Chapter twenty

Terri begins to panic as she wakes up and finds herself laying on the ground in a darkened room. Her heart begins racing as she feels something on top of her, pinning her down against the cold floor. A loud clap of thunder booming in the distance causes her to jump. A few moments later a bright flash of lightning illuminates the room. She begins to relax a little as she sees that it is Megan laying on top of her fast asleep. She tries to pull her legs free but she can't move even an inch. She takes her one free arm and gently shakes Megan's shoulder.

"Ahh..." Megan yawns as she begins to wake up. "Terri is that you?" She mumbles, her head slightly spinning as she starts to raise up.

"Yes it's me can you please get off of me now Megan?" Terri groans out as another flash of lightning illuminates the room once more.

Megan yawns again and raises up off of Terri slowly reaching her hand down to help Terri to her feet. Terri looks around cautiously as she takes Megan's hand and stands up. As the lightning begins to fade away from the room, causing the room to grow dark once more, she begins gripping Megan's hand tighter. She winces as Terri squeezes her hand tightly.

"Owe not so tight you're hurting my hand Terri," Megan winces as she tries to pull her hand free.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to squeeze your hand so tight," Terri looks at her apologetically as she loosens her grip slightly. "Wonder what happened to Amber?" She thinks out loud as another flash of lightning illuminates the room.

They look around the room quickly but don't see anyone else in the room with them.

"I don't know, how did we end up here?" Megan replies as she looks around.

The room begins to dim once more. The girls start walking around, feeling around on the walls for a door or some way out of the room. They hear a door open and slam shut behind them suddenly and jump slightly, beginning to panic.

"Girls calm down I called you here," they hear Michaels voice and begin to relax. Slowly a pair of torches begin to glow behind them, illuminating the small room. "I need your help." Michael smirks as the girls turn around to face him.

"Michael!" Megan cries out as she runs over to him. "I've been so worried about you."

She starts to hug him but stops suddenly. She begins backing away from him slowly.

"What's wrong Megan?" Michael grins as he stares blankly at her. "Don't you trust me?"

Megan looks at him questioningly as she backs as far away from him in the small room as she could. "How do we know if we can trust you?" Megan cries out as she looks towards Michael. "For starters why don't you tell us how you are here in the shadow realm."

"It's quite simple really my father told me what I had to do. He told me how I could enter this...shadow realm as you call it. Once I touched Sara's arm I was transported here and greeted by my father. He gave me a map and specific instructions on what to do," Michael grins as he steps a little closer to her. "You have two choices girls either help me or you will become locked away like Julie by Griffin."

"You're not Michael. I don't know who you are now but the Michael I know wouldn't act like this."

Megan shivers as Michael pauses to look at them again. Terri looks at Megan worriedly as Michael starts laughing.

He continues to laugh as he stares at the two frightened girls. "Who am I then?"

"I don't know but you aren't the same Michael I know. This place has changed you. Can you not see that Michael?"

Megan has tears in her eyes as she stares into Michael's. For just an instant his facial expression becomes confused. He stares back at Megan with affection for a brief moment before his facial expression changes once again.

"Do not try to trick me!" He begins staring at the two girls hatefully. "Now are you going to help me or not?" His voice comes out harsher then before.

"We will never betray Sara!" Terri screams out at Michael.

Michael looks at her for a moment like he is trying to figure out what to do.

"I'm trying to help Sara not betray her!" Michael cries out to them. He looks at Megan and his facial expression changes again. "Get out of here now." He cries out suddenly. Terri and Megan look at him briefly before they take off running past him and out the door.

"What was that all about did you see how confused Michael looked there before he told us to run?" Megan wonders as they continue running as fast as they can away from the old cottage and into the woods.

"I think Michael was possessed."

They run through the woods for what seemed like hours before they collapse too exhausted to keep going. Terri can see Megan laying on the ground beside of her. The last thing she feels is Megan taking her hand just as her eyes begin to close. She manages to take one last look at Megan before she falls asleep.

~

"Terri wake up."

