Note: okie dokies, here goes the first chapter in this story.

Full summary: Brooke Harper, a tenth grader, is struggling to accept the changes around her and in her friends. In the midst of all this, she begins to have weird and often frightening dreams that slowly start to change her personality. Scared for her health, Brooke begins to see a psychiatrist, who tells her of a sort of people who can not only detect the presence of windigo energies, but can also help destroy them.

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Brooke Harper yawned as she was shaken from her dreams and greeted by the contemptuous cold of reality. She stretched out as the persistent cries of the alarm clock resounded through her head.

“I’m up, I’m up!” She mumbled under her breath and turned the alarm off. Brooke was about to get up, but decided against it. Maybe her mother would let her take Monday off if she insisted that she had gotten only two hours sleep.

“Brooke Elizabeth Harper! You had better be up! It’s 8:00! You’ll be late for school!” Brooke’s mother, Brittany Mason-Harper, bellowed up the stairs. Hearing no response from her daughter, she marched up the stairs, only to find Brooke asleep.

“Brooke!” Brittany walked over to the young girl’s bed and threw the bedspread to the ground.

Brooke awoke again, this time with a start. Her source of warmth had just been taken from her. “But Mom! I only got two hours sleep last night!”

Brooke had no such luck. “Nonsense!” Her mother shook her head, “I checked on you before your father and I went to bed, you were asleep. And when I got up when I heard your sister crying, you were still asleep. So get up! I even made pancakes this morning. It’s the second week of school, you have to go.”

Brooke groaned and looked up at her mother. It was easy to see where Brooke got her looks. Brooke had the same ebony hair Brittany had, the same high cheekbones, and the same slim, athletic body. The only real difference between them was that Brooke had her father’s amber colored eyes, while Mrs. Mason-Harper had green eyes.

Brooke got dressed quickly that morning, throwing on a simple pair of worn blue jeans, and a white T-shirt that read ‘I (Heart) NY’. Somehow, she dragged herself to her bathroom and found the strength to apply light-blue eye shadow and a little mascara. She brushed her shoulder-length hair, and headed downstairs.

“Ah! She’s up!” Brooke’s stepfather, Robert Mason, smiled warmly at her. He was reading the newspaper and had his reading glasses on. To Brooke’s amusement, whenever he put his reading glasses on, they made his eyes look a bit larger.

Brooke’s biological father, Lewis Harper, had died five years ago, when Brooke was nine. A year later her mother met Robert, and they married. At first, Brooke had felt resentful towards Robert, and thought that he was trying to take the place of her father. After her mother had given birth to her half-sister, Michelle Mason-Harper, Brooke realized that there was no way her mother would breakup with Robert. Brooke gave Robert a chance and found that she liked him. And, even though Michelle was Robert’s daughter and not Lewis’, Brooke firmly believed that some of her father’s spirit was in her three-year-old sister.

Brooke sat down at the table and practically inhaled her pancakes, the bus would arrive in about fifteen minutes to pick her up for school, but she wanted to check in on her horse before the bus came.

“Mom, I’m going to go out and wait for the bus now, okay?” Brooke pushed herself away from the table, putting her plate and glass in the sink.

“So soon?” Brittany busied herself by putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

“Actually, I want to check on Jupiter before I leave.” Brooke kissed her mother on the cheek and said goodbye to Robert and Michelle.

“Oh, honey!” Mrs. Mason-Harper (Brooke’s friends, and everyone else except Robert’s relatives still called Brittany ‘Mrs. Harper’ rather than ‘Mrs. Mason-Harper’. Robert’s family called Brittany ‘Mrs. Mason’) called to Brooke, “remember to feed Dewdrop!”

“Okay!” Came Brooke’s faint reply.

Brooke walked out to the stables, enjoying the quiet surrounding the farmland. As she neared the stalls she could hear faint whickers coming from the horses.

Brooke walked over to her own horse’s stall. Placed on the stall door was a gold plaque that had the name Jumpin’ Jupiter engraved on it. A bay colored thoroughbred gelding leaned over the door to sniff his visitor. Recognizing the scent of Brooke, he pushed her with his muzzle, demanding a treat.

