Chapter Text
Summer was officially over. That was the harsh reality being faced by every resident of the small town of Arkadia, California. As every teenager was putting together a carefully planned outfit to start the New Year in style, Lexa was doing that and so much more.
After triple checking that her back pack was packed with brand new pens, pencils, highlighters and notebooks, it was placed on the chair in the corner of her bedroom right beside her Arkadia High School Lacrosse team gym bag. Only the Varsity players get their very own bag with their Jersey number and Last name sew on the sides. Lexa was lucky enough to have an older sister who was the star of the Varsity for three years before she graduated and gave the bag to Lexa to carry on her ‘legacy’.
All joking aside, it was Lexa’s every intention to do just that. Her entire freshman year, she sat on the sidelines of the JV team. She was good, just not good enough according to her coach. This year was going to be different. Thanks to a rule broken during her sister Luna’s sophomore year, she was now eligible to play at the varsity level. The entire summer, Lexa dedicated her free time to bettering herself on the field. She went for jogs through the woods, practiced her scoring, worked on her agility and definitely improved her ball handling skills. But even with all that preparation and training, Lexa couldn’t help but feel nervous as hell. While her sister seemed to thrive in the limelight, with her natural grace and her effortless charm, Lexa wasn’t as dignified. Situations that led to her being the center of attention are when she fumbled the most. Starting tomorrow, all that would change.
Lexa was finishing up brushing her teeth for the night when her mother appeared in her open doorway and knocked to get her attention. “Hey kiddo.” Becca Woods spoke as she leaned against the entrance to her youngest daughter’s room, hands shoved into the front pockets of her nursing scrubs.
“Hey.” Lexa called back from her bathroom.
“You all set for tomorrow?”
“Name one kid who’s ever ready for summer to end and school to start.”
“Alright smart-ass.” The mother chuckled. “What about practice? You ready?” Becca knew very well how Lexa worked hard all summer to have a better school year than the last. She hoped more than anything that it all payed off. While she appreciated the fact that the younger of her two daughters was shy and mild mannered, she wanted to make sure that her high school experience was something she would look back on one day and be fond of.
It was only a few years ago that Lexa came out. In the six months prior, it was evident to Becca that something was troubling the pre-teen. Normally, the two were closer than mother-daughter relationships could get, but suddenly, Lexa began to withdraw and become distant. What really scared the older woman, was when she went into Lexa’s room to get an opinion on dinner and found curled up in her bed, staring off into space, crying. Becca could count on one hand the number of times either of her kids cried, and that included any instance of them enduring a major injury. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
That night, Becca called her husband, telling him to blow off whatever work assignment required him to work late and come home so they could both be there for their daughter. Being the doting parents that they both were, Geoffrey Woods told his boss that there was a family emergency that needed his immediate attention and raced home. Together, they called Lexa downstairs, sat her down and begged her to tell them what was wrong with her saying that they couldn’t fix it if she wouldn’t talk to them.
After an hour of relative silence, save for the muffled tears Lexa cried into the couch pillow and the coaxing pleas of her parents, she finally told them what it was she was struggling with. At first, they were both shocked, naturally. Before Becca could get a word out, though, her husband had erupted into a fit of rage so fierce it made the whole house quake. The things he said to her could only be described as cruel and chauvinistic. Becca was too stunned by the revelation and Geoff’s out of character outburst to say anything, and that was the biggest regret of her life. With his last huff, he ordered Lexa to go upstairs, pack her things and to get out from under his roof for she was no longer a daughter of his. Looking to her mother for any type of support, Lexa nodded her tear-streaked head and went to her room to start packing.
Sitting on her bed with her duffle bag half filled with her clothes, Lexa cried harder than she ever had before. She was on the verge of hyperventilating when she heard the shouting start up again. At first, she figured her dad was venting the last of his frustration. Like a true masochist, Lexa calmed herself enough to try and hear what hate he was now spewing, but was surprised when she heard that of her mother’s voice.
She couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, but it had to be bad. Becca rarely ever yelled. Hell, Lexa thought her voice just wasn’t capable of going any louder than its normal pitch. There was the sound of glass shattering followed by the undeniable slam of the front door. Soon after, footsteps were heard ascending the staircase and Lexa had never been so scared. But then Becca opened the door and rushed to her daughter, cradling her face in her hands, tears falling from both their eyes. “You are not going anywhere.” She began softly, never breaking eye contact. “You are my daughter and I love you no matter what, okay?”
“But dad -- ”
“But nothing. If your father can’t accept you, then to hell with him.” That was the night that Becca kicked Geoff out of the house. The next day she filed for divorce and sole custody of both their children and she never looked back.