Terri hears Megan's voice as she begins to stir. She opens her eyes and stares up at the starlit sky in shock. She raises up and looks around her worriedly.

"Terri are you okay?" She hears the worry and concern in Megan's voice and turns to see Megan staring at her worried.

"I'm fine," Terri replies, still looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. How did we end up in this clearing? She wonders as she begins to stand. She staggers a little, her legs feel wobbly as she tries to stand on them. "How did we end up in this clearing we fell asleep in the woods remember."

Megan begins to speak but before she can get a single word out someone else begins to speak.

"I found the two of you in the woods and brought you both here," Terri and Megan hear a girls voice behind them and turn around quickly. "I mean you no harm I promise."

The girl smiles at them slightly as she sees the scared expressions on their faces.

"Who are you?" Terri looks a little frightened as she looks at the girl standing a few feet away. She couldn't have been over twelve or thirteen years old. "How did you bring us here to this clearing?" She asks curiously.

"I'm Olivia," the girl smiles as she walks closer to Terri and Megan. "And I brought you here through shadow travelling of course." She can tell that the two girls are still slightly nervous and frightened. "Don't worry you are safe here. Griffin cannot find you here."

"How do you know so much about this Griffin guy?" Megan wonders as she watches Olivia curiously, staring at her cautiously. "What is going on Olivia?"

"Look I will tell you anything you want to know."

Olivia looks back at Megan, slightly unsure of where to start. Megan quickly sees the slight hesitation in Olivia's eyes.

"Just start from the beginning Olivia and tell us everything you know."

"Well I guess I should start by telling you that Griffin is my father." Olivia pauses and looks at the ground before looking up to see how Terri and Megan would react.

She had expected them to be shocked or afraid. But when she looked up into their eyes she didn't see any fear or shock. All she saw in their eyes was curiosity. They sit there patiently waiting for Olivia to continue. She looks at them and takes in a deep breath exhaling it slowly before continuing.

"He used to be a completely different person. Before my mom showed him the secrets of her sorcery he was just a simple noble. As soon as my mom taught him everything she knew he changed. He sent me and my sister away casting us into this world. I don't know where my mom is now but I believe I have finally found my sister." She quickly explains to them.

"So Griffin is your father?"

"Yes he is and I believe he has my sister locked away in his manor," Olivia sighs and looks away, a few tears form in the corners of her eyes. She reaches up and quickly wipes them away. "I know I can free her but I can't do it alone. I could really use your help."

"How do we know we can even trust you Olivia. After all we don't even know you. For all we know this could all be some kind of trap to capture us and lure Sara to Griffin."

Terri stares at Olivia skeptically. Olivia looks back at her a little hurt. Even Megan looks over at Terri a little shocked.

"I can promise you I'm not leading you into any kind of trap. I just want to free my sister and leave this place."

"We already made the mistake of trusting one girl and she disappeared on us leaving us out there in the woods where you found us," Megan explains to Olivia, trying to make her feel better. "We just don't really know who we can and can't trust in this place. It seems like the shadow realm plays tricks on you."

"I'm not trying to trick the two of you I promise. All I want is my sister back."

Olivia is almost in tears as she looks at Terri and Megan.

"This sister you keep talking about what does she look like?"

Olivia pictures her sister in her mind. "She's about the same height and weight as me but she's blonde headed though. It runs down past her shoulders and she has bright emerald green eyes."

She begins to say something else but pauses and suddenly looks behind her. She had no idea it was getting to be so late already. The sun was already starting to sink behind the treetops.

"I didn't realize it was already getting to be so late," Olivia mumbles to herself.

"How long have we been asleep?" Megan wonders out loud as she looks up at the sky.

"You guys have been asleep for a little over a day," Olivia replies as she looks back at the two girls and smiles. "Come on we must get inside before it grows completely dark out."

"Is there somewhere we can go then?" Terri looks around cautiously, silently wondering what has Olivia so scared of being outside at night.

