Black Forest Burning

Chapter 1 Black Forest Burning Lorelei Gray Foxfoot Books This book contains imagery and scenarios some readers may find upsetting. The world is a dark place, and so is this book. The Black Forest waits, enter if you dare. 1 The end of the story. Sadie rolled her eyes at May ’ s spooky proclamation. She ’ d had enough of ominous warnings and riddles since they arrived at the castle. In front of them, the forest waited, dark and mysterious and probably full of death. Behind them, the castle — lurking, hungering for them to return, and definitely full of death. Sadie looked at the start of the path in front of them, a simple, flat dirt path, nothing special or magical about it. Sadie knew better, though. What was left of their group crowded around the opening in the trees. Jenny, with her curly brown hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, was clutching her backpack straps and digging her nails into the nylon. Aiden and May stood irritatingly close to each other on the other side of Sadie. May was playing nervously with her hair while Aiden squinted into the trees as if looking for something. Travis, his white T-shirt already sweat stained, fidgeted behind them. None of them had taken a step into the forest yet. Everyone was waiting for someone else to take the lead. This had all been Jenny ’ s idea — to go into the forest to find her missing boyfriend, Ryan, his twin sister, Rain, and Eckert, the woman that took them. But now, Jenny seemed hesitant. Frightened. Sadie knew she would have to do what she always did: push her. This time, literally. Sadie took a step back and gently pushed Jenny over the invisible threshold, onto the path, and into the forest. Jenny made a soft, surprised yelp and turned around. She gave Sadie an annoyed look but didn ’ t say anything. Jenny ’ s statue-turned-wolf, Marble, growled at Sadie and glared at her with his intense black eyes. His gray, black, and white fur swirled mesmerizingly in the dappled shade of the trees. She ’ d been afraid of the wolf when Jenny first introduced him to the group, but now he was just another member of their rescue party. “ Oh shut it. We ’ re all going, ” she grumbled in the wolf ’ s direction. He looked away and lumbered heavily into the woods after Jenny. Sadie followed the wolf into the forest, her skin prickling at the sudden chill of the shaded trail. Deep-green spruce trees, intermixed with peeling white birches, grew lush on either side of them. The trail was surprisingly smooth, hardened dirt, just wide enough to fit two people across. Sadie inhaled a strange smell, fresh and Christmassy, but almost too much so, like the strong fragrance was being used to cover up some other scent beneath it. Sadie felt uneasy as she scanned the trees for movement, or monsters, or anything else that might jump out and kill them. Next to her, Jenny stared stoically down the trail, lost in thought. Jenny turned and met Sadie ’ s gaze, giving her a weak smile. Sadie glanced behind them — the others were still standing on the other side of the tree line, wrapped in warm sunlight. Sadie felt very much that they should be heading toward that light, not away from it. She thought about Hannah and Cameron, who were walking safely down the road in that same sunlight, and felt an uncomfortable mix of jealousy and anger. They should have come with us , she thought bitterly. Dividing their group like this seemed like a mistake, a potentially deadly one. Cameron ’ s idea to walk the road until they found help was reasonable, but Sadie knew it had more to do with Hannah ’ s fear of the woods and her refusal to enter. Travis, his pinkish skin shiny with sweat, his pale-blonde buzz cut practically translucent, took a few steps down the path until he was standing with Sadie and Jenny in the shaded forest. May and Aiden were still in the sunshine, May ’ s long dark-brown hair giving off a hint of red in the sun. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her signature bracelets weighing down her thin wrists. Sadie was about to yell at them to hurry up when Aiden turned to May and, in a squeaky voice, said, “ Follow the yellow brick road! ” Sadie never understood Aiden ’ s random movie references, but this one she knew: The Wizard of Oz . She saw May give him a courtesy smile and then step forward onto the path. Aiden ducked his head and followed quietly. He stood next to Travis; his olive skin and dark hair were a stark contrast to Travis ’ s slightly sunburned, pale skin. Sadie pulled her attention from the boys and addressed the group. “ Well, we didn ’ t all immediately die, so that ’ s a good start, ” she said dryly. “ Now what? ” “ Now … I guess we follow the path and … hope it takes us where we need to go, ” Jenny replied, uncertainty dragging down her words. “ Hold on, ” Aiden said, his eyes brightening. He took a knife out from his backpack — it had a curved blade and a handle set with red stones. Must be the knife he picked from Eckert ’ s room , Sadie thought. “ Sadie actually gave me this idea, ” he said, throwing her a quick heart-stopping smile. He took the knife and dug a shallow x into a nearby birch tree, its white bark peeling away in thin sheets. “ We can mark the trees so we can find our way back! I just hope it works better than those rose petals did. ” Sadie ’ s face burned at the memory of how ridiculous