The Secret Keeper

Eve’s P.O.V.

I stared up into the eyes of a huge white wolf, glaring down at me from its perch atop a big, snow-covered boulder. Its eyes were pure black- just like those of the human-Creatures from my dreams. Only this was a wolf. A big wolf.

A wolf that looked like it was going to eat me. And probably would.

I stumbled backward, toward the opposite side of the clearing. Its eyes followed me as I slipped and stumbled over the icy ground, trying but failing to find something to grasp onto to gain my balance.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to be out this late. I didn’t even know why I was here. It was almost like… like someone was telling me to leave the house, to get away from Bo. I had to be as far as possible from him. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t question it. Something, deep down, was telling me to be away from Bo, or I’d be hurt. And I wasn’t going to disagree with it. It wasn’t so comfortable to be around him in the first place.

I heard a low growl coming from the animal. It had pulled its lips back and was snarling, directly at me. My heart, which had momentarily gone AWOL, was now trying to make up for lost time, thumping wildly in my chest.

The wolf leapt of the rock and landed on the ground, about twenty feet away from me, with a soft thump. It took a step toward me, its black eyes watching my every move.

I took another shaky step back.

There was a gap in the line of trees that was barely big enough for me to fit through, just a few feet behind me. If I could get into there and start running like I did in P.E., I could probably get away. But that was my only chance.

The wolf took another step toward me.

A fine, blue mist seemed to rise up out of the ground. It looked like the blue light from the book; the one that Arkarian had shown Bo and I. Something was strange about this wolf. It just wasn’t normal.

As it took another step, I turned and made a break for it.

I darted into the small break in the foliage, hearing the big dog crash into it behind me. I knew that wasn’t going to hold it back forever, but it still gave me time to get as far away from it as possible. And I was going to take advantage of that.

My heart was still beating a jagged rhythm, making me infinitely more aware of what was surrounding me. The trees were all bare and snow-covered, along with everything else. The snow was icy and I was slipping everywhere, but I didn’t think a sprained ankle was going to hurt nearly as much as that wolf would do if it caught up to me.

I ran faster, my feet slamming against the ice.

At that moment, I wondered why all this was happening in the first place. I mean, I never asked to be different. I wanted to fit in, to be popular and not have to worry about who wants to kill me at the moment. I want it to be so that the only secrets I have to worry about involve hook-ups and break-ups and who’s crushing on whom. I didn’t want to be responsible for the entire human race.

And yet, here I am, running for my life from a gigantic dog.

A gigantic dog that was getting closer and closer every second.

I could hear its footfalls getting louder and could feel the ground vibrating from the impact through my feet. Something told me that it wasn’t about to turn around and chase after a cat anytime soon.

Don’t stop, I told myself frantically. Don’t stop, for anything.

Everything slowed to a halt around me; almost like my brain had shut down and my legs were pumping on their own accord. This was horribly, frighteninglysimilar to my Nightmares, the ones that Bo had been there to comfort me. And if I was right, and this wasn’t just a bad case of déjà vu, then things weren’t going to end on a good note tonight.

“Evangeline…”

Oh, no. Dear God, that’s not good. I was right then. It wasn’t just déjà vu. My Nightmares…

They were coming true.

My already-ragged breathing picked up speed, forming an ever-present cloud in front of my mouth. I could hear the echoing sound of twigs and branches breaking behind me, no doubt because of the wolf. It couldn’t be that far away now, I was sure. I didn’t even really know where I was running to; I only knew I had to get there.

Don’t stop.

“Eve!”

My heart leapt when I recognized Bo’s voice, like in the dream. A little of the haze had lifted from my eyes. I could see my surroundings clearly, and I could find general direction Bo’s voice had come from, but not the exact location.

“Bo?” I called, using what breath was left in my lungs.

I heard more twigs snapping, and I knew that it wasn’t just the wolf behind me anymore. I had stopped in another clearing now, one that was identical to that of the one in my Nightmare.

“EVE!”

My heart leapt again. I felt strangely safer now, almost like I knew Bo was going to protect me from whatever was going on. It was stupid and childish, but I couldn’t help thinking that he’d been made to protect me. He’d always done it, and he would now, too. He’d be here.

