The Praesuls: The Devil Hounds

Chapter 1: Daydreaming Part 1 of 2

It is autumn in my Springfield, my hometown hidden in Canada. Leaves ruffle through the forest dancing with the gust of air towards the town.

I look over in the direction of the town and a smile crept off my face. Nothing interesting ever happens here but Springfield is my little piece of heaven.

I lay on a rock under the shady trees of Green Mountain National Forest under a canopy of green leaves. Sunlight filters through the leaves making each one of the colored leaves shine. As the leaves sway back and forth light pierce through the thick canopy. I smile at the warmth as shadows of sunlight and leaves play on my face. This is one of the rare days when the sun can be seen.

I start to wonder about the cold winter.

I sit up against the tree behind me, folding my legs and resting my arms by my sides onto soft grass. I glance once again to the sun, I smile as the light caresses my face and a light breeze makes my black hair dance.

Its warm presence is mild but not strong to cause me to worry about a coming long winter. After all, it has been only a few weeks since summer has end. No more blooming flowers and soft sun kisses on my skin.

Sigh.

I miss summer more than anyone will know.

Sammy, my friend since Jr. High leans against the tree looking into the distance. He looks peaceful, but troubled, and I know why.

He is fun to be around but anytime he is rested he thinks of that night, the night that change our lives forever.

His eyes gazes over the town searching for something... someone. I know he still thinks of her and I can't blame him, even I think of her. She is my friend but to Sammy, she means more to him. I still think he searches for her even after all these years.

A sudden movement came to my side; I glance sharply over to it. A black spider dominates my view. My face remains neutral as the spider hangs on a white thin tread tie onto Sammy's hand. I look up at him smirking and he just rolls his eyes. His jeans drag to the floor and his grey sweater hugs his mildly muscular body.

"Nothing ever scares you," he states with annoyance plumping down. The spider crawls up the string to his fingers. Sammy slowly puts his hand down beside him and twists his hand. He looses the string away from the spider's body. The spider crept slowly away out of sight. I grin and put my hand to play with his black-brown hair.

I mess it up a bit making him groan and look straight into his brown eyes saying with the utmost pleasure "nope!"

Lie.

I get up and walk along a nearby stream. I crouch down to look within the water and Sammy went over to a dead log to sit. He didn't need to know and I wasn't the one who is about to scream it on top of my lungs.

Something do scare the living lights out of me. I clung to the dirt when I think about this. When I was younger, 3 years ago to be exact; I was almost killed.

It is the reason why I do not like winter and it was the night that twisted our paths forever.

It was the middle of winter and the day was the coldest in recorded history. The wind was howling and there was hardly any sun. The forest looked as if no one would ever come here.

At the same time it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Just branches covered with snow being peek out into a flush of a white covered path. The trees craved the warmth of the sun and the snow glistened in what little it gave. The animals around me eat what they could then ran back into their hiding.

I was being chased by my killers through these very woods. All I heard at first is the sound of their feet running.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The noises are getting closer and faster. Noises fill my ears, from the icy cold wind whipping my face to my harsh breathing. My breathing got to a dangerously rapid pace, I felt like if I took another step I would blackout.

My jeans were covered with remainders of twigs, bush markings, and smears of leaves that were left on the branches. My long black jacket was smothering in dirt and snow for every time I trip and fell. Being the only thing in black in a snow cover forest wasn't the greatest situation to be in.

My body ached and my feet were swollen running so long and so far. I desperately want to stop but I knew they were right behind me.

Then something happened. Something I did not expect.

I heard nothing.

Their feet pacing stoped and the wind calmed down almost to an end. I halted noticing these things.

Probably this is all in my head, I thought.

Probably I am just going mad.

Probably this is all a dream, a really bad dream, a nightmare.

My hands went over my head and I start coming up with reasons how this could not be real.

Things like this never happen in this town. Police answering domestic disputes and chasing after a few kids is biggest things that ever happen in my lifetime. My head rested on the bad dream idea and my breathing came back to a regular pace.

Then I heard it.

The one thing that made my dream idea crumbles. A twig cracks behind me. I shut my eyes and my arms drops raising my head to the dull sky.

I clench my jaw and slowly turn around my head, my eyes falling sharply onto three dark silhouettes. Their eyes glow against the pure white snow.

They look huge against my own body but all three looked like the same size. They line up against me snarling away. The first and second is cover in a dark brown thick fur coat and third is covered in a white golden coat. The light made their coats shimmer in the dim sunlight.

All three starts to stalk towards me and fear grew in my eyes. The first two seem to do identical movements and the last one had more rage within its eyes. Call it instinct, but I sprinted away fast as I could but I looked back. I felt the wind picked up.

The last one, the white coat, made one hell of a noise. They all ran and the last one jump onto a tree and leaped off aiming towards me with a piercing noise echoing through my ears. My heart stop for a second and his paws stretch towards me as he lunged. My eyes close tight as my body was still in shock.

I felt two forces on my shoulders pinning me down, just as I am falling, my knees bent towards my chest. He is definitely larger than me, probably largest of all three. When I felt my back crash into the ground, luckily snow breaking my fall, I compeled my legs forward as hard as possible. I break his contact with the kick into his stomach. He stumbles back with his feet seeming unstable.

I quickly got up and start to breathe easily. I open my eyes slowly and saw him standing with a deep growl coming from his chest. The first two are right behind him ready to attack showing me their teeth. I could see all three of them exhaling panting.

The brown coats run towards me passing him jumping over me. One directly jumps over me and the other latches onto a rock to my side as leverage and jumped of landing behind me. I could hear my heavy breathing and my eyes followed their flying bodies over me. I eyes trail their flying bodies path so they stood behind me. I have the two brown coats pacing behind me and he, the white coat, is in the front.

All I could think of is three things.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

(to be continued)