*WEIRDNESS IN THE WOODS *
The masked avengers were separated, deep in the woods, when the scream erupted. To Izzian, it sounded like Eliza. He was paralyzed with fear.
"Run!" Eliza shrieked, warning the others that the plan had gone awry.
"I've got your little girlfriend, Izzy," Lucas's voice echoed through the trees. Link climbed down from the tree house and nervously walked over to his brother, who was holding Eliza by the wrists. She squirmed to get free, but Lucas was stronger.
"Come on man. Let her go. It's over," Link said to his brother.
"No way, idiot. Let's have some fun with these losers," replied Lucas, strengthening his grip on Eliza's wrists.
"Let her go," said Izzian as he approached the twins and their hostage.
Paksha followed close behind, but Thilillian remained hidden in the trees. Izzian hoped Thil had some kind of plan, but wondered if the girl was simply hiding out of fear.
Thil had been acting like a different person since she burst into Eliza's yard in tears. The once strong, independent girl had been worn down by the trials of living in the woods alone on a foreign planet. He hoped she would recover and become herself again. He also thought a little humility might be a good thing for Thilillian Yangsley. Her problems would have to wait, though. The evil twins had captured Eliza.
"Now that you are all here, let's play a little game," Lucas said cheerfully. He roughly pulled Eliza, forcing her through the trees. "Where's that little sneak that's been stealing our stuff?"
No one answered, so Lucas continued on his power trip. "It doesn't matter. We'll find her eventually. No one steals from me and gets away with it. Did you like my little plan, Paksha? You thought we were both holed up in our tree house, just waiting for you all to come here and sabotage us. But I knew better.
"See, I saw you earlier tonight, sneaking through the trees. I knew you were following that little thieving girl. Of course you just had to play the hero. You are on the wrong side now, Paksha. It's too bad," Lucas said, with feigned sympathy.
"Let me go you pimpled up turd," Eliza said, trying to break free. Lucas's grip held firm and her struggles were only causing her more pain.
"Shut your mouth, E-loser! Did she tell you, Izzy? Did she tell you about her mother leaving her? Poor abandoned baby…But you should read this girl's journal. It's a fascinating read, really. Eliza Allready thinks she's special and that someone was watching her from outer space. Ha! It's so funny. Eliza thinks she has super powers too," Lucas said through maniacal laughter.
Izzian and Paksha followed closely as Lucas continued to drag Eliza through the trees.
"Can you tell what I'm thinking right now, Eliza? Can you read my mind?" Lucas asked sarcastically.
"Come one Lucas, it's over, let her go," Link even pleaded with his twin, knowing things had gone too far, too fast.
Lucas ignored his brother. He persisted, "I'm thinking…I'm thinking that Eliza has another super power. I think she can fly."
"He's taking her towards the bluff," Paksha whispered to Izzian.
"Let her go, Lucas," Izzian pleaded. "Take me. It's me you hate."
Lucas continued dragging Eliza towards the bluff, ignoring Izzian, preferring the sound of his own voice. "Aww, don't be so hard on yourself, Izzy. I don't hate you. I don't even know you. I just don't like the company you keep. You made your choice, and it happened to be the wrong one, I'm afraid."
Lucas was holding the struggling girl dangerously close to the edge of the bluff, and Eliza was growing more frightened by the second. She was also getting angry and Izzian was glad. Perhaps if the girl could muster enough anger, she could escape. If not, she might have to grow a pair of wings and fly.
Link tried to stop his brother one more time. "Lucas, this has gone too far. Let Eliza go." Then Link said the words that figuratively pushed Eliza over the edge. "She's just a girl," Link told his brother.
Izzian saw Eliza's eyes get fiery with anger. Steam was practically shooting from her ears. Link's statement was a sore spot with any female, Izzian figured.
A certain tranquility quickly replaced Eliza's anger. It was as if she had developed a plan. She knew something that no one else knew. Izzian only wished he knew too, and then perhaps he could help the girl.
Lucas was oblivious to Eliza's resolve and he kept chatting out loud, "I mean, think about it. If she talks to aliens and If Eliza Allready can read minds, she probably has another superhero power. Let's test it! Here's your chance, Eliza. Spread your wings and fly!"
Suddenly, Eliza burst free from Lucas's grip. She teetered for a spilt second and rolled off the side of the bluff.
