She just never knew when. 

        When I'm nearly to my apartment, my phone connected to the car via bluetooth rings. I simply press the answer button on the touch screen above the air conditioning controls, already knowing who is calling me. "Hello, Lydia." 

        "No. Don't hello me. Why the hell didn't you tell me that you were back in town?" Her snippy voice sounds throughout my car. "How long have you been here?"

        "About a week."

        "Are you kidding me, Clara?!"

        "You wish I was." I pull into the a parking spot by my new apartment. "Hey, at least you know now. That's all that matters, right?"

        I climb out of my car, slinging my bow and container of arrows over my shoulders. My sunglasses rest on the bridge of my nose, not leaving even as I step inside of the building. My phone is pressed up to my ear. 

        "You're coming back to school, right?" 

        "Yeah, probably next week." I climb up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. The elevator is always crowded and I can always feel everyone's eyes on me, like they know I'm dangerous, like they are scared of me. 

        "No." Lydia says. "You owe me this for not telling me you were back. You can come back tomorrow."

        "Uh, no." I laugh into the speaker of my phone. "I'm not coming back tomorrow. You can wait until Monday. And, if I owe you, why don't we just hang out tonight?"

        "Or we could hang out tonight and tomorrow at school." 

        I roll my eyes. "Lydia, I have plans tomorrow."

        "You can't have plans. You've only been here a week and no one had any idea that you were back until Allison and Isaac met up with all of us saying that they saw you in the woods." 

        I reach the fifth floor and walk to the second door on the right. I unlock the door with my keys. "I didn't say I had plans with anyone. I just said I have plans." I walk right in my apartment, kicking the door shut with the back of my heel. "I'm back for a reason, Lydia. I'm here to give the rest of you some help, considering that this town is more of a beacon than ever. Right now, you guys have a coyote on the loose, who everyone believes is a girl named Malia Tate. I'm here to help."

        "Well, if you show up to school tomorrow, I will fill you in on everything I know." 

        I carry my equipment to the spare bedroom and set everything back in the closet, where I keep all of my weapons. "You've already told me everything."

        "Not everything. Something happened after Allison and Isaac saw you." 

        "What happened?" Curiosity getting the best of me. 

        Lydia hums. "Guess you'll find out at school."

>>>>>>>>>>

Guess who's back! I've missed Clara, I really have. This is a pretty short chapter for me, but I just needed a little something to let everyone know that Clara is back in Beacon Hills. 

This is season 3b, by the way. Clara and Lydia have gotten really close. I think they will be pretty awesome friends. Lydia is the only one that has stayed in contact with Clara since she left for France.

Let me get you a little caught up. Allison and Clara are eighteen now, which means Clara is able to live on her own. Clara has enough money to afford her own apartment and get a pretty fancy car. You will find out how she got that money soon. Let's just say that she had a pretty good life back in France.

Question: What do you think will happen now that Clara is back?

So, yeah!