The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 2

"Wh-where am I?" I said groggily as I struggled to sit up. I glanced around at my surroundings. I was laying down on a bed in a small white room. There was a desk next to me with a small woman with wrinkled skin and hair that is in a terrible up-do typing at an old computer. Selene was sitting across from me in a chair.

"Thank god your awake!" Selene hugged me. "How long was I out?" I asked. "About 4 hours, I was really worried!" She answered.

"So what exactly happened? You were so close to hitting Daniel, and then you just...stopped," She asked. I looked around to see if anyone else was watching, and answered, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I saw a wolf walking along the outer rim of the forest. Then it just stopped, and then beckoned for me to come closer with its paw."

Selene's face paled, and she muttered, "Oh no, no, no, this can't be happening!" I stared at her questioningly, and said "Wait... You know more about what happened?"

Selene pursed her lips, and said very seriously, "We can't talk now, not here, but I can tell you this, you don't belong here." I thought, Oh gee, thanks Selene for calling me an outcast! You're the best friend ever!

"What-what do you mean?" I stammered. "Meet me at the field after school, I'll try to answer your questions. Until then, be careful, and tell me if anything else happens." I nodded. Selene left the room.

The lady at the desk saw me sitting up, and scowled. "Well you seem fine, go back to your classroom!" I hopped off the bed, and still suffering from a pounding headache from the ball hitting me, I headed back to class.

I could see The Forbidden Forest from where I was walking. I glanced at it curiously, and a flash of silver appeared. Not long after, a soft whisper called my name. "Nova Lee, I know you're listening. The Forest calls out to you." I gasped, and I limped as fast as I could back to class.

"Ah Nova, glad you could finally join us after your incident in P.E." Mr. Murray said after I walked into the classroom. One thing you should know about Snowy Hills, news passes quickly, even deaths. Two students died last week in class, and no one even gives it a second thought. No one except me.

I was still wide eyed and breathing heavily from my strange encounter as I slid into an empty seat next to Selene. She gave me a worried look, and I whispered, "I'll tell you later."

Selene pulled out a slip of paper, and wrote, What happened?! She handed the paper to me and I wrote, When I was walking back to class I heard a voice call to me from The Forbidden Forest. She gasped and whispered, "It's all happening faster than I thought!" I asked, "What is?" Mr. Murray stopped droning on about calculus, and looked at us. "Stop talking!" He yelled irritably.

For the rest of the class, I tried to concentrate on listening how to do calculus, but just couldn't. The voice just kept coming back in my mind. It just makes me wonder why no one ever does go into The Forbidden Forest.

"Alright, next class!" Mr. Murray shoos us out of his room. Ms. Perez's science class is next. I barely walk 10 feet away from the classroom, when I hear the voice again. "Nova, Nova Lee, The Forest has a message for you." Curiosity gets me. I wander as close as I can to the outer rim of The Forbidden Forest. Every instinct in my body says to go closer, but the logical part of me says to run.

A silver flash of light, and a package is in front of me. It is a silver box. I gingerly pick it up, and open it. A gleaming silver bow that seems to flicker different pastel colors is inside, along with some arrows and a quiver. I gasp and pick up the bow. It perfectly conforms to my hand. I pull the bowstring, it seems perfect.

I rummaged around in the box and found a note. It said, Nova Lee you are a special girl. I know how you feel, never being able to fit in. The Forest calls out to you. Come to the outer rim of The Forest at midnight tonight. Then you will find out who you truly are.