NEW FACES AND WEIRD VIBES
october 10th

( are we out of the woods yet )

Zelda found herself envying the moon most of the time. She admired how predictable it was, people were able to tell its cycle practically all the time. She wished that people were able to read her the same way, that she didn't have to explain her every move. It became difficult when every decision she made was questioned.

She had a nice connection with the moon, when it was at its fullest; she felt as if it gave her power to get through the day easily. Any other day felt like her own personal hell, it was a chore for her to move through the day. Today was unfortunately one of those drainful days.

"I understand how hard this is for you, but you need to accept why we have to do this." Her sister's voice sounded muffled, Zelda's own thoughts were too loud compared to hers. "Zelda?"

Her head lolled to the side, her cheek meeting the soft surface of her mattress. "I do not have to accept it." She mumbled back, seemingly uninterested in having the same conversation they always have.

She was met with a rush of shock passing through her sister's features, soon retiring into one of disappointment. The way her fingers dug into her arms showcased how anger filled those couple of words made her feel. "It would be easier on the both of us if you would." She returned, dryness evident in her tone.

"How about you get out of the house for a bit? Go look in town for something to eat, maybe you will start to like this place."

She sounded hopeful, then again she always sounded hopeful at first. It never lasted.

"Or don't. But you do have to go get food-" She cut herself off as she walked away, a deep sigh following her orders; shutting her own door behind her with a slam.

Zelda was left alone with her thoughts again. Her limbs were splayed out loosely on the bed, her back slowly sinking into the mattress.

"Now Zelda!" She shouted out from behind closed doors, an exasperated groan following.

"I'm going, calm down!" Annoyance filled her tone. Her hands pressed down against the bed just to help herself up, her vision going dark with white spots filling her view. Her hand was quick to grab her head, rubbing down in the center till her vision was clear once again.

She said no goodbye as she tramped down the stairs, once reaching the bottom; she grabbed her leather jacket, slipping it through her arms before she closed the front door behind her.

She had figured the town would be a twenty minute walk from their house, after getting the food and the walk back; she'd be back in an hour.

From how dizzy she gets and the way her vision would suddenly disappear, made her unable to drive a car. In her sister's words, it was too much of a risk for her. It was towns like these that she wished she could drive a car, she hated walking this much; it did not help that school was a forty minute walk, she would have to force herself out of bed earlier.

Zelda has been walking for about ten minutes now, she was still stuck in neighborhoods. She found herself coming to a halt, her arms swaying lazily by her side as she glanced around.

"Fuck. Did I go the wrong way?" She asked herself. Her eyes squinted as she thought back to the drive here, yet she could not find herself remembering their way here.

"Are you lost?" A voice rang out from the driveway beside her, causing her to let out a terrified shriek, her hands coming to press above her heart. She spun around quickly, being met with a boy. The first things she noticed were his concerned eyes and uneven jaw, along with the bike he seemed to be getting on. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Just you've been wandering the street for a while now." He apologized soon after, a comforting smile growing on his features.

He seems sweet, she decided.

It took her several moments to calm down her racing heart, having to gulp down her nerves as her lips quivered into a shaky smile. "Uhm I'm new to town and I kinda got lost looking for the main part of town. Can you point me in the right direction?" She questioned, attempting to keep her voice soft.

"You are actually going the right direction, just take a right on Cottonwood and keep going straight... Wait, are you walking there?" He sounded just a bit surprised, his voice held a secret meaning as he asked his question.

"Yeah. I- I don't have a car and It seemed about a twenty minute walk." She found herself explaining. A deep instinct told her she could trust the boy, yet another told her she should be running in the other direction.

He slowly nodded his head in return, his gaze moving between his bike and her face. He seemed to be contemplating something. "I know I'm a stranger but do you want a ride? I have to go through town anyway." He offered honestly, his smile seeming to grow more welcoming.

Zelda snaked her arms to wrap around her stomach, her eyes flickering around her with unease. "I really don't think I should. I can walk there just fine." She responded, giving a tight smile in reassurance.

The boy seemed a bit taken back by her answer, his smile dropping for a second. His smile returned quickly, nodding in agreement. "I understand, but yeah just take a right on that street and you'll be fine." He instructed, swinging one leg over onto his bike.

She nodded in return, flashing him a thankful smile. Her steps were slightly shaky as she finally began her adventure again, having no intent of talking to the boy again.

That was until he called out again saying, "Wait!" The urgency was the cause for her turning around.

"Make sure that you don't go through the woods, there are some signs that say to do that but don't. They aren't safe." He warned carefully.

His tone of voice sent a spike of concern through her, her heartbeat speeding up rapidly. "I'll be careful." She assured the unknown boy. Her hands gripped at her jacket, attempting to hide the shakiness in her limbs.

