The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Four - Boy In The Woods

THE LANDSCAPE SEEMED less morbid during the day. It took a moment to cross the edge and find the path. I must be insane to return to this place only a day later, but I wasn't going to cower the woods for the time that I'd live in this town.

I tried hard to piece it together in my foggy memory, pushing past the intense fear and picturing the route that led to the encounter. After twenty minutes of roaming in circles, I was lost again. Too many narrow crossings to choose from.

I breathed deeply to calm my nerves. In the afternoon daylight, the leaves were a vibrant green, casting their tinted glow over the ground. Even though the woods looked nicer at this hour, it was all too easy to imagine the beast looming up from behind, snarling and growling.

How was my ankle okay, now? What happened to the animal after I blacked out? Why did it chase me only to leave me alive? It had wanted to kill me. Every cell in my body was aware of it.

Something had stopped it.

My brain churned with a few possibilities, but no outcome made sense. I had to be missing something important. Turning in my spot, I spread my arms open. Discouragement washed over me; how useless. What was I supposed to find? Not my cellphone, that's for sure.

I spun back, only to freeze.

An apparition stood ramrod straight on a hill about a dozen yards away, hands hidden in his lumberjack vest pockets. Shivers percolated down my spine. It was a tall boy. I hadn't even heard or seen him sneak up.

The harsh line in his jaw and his furrowed brows made me think that he was a few years older than me. His eyes were a stunning shade of green, deep and rich like the leaves bundled against the sky. Dark and tousled hair, almost black, spread on the sides of his frowning face, under his hood.

Something about him didn't feel right. My hand slid into my rear pocket, tightening around the knife. I wasn't on board with another round of run and hide in the forest.

"What are you doing here?" he threw out, jerking his chin.

I took a step back. "What are you doing here?"

My own response surprised me. I didn't make it a habit to snap at random people, but meeting a stranger in the woods wasn't exactly a good sign. Aside from the stranger danger, this guy was at least six feet and slim. I could picture him being fast and strong.

The corners of his mouth turned down in displeasure.

"This is private property, you dwarf."

I was five four, which wasn't all that short unless compared to this kind of dude, but damn. Quick to attack.

"Dwarf? Who taught you to be so lovely with people?"

I wasn't completely defenseless with my knife. Dad also taught me punches and kicks—I was a Navy Seal's daughter, after all. But I wasn't going to act invincible. This boy was glaring at me like I'd defamed his entire ancestry and spit on his shoe.

"You shouldn't be here, much less alone," he said in a deep voice, emphasizing the last word meaningfully.

I registered the surrounding trees, having no idea this was private land. At this point, I figured he was playing me or something.

"Right, because you bought a couple of acres all by yourself?" I didn't believe him one bit.

I was really pushing the limits, and it showed by the look on his face. The boy's expression shifted from dislike to full-blown warning. My hand remained securely wrapped around the pocket knife, refusing to let my guard down.

He bent his knees and jumped off the little hill, landing on the bed of foliage below. He swaggered over, slowly, never taking his hands away from his pockets.

My legs possessed a will of their own, though. Muscles locked. Leaves shuffled underneath and a spiky rock caused me to stumble way off. I yelped breathlessly when my foot fell into soft earth that caved under the weight.

Arms wheeling, the rest of my body followed. Sprawled right over the sticky soil.

The boy stopped and pressed his lips. Even from that distance, I heard the snicker.

"Oh. Thanks for the concern."

"What for? You were already so low to the ground there was hardly any chance of injury."

He moved again, and I crawled to the base of a tree, chest heaving. I drew out the knife. "Stay back..."

I started to warn him yet the words faded as I kept getting a better view.

Up close, I noticed his lashes—long and sooty—and defined cheekbones. There was nothing ordinary about this boy, even his irritating personality.

Striking eyes, the one trait that hit me from afar, studied me up and down in complete silence. Then, he seemed to shed a few years, and I realized he must be about the same age as me.

The boy gazed on like he never met a human being before. With mistrust and contempt. Seconds passed by and his face relaxed. Okay, not weird at all...

"I won't do anything. Do I have to remind you that you're the trespasser?"

"I might do something if you come closer."

In the last two days, I have never been more out of line than the rest of my life combined. Although I gathered I was courting trouble and making questionable life decisions, I was too far gone to stop.

"You got a lot of nerve, kid. You better learn to keep it down a notch before someone does it for you," he threatened, breaking the awkward moment of mutual observation. He felt around his jacket pockets and inverted them, then repeated the gesture with his jeans. "There's nothing on me. No weapon."

"Nothing concealed under the jacket?" I asked, clutching my one and only reassurance.

The guy's eyes glimmered briefly. He showed me the flaps of his jacket and flashed the waistband of his pants, proving his words. "Like I said, I'm not the intruder. And you have some explaining to do."

Great, first hot guy I meet is a total creeper. And I managed to irk him. Great start.

"Don't tell me this is actually your property."

He did not put more distance between us, and I had a hard time holding his stare. "Well, not mine as in my investment, but mine as in belongs to my family. You should piss off if you don't want issues with the law."

The rebuff caused a wave of embarrassment within me, but I won't let him enjoy it. I brushed my knees then unfolded, raising both hands in surrender.

"Okay, fine. Your turf, I get it." Who wanted woods infested with creatures born straight out of nightmares anyway? I backtracked onto the trail, turning away from him. I truly didn't understand what was up with me.

"Wait."

I froze, wondering why I cared enough to do as he said. Clicking the blade back into its hilt, I faced him. "What?"

"Why did you come all the way here? You're pretty far from town," he asked out of the blue.

I was tempted to ask why the sudden interest, but I wanted to get as far away as possible. "Nothing. Just... thought I lost something and I'd try to find it."

The boy stiffened. "So you were here before?"

Crap. I shouldn't have answered.

"Look, I didn't know this was a private property." I began to turn back. "I'll be leaving. You can stop biting me in the ass for it..."

There was the faintest of chuckles as I paced on the path. His voice called again, and I rolled my eyes.

"One more thing."

I didn't turn around this time.

"Go straight down the mountain, turn left on your first crossing and right at the second. Don't stray from the trail. People get easily lost around here."

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