Now, as she watched her baby girl prepare for her first day of sophomore year, she couldn’t help but feel a touch bit nervous herself. All she wanted was for her girls to be happy and healthy.
“I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Lexa said nervously. “I just hope I don’t choke.”
“Hey,” Becca began, walking further into the room and placing a hand on each of the teenager’s shoulders, “You have been working your ass off all summer. You’ve got this.”
Lexa smiled. “Thanks mom.”
“Alright, I’m headed off to work. You should get some sleep. I don’t get off until after you leave so I won’t see you in the morning. Have a good first day of school.” She kissed her daughter on the head and turned to leave. “Love you, baby.”
“You too.” Lexa called back.
After her mother left for the night and Lexa re-checked that everything was ready for tomorrow, she threw herself onto her bed and picked up her book from the bedside table, continuing where she left off.
Just as her eyes skimmed over the last sentence of the chapter, the silence that encompassed the house was interrupted by a muffled thud that sounded like it came from the master bedroom.
“Mom?” She called out, getting up from her bed and making her way out into the hall. “Did you forget something?” The only response came in the form of another noise, this time by her bedroom window. Slowly turning back into her room, she grabs a baseball bat that’s propped up by her door. Just as a shadow danced across the room, Lexa raised the bat ready to strike whoever was breaking into her home. Suddenly, the window opens and the intruder steps through, rolling onto Lexa’s bed. The brunette prepares to defend herself, but stops when invader looks up and screams, causing her to do the same.
“Raven… What the fuck?” Lexa says to her best friend as she tries to will her heartrate to calm back down.
“You’re the one walking around wielding a bat like some kind of psycho.” The Latina accuses.
Lexa set the bat back down and threw her hands up in exasperation. It was just like Raven to commit a felony and make her feel like the guilty party. “I thought you were a burglar or something. Why are you sneaking in through the window anyway?”
“I saw your mom’s car in the driveway. I didn’t think she’d let me in this late on a school night. Then I saw her leave for work, but I was already on the roof so…”
“What are you doing here so late?”
“I was listening in on one of Sinclair’s phone calls. You remember the campers that went missing last week?” Lexa nodded. In a small town like Arkadia, any news was big news. “Well the girl was found on the side of the highway leaving town. She was covered in blood. When she came to, she went crazy saying something attacked them and that her boyfriend is dead.”
Lexa looked at her confused. “So?”
“So… they’re calling in every available officer and the search dogs to look for the body. We’re totally going.”
“Count me out. I want to get a good night sleep before school. Plus tomorrow is the first official day of practice.”
“Oh come on Lex. You always say nothing exciting ever happens in this town. Finding a dead body in the middle of the woods is pretty exciting.”
Eventually, as she always does, Raven manages to wear Lexa down and convinces her to join her on this crazy adventure. A lot of the stories they share start out that way. Sometimes, it’s worth the risk of being caught sneaking out or venturing into restricted areas. Other times, much like tonight, the risk would greatly outweigh the thrill.
--
Raven parked her ’91 Ford Bronco at the South side entrance of Glowing Forrest Park Reserve, knowing full well that the police were coordinating their search from the North Side entrance. Hopping out of the truck, she grabbed a flashlight and led the way onto the dirt path with Lexa trailing behind her.
“So you ready for practice tomorrow?”
Lexa really wished people would stop asking her that. Granted this was only the third time, but still, every time it was brought up she only got more nervous. “Kind of, I guess.”
“You’ve been training all summer, don’t freak out too much.”
“Easier said than done.” Lexa said trying to keep up with the rambunctious girl ahead of her. “And it was cool that Luna helped train me while she was back.”
“It must be nice having a legendary, lacrosse star for an older sister.”
“Oh yeah,” She said sarcastically. “I had a blast growing up in her shadow. There were times I thought about changing my name from Alexandra to ‘Luna’s kid sister’.”
Raven turned back to her with that asshole smirk she was so good at. “It would save you a lot of time.”
Both grew silent as they climbed up a steep hill, having abandoned the trail entirely as Raven wanted to catch up with the cops to get close enough to see something good. They were about halfway up when a thought occurred to Lexa.
“You said that the girl they found was covered in blood and told the police that her boyfriend was dead, right?”
“Yeah.” Raven panted out trying to catch her breath after making it to the top. Lexa joined her seconds later.
“So what if whoever or whatever attacked them is still out here?”
“Huh… I didn’t even think of that.” Raven said with a shrug and continued on.
Lexa stared after her, dumbfounded. “You do realize that this is the kind of thing that happens in horror movies right?”
“Relax.” Raven waved her off. “I’m the lovable female lead and you’re the gay best friend. If we are living the plot to some horror flick, we’ll be fine.”