"Yes we can go back to the house I've been staying in. Trust me you don't really want to be out here when it gets completely dark out," Olivia tells them, shuddering slightly as she looks back into the forest behind her.

"So why didn't anything happen to us last night didn't we sleep outside last night?" Megan asks suddenly curious. Why is she suddenly so frightened?

"Yes we were outside all night but I protected you by shadowing your bodies," Olivia tells them, smiling slightly. Terri and Megan look at her confused.

Terri looks at Olivia, becoming slightly suspicious now. "What do you mean exactly by you shadowed our bodies?"

"I used a cloaking spell to hide your bodies and protect you last night. It really wasn't very easy to do and I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it again without resting first."

"So how far are we from this house of yours?"

Megan looks around her, shivering slightly as she looks into the woods behind Olivia. A pair of warm yellowish eyes stare back at her for just an instant. She blinks and looks at the ground, raising her head back up slowly. But as she looks back into the woods the eyes seem to have already disappeared.

"Are you alright Megan?" Terri's voice is full of worry as she looks at Megan. Megan shakes her head and looks back at Terri. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I just thought I saw something over there," Megan replies, pointing to the tree line where the glowing eyes had been. "I guess it was nothing." She whispers to herself.

Even though Terri manages to hear Megan whisper, she doesn't say anything else about it.

"Come on the sooner we get to my house the better." Olivia begins walking towards the woods behind her, the same place Megan had seen those flowing yellow eyes staring at her. Olivia stops at the edge of the trees and turns back around to face the two girls, realizing that they weren't following her. "Well aren't you two coming?" She calls out, looking at the girls curiously.

Megan exchanges a worried glace with Terri before looking back at Olivia.

"Yeah we're coming. What's really the matter with you Megan?" Terri whispers to Megan as they walk. Megan looks over at Terri, fear slightly in her eyes.

"I'm sure it was nothing but I think there may be something watching us." Megan whispers back. "It may just be my imagination playing tricks on me to."

Megan becomes very quiet as they finally reach Olivia. As they begin walking through the woods Megan keeps glancing around the woods nervously. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them. It continues to grow darker as they walk, night was fast approaching. Terri looks around in shock as they step out of the trees and onto a blacktop road.

"Where exactly are we?" Terri asks Olivia as she looks around.

The town they had walked out of the woods into didn't seem familiar to her and she frowns.

"We're in Haven aren't we Olivia?" Megan tries to hide the recognition in her voice, her eyes tearing up as she looks around at her hometown.

"Yes we are, welcome home Megan."

"This is my old house!" Megan cries out as she stares up at the house she had once lived in. "Olivia what are we doing here?"

She looks up at the house, an uneasy feeling building up inside her.

"This is where we are going to be staying now come on, we don't have time to be standing around out here in the dark talking."

She holds the door open and beckons the girls inside. Megan stands just outside the door hesitantly. Something inside her mind is telling her not to enter the house, to turn around and run away screaming. Terri grabs her hand before she can say or do anything and pulls her into the house. Olivia follows closely behind, letting the door slam shut behind them.

"We really shouldn't be here."

Megan begins to cry silently as memories of what happened to her begin flooding back into her mind.

~

Megan wakes up and looks around her room scared. She had woken up quickly after having a very realistic nightmare. She looks around to find herself in her room. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch while watching cartoons with her mom.

"Mommy where are you?" She whines as she climbs out of bed and runs out of her room. "Mommy I need you?"

She cries as she runs through the house. She looks in almost every room of the house but still there is no sign of her mom anywhere. She sits down on the floor in the living room and begins crying.

"Mommy!"

"Sweetie I'm right here what's wrong?" She hears her mom asking as she runs over to her. Megan feels her mothers hands wrapping around her, picking her up slowly. Megan turns and wraps her arms around her mothers neck, burying her face into her mothers shoulder.

"I had a really bad dream mommy," Megan cries as she wipes her eyes on her mothers shirt sleeve.

"Sweetie everything is going to be fine," her mom whispers as she gently rubs Megan's back. "It was just a dream you are safe now."

