Ella’s POV
Dawn broke across the hills of Blue Mountain Lake. I sighed and stretched on my little bed, getting ready for a new day. I went to the mirror in the far corner of the room and made an effort to brush the long, brown curls that disarrayed across my face. As usual, it was impossible to get the brush through the persistent knots and I gave up easily, heading down the staircase to the kitchen where Father made the usual morning breakfast- eggs.
“Morning, Ella,” he greeted me, handing me a plate of eggs as I sat down on the kitchen stool. Our kitchen was small, so dad and I were cramped, but we made do.
“Good morning, dad,” I said as I chomped on my eggs. “Can we take Alexander and Chloe out for a ride today?”
Dad laughed. “You need to give those horses a break; they’ve been working hard, poor things.”
I shrugged. Chloe was my horse, and Alexander was dads. For a living we raced horses and sold them, except Alexander and Chloe were more like pets. They didn’t race, and weren’t for sale, but we rode them often to herd horses or just have fun. It was all there was to do in the Adirondacks anyway. No malls, movie theaters, or arcade. Sure we could swim, and hike, and canoe and all that, but the necessities of a normal teenage life didn’t apply here. The only thing close to entertainment like that was a tiny water park about half an hour away.
“But there’s really nothing to do!” I complained.
“Don’t say that, Ella. There’s plenty to do. I need firewood for the storm tonight, why don’t you get that? I’m positive the power’s going to go out and you’ll want some light on a night like the one that’s coming,” he suggested.
I groaned. “Can’t we do something fun?”
“I would, Ella. But right now, we have to work.”
“I wish mom were back, and then we’d have something to do. She would think of something.”
Dad stared out the window. “She would.”
Pain flashed across his face and I regretted my words immediately. That subject was usually forbidden, just because remembering her…seeing her happy face as she held me tight in her welcoming arms… I stared out the window too.
“I think I’ll just soak up some sun outside,” I finally decided.
Dad nodded. “You can take the day of, El. I want you to have some…fun.”
I smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you daddy,” I said as I rushed out the door.
Outside, I felt better. The warm July breeze made the trees sway and flowers floated in the air. I admit that Blue Mountain had its advantages, such as the breathtaking scenery, for instance. Hills and mountains sprawled across the land, the blue sky hanging above. The scent of pine and freesia filled the air with a delightful smell, and squirrels and chipmunks raced up evergreen trees.
I knew I couldn’t leave the Adirondacks even if I wanted to. The beauty, the sense of longing, the welcoming forests…they were just too much to leave. Even for the malls, and cute boys, and electronic goodies, Blue Mountain would always hold the most favor for me. This sudden epiphany was so strong; I knew it was absolutely true. And if I left, that would seriously hurt Dad. He already lost mom; I’m all he has now, beside the horses.
Speaking of horses… I ran toward the wooden stable and spotted Chloe munching on some carrots. She threw her head back and neighed as I brushed my fingers threw her light blonde mane. Even though dad didn’t like it after a day of work, I climbed on Chloe’s back and saddled her up. We trotted around for awhile, and then she started running. We ran and ran. All of my worries melted away and all I focused on was the lush green flying past me.
Eventually, I stopped Chloe to see where we were. As I looked around, my worries struck me like lightening again as I realized I had no idea where I was. My breathing started to get faster as I jumped on Chloe again. We trotted through the forest and looked for any land markers that seemed familiar. But nothing showed up.
“Dad!” I cried. I knew I was too far away for him to hear me, but I was frantic. “Anyone? Please, help me!” I threw Chloe into a run and started galloping back the way I thought we came. I kept running, hoping to find something…anything. But the dark forest just surrounded me, closing me in. While I was running, I had this strange feeling. Like something bad was about to happen, so I ran faster. I was thinking about how peaceful it was before…
Now it didn’t seem so inviting anymore. Actually, it looked frightening. The trees looked dark and scary, and covered the sky up. Vines grew on the path, threatening to trip Chloe and me, and instead of cute chipmunks and squirrels, the forest was awfully quiet…like something was lurking in the shadows…
I knew Chloe was getting tired, so I stopped and tied a rope around her neck, securing her to a tree. I looked around again. Same dark forest, no sign of the ranch or house. I had messed up big time. Dad had always warned me about staying on the ranch. He was absolutely right when he said it was easy to get lost in the never-ending forest.
But it wasn’t a huge problem, the sun sets in the west, and my house is toward the east. I looked up at the sky, and just saw tree. I squinted, but above the trees, it looked like sun was everywhere, and I couldn’t wait till dark. Riding horses at night in an unfamiliar forest is not the best idea. Oh, but the compass!
I had received a gold compass for Christmas, and if I’m not mistaken, I believe it’s in my bag! My brown leather bag was on Chloe and I rushed over to her. But then I heard it. It sounded like…breathing. And the breathing did not belong to me. I spun my head around, but nothing was behind me. Except then a strange, shadowy figure darted between the trees and I widened my eyes in fear.
“Hello?” I whispered uncertainly.
A flash of movement to the left caught my eye and something came out from the shadows. I sighed in relief as I noticed it was a boy. Just a boy who looked around my age. He had dark blonde hair that reached his shoulders and tense hazel eyes.
“Hello,” I said again.
He didn’t say anything.
“Can I help you?” I asked wearily.
The boy stared at me intently. “Are you Ella Brownski?” he asked.
I nodded faintly.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Ella,” he said.
“Wha?” I backed toward Chloe.
“I followed you here.”
I backed up some more. “Huh…w-why?”
He bit his lip. “I don’t know whether to kill you or take you to master,” he said. “So I guess I’ll just take you to him. Don’t want to kill a chosen one.”
I backed up more and more, but he followed me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
The boy chuckled. “I know.” Then he grabbed something out of his pocket that looked like a small gun. As I squinted I realized it was a taser. Uh-oh.
I started running through the forest, mentally smacking myself in the head for not climbing on Chloe. I had left her there, but I kept running, desperate to get away from taser-boy.
“HELP!” I screamed as I ran through the woods. If someone heard me, I would be saved. If someone didn’t, I didn’t know if I could outrun him.
I stopped quickly when I reached a deep ravine. It was too far away to jump over, and much too narrow and steep to try to climb down and then up. I looked back and saw the boy was right behind me, a smug expression on his face.
“Sorry, Ella.” His face turned serious now, and there was real apology there. But he pulled out the taser anyway. “Really. But this won’t hurt, promise. Master and I just need a few of you humans to help us and then you can return to your families. You’ll just feel a little shock but it’ll be over quickly.”
“Get away from me!” I screamed.
He shook his blonde head lightly. Then, I felt the burning electricity jolt through my body, and I fell to the ground.
“Sorry,” the boy whispered again. Then, everything went black.
