Full Moon (25 page)

The box was empty, but I read the words
scrolled in dust: “You are the chosen one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Julie asked.
“Chosen for what?”

“How would I know?”

“Maybe you’re the chosen one because you
opened up the box,” she said.

“That’s silly.”

“Maybe you’ll get superpowers or something
cool like that.”

I playfully slugged her, then set the box
down exactly where I found it. Letting out a trembling breath, I
secretly recalled that old story of Pandora’s box, and I hoped I
hadn’t unleashed some kind of evil on the world, my friends, or
myself.

Fred bit his lip and pointed down at the
rocks. “Look! The altar is surrounded by circular patches of burnt
grass.”

“What burned it?” I asked.

“It looks like they were left by a ring of
torches or candles.”

“
So it was some kind of occult ritual!”
Julie said. “Man, I don’t wanna be a
Blair Witch
sequel!”

“Enough with the horror movies,” I said,
then glanced around and up into the trees, overcome by the eerie
feeling that we were being watched. When the breeze stirred, I
could have sworn I heard someone whisper my name, and I froze with
fear.

“Taylor, what’s wrong?” Julie asked.

“I thought somebody called for me.”

“I didn’t hear anything but the wind,” Fred
said, looking around.

I swallowed another lump. “Yeah. I’m sure it
was just my imagination.”

All of the sudden, the wind picked up
immensely, swirling our hair around our heads and rustling the
trees violently, causing them to sway and creak.

Julie’s eyes widened. “What’s
happening?”

Next, music began to play, an ancient melody
in flutes and bells.

“That’s weird,” Fred said.

“Where’s the music coming from?” Julie
asked.

I glanced around, darting my eyes in a slow
circle, but I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. It was
freaky, and a chill ran up my spine. I wanted to bolt, but my feet
were suddenly glued to the ground, as if some invisible entity was
holding me in place.

“Taylor,” a soft woman’s voice said lightly
in my ear. “You’ve been marked. Know that you are in danger from my
enemies. But do not fear, for you will have our protection until
the full moon, the first day of the new year. Know that it is your
destiny to free us from our curse.”

“Taylor!” Julie said, her face pale.

Fred softly gripped my shoulders, and I
stared into his green eyes. “What’s wrong?” he said.

“Breathe,” Julie said, “and then tell me
what’s happening.”

Beads of sweat rolled down my face as I
gasped for air. I couldn’t talk. All I knew was that I needed to
get away as fast as possible.

Suddenly, I could move my legs. I bolted
toward Max and grabbed his leash. My heart was beating a million
times a minute. “Let’s go!” I said between gasps, grabbing Julie’s
arm and pulling her along. I gripped Max’s leash tightly with my
other hand. We tore through the woods, past the weird rock and
animal skulls, then jumped in her truck and breathlessly locked the
doors.

“Go, go, go!” I shouted, glancing out the
windows.

“What’s going on, Taylor?” she asked.

“Just start driving! I’ll tell you on the
way!” I yelled.

“Yeah, let’s just get outta here,” Fred
said. “That was freaky how the wind kicked up like that. And what
was with that music?”

Julie put the truck in drive, and we sped
away. No one said a word until she reached town and pulled into the
parking lot of a restaurant.

“Taylor, what happened back there?” Fred
asked.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”

“Try.”

“You’ll never believe me.”

“Sure I would. I’m very open-minded.”

“And so am I,” Julie chimed in.

I glanced up. “Whoever owns that land is
obviously practicing some kind of weird ceremonies out there. Maybe
they summon spirits or something, because someone was talking to me
in that wind.”

“Was it a really creepy voice?” Julie
asked.

“No. It was a woman. She just
sounded…ancient.”

“What did she say?” Fred asked.

“She said I’m in danger but that she’ll
protect me.”

“Sounds like a guardian angel to me,” Julie
said. “What’s so spooky about that?”

“She said she’ll only protect me until the
new year.”

“What? So…after the ball drops, you’re on
your own?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s temporary protection,” I
said.

“What kind of danger are you supposed to be
in?” Fred asked.

I pondered for a moment, thinking long and
hard and trying to remember every word the wind-whisperer had said.
“I have no idea.”

