Become One wih the Trees - Chapter One

Become One with the Trees
Chapter One – Everleigh Cambridge
Everything seemed different today. Have you ever gotten that feeling where you knew something odd was going to happen? Odd enough that it were to become something life changing? This hit me like a frying pan upside the head. Starting from the way my alarm clock woke me up this morning.
The startling tone blared obnoxiously loud, leaving my ears ringing after I slammed my hand once again on the snooze button. My eyes dragged over to the little cedar wood nightstand to my right, and glanced at the clock. The blinding red numbers read 5:15 AM. With a sigh, I sat up and squinted out the window. The sun rose slowly above the trees.
"Don't wanna do your job either, huh, Mr. Sun?" I croaked, pointing out its rather slow pace. I would get pretty bored of rising every day after a millennium of doing the same thing too.
Blurs of pink and orange spotted through the cloudy morning, causing a blanket of odd colors to hang over the still snoozing earth. The sun shone bright enough to illuminate the white sheet of snow that covered the sorry ground below. A cold shiver dappled my arms with goose bumps as I swung my legs out from under the warm covers and over the side of the bed, slipping my feet into a pair of slippers that lay on the floor. I maneuvered around my dark room in search of the light switch. When I found it, I flicked it on. Light sped through the room, stinging my eyes with the sudden flash of bright. I rubbed my eyes and shuffled to my door, momentarily grasping the brass handle before pushing it open.
I stumbled sleepily down the stairs, performing my normal routine and heading down the wrong hallway to get to the kitchen. I sighed and turned around, wondering why I was never smart enough to kill the habit, and headed to the kitchen to find some feed for the animals out in the barn. The horses were already up, neighing impatiently.
I wrapped my cardigan tightly around me and opened the screen door, using a few moments to take in the light cold breeze. It nipped at my skin and sent a soft red flush to my cheeks.  I hopped carefully down my icy porch steps, jumping heavily on the packed snow to loosen it up a bit. I laughed at my huge foot prints. I was wearing my dad's boots; they were so big and warm.
Swinging the tin bucket at my side, I headed to the right of the barn, where all of my beautiful horses stayed. The stables were painted red a long time ago, but the nasty whether here made it shrivel up. I always told myself I'd repaint it…
Mystique, a tall and elegant stallion neighed and shook her glossy white mane.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." I said. It took all of my morning energy to trudge through the snow. It had to be at least six inches thick!
I unlatched the gate and opened it a crack, sliding through the door carefully so Mystique or the other horses wouldn't escape.
"Good morning, Mystique," I greeted, giving her soft coat a ruffle. She nuzzled my hand with her cold wet nose a whinnied softly. I headed to the feeders and filled them with fresh hay. Sylvester, the colt of the six horses caught me by surprise when he came up behind me. He blew a stream of hot breath on the top of my head, blowing my hair to the side.
"Sylvester, my noble steed!" I exclaimed, giving him a rough pat on the hide. "A good morning to all of you!"
It was getting cold, and I needed to get ready for school. I headed for the gate of the corral, but Sylvester nibbled at the collar of my cardigan. His eyes were dilated in nervous fear. I gave a quick glance around the barn, but didn't find anything out of place.
"What is it, boy? Whatever is the matter?" I combed my fingers through his sleek black mane. He jerked his nose in the direction of the forest. I sighed and poised my hands on my hips. He was probably sensing a rabbit or something, though I hate why he would think to try and scare me like that.
"Sylvester, nothing's over there, alright? A little bunny rabbit can't do you any harm, okay?" I assured, once again heading for the gate. He neighed in despair, stomping his hooves in the snow. The bell around his neck jingled lightly. Sylvester trotted closer to the exit and stared off into the distance. I followed the horse's gaze and looked extra hard through the clump of massive willow trees. It was dark over there, so I couldn't see anything. I blinked and reached for the flashlight in my cardigan pocket. Sylvester's ears whipped forward. He huffed for me to be silent. I clicked on the flashlight and opened the gate, exiting the corral.
"I'll be right back, buddy. Just let me see if I could find what's disturbing you, all right?" I whispered, patting his hide. He snorted in confirmation and stood strong and broad.
I crept slowly towards the trees. They were tall, and scary looking if you asked anybody else. But I'd grown used to them. The forest was my backyard, after all.
I shone the beam of my flashlight in front of me as I entered the arms of the forest. So far, I didn't see anything. I was about to turn around and head back when I heard a rustle in the trees. A neigh from Sylvester followed. I looked at him from where he stood in the corral. He reared up on his hind legs and whinnied. I turned around to look up in the trees. A black shadow was cast as the sun rose high. And just as quick as it came, it was gone.

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I had arrived at school late this morning, because the delay by the barn took up most of my time. I was very worried about that shady figure, and I took extra care to lock up all the animals, just in case a coyote or a thief was to come and do any harm to them.
I thought about the events that happened earlier while retrieving my books from my locker. A tap on my shoulder threw me out of my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder to find my best friend, Lilou.