“What the hell are you even talking about? Gays always bite the bullet. They’re like the first ones to get killed off.”
“And if that happens, I’ll mourn the hell out of you.”
“What?! Raven-”
“Shh!!” Raven suddenly turned off her flashlight and grabbed Lexa, ducking them both down behind the trunk of a fallen tree. As they peaked their heads up over the top, they saw a row of flashlights not too far in the distance and getting closer. They could make out the silhouettes of the officers and could hear the panting of the search dogs as they explored every inch of the forest floor, hoping to find a clue that led to the discovery of the body they were looking for.
In a rush of over-eagerness, Raven quickly army crawled the length of the trunk and took cover behind an upright tree a few feet away. Peeking around the side of her newest hiding place, she made sure she was in the clear before advancing to the next tree.
“Raven!...” Lexa yelled after her in a hushed whisper in an attempt to get her attention while trying to remain hidden from the officers advancing closer to their position. “Rae!” It was no use. Raven was well out of earshot, and even if she wasn’t, it still wouldn’t have mattered. When Raven Reyes got an idea in her head, she ran with it at full steam and very little could thwart her.
All Lexa could do was watch and hesitantly follow at a far distance, ever the fearful sidekick, weary of being caught doing anything wrong. In the midst of Lexa calling her name, and trying to get in on the hunt for a corpse, Raven got confused jumping from one hiding place to another. Before she could find her footing, an academy trained German Shepherd began barking with sheer ferocity causing Raven to tumble to the forest floor in absolute terror.
“FREEZE!” A deputy shouted loud enough for all to hear over the dogs incessant growling. “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! HANDS UP NOW!!” In all the madness, Lexa took cover behind the thickest tree she could find and stood as still as humanly possible.
“Hang on! Hang on!” A stern voice sounded, pushing his way through the officers who had gathered around the trespasser. “This delinquent happens to belong to me.”
“Hey Sinclair.” Raven greeted her father, the Sherriff of the small town in which they resided. “Nice night, right?”
“Let me take one guess… police scanner?” Sinclair asked, knowing his mischievous teenaged daughter all too well.
“No.” Raven replied in an almost offended tone. “I overheard you on the phone.”
“Is this something you do often?”
“Define often.” Raven challenged, reverting to her usual witty demeanor. It was a defense mechanism.
Sinclair looked around the dark, tree-riddled park reserved, expecting to see his daughters best friend somewhere close by. “And where is your usual partner in crime?”
“If you’re referring to Lexa, she is at home. She wanted to get a good night’s sleep before school tomorrow, or something lame like that.” Raven waved off, hoping he believed her.
Sinclair, however, wasn’t convinced. “Sure she is.” Turning his flashlight to the immediate area behind the young girl, he scanned the nearby expanse, looking for any sign of a second trespasser. “Lexa Woods! Show yourself!” He shouted, waiting for the other brunette to pop out of whatever corner she was hiding in. After a few moments of absolute silence and no movement, Raven’s lie was confirmed, and he turned his attention back to his daughter.
“See?” She told him with a wave of conceitedness at how in sync she and her best friend proved to be in the midst of a spur the moment ruse. “I told you she’s at home.”
“Alright, fine.” Sinclair said lowering his flashlight and stepping toward his daughter. “But you are coming with me.” He grabbed the back of her hoodie and ushered her back in the direction all the officers came from. “I’m going to drive you to your car and have a uniform follow you home to make sure you stay there.”
Their voices slowly faded into the distance as well as the beams from their flashlights and the sounds of their footsteps. Lexa cautiously peered around the tree she was hiding behind, making sure none of the officers stayed back, cursing the heavens that she was now completely alone in the middle of the state’s largest forest, forced to find her way back all on her own.
Lexa looked to the sky, finding the near-full moon and tried to call on the lessons from her time at summer camp to remember how to navigate her way home via moonlight. Her efforts were futile. Summer camp was so long ago and she had been more focused on mastering her fencing class and her candle making tutorial. So, for lack of a better plan, Lexa started her trek back in the direction she assumed she and Raven had come from.
Ten minutes later, she found herself still completely surrounded by trees, dirt and darkness, having not seemed to have made a dent in making it home. After walking for what felt like miles, she could barely see two feet in front of her, let alone determine if there was a road anywhere near her. Pulling out her phone from her back pocket, she tried to call Raven, hoping she could help in some way and be her saving grace, but when she looked at the screen, she was met with the ‘No Signal’ notification.
“Fan-fucking-tastic!” She yelled out loud to herself.
With no other options, Lexa continued her aimless trek, praying she would somehow wander into town and get her bearings. As she got lost in her thoughts, feet carrying her directionