Chapter 3 - Part 2

                                    

                                          
Later at home, I was lying on my bed as thoughts of Andrew and Jared ran through my mind. I didn't want to feel anything for Jared, but I couldn't seem to help myself. I just had to look at him, and when I did, weird stuff happened in my body, things I'd never experienced before—like those damn butterflies. Eventually, exasperated with myself for having no control of my thoughts, I decided I was going to go for a run. Running for me was like therapy. When I ran, all I concentrated on was the feeling of my feet pounding against the ground as I listened to my labored breath, and it helped to clear my head. 
                          
With that thought, I got dressed into my running gear. It was getting late, but there was still enough time to go for a decent run since Anne had called earlier and told me she was going to be home late. I headed out of the house and started running down the road. I kept to my route so I wouldn't get lost. I became oblivious to everything except the path in front of me. The rhythm of my feet pounding into the gravel kept me focused on the task at hand. I thought of nothing else. Just twenty minutes into my run, the sun was already beginning to set. I wasn't panicking because I didn't think I was more than ten minutes away from home. My breath labored and the sweat dripped down my forehead as I pushed for the last few minutes of my run. 
                          
As I turned back onto my road, I saw my house in the distance and I slowed my pace to a walk. It was dark now but thankfully the light from the streetlights kept the road well lit. The only ominous sight was the dark forest on the opposite side of the road to my house. I hadn't really ventured into it to explore. I hated camping or anything to do with 'roughing it.' Still trying to calm my breathing, I brushed the sweat from my forehead with the bottom of my shirt. The cool evening air was a relief.
                          
I scanned the road as I slowly walked to my house. I'd left the porch light on when I'd left, so the light illuminated the front porch and the front steps. Just a few houses away, through the thickly packed trees within the forest, I saw a faint white light for a couple of seconds, and then there was darkness again. 
                          
I stopped dead in my tracks, thinking back to the first time I'd seen the light from my bedroom window. The light was much fainter than the night I had first seen flashes of light in the forest. Had I imagined it? I waited a minute, watching intently, but there was nothing but darkness. 
                          
There was no way I could have imagined that light twice. Deciding to investigate what I'd seen, I walked toward the forest and to where I'd seen the strange occurrence. The path beneath my feet was uneven and filled with plants and rocks. It could be worse—it could have rained, and then I would be trudging through mud. The light from the moon filtered through the top branches of the trees, so I was able to see where I was going. The branches of the trees brushed against me as I pushed deeper into the forest.
                          
I'd only been in the forest for a few minutes when I looked up and saw the white light filter through the dense forest in front of me. It definitely wasn't part of my imagination. What could it be? Cautiously, I walked deeper into the forest. The sound of my footsteps crunched on the rough terrain. With every slight brush of the branches against me, I felt a shiver of fear. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. 
                          
Just then, only a few feet in front of me through an opening in the dense brush, I saw a white light streak quickly from right to left—and then, only seconds later, a white light followed the same path as the first unusual light. What followed that was again complete darkness. 
                          
I crept quietly forward until I got to a row of bushes that bordered an open clearing. I hid behind the bushes and peered cautiously ahead. 
                          
The clearing was well lit by the moon, and I could see, a mere few feet away, Jared. He was flanked by Tyler and Danny on the right side of the clearing. Jared looked angry, and Tyler and Danny were both holding him back as he fought against them, trying to break free. I looked in the opposite direction and a short distance from the three boys stood two people I couldn't recognize. 
                          
They looked to be the same age, with builds similar to Jared's. Both had short blond hair and wore jeans and white shirts. From the angle I was from them, I couldn't see their faces clearly.
                          
What I saw in front of me didn't explain the strange lights. It just looked like a couple of guys having some sort of stand-off. The only thing strange about this whole thing was that this was happening in the middle of the forest. 
                          
I continued to watch for a few more minutes. Words were spoken back and forth between the two groups, but I was too far away to hear exactly what was being said. Whatever it was, though, didn't seem to be calming the situation down. I kneeled down behind the bush, transfixed by what was happening. It looked like there was going to be a fight. Their body language was stiff and all of their muscles were tensed. 
                          
Jared broke free of Tyler's hold and he lifted his arm toward the strangers. A stream of white light streaked from his open palm and flew straight into the chest of one of the fair-haired strangers. He flew back and landed with a thud on his back a few feet farther away.
                          
My breath hitched as I blinked a couple of times. I couldn't comprehend what I'd just witnessed. White light, and Jared... The white light streaking out of his hand like a lightning bolt... It made no sense. That was impossible. It took a few moments for my mind to try and process what I had just seen. 
                          
It isn't possible.
                          
I started to panic and as I tried to steady myself, I leaned forward onto a twig and it snapped. 
                          
Suddenly the two groups confronting each other in the clearing turned toward the noise. Through the slight openings in the bushes, I could see them scanning where I was hiding. My heart hammered in my chest as I tried to keep as still as possible. After what seemed like forever, all but Jared turned back. For a moment his gaze swept over me before he turned his attention back to the two strangers in front of him. Had he seen me?
                          
The stranger who had been struck by the lightning bolt had gotten up and rejoined his friend. He looked completely fine and not at all what I'd expect someone to look like after what I'd just witnessed. The only evidence of the strike was a burn mark in the front of his T-shirt.
                          
What I'd seen wasn't possible. I had to get out of there before they discovered me. What would they do if they found me? Would they hurt me? Unlike the fair-haired boy, I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive a strike like that. 
                          
As slowly as I could, I began to back away from the bushes. Finally when I was far away enough I turned around and ran like my life depended on it. The path was uneven and a couple of times I fell and scraped my knees, but I kept moving, fearing my life depended on it. I was literally running in the dark and was absolutely petrified. I was scared that they'd seen me and they were going to come after me. 
                          
I didn't stop running until I got to my front door. My lungs burned. 
                          
Panic set in and the air locked in my lungs. My lungs wouldn't open and my breath became short and choppy. I was having a panic attack.
                          
I rushed into the kitchen to look for a bag. I found one under the kitchen sink. I curled my hand around the opening and put it to my mouth and began to breathe into the bag. After a few minutes, my breathing started to become normal once more. 
                          
Once I had my breathing under control, I pressed my back to the wall and slowly sank to the floor. I hadn't had a panic attack like that in a while. I glanced at my bleeding knees. They looked sore, but I was too upset to feel the pain. Leaning my head back against the wall, I took some more deep breaths.
                          
Glancing at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall, I realized Anne would be home any minute. I needed to clean myself up because there was no way I was going to tell her what I had seen. I was pretty sure that if I did, it would be a one-way ticket into a nice, white, padded room. No one would believe me. Hell, I wasn't even sure that I trusted what I'd seen.
                          
Once the adrenaline started to wear off, I started to shake. It took me twice as long to take my clothes off. I stood under the warm stream of the shower, wincing as the water streamed down over my bloody knees. I stood in the shower for a while before the shaking eased to a slight, constant shiver. 
                          
White steaks of energy... Humans just couldn't do that. So my next logical conclusion was that Jared wasn't human. 
                          
And if he isn't human, what is he? I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that.