• I was and always will be, an ordinary girl. Nothing special or magical ever happened to me. I always wanted my life to be different, to have something magical happen to me. But that would never happen. I would continue being me, with nothing exciting ever happening.

    So it was a bit of a surprise to me when my parents told me about moving.


    “ Ash, this is huge! Your father is the head of the biggest company in the United States, and were moving to Seattle!” My mother had told me excitedly.

    I was freaked out. I didn’t want to move. No matter how much I wanted my life to change. “ m-moving?”

    My mother’s face fell the minute she saw my expression. And she said quietly, “ Sweetie, everyone, everyone moves sometime. You cant stay in this silly little town forever you know.”

    “ Well, what if I want to? What if I want to die in the mountains I grew up with? With the trees and the mountain air, the animals, bears, mountain lions, birds? What if I do want to stay here mother!? Have you ever thought of that?” I almost yelled at her.

    “ Ash, please, don’t yell. We cant leave you here by yourself. You’ll starve in a week!” my mother said.

    “ I’m seventeen! I’m almost a legal adult! I’m sure I can take care of myself!” I was yelling now, looking for any excuse to stay here.

    “ Well, Aislinn Evangeline Fathe when you turn eighteen, then you can move back up here and do what ever the hell you want, but until then, your going with us to Seattle, and you will love it. Now go to your bedroom and start packing! Were leaving in a month.” My mother said angrily.

    I went to my room, and slammed the door, making the door shake when I slammed it. I locked it, and didn’t start packing. Instead, I called my two best friends, Evangeline, and Sarah, who were identical twin sisters.

    Eva, is a little like me, except for she has a knack for getting injured all the time, and has a death wish, because she keeps on doing really dangerous things. She was the smart one out of the three of us.

    You could tell her from Sarah because she had black hair with purple streaks. Sarah had black hair with blue streaks. They put streaks in their hair so you could tell them apart, but, with their personality’s so different, you could already tell them apart.
    Sarah is a bit of a b***h sometimes, but a really nice person. She likes to annoy people, and is the trouble maker sister. Eva, being too nice for her own good, always helped Sarah with her evil plans.

    They were awesome friends, and when any of us needed help, the other two were ready to jump off a bridge for the other person. Okay, I was over exaggerating, but you know what mean.

    I called Eva’s cell, and she answered. “ What’s up Miss Ashy?” She said.

    “ Eva! Get Sarah now! I have an emergency!” I said hurriedly to her. I could already hear my mothers footsteps in the hall.

    “ Okay! Three waying right now!” she said.

    Sarah said, “ Hey sister! Hey Miss Ash! What’s up? What’s the emergency?”

    “ Guys, I’m moving! We have to do something!” I said.

    “WHAT?!” Both of them yelled at the same time.

    “ Jesus, don’t yell in my ear.” I said.

    “ Sorry.” They said at the same time, again.

    “ We need to do something. Fast.” Eva said.

    “ Miss Smarty, you got a plan?” I asked. Miss Smarty was Eva’s nick name.

    “ Yes, it’s not such a good one though. But it will keep you from moving.” Eva said.

    “ What is it? Speak sister!” Sarah said.

    She paused for a moment, like Eva always did when she didn’t want to say something. Then, she said quietly, “ Running away.”

    “ Running away? Evangeline Bookworm, that is the best idea you have ever had!” Sarah said excitedly. She always like an adventure. So, of course she would totally agree to this.

    “ Eva, are you sure this is the only plan you got?” I asked her.
    “ Afraid so Miss Ashy. Unless you want to murder your parents. But, knowing you, you wouldn’t want to do that.” She said.

    “ Running away? Eva, how the hell are we gonna get out of here with out any one knowing?” I asked. I was seriously considering running away, but, Cle-Elum was famous for its ever watchful eyes, and ears.

    “ Jesus Ash, you ask a lot of questions. Just let the Schemer Sarah take care of getting out of here.” Sarah said. That was Sarah’s name at school, Schemer Sarah.