Brooke giggled and took two sugar cubes from her pocket, and held her hand out, offering them to the horse. Jupiter greedily ate them, and looked at Brooke for more.

Brooke shook her head “No, sorry Jupie.” She laughed and patted his muzzle, then headed down to the stall a flea-bitten gray colored horse resided in.

Dewdrop, whose full name was Dancing with the Dewdrops, was an older mare, with a gentle, mild disposition. She was a purebred arabian, and had once been an admired show horse because of her delicate looking frame. Now Dewdrop’s life was much quieter, and she was an excellent pleasure horse. Whenever a relative was visiting with children, Dewdrop was a big hit.

With a bag of feed in hand, Brooke calmly entered Dewdrop’s stall, and gave Dewdrop the proper amount. Before running to catch the bus, Brooke gave Dewdrop a sugar cube, and promptly left the stables.

“Brooke! Brooke!” A loud, musical voice called her as she was opening her locker. Brooke turned to see her best friend, Evangeline Reynolds, running toward her with a big smile on her face.

Evangeline, whom everyone usually called Angel, was a tall and pretty girl. Evangeline had long, sunshine blonde hair and dazzling, icy blue eyes. She had an abnormally well-developed figure, considering she was only fifteen years old. Angel also had a flawless complexion, which wasn’t surprising, considering she avoided most junk food at all times.

“What?” Brooke inquired, hanging up her jacket.

“Well,” Evangeline replied giddily, “I heard that Tyler just asked Kathy out. She said yes!”

Brooke looked at her friend for a moment, and realized Angel had changed a lot since the summer. Lately, it appeared that Angel had become shallow, and was now a compulsive gossip. Sure, Brooke and Evangeline had spent a lot of the summer together, and Brooke’s parents had even bought Angel a horse when Brooke got her own. But Angel didn’t seem to be the horse-crazy, loveable Angel she was before.

“So?” Brooke finally replied, and lifted an eyebrow sarcastically.

“Don’t you get it? They could become an item! Just like Promise and Dakota!” Evangeline was obviously really excited, about something Brooke found totally unimportant.

And since when did Angel use the term ‘item’ to describe people going out? “That’s great! Totally unexpected, but great!” Brooke faked enthusiasm, and when she turned away from Angel for a moment, she rolled her eyes.

“I know! Isn’t it! And Promise said-“ Angel began, on a roll.

Brooke stopped her, “Whoa! Promise said? I thought you vowed never to talk to her in your life, even angry bandits wouldn’t be able to make you!”

Evangeline looked guilty. “I know! But really, she is very cool.”

Brooke frowned, not only was Angel talking and acting like a complete ditz, but she had become friends with a girl who had really hurt Brooke once.

Promise Williamson was a very pretty and popular girl, and she was the leader of what Angel and Brooke called the ‘Snob Squad’. Promise had just above shoulder-length, lighter milk chocolate colored brown hair, and honey colored eyes. She had a rather prominent nose, and her cheekbones were high like Brooke’s. Promise always looked amazing in the trendiest clothes, and never failed to insult those that didn’t wear them. But Promise wasn’t the best student, except in math, where she was second best only to Brooke. In order to look better than Brooke, Promise had once stolen her homework and erased the original answers, only to put the wrong answers in. Promise had done the new answers in perfect imitation of Brooke’s own writing, and Brooke received a terrible grade. Although that happened last year, Brooke would never truly forgive her.

Brooke couldn’t believe what Evangeline was saying; she was friends with a girl who had went out of her way to sabotage her?

As the bell rang, the two girls headed to homeroom, Evangeline was still talking up a storm on the latest gossip. And was that glitter on Angel’s cheeks? Angel hated glitter!

“Angel?” Brooke finally said, rather sternly.

“Yeah?”

“Are you actually friends with Promi-“ Brooke was cut off, by Promise herself.

“Oh my gosh, Angel! You’ll never believe what I just heard!” Promise was smiling and giggling as she talked.

Brooke didn’t wait to hear what Angel said; she got out of her seat and sat by one of the boys in her class. Angel was left to stare at Brooke in surprise, and she couldn’t move. All the other seats had been taken.