"Good morning, Everleigh!" She said, giving my brown hair a tousle. I gave her a bright smile, grateful that I had someone to talk to. It was our first day back from Thanks giving break, and I'd been alone for the entire week, with only the farm animals to talk to. I was such a lowlife.
"Hey, Lilou. I missed you! I was so lonely over break, but I had a great Thanksgiving." I said to Lilou, slamming my locker shut. We headed down the hall to homeroom. The bustle of the morning was loud, so I had to raise my voice a bit so she could here. Everyone had the jitters due to the reuniting of the students of Cambery High school. Jocks were huddled around Ms. Queen Bee's locker,  couples held hands, teachers scolded students. It was good to be back.
Lilou and I walked into the doorway of our empty homeroom classroom to find yellow sticky notes on every desk. Seating arrangements.
"Ugh! I have to sit next to Otto McRey." Said Lilou. She tore the neon yellow piece of paper off of the desk and threw it out the window.
"Ms. Caprese? Is there something wrong with the seating chart?" My teacher said. He peered up from his clipboard and stopped jotting things down, his round gray eyes looking above the rim of his glasses. Lilou waved her hand in dismissal, and set her bag down on the table.
"No, Mr. Arnold. Nothing is wrong."
I found my seat on the other side of the room, towards the back right corner. I read what the teacher had scrawled on the two post-it notes.
Everleigh Cambridge and Zephyr Ambrose
"Um, Mr. Arnold?" I said, walking down the aisle way to get to his desk. He looked up again from his clipboard, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. His glasses slid down his bird like nose and he pushed them back up.
"How may I help you, Ms. Cambridge?"  He said with a sigh. I pointed back at my tale.
"Who's… Zephyr Ambrose?" I asked. His name made him sound like he was Gothic, but it wasn't too bad. I liked it.
"British exchange student, I thought I'd put him next to you, so you could get him in the swing of things." Said Mr. Arnold, smiling an assuring smile. My brow creased, and I wondered what he would be like. Lilou hopped up the steps that led to the Teacher's desk and stood next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder.
"Did you get a jock too?" she said to me, turning me around and leading me to her desk. I shook my head and gazed out the window. Snowflakes descended and shook in the air.
"No. I got a new kid, his name is Zephyr."
Lilou cocked her head to the side and propped herself against her desk.
"Hm… I'm wondering why Mr. Arnold didn't put you next to Emrys. Again." Lilou teased, flipping her glossy blonde hair over to her right shoulder. She pulled it into a rubber band and winked. "Everyone knows you liked him."
My gaze fell to the blue tile floor and I played with my sleeve. "Lilou!"
She laughed and lifted my chin with her index finger.
"I was just joking, hon'"  
The bell rang just then, and I waved and headed to my seat. It took a while before the usual chaotic flow of students entered class, found their post it notes and tried to slyly switch them around to where they could sit with their friends.  Mr. Arnold held the allotted seating chart in the air and looked at us with impatience.
"Sit. Down." He insisted, already writing down today's lesson on the chalkboard. I sat down and pulled out my composition notebook, writing down the Schedule for today. We had an assembly before lunch, and today was normal schedule.
The door opened before I could realize that the new student was even missing. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder, and the hood of his hoodie was pulled up over his head. He shut the door lightly behind him. I craned my head to the right so I could see his face. Mr. Arnold cleared his throat. He was never pleased with late students, Transfer, new, or here forever.
"Excuse me, Young Man, but you're interrupting our class time." Mr. Arnold said, putting what must be Zephyr on the spot. I tapped my pencil on my paper and propped my chin in my palm. Zephyr stood upright and walked to the Teacher's desk, placing the green slip of paper on his textbook.
"Sorry, sir, I had some business to take care of." Said Zephyr. He had a noticeable British accent, but it wasn't too heavy. I remembered Mr. Arnold telling me he was a Brit-Exchange.
Mr. Arnold pursed his lips.
"You sit back there. Next to Ms. Cambridge." He pointed his stub of chalk at me. I fixed my slouching position and sat up straight, smiling a pleased smile. He walked smoothly down the aisle and slid into the chair beside me. He held out his hand, and I was shocked by how polite he was. I placed my hand in his, and he gave it a firm pump.
"Zephyr. Zephyr Ambrose. You must be Everleigh." Zephyr whispered.  I blinked, unable to find words for why or how he even knew my name. I took the post-it note off my desk already… I stared into his bright green eyes and nodded.
"Y-yes… Everleigh Cambridge. I'll help you with anyth—"
"I'm fine. I can manage." Zephyr interrupted, losing his polite streak. He kneeled over to re-lace his black combat boots. I swallowed my pride and smiled again.
"Just… ask me anything, if you need me."
He didn't reply, just returned the smile. I marveled this boy, he was quite the character. But there was something that I couldn't figure out, no matter how hard I gazed into those hypnotizing… green… eyes.


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Lilou took a chair next to me. The entire High School was gathered in the Multi-Purpose room. The principal stood at the podium up on the stage, with a serious expression painted on his face. This couldn't mean something hunky dory. I stood up and glanced over the crowd, in search of Zephyr. He stood by the door, leaning up against it with his hands in his pockets. I sighed and sat down. He really was a solitary person.
The principal cleared his throat in the mike and tapped it with a finger.
"Students, take your seats please, quiet down."
He poised his hands on the podium, and I heard the old wood creak under his weight.
"Today, students, we observe the loss of our loved student, Emrys Grassmann. He was beaten, stabbed, and killed in Cambridge Forest over our Thanksgiving Break."
The entire MPR gasped in astonishment. A shrieked escaped my lips.
Emrys... Emrys! No, not Emrys! I thought in horror. The only one that I loved... the only guy I could rely on... was dead.
I looked at Lilou as tears welled up in my eyes. Lilou looked as pale as a ghost too, for she knew that the one her best friend loved was gone.
Who could have done such a thing?! Who could have killed such an innocent, pure person?!
I now looked at Zephyr, who looked shocked. His green eyes looked curious. Of course, he didn't know who Emrys was.
All of a sudden, Zephyr did something unpredictable. He shoved himself through the waves of metal chairs, to the center of the audience, and picked somebody up by the collar.
"Put me down, you nasty son of a--" Zephyr was holding Otto McRey in his fists, glaring at him angrily.
"He did it!" shouted Zephyr. The two were just two rows ahead of us. I could hear Zephyr murmur something.
"You murdered my master."