Her response seemed to please him, giving her one last kind smile before his helmet slipped onto his head. The rev of the engine filled the quiet air before he took off speeding away, giving one last glance to the girl.

"Do not go into the woods." She repeated to herself.

The whole conversation felt unnerving yet welcoming at the same time. His eyes and his smile were welcoming, but the aura surrounding him felt uninviting.

The shakiness from standing so long in one place made her feel dizzy, it encouraged her to continue her walk.

...

She had been walking for almost twenty minutes now, feeling slightly tired. Zelda began to think the boy lied to her, did he lie to her?

Though she was finally met with the signs he spoke off, indicating there was a shortcut if she just went through the woods. She found herself stopping once again, thinking over her choices.

Walk for another twenty minutes? Or go through the woods she was advised not to go through?

"Fuck. I better not be brutally murdered by going through here." She murmured to herself, slightly leaning forward to gaze into the anonymous woods.

"They aren't safe." Replayed through her thoughts like a mantra as she started her walk through the woods.

She was thankful there was still sun out, she'd be terrified to walk through these woods in complete darkness. She was well on her way there, seeming as if it were sundown now; by the time she got back, it would most likely be dark out.

She was a bit skeptical as she ventured more into the woods, seeming as there were no signs other than a couple of arrows in random locations.

"Fuck."

She knew she wasn't completely lost, she could easily find her way back; but that would take even more unnecessary time that she did not have at the moment.

Her hands were jammed into her jacket pockets, shivering from the coldness in the air. Her legs had erupted in goosebumps minutes ago made her regret wearing shorts, her shirt slightly surpassing the seam.

A gasp left her lips at the quiet crinkle of leaves, her head snapping towards the sound. Her shoulders were tense as she glanced around.

"Hello?" She called out, releasing a shaky sigh when nothing was returned.

Paranoia began to fill her mind, eyes flickering around her darkening surroundings before she quickened her steps. Her hands fell out of her pockets, using the slight momentum if her swinging arms to hurry out of the woods.

A howl filled the silence, causing Zelda to completely freeze.

That was close to her.

The crinkling of leaves started again, this time it was one after another. Whatever the person or animal was, it was running near here.

Her body stayed frozen out of fear until another howl rang out. Her legs seemed to understand what she needed to do, before the rest of her body did. She was quick to run, leafs and sticks crunching beneath her harsh steps.

Her breathing became irregular, stars and black blobs began to fill her vision.

"No, no! Not right now!" She begged herself. Her feet tripped over each other as she tried to stay upright. Her head whipped around to check behind her, eyes widening at the animal running towards her.

By the time she turned her head back, she was met with a branch; hitting it with an alarming crack.

Her back hit the ground roughly, her vision going completely black out of the direction changes. Her ears were slightly ringing, everything sounding muffled like usual.

The palm of Zelda's hand met her forehead, giving harsh rubs to it as she blindly turned her body around. Hissing when her knees met a random stick. She was forced to lay both her hands on the ground, clenching around the leaves.

She attempted to use her senses to crawl forward, hoping that the silence meant the animal had left her alone.

Her vision slowly started to return, the first thing she noticed was the blood that was smeared on her hand. She let out a sigh of relief when her vision was fully clear, only slightly hazy from hitting her head.

A growl rumbled from in front of her.

Zelda froze, her breath hitching in fear. Her heart was beating in her ears as the animal growled at her again.

Her eyes slowly trailed up till she saw paws, shakily releasing a sigh as she allowed her eyes to raise up. She was met with piercing blue eyes, teeth slightly bared at her.

Coyote.

There was a fucking Coyote in front of her. This would not be a cool way to die.

She had remained completely frozen, her gaze stuck on the blue orbs staring back at her. Her arms started to shake as the coyote took a few steps forward, she could now feel its breath against her face.

She broke the contact, squeezing her eyes shut when the mouth began to open. This was how she was murdered.

A wet tongue met her forehead, eliciting a hiss from Zelda at the sting against her cut. Her eyes remained closed even though her brows furrowed; her body shaking entirely now.

It growled at her once again.

Her eyes stayed tightly shut even when she felt the heat from the coyote slowly departure, the soft patter of feet faded away after moments.

Zelda's eyes fluttered open, her lips parting in surprise of what she just went through. She could still feel the tingle of the tongue against the cut on her head.

"What the fuck-"

┇AUTHOR NOTE┇

nah cause ew??
this was terrible but BUT
it was just an opening chapter and i can promise it'll get much better!!
zelda is wearing like an oversized black leather jacket?? i love it, that jacket will be important later on ;)