“Why would she want to help you?” Julie
asked.

“I have no idea about that either.”

“Why didn’t you ask her?”

“I don’t know, Julie. Maybe because I was a
little freaked out!” I said, growing a bit frustrated with the
interrogation.

She opened her phone. “We should tell
Jesse.”

I grabbed her hand. “Please don’t! As a
matter of fact, let’s forget about lunch. I just wanna go
home.”

“Sure, Taylor.”

I glanced at Fred. “Not a word to Jesse,
Fred,” I said.

He nodded. “Mummy’s the word,” he joked.
“What happens in the satanic campground stays in the satanic
campground.”

“Thank you,” I said.

* * *

Back at home, I felt bad for canceling our
lunch plans with Jesse, but I was too freaked out to see anybody. I
just ran up to my room and locked the door. With trembling fingers,
I uploaded the picture of the rock to my computer. Even when I
zoomed in on the symbols, I couldn’t see them all that clearly, but
I scribbled the letters and symbols down on my computer and started
searching the Internet for clues.

An hour later, I’d still had no luck. Since
Julie had mentioned Latin, I decided to try Google Translate. I
carefully entered each letter, then pressed the button, eager to
see what the message meant. Instantly, it was right there in front
of my eyes in plain English: “Do not tread on this sacred ground.
If you dare to walk on the land of our ancestors, you will
die.”

I swallowed hard as I tried to process the
message.
Wait…am I gonna die because I stepped foot on some cursed
land?
I didn’t really
believe in that supernatural hoopla, and I always turned the
channel when those stupid ghost-hunting shows came on, but now my
mind was running circles over all the possibilities.

* * *

Days passed, and nothing strange happened to
any of the three of us or Max, so I decided the whole thing was
just a hoax and that there was no reason to get so worked up about
it.

When the weed whacker started whirring
outside, I jumped up. I peered through the window and saw Fred
working in the back yard, so I thought it was the perfect time to
tell him my findings and see what he thought.

When Fred noticed me, he turned off the
machine. He was covered in dust and dirt, with a pile of
decapitated towering weeds lying at his feet.

“How about a drink?” I said, offering him a
bottle of water.

He brushed off his clothes and smiled.
“Thank you, Taylor.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, staring up into
his eyes that were as green as the grass he was trimming.

“I’m just about to take a break. Mind if I
spend it with you?” he asked.

“I’d love to. I found out some things, and
I’d like to talk to you about them.” Fred was cute and a good
friend, so I didn’t see any harm in sitting outside with him for a
few minutes. My dad controlled his breaks, but I didn’t see him
anywhere around, so I led Fred to the porch swing and sat down with
him.

“Taylor,” he said, “you really like Jesse,
don’t you?”

I wondered why he cared, and then it dawned
on me that he might have a crush on me. I didn’t want to hurt his
feelings, but I didn’t want to lie to him either. “I’m not sure
where we stand, but yes, I like him very much. Honestly, I have the
biggest crush on him.”

“I’ve been watching him…a lot,” he said.

That surprised me. “Do you like him too? If
you do, I’d totally understand. I mean, he’s so hot that guys and
girls might both be attract—”

“No! I don’t like guys, Taylor!”

“Oh.”

“It’s just that…well, his whole family has
these creepy, light blue eyes.”

“Creepy? I think they’re beautiful.”

“Far from it. They’re hiding some deep, dark
secret. Something’s just not right with those people. You shouldn’t
be alone with any of them.”

“I’ve been alone with Jesse a lot,” I said.
“He’s the perfect gentlemen, and he absolutely loves animals. How
could you think he’s…”

“Some kind of sicko?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

His eyes widened. “I’ve, uh…well, I’ve seen
things.”

Curiosity struck me. “Like what kind of
things?”

He cleared his throat, but not another word
came out of his mouth.

“Either you’re just jealous of Jesse, Fred,
or you know more than you’re letting on,” I said. “If this concerns
Jesse, I want to know what you’re talking about.”

“I caught him reading a book.”

I gasped. “Oh my gosh! A book, you say? I
definitely need to stay away from him.”