Concerned, Angel looked at Promise, who shrugged. She moved to get up, but then the teacher walked in. The blonde girl turned to look at Brooke, and her questioning gaze was met with an angry glare. Angel rolled her eyes back at Brooke, trying to prove that Brooke’s change in seats hadn’t bothered her, but it was plain to Brooke that Angel wanted to cry.

Class ended and Brooke wanted to sigh with relief, now maybe Angel would listen to what Brooke wanted to say. Changing seats like that made Brooke feel a bit guilty, mainly because she had hurt Angel’s feelings in doing so. But her temper had flared, and she didn’t want to hit her best friend. But Brooke was painfully aware of how bad and confused Angel had felt. Brooke was sensitive that way, and lately she had been more sensitive than usual to other people’s feelings. Brooke hated being so sensitive, every time someone felt mentally hurt and Brooke happened to pass by him or her, she felt a wave of emotion, as if it were her that had been hurt.

“Angel!” Brooke called as she saw Angel, but the girl didn’t stop. “Angel! Wait! Please wait, Angel!”

Angel whirled around to face Brooke, her blue eyes flashing angrily. “What?” She demanded, her patience running thin. First, Brooke was sarcastic, paying no attention to what she said, and then she had stomped off and humiliated her in front of Promise.

“Look Angel, I’m sorry. Okay? Just… you’ve changed so much, you’re hanging out with Promise, who hurt me a lot just to make herself look better. I don’t care if she’s ‘totally cool’. She hurt me, and bad. You’ve become a compulsive gossip, and you’ve been acting like a total ditz. And you hate glitter! Or at least, the Angel I like does. You were different when we got our horses this summer. And if being friends, or even associating with Promise, changes you and makes you like you are now, then I can’t be your friend any longer. I can’t be friends with a person who knows how bad Promise hurt me, and becomes her friend later. I’m sorry if I sound controlling, but that’s how it is with me.” Brooke made her speech, and looked at Angel, waiting for her reply.

Angel stared at Brooke, then glared. She thought Brooke was being very selfish. “Goodbye, Brooke.”

Brooke sighed, “Goodbye, Evangeline.” Brooke replied coldly, and thought about saying that she’d bring Venus, the horse Brooke’s parents had bought Evangeline, back to her ranch. She decided against it, and instead, walked calmly to her next class. As she walked away, Brooke blinked back tears. Angel had been confronted with a choice: Promise, or Brooke. She had chosen Promise, ignoring the fact that she and Brooke had been best friends since Brooke’s father died.

As Angel passed Brooke, Brooke was overwhelmed by hurt and loss, she knew she was feeling both Angel’s emotions, and her own.

After the bus dropped Brooke off at her home, she didn’t even bother to go into her house. Instead, she ran to the stables, and dropped her bag on the stable floor. She approached Jupiter, and after grooming him, she saddled him up and slipped a harness on. Then she led the bay horse out of the stables, and led him out into the Arizona sunshine.

Brooke rode Jupiter out onto her favorite trail that led into the woods near her home. She loved going there, it was moist and warm, but very comforting. She imagined birds and little squirrels and chipmunks, and hearing the croaks of the frogs that hopped around in the nearby creek. She thought of-

Brooke was shaken from her thoughts as Jupiter whickered impatiently. He had been named Jupiter because he had been the largest horse at the stables where she got him. As it turned out, he was also related to another horse her family had bought, that had been named Rising Mercury. Mercury had gotten his name because he was very fast; Mercury was the fastest turning planet, and Mercury the horse was the fastest horse at the ranch. Jupiter was also very fast, and because they both looked similar, when they were racing it was hard to tell the difference. Mercury was a little faster than Jupiter, but Jupiter was quite a bit larger. And Jupiter loved to gallop.

It was clear to Brooke that Jupiter wanted to gallop right then, he had been cooped up in his stall for two days, and he needed to burn off the extra energy. Brooke wasn’t allowed to let the horses gallop when she was riding, but she had done it before, and she decided that she had to gallop, to feel the wind in her hair.

Brooke nudged the horse into a gallop, and instantly Jupiter took off. He was faster than Dewdrop had been when Brooke had galloped with her, and Jupiter kept increasing his speed. Brooke enjoyed the feeling of excitement, she adored it, and the rush of adrenaline was just what she needed to put her in a better mood.