I stopped when this thought passed my mind. It was a horrible mistake, I knew, but the only way Bo was going to find me was if I was still. He had to.

But then, like in my Nightmares, I was surrounded by Creatures.

One by one, they emerged from the shadows of the trees, walking toward me with an unnatural gait. They acted as if their bones were rotted, like their muscled and tendons just didn’t want to work anymore. Their skin was graying and flaky; some of them had flesh exposed in multiple places. Maggots crawled all over them, and their torn, dirty clothing. I shuddered. A few of them were smiling, their rotting teeth sticking out gruesomely.

I tried in vain not to look into their eyes, but I found that this was the hardest thing to do. Their solid black eyes were hypnotic, like they were inviting you in, just for a little…

I shook my head violently. There was no way I was going to fall for that.

“BO!” I screamed. He had to hear me, he had to save me. I realized how dumb I’d been; I’d gotten myself into this. Now I needed him to bail me out.

Suddenly, the leader of the group walked out of the shadows. He looked almost like a teenager Creature; his skin wasn’t quite torn and his teeth weren’t completely rotten. It was like he was some kind of god to the rest of them.

“Evangeline…”

That voice. Tat was the same voice that had been plaguing my subconscious since I was a child. The voice that would scare me half to death. The voice that kept me awake at night, for fear that it would come back again. The voice of…

…Evan.

Evan was a Creature, I could see that now. And all the rest of the Creatures… they were kids, teenagers from Witch Hazel High that were Changed. I realized that being Changed marked you as a Creature. And the more I thought about just how many people I knew of that had Changed, the more terrified I became.

“No,” I gasped, struggling to find a way to get out of this. It was no use, I was surrounded on all sides. There was no escape. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. “NO! Get back!” I cringed inwardly. I didn’t sound very threatening.

I kept backpedaling until my back ran into something… well, not soft, but not like a tree, either. looked behind me, to see that it was yet another Creature. But I recognized this one: Holly’s ex-boyfriend, Danny. I screamed, scaring the entire pack.

I shuddered violently as he clamped a hand over my mouth. It was cold, smelly, and his skin felt like paper beneath me lips. I had a sudden urge to vomit.

My eyes were wide, trying to grasp every detail of the scene in front of me. The Creatures, each different and yet the same simultaneously, began to walk forward slowly, their arms extended toward me. I didn’t really want to know why.

Bo! Oh, God. Please, please… Oh, God…

My Nightmares, the one’s that only existed in my head, no one else’s were now real and – quite literally – staring me in the face. I think it was this, not the Creatures, that scared me the most. Because I knew that if all my Nightmares were coming true…

… Then the one about Bo was bound to happen sometime.

My blood ran cold in my veins. No. I wouldn’t - couldn’t – lose Bo. It wasn’t a possibility. That particular Nightmare wouldn’t come true; I would make sure of that.

The Creatures slowly closed in on me, forming an almost perfect circle. I knew I didn’t have much hope, but my heart was still beating wildly in my chest as if to prove that I wasn’t dead yet.

“Eve…” the Evan-Creature whispered, in that same haunting voice. “Eve… Eve…”

I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to see what happened next. I was expecting the Creatures to close on me, and… I don’t know, eat me alive?

I wasn’t prepared for Bo to show up again.

All I knew at the moment was that I had a cold hand pressed against my mouth one second, and the next I was free. The Creatures started dropping like flies in the circle, and I heard voices of humans shouting at me to get out of there. I didn’t recognize them at first, but hey, you don’t have to tell me twice.

I turned on my heel and ran, using what little I had left of my energy, back to the direction of the town. I knew it couldn’t have been that far, and it wasn’t. As soon as I reached it, I stopped to catch my breath.

What had just happened? I thought back, and realized that it had been my parent’s voices shouting at me. But they seemed far away, and there was obviously someone nearer to me than that. And that had to have been Bo, I just had this feeling.

I walked back to the house, hoping, praying with all my heart that they were alright. I didn’t know what I’d do without them. But I couldn’t go back, not after what happened.

So I’d just sit and wait for them to come home.