“No, not just any book. It had all these
weird symbols and was written in some language I couldn’t
understand.”

“What are you saying?”

He let out a long breath. “I think Jesse and
his family are witches.”

“Witches?”

“Yes. I catch them in lies, and, like I
said, I’ve seen things—lots of things.”

“Care to elaborate?”

His gaze narrowed. “If you talk about these
things, you’ll end up missing or dead.”

“You can trust me. I won’t tell a soul.”

He sighed. “Well, for one thing, I heard
Jesse’s sister tell a man to do something I know for a fact he
wouldn’t normally do.”

“Is Jesse’s sister pretty?”

“Kierra? Yeah. She’s smoking hot.”

I chuckled. “There’s your answer. Men are
putty in a pretty girl’s hands.”

“I know that, but there’s more to it than
that.”

I touched his hand. “Fred, I think I know
where this is all coming from.”

“You do?”

“Yes. That weird altar freaked all of us
out. You started thinking about witches when you saw those symbols,
and now you’re jumping to conclusions about Jesse’s family.”

“I’m not just jumping to conclusions,
Taylor, and I don’t think Jesse’s family are the only ones. I think
this town is being run by witches.”

My jaw dropped. “Yes, we found a possible
site where ceremonies are held, but that doesn’t mean the entire
town is evil. It just means—”

“It means we need to do a whole lot of
digging.”

My gaze narrowed. “Do you really think the
town is hiding something?”

“Yes, and I’m sure Jesse knows what’s going
on. Why don’t you do some prying? Maybe you can get him to
talk.”

“I know we’ve been together a lot, but I
highly doubt he’s gonna spill all his deep, dark secrets to me.
Besides, maybe we’re just getting carried away. I mean, Jesse is a
bit mysterious, but—”

“I’m just saying that there’s more than
meets the eye around here.”

“Now I’m scared to tell you what I found
out.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because you’ll get carried away even
worse.”

“I won’t. Tell me.”

I cleared my throat. “I couldn’t identify
the weird symbols, but the words are a warning, in Latin, like
Julie said.”

He arched a brow. “Well? What’s it
mean?”

“
It’s a warning not to tread on sacred
ground. It said if we walked on the land of their ancestors,
we
will
die.”

“If it’s just some kind of warning, a
threat, why was it written in Latin?” he asked. “How do they expect
anyone to obey a warning they can’t read?”

“I think it’s a curse,” I said.

His eyes widened. “Are you saying all three
of us are gonna die just because we had to go after your dumb
dog?”

“I pray not, and I keep trying to tell
myself how crazy it is, but I can’t deny the voice that spoke to
me. It felt real.”

“You know what I think?”

“That I hallucinated it?”

“No, not at all. Maybe the witches are
putting some kind of spell on us, maybe using their powers to mess
with our heads.”

“I don’t know. It sounds so crazy.”

Suddenly, the door swung open, startling us,
and my dad came out. “Fred, I’m paying you to work, not flirt with
my daughter. Taylor, please go do the dishes,” he said sternly, not
one to mince words.

“Nice talking to you, Fred,” I said. “I’ve
gotta go, but we’ll talk later.”

“Okay.”

I smiled. Fred was a nice guy, but he had
the biggest imagination, and I decided I wasn’t going to let it rub
off on me. There was no way Jesse and his family were witches and
warlocks, and I wasn’t even sure if I believed in the Latin curse
we’d found. It was all so farfetched, and I was sure I’d probably
imagined the entire thing—or at least I hoped so.

Chapter 14

I was reading on the porch when a black SUV
pulled up. I thought it might be Jesse, but Julie got out of the
passenger’s side.

“Taylor!” she said.

“Hey.”

“Put the book down, girl, and let’s go have
some real fun.”

I cocked a brow. “What?”

Her eyes lit up, and her face was beaming.
“Go put on your bikini. We’re going swimming in Big Bear Lake.”

My gaze shot to the SUV full of girls. All
the windows were down, and the music was blaring. “Who are you
with?” I asked.

“Just some girls I met in town. You’ll love
them. Now go grab a towel and suntan lotion. Hurry!”