    “Wait, Sarah, Ash didn’t even agree to it. God, why am I the smart twin?” Eva complained, for the hundredth time.

    “ Because, you’re the mega shy, worse than Ash shy, super duper nice, reading to much twin.” Sarah said.

    Eva sighed. “ Ash, its up to you. Were not going to do it unless you agree.”

    I thought. If I ran away, then I wouldn’t have to leave my friends, because they would be running away too, and I wouldn’t have to face living in Seattle.

    But could I seriously do it? Could I be brave enough to leave Cle- Elum? Moving sounds like a stupid reason to run away.

    “We cant.” I said.

    “ What? Why, not?” Sarah asked.

    “ Its not right. I’m moving, that’s not the right reason to run away.” I said.

    “ Alright Sarah, the Mistress has spoken, we’ll have to figure something else out.” Eva said.

    “ Why Ash? Come on, it totally is the right reason to run away!” Sarah said.

    “ Why is it the right reason?” I asked.

    “ Freedom. We would be able to do whatever we wanted, with out any one getting in the way. You wouldn’t have to leave, because we would be somewhere way better than Seattle.” Sarah said.

    “ Sorry. No, you guys might think it’s the right reason, but I don’t.”

    Eva sighed. “ Sarah, go back to making out with your boyfriend.”


    “ He’s not my boyfriend! Yet.” Sarah said.

    Eva and I laughed. “ But your still making out with him, aren’t you?” I asked.

    “ Yep! See ya at school tomorrow, Mistress Ash.” Sarah said.

    “ Good night Miss Ash.” Eva said.

    I sighed. “ Night.”

    We all hung up, and I laid on my bed. Running away? Eva would never suggest that, not unless she wanted to. And even Sarah was a bit to excited about the idea. What was going on at their house?

    I rolled over and sighed. I would find out eventually. Eva could never keep something for long.

    I was acting like a little five year old. Its just moving, not a big deal. Yeah, i was acting very childish. But my mom was acting worse. " Ash, act your age for once." I whispered to myself.

    I fell asleep with worrying thoughts bouncing around in my head, hoping one of them, or both of them, would tell me what was wrong with them soon.

    The morning light shined in my eyes as I got up to get ready for school. My dark brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail, I tried to keep my hazel eyes open, and won. I drank some disgusting coffee, which I normally don’t do, to stay awake, and hopped on the bus.

    Sarah and Eva were waiting for me at our usual seat, the two back seats, and smiled at me.

    “ Hola Mistress! What shall we do to cause corruption and fear today?” Sarah asked.

    “ Sarah! She’s Mistress of Light, not Mistress of Darkness.” Eva corrected Sarah.

    “ Well, she could have a change of heart. Right Ash?” Sarah asked.

    “ Sorry Sarah, today is my day off of being evil.” I said.

    “ But you’ll have to be evil when we get to school. Otherwise people will think your insane!” Sarah said.

    I sighed. “ True, I do have a reputation of being your accomplice.”

    “ Accomplice? No, Eva and I are your accomplices, dear Mistress. That’s how you became Mistress Ash in the first place.” Sarah said.

    “ Jesus Sarah, don’t let her memory come back! I thought I got rid of the evil side to sweet Aislinn.” Eva smiled.

    I glared. “ The evil Aislinn Fathe will always be in me, even though it will probably never come back, Evangeline Bookworm. And you might as well accept it.”

    “ I hear Mistress of Light is a little cranky today.” Said an annoying familiar voice.

    “ Hank, what do you want?” I asked.

    “ A date, Mistress Aislinn, is all I ask of you.” Said Hank. His blonde hair and too blue eyes made him look like he was twelve. But in reality, he was an annoying senior that has been trying to get me to go out with him since I was a freshman. Now, I’m a junior.

    I sighed. “ No Hank, I will not go out on a date with you. I’m never going out with you. Ever. Deal with it.”

