Silver

-1-

I hiked along the trail like usual. Mars; my dog, trailing close behind. My hand slid along the bark of a tree, as leaves crunched under our feet. The brisk autumn wind swept my brown hair back, breezing over the leaves and sending them fluttering.

It was a beautiful sight. I always loved the fall. With it's changing colors, cool breeze, and it's an excuse for a wardrobe change.

Mars sped off into the woods, barking at some animal, most likely a squirrel or bird. His barking rose an octave as he ran out of sight into the treacherous wild without me.

"Mars!" I called out, hoping to get his attention, which wasn't hard with his short attention span.

I grumbled under my breathe when he didn't come, and jogged off into the direction he ran toward. Kicking up leaves and dirt in my wake. I'd never gone off the dirt trail before, so this part of the forest was unknown to me. The trees clumped together and ridges in the dirt left me unsteady. Roots were bunched up above ground, so I carefully watched my feet so I wouldn't trip.

"Mars, boy!" I yelled glancing around, "Where are you?"

I trotted through the forest calling for Mars, getting aggravated when he didn't show himself. I kicked a pile of brush out of anger, sending dust and rocks flying.

"Ow, that hurt." A voice spoke from my left. I quickly looked up from the ground seeing a boy standing nearby. I guess one of the rocks hit him.

"Why are you out here?" he asked, squinting his eyes as the fading sun shone in them.

"My dog ran off." I said bluntly.

"I see." He said, his footsteps crunching under the leaves as he walked closer towards me.

The boy before me had shiny golden hair, tan skin, and stunning green eyes with light freckles lining his cheeks.

"I could help you find him." his cheeks stretching as he spoke, the sun causing his freckles to disappear momentarily.

I thought about it for a moment. Do I really want this random boy in the woods to help me find Mars? He could be a serial killer for all I know! But, maybe I could find him faster, it was worth a shot.

"Alright." I said nodding to the trees and I began walking again.

The boy jogged up to me, and we began walking in stride.

"So, what's your name?" I asked

His eyes were bright as he glanced at me,"Aiden." He brushed his hand on his knee as he spoke, knocking a gnat off.

"I'm Clara in case you were wondering." I looked in the dirt for any possible evidence Mars may have left behind. There wasn't a single footprint. Nothing to show that Mars was here.

"Stupid dog, running away." I grumbled under my breath, frustration brewing.

Aiden grinned, "Don't call your dog stupid, karma will come back to bite your ass." I chuckled a little and continued my stride. I started getting worried. It was getting dark and I'm out here. All alone. With a strange boy. I really need to reevaluate my life choices.

"Thanks for trying to help me find my dog, I guess. He's never ran off this long and not came back to me before."

"Not a problem. I don't have anything to do, so might as well help. Do you live around here?"

Okay, I don't know if I should answer that.

"Um sort of. About five to ten minutes, but this forest has been a home to me for a majority of my life." It was true. I would walk here after school or sneak out at night in the fall to see the colorful leaves.

"Weird. I don't remember seeing you around here before. I've come here a lot. I actually live in these woods I guess you could say." That was odd. I have hiked every inch of this forest, well every inch that the dirt trail covered but that covered a lot of ground, and don't remember ever seeing a house. Maybe he is just being rhetorical.

His voice became gruff, "You should be careful out here, lots of wild animals." My hands tightened in my pockets at his odd hostility towards me.

I was momentarily unable to form lucid thoughts as I wondered how he could possible live in these woods.

We kept walking for a few more minutes. Just making small talk. I found out he has a little sister and he is homeschooled, another reason why I have never seen him. I mean, a guy with his looks would surely catch my attention.

"Do you smell that? It smells like copper" I squeezed my nose in disgust. The more we kept walking the stronger it became.

"Ya I smell it too. Holy shit!" he yelled. He began running to a patch of trees to our right.

"Clara, I think I found your dog." he said glowering, practically growling at the air.

I walked over to where he was standing to see what he was growling at. Do people growl? I've never heard that sound before unless Mars was growling at the mailman. Leave it to Mars to be stereotypical.

"I'm sorry." He said staring at my dog that had fresh bite marks on his neck; claw marks raked up his hind flanks.

"Like I said earlier," he taunted, "The wild animals, they're dangerous."

That was the last thing I remembered, "Because sometimes life doesn't feel right." and I hit the ground.