Brooke allowed Jupiter to gallop a little longer, then pulled lightly at the reigns to bring him back into a canter. Jupiter didn’t stop, so she tried the reigns again, this time harder. Jupiter still didn’t stop.

“Jupiter!” Brooke cried in exasperation, “Stop!” Of course Jupiter didn’t understand her, and when she pulled insistently at the reigns, he barely slowed. Jupiter didn’t care much, he wanted to gallop.

“Jupiter! Jupie!” Brooke was getting angry, why wouldn’t he listen? She tried the reigns again and again, each time pulling a little harder.

When Jupiter was getting close to the trail in the woods, Brooke was crying. She had always trusted Jupiter, and he always listened to her, but he wasn’t now, not anymore. Her parents wouldn’t let her keep him anymore if they found out about what was happening.

“Jupiter! Stop!” She yelled, no longer thinking. If he galloped onto the trail and kept going, both of them could be seriously hurt. But her yelling only spooked the horse, and he increased his speed.

With the suddenness of his increased speed, and the terrain getting rockier and rockier, Brooke’s left foot slipped out of the stirrup. This surprised Brooke, and she slipped, still clutching the reigns. The violent jerk scared Jupiter, and he reared. Brooke fell onto the rocky ground. Hard. With the wind knocked out of her, and finding it very hard to breathe, she passed out.

Brooke awoke with a start, finding herself in a strange room, on a strange bed, and with a lot of noise and beeping. Her head ached, and she sat up a bit, she turned to look to the side, and saw her mom and stepfather looking at her.

“Mom? Robert?” She stared, where was she?

“Sweetheart, we’re glad you’re okay.” Brittany looked down at her daughter.

“Where’s Jupie? Is he okay?” Brooke demanded, her head felt like a hammer was trying to drive a nail into it.

“He’s fine, but what happened to you?” Robert inquired, gazing down at his stepdaughter intently.

“I was – “ Brooke stopped herself, she didn’t want to lose Jupiter, so she thought of a different reason. “I was distracted, and lost my footing in the stirrups, so I fell.”

Robert seemed satisfied with her answer, but Brooke’s mother was frowning thoughtfully. It was very possible Brooke was telling the truth, but Brittany figured she was lying for Jupiter. Brittany blinked back tears as she thought of what she had to tell her daughter.

Before Brittany could say a word, Brooke was fast asleep.

Later that evening, Brooke’s mother and stepfather came to bring Brooke back home. After she was given a medication to help for any headaches and migraines she may experience after being knocked out, Brooke followed Brittany and Robert to the car.

Brooke noticed the overwhelming tension in the car as they traveled down the road. Brittany and Robert were uncomfortable.

“What’s up?” Brooke asked curiously.

“Honey,” Brittany began, then after a brief pause, continued, “What really happened out there while you were riding Jupiter?”

Brooke was torn between losing Jupiter, and telling the truth in case her horse was hurt. She thought for a moment, then decided she’d rather lose Jupiter with him alive rather than dead. Brooke took a deep breath, and told the whole story. Then she said, “Why?”

“Well, Brooke…” Robert looked at his wife.

“Jupiter…he… he was galloping outside for a while before we noticed he wasn’t in his stall, and that you had been gone for a long time. We went out to search for him, and as we tried to re-capture him and calm him, he slipped on the rocks in that old trail. He fell and broke one of his hind legs, and…” Brittany stopped. Brooke took a deep breath.

“Brooke, there’s nothing we can do. We have to put him down.”

Brooke tried to steady herself as she took in her mother’s news. She couldn’t, and broke out in tears.

“I’m so sorry, honey.” Brittany struggled to comfort her daughter.

Robert looked at his stepdaughter sympathetically, not knowing what to say. He was well aware of how much Brooke adored that horse. And it was a shame too, how she only had Jupiter for a few months.

Brooke just shook her head angrily and looked out the window, her tears kept flowing down her cheeks. She sobbed a few times and took in a few deep breaths. Guilt began to swell up within her, bringing more tears to her eyes. It was all her fault, if only she hadn’t gone out for that ride. If only she hadn’t galloped with him…