"I'm so scared mommy, please make it go away!" She cries out as visions of her nightmare continues playing over and over again in her head.

"Would cartoons help you forget your dream sweetie or how about mommy reading to you. Would that help you baby?" Megan looks up at her mom and smiles slightly.

"Maybe."

She smiles at her mom widely. Her mom places her on the couch and turns on the tv, putting it on one of Megan's favorite channels, cartoon network. As her mom picks a big book up off of the coffee table and opens it they hear a loud pounding on the front door.

"Who in the world could that be?" Her mom wonders out loud as she sits the book back down and looks towards the door. "Stay right here sweetie mommy will be right back." She whispers, standing up and walking towards the door.

Someone bangs on the door again, harder then before. She stops and looks back at her daughter. Megan looks back at her mom fearfully. Before she can say anything else the door bursts open and a man comes running into the house, a small pistol in his right hand. Megan jumps off the couch and crawls out of the room. She peaks back into the living room only to see the man point the gun at her mom and pull the trigger.

She lets out a gasp as her mom falls onto the floor. The stranger then turns his attention towards Megan, walking slowly towards her. Megan takes off running through the house, trying to find a place to hide. She runs into her moms room and climbs into the little chest her mom kept at the end of her bed. She can hear the mans footsteps getting closer and closer to her. The guy pauses and looks around the room. Megan tries covering herself with the clothes in the bottom of the chest. The stranger walks on past her and stares out the open window with worry. He sighs as he turns around and walks out of the room. Megan just lays in the chest until she is sure that it is safe for her to move again.

"Mommy," she whispers hesitantly as she climbs out of the trunk and walks quietly across her moms bedroom, trying to be as quite as possible just in case the stranger is still in the house. After listening and not hearing anything, she walks out into the hall and back towards the living room.

"Mommy!" She cries out as she runs over to where her mom is laying on the floor motionless. "Please mommy get up!" She cries out, but she is only answered by silence.

Tears begin forming and running down her cheeks as she shakes her mothers shoulder, trying to make her move. After a few tries, she gives up. She lays her head on her mothers chest as she begins to cry harder. After a few moments she gets up and runs out the door.

"Somebody please help me!" She screams out into the night.

Suddenly everything begins to spin around her. She has no choice but to close her eyes. When she finally feels everything stop spinning she opens her eyes to find that she is staring back into Terri's eyes. A worried expression forms across Terri's face as Megan stares at her.

"Megan what just happened?" Terri sounds panicked as she looks into Terri's eyes with worry. "You seemed to be in some kind of trance or something. Then you started screaming and yelling so I grabbed your shoulders to try to wake you up."

Megan looks back at Terri just as worried. She hadn't even felt her friends hand grasping her shoulder tightly, she was still to wrapped up in her thoughts about what had just happened to pay much attention to anything else going on around her.

"I just had a few old memories flashing through my mind."

Everything had seemed to be a lot more realistic to her though. She turns away quickly and looks down at the floor. She jumps back a little and shakes her head. For just an instant she could have sworn she had seen her moms body laying there. But as she looks back at the ground once more, there is nothing there.

"What happened to Olivia?" She suddenly looks around the living room for Olivia.

"She just walked through that door over there," Terri points to the door in front of them. "Are you sure you are okay?" She asks as she walks over and wraps her arm around Megan's shoulders.

"Yeah I just need to sit down for a few minutes."

She tries to give Terri a weak smile. Terri smiles back and leads her over to the small couch in the far corner of the room. As soon as they sit down Olivia walks back into the room, carrying a couple of sodas with her.

"Here I thought you two could use these."

Olivia smiles warmly as she hands them each a soda. As Megan starts to take a drink her soda she feels a hand gently touch her shoulder. Thinking that it might be Terri she turns to look at her friend. She sees Terri's hands in her lap holding onto her own soda as she starts to raise it, taking a small sip. Feeling slightly afraid she turns her head around and gasps as she looks up at the person standing beside her, both frightened and confused.