Page 1

Forest lands: Pacific Northwest

Seven years prior

M uffled giggles filtered through the forests, catching the attention of a young barred owl weaving its way through the dense canopy of old growth conifers that covered the area.

The owl swooped down and landed on the branch of a magnificent spruce, its eyes following the two young girls who raced along an animal trail cut through the tall, thick ferns.

The spring chill had passed, and the early days of summer gripped the lush green landscape. The girls, dressed in simple handwoven clothing, stood out against the forest floor. Their brown and blonde hair flowed behind them as they ran, as wild as they were.

“Wait up, Jayden!”

Jayden laughed as she ran along the trunk of a fallen tree. She hopped down on the other side and crawled under it to hide. A moment later, Ella jumped down. Jayden reached out from her hiding spot under the massive trunk and grabbed Ella’s slender ankle, making her jump.

Ella squealed with surprise, turning toward Jayden as she fell to the forest floor in a heap of laughter. Jayden grinned back at her friend. Ella leaned forward and wiped a hand covered in dirt along Jayden’s cheek.

“You look like one of those forest creatures that the elders warn us about,” Ella teased.

“I am one of those forest creatures. We both are,” Jayden replied, crawling over to sit next to Ella.

Ella laid back against the soft, moss-covered ground and stretched out, placing her dirty, bare feet on the trunk of the dead tree.

She folded her arms under her head to cushion it and stared up at the swaying treetops and blue sky dotted with dense fluffy white clouds.

It was a beautiful summer day. A welcome relief from the cold rains of spring.

Jayden flopped over onto her back and did the same.

She reached into the pocket of her beige tunic and pulled out a piece of bread left over from their meager breakfast. She ripped it in half and held a piece out to Ella.

Ella sat up and reached for the paltry offering as if she were being offered a piece of cake—something neither of them had ever tasted.

“I’m glad winter is done,” Ella said as she picked a tidbit of the bread off.

“Me too.”

Ella looked at Jayden with a look of regret. “I’m sorry, Jayden.”

Jayden sat up and shrugged. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault.”

Jayden fingered the bread she was holding. She wasn’t hungry anymore. It wasn’t Ella’s fault. According to her parents, it wasn’t any of their faults.

No. If anyone is to blame it is the Others.

The Others had driven them out of their home in the middle of winter when they came too close.

Jayden’s little brother, Robert, had always been sickly.

It hadn’t mattered that she had added her best furs to cover him or tried to give him half of her meager meals, he had grown weaker and weaker.

He hadn’t survived the move. They had lost six more people because of the Others over the harsh winter months.

There hadn’t been enough food, and there was never enough protection from the cold. Jayden lifted her face when the sun peeked through the canopy. The warmth felt good against her skin. She just needed it to reach her bones.

“Do you think we will have to move again soon?” Ella asked.

Jayden nodded. “Probably. I overheard the elders say that the Others are making it harder for us to hide from them. They are talking about moving to the mountains to the west.”

“The mountains! We’ve never gone that far before. There is always snow on them,” Ella groaned.

“Maybe the shifters won’t like the snow,” Jayden said.

Ella shook her head. “It didn’t stop them from coming into the woods this past winter,” she replied in a glum voice.

Jayden reached out and squeezed Ella’s arm. She knew that Ella was terrified of what the Others would do to them. Jayden was scared too, but she was also determined to be ready. That was why she spent most of her time scouring the forests, learning the best ways to hide and fight.

When the day comes that we meet the shifters again, I will be ready to fight them.

“Maybe we will be safe in the mountains, but I hope it isn’t for a while. My mom can’t move far right now. My little brother or sister is making her sick,” Ella said.

“My brother did that to my mom. I’m never going to have children,” Jayden declared, tucking the piece of bread back into her pocket and rising.

Ella gave her a startled look. “But… the elders say it’s necessary; otherwise there won’t be no more of us.”

Jayden pursed her lips and shook her head.

Though her mom and dad said she often spoke before she thought, this time she didn’t say what she was really thinking—that humans were already a thing of the past. She and Ella might only be twelve winters old, but Jayden listened to the elders talk when they thought no one was listening.

Late at night, she would eavesdrop on her parents’ conversations as they discussed the dire situation of their dwindling numbers and the slim chances of survival.

After Robert’s untimely death last winter, the fleeting nature of life had sunk into Jayden’s bones.

She understood. She accepted. But she was still going to fight to survive.

She was about to suggest they search for some wild blueberries when a thunderous crash caused them to drop to the ground. The ground trembled. When it happened again, she scrambled under the tree trunk, pulling Ella behind her.

Their intertwined fingers grew clammy and cold, each heartbeat a drumbeat against their ears as they huddled in fear.

The air was thick with the buzz of insects as they remained frozen under the log, their bodies tensed in readiness to flee, before she finally released Ella’s hand and began to crawl out.

With a trembling hand, Ella grabbed her arm, her eyes filled with terror as she silently shook her head.

“We have to know if it is the Others, so we can warn the clan,” Jayden said in a low voice.

“No! What if they see us?” Ella whispered.

“They won’t. We’ll be extra careful,” Jayden promised before she paused and bit her lip. “You can stay here. If I don’t come back, then you can go warn the others.”

“No. We go together,” Ella said, reaching for her hand.

Jayden helped Ella up. “We’ll be quiet as a mouse.”

Ella gave her a shaky smile and nodded. “Quiet as a mouse,” she repeated.

Jayden picked up a sharp stick that lay on the ground, its wood rough and dry under her fingers, and motioned for Ella to follow.

They moved silently through the ferns, their footsteps muffled by the soft earth and the rustling leaves.

A quarter mile from where they had been playing, they bent and crept closer to the edge of the woods.

On the other side was a rocky section that led to a large river.

They squatted and peered through the branches of a spindly bush, and then jolted with intense alarm when the sound of wings flapping caught their attention. With a fearsome scowl, Jayden glared up at the juvenile owl perched on a branch, its soft hooting echoing through the air.

“Shh!” she mouthed, placing a dirty finger to her lips.

The owl tilted its head at her, its piercing eyes locked onto hers.

With a quick hop along the branch, it propelled itself into the air, gracefully soaring across the river to the other side.

Jayden’s eyes traced the owl’s graceful flight as it vanished into the dense woods where the mysterious noise had originated.

Her eyes widened when a massive, leathery-skinned gray creature with a horn in the center of its snout appeared.

A second later, two more creatures came into view.

There was one similar to the first, only a shade darker, while the second was twice the size of the other two and had a long snout and large ears.

The creature with the long snout braced his shoulder against a young tree and pushed.

The tree toppled with a loud crash, the top landing at the edge of the river.

The other two creatures snickered and charged the toppled tree, lifting it as if it was no heavier than a pebble before they tossed it along the bank.

“Jayden, we have to go. We have to warn the clan,” Ella whispered in a frantic tone, pulling on Jayden’s arm.

Jayden nodded. The Others had once again come to their part of the woods. The elders were right. They would have to head for the mountains and into the great unknown forest to the west. It was their only hope of remaining undiscovered.

She stared at the three creatures for a second longer. They were tearing the young tree apart as if it were only a twig. Tears burned her eyes.

They care nothing for life.

With a heavy heart, she turned away and silently followed Ella. She stayed silent the whole trip back, grappling with the realization that her warrior skills would always fall short against the shape shifters who dominated the world.