When I was sure the boys couldn't hear, I gently touched the trunk of a pine tree, and whispered, "What is it? What are you trying to tell me?" I don't know why I wasn't freaked out, or why I didn't just run away, but I didn't.

With great frustration, I realized I wouldn't be able to decipher an answer. All I could hear was the faint whispers of nature, calling to me, the small voices too distant for me to make any sense of. I pressed my ear to the trunk and begged, "Please? What are you trying to tell me?"

The voices were becoming more distinct, and soon, I heard the smallest voice within the tree. It was a slight voice, but monotone all the same. I was not afraid that I heard the gentle voice of nature, I was afraid of what it said. Danger is here.

If anyone would've seen me at that moment, I probably would've appeared crazy: a young girl speaking to the trees, begging for them to reply, and when she got what she asked for, her eyes wide with fear. A sudden voice came into my head. The trees never lie.

I never heard these voices before, only now. What was it about this day that seemed to dig something up from deep within me? Did it have anything to do with Ayden?

Well, I kept creeping through the forest, cautiously stepping over every root, and loping over each and every twig. I was back into my dream state: The place where the forest and I were joined together, two different sources of life sharing but one soul.

Finally, I realized where we were headed to. The old creek, the place that was almost the cause of my death years before was our destination. I was always afraid of going near the creek after that day, but I never felt any type of extreme threat. It was different this time. I felt electricity coursing through my veins, the adrenaline of danger pulsing its way through my system. As we drew closer, it felt as if lightning was striking me: the hot electricity frying my mind.

As we crept closer and closer to the creek, the boys started to look more and more fierce. The light of battle shone in their eyes, and their faces became scowls.

“I smell them,” Dillan scowled.

I don’t smell anything… I thought, wondering what he was talking about.

The trees were still talking, but now I could understand. They’re coming

The voices sent shivers down my spine, and I felt uncertainty. What was going to happen at the creek? Why were they going there? Should I really be following them?

I felt the presence of danger, due to the electricity shooting through my veins, the adrenaline of fear coursing through me. As we drew near, it felt as if lightning were striking me over and over again, and I made sure to hide myself well.

We finally arrived, and looking around, I felt the memories flood over me, especially when I came to the ancient weeping willow that I used to climb all the time. It was at least a hundred years old, with a trunk that was far too big for me to wrap my arms around. The branches were large and easy to grip onto, and from the top you could look over the whole creek.

I bet you can take a guess as to what I did. I started to climb. As I went up and up, I listened to the light trickling of the water in the creek. I heard some of the rocks tumbling over, and the birds chirping.

I climbed higher and higher, and soon, I got to the top. I looked out over the creek, the fresh morning air pressing against me.

I saw Ayden walk to a stone outcropping, which was a large boulder jutting out from the wall of the creek. He slowly pulled the case off of his shoulder, and gently placed it on the stone. I deeply frowned as he flinched from the wound running down his chest. Axel was next to him, sitting like the obedient dog he was. The dog didn’t move, though he saw Ayden flinch, which was a sickening sight.

Ayden snapped open the clips that held the case closed, and opened it up to reveal a beautifully ancient violin. Ayden had always been good at the violin: he played the most beautiful music I’d ever heard.

He held the violin out horizontally in front of him at an arm’s length, and he took a deep breath. His face switched from the look of pure agony to serenity, and Dillan and Axel stood by and watched as Ayden said, “In the name of God, OBEY!”

The violin was soon encased in glowing white feathers, which reminded me of the feathers spread across the backs of angels. Ayden started to glow with it. The beautiful, honey-golden light engulfed him, and a small smile played on his lips. I had to look away; the brightness was painful.

All too soon, the feathers fell away, and the violin slightly glowed in the mid-day light, along with Ayden. Within a matter of seconds, the glow fell away, and both Ayden and the violin looked normal once again. The only thing different was that the strings and bow glowed a blinding gold, and a… symbol had appeared on the violin. It was a simple set of wings, and between them was the number fifteen thousand.

When the symbol appeared, he looked at it with regret in his eyes, but the expression quickly disappeared. Whatever that symbol meant, it was a big deal to Ayden.

Next, Dillan held his arms straight up with a smirk on his face. He called the same words Ayden called just moments before, “In the name of God, OBEY!”

This time, concrete walls that glowed with a powerful baby blue light fell from the sky, and encased the area. We were now inside a dome that glowed blue, along with Dillan. After a moment, the walls faded and became invisible. I realized that he had just put up a force field, and that it was really too late to turn back now. The forest was once again surrounding us, and the light blue sky was above us. The sky was beginning to darken; it was beginning to turn a threatening shade of grey.

The symbol hung in the sky, the same symbol as on Ayden’s violin, but this time, the number between the wings was ten thousand.

Finally, Axel bowed down (like the animals in the lion king), and for a split second glowed crimson red. It faded to reveal an extremely handsome boy: he had amazing blue eyes, which seemed terminally bored, and white-blonde hair. He stood about as tall as Ayden, and was… refined in his own way.

He took a deep breath, and held his left hand straight out in front of him. With his right hand, he grabbed his arm just above the elbow and recited the words, “In the name of God, OBEY!”

He immediately sank to the ground, getting on all fours. His body, which was glowing blood red grew five times its original size, and his body reformed into a wolf-like shape. The glow faded to reveal a crimson red, four-legged beast. It was a gigantic wolf with three tails, and a battle-ready look in its eyes. On his flank, he held that same symbol, but his number was twenty five thousand.

Could this have been the same boy that stood there just seconds ago? What was happening? I did not understand it at the time, and I didn’t know that I would, in time, be a part of what was going on.

I could never have expected that in just a few minutes, my life would be changed forever, and I would be faced with a choice: go home, or face my destiny.