    The bus stopped at the school, and I gratefully got off the bus. I didn’t walk in the school though. Instead, I went in the opposite direction, towards Roslyn.

    Sarah and Eva followed. “ So, Ash, thinking about ditching? Or did your brain go all weird?” Sarah asked.

    “ Ditching. I want to go to the library in Roslyn. Its much bigger than the Cle-Elum one.” I lied. i just didn't want to be in school.

    Eva gasped. “ Mistress Aislinn Fathe, that’s me, not you. What got you suddenly interested in books?”

    “ Hmm. I don’t know, I just really want to read something right now.” I lied again.

    Sarah sighed, “ Do not tell me that I have to put up with two Eva’s. I can barely stand one of her.”

    Eva pinched Sarah. “ Say that again will you Sarah?”

    “ Ow! Fine, you’re the best twin in the universe.” She said.

    I smiled. “ Typical Eva. Always abusing everyone. What happened to the nice, angelic Eva? Now she has been replaced with a mean, demonic Eva.”

    “ Want demonic Eva to pinch you too?” Eva asked.

    “ Sorry, I’ll pass.” I said.

    “ What if our parents catch us?” Eva said worriedly.

    “ What happened to demonic Eva that was here two seconds ago?” Sarah said.

    “ She went away.” Eva said, annoyed.

    “ Our parents are not gonna catch us.” I said.

    “ How do you know that?” Eva said.

    “ Because, I just know.” I said.

    Just then I saw my parents car, and they looked furious. “ Ohhhhhh crap.” I said.

    “ Oh come on! Are they always spying on you?” Sarah looked around for a place to hide. But, there was none.

    So, the three of us just stood there, waiting for my parents to get out of the car, and start yelling at us.

    They didn’t yell. They didn’t get out of the car. All I heard was the engine, nothing else.

    “ Why aren’t they yelling at you, giving us they’re usual lecture about how skipping school is bad?” Eva whispered.

    “ No idea.” I whispered back.

    “ That is very bizarre, and strange. What the hell is wrong with them?” Sarah whispered as well.

    “ I don’t know.” I whispered.

    “Well, I say we run while we still can.” Sarah whispered.

    “ Where genius?! Theres nothing but pavement!” Eva almost yelled.

    “ Shh! Do you want them to get out of the car?” I whispered.

    “ Grrr. Fine, I’ll stop yelling.” She muttered.

    “ Hmm.” I looked around, trying to find an escape route. I couldn’t see any. All I saw was a road and trees. Trees! “ Guys, I found an escape route.”

    “ Where?” both of them asked.

    I pointed behind them, in the creepy dark forest. Well, it wasn’t creepy to me, but it probably was to them.

    “ Through there? Miss Ash, you have got to be kidding me.” Eva whispered fearfully.

    “ Whats wrong with it? Its just the woods. Nothings gonna jump out and attack us.” I whispered. “ Or are you scared of the harmless trees?”

    “ Were not scared!” they both yelled.

    “ Quiet idiots!” I said.

    “ Haven’t you ever heard of the stories people tell about those woods?” Sarah asked.

    “ No.” I said.

    “ They say somethings in those woods, something evil. And when you go in, you never come out.” Eva said.

    “ So? Those are just stories. It doesn’t mean that they’re real.” I said.

    “ But how do you know if they aren’t? I mean, anything can happen.” Eva whispered again.

    “ I know that, and the only way to see if they’re true or not, is to go in,” I whispered.

    Sarah sighed. “ fine, lets go.”

    “ No! I believe those stories! I’m not going in there.” Eva said.

    “ Okay. Sarah and I will. You can stay here and get yelled at by mom and dad. Bye.” I said.

    We walked through the woods, Eva yelling, “ NO! DON’T!” Then she screamed.

    I froze. “ Why did Eva scream?”

    Sarah stopped too. “ I don’t know. But she’s ok. She’s with your parents, remember?

    “ I’m not so sure.” I said.

    There was a huge roar, and the feet beneath us began to shake, a tree branch hit me in the head. I blacked out.