"Nooo!" Izzian shrieked. He fell to the forest floor in devastation.
Lucas seemed just as surprised as the rest of the kids. "I didn't do that! I didn't mean it. I wasn't really going to throw Eliza off the cliff. I swear," he pleaded, but no one listened.
Paksha ran straight towards Lucas. With a certainty he'd never before felt towards violence, Paksha punched Lucas square in the nose. Lucas sat on the ground, crying and holding his bleeding nose.
Izzian could not seem to gather his thoughts. Was this the end? He wondered. Had Eliza Allready, his best friend, just rolled off the edge of the bluff? He couldn't believe it, didn't believe it. Izzian ran to the bluff's edge, hoping unrealistically that he could reach out and grab Eliza, but it was too late.
He leaned his head out over the side and tears of disbelief streamed from his eyes.
"Psst," Izzian heard a tiny sound. He looked down, wiping away his tears. There sat Eliza Allready, alive and well. She hadn't grown wings, either.
Just over the edge of the cliff, there was an outcropping of rocks. The scene had played out just like Black Winny; The Witch of the Bluff, only Eliza hadn't missed the rocky outcropping like the ill-fated ghost. Eliza was safely tucked onto the ridge. She had rolled off the edge of the bluff and fallen about ten inches. Izzian had never been so thankful to see someone in his entire life.
Eliza placed her finger over her mouth, silencing Izzian. He smiled through his new, happier tears and stood to face the twins. He considered dragging it out and hurting Lucas even more, but no one deserved that, not even evil twin number one. He decided that Lucas had suffered long enough and Izzian was trying to remain a Compassionate Citizen of the Universe.
"Eliza is fine. You didn't throw her off the bluff," Izzian said to Lucas.
"Wh-what?" said Lucas through a haze of tears and runny snot.
"She's just over the edge. Eliza, come on up. This is over," Izzian demanded.
Paksha, Lucas and Link looked over in wonderment at the girl standing in the woods. She had a slight smile on her face, and looked a little apologetic; only a little.
"Remember Black Winny? Remember how she fell to her death and missed the rocky outcropping?" Eliza asked. "Well, Black Winny wasn't much of a Preytell. I knew right where the overhang was," she said smugly.
Lucas ran over to Eliza and threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. He wailed. He hollered. His cries of relief sounded similar to a wailing goat.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll never bother you again," said Lucas. He was so relieved that he hadn't actually murdered the girl that he didn't seem to care what he looked or sounded like.
Eliza pulled herself away from Lucas, making a yuck-yuck face at the snot he'd left on her shoulder. "Eww," she said, stepping farther away from the weeping bully.
Paksha smiled at seeing his friend alive and well. He roughly patted Eliza on the back, a little too roughly. It was obvious that Paksha was upset about Eliza's little trick. He was, however, more than grateful to see her alive.
"I think my brother and I have learned something tonight," Link began, "You won't have to worry about us bullying anyone for a long time."
"I should hope not," Paksha said sarcastically.
Before the group could get too cozy with each other, a crackle of rustling leaves and snapp
ing branches resonated in the trees overhead. All eyes looked to the sky where a large black mass hovered on the highest branch.
Strange noises echoed over the treetops, similar to the sound of an ice machine as it spits out the last of the crushed ice. The odd clicks and gurgles that emanated from the shadowy form sent chills up the bravest spines, caused the teeth of the boldest to chatter uncontrollably and forced the most jaded eyes to widen in fear and apprehension.
The forest grew dark that night, as the menacing creature blocked out the light of the full moon. No one could be certain if the creature had long, dark hair flowing in the wind, but fear has been known to cause hallucinations.
"You have got to be kidding me," Izzian exclaimed in disbelief.
Even though he was just as frightened as every other soul that night, Izzian found himself exhausted by the presumption that every time the wind whistled through the trees, each untraceable shadow, every meaningless creaking branch, was attributed to Black Winny, The Witch of The Bluff. She was a very popular witch, he thought, always popping up when one least expected it.
For once, he thought, couldn't the creature lurking in the treetops with long flowing hair be a serial killer or some other vengeful ghost, other than Black Winny?
Izzian and the others watched in stupefied disbelief as the dark form dislodged itself from the highest branch, exposing its blob-like shape in the moonlight. With surprising speed, the creature made a quick descent to the forest floor.
***
CHAPTER 29