Protectors of The Wood #1 by John KixMiller

A flash of light glinted on a pair of eyes pressed up against the windowpane. Suddenly she was stunned by a shattering crash, a roll of thunder that seemed to smash up against the window. Phoebe had the overwhelming impression that the song was meant for her personally. She imagined a procession coming toward her in the night, like a communication from a distant land. Soon the sound of the wind seemed to carry a melody, a slow and mournful song. Phoebe fell into a daze, still aware of the cool wind on her bare feet, the whistling noise outside the window, and the panic rising from deep inside. The wind was rising, and the leaves trembled in the breeze. A distant roll of thunder sounded deep in the heart of the forest. She tried to relax, but fear and excitement raced through her veins. Two bulging 30-gallon black garbage bags full of her clothes and shoes, and her backpack full of books and small treasures, lay in the middle of the floor where she had left them an hour before. A bit of silvery light filtered in through the window. She sat up and glanced at the vague gray shapes in the bleak and empty room. The possibility of empty weeks stretching on ahead set her on the edge of panic. But her heart was set on a long shot plan.

She had come home without achievements or any definite prospects. A series of knee injuries had ended her ambitions as a soccer player, and she had decided to drop out of college, leaving her with almost no life to lead. Excited and scared, she lay in the darkness, her energy rushing and bubbling inside her like a river in flood. The tension of a coming storm filled the air. The odor of the Forest Preserve, just beyond the field across the street, began to permeate everything, smelling of leaves and pine needles and a flower she couldn't name. It had been a hot night even for June, when suddenly the coolness of the forest air began to drift in through the open window. Back home in Middletown, Phoebe couldn't sleep.

Protectors of The Wood #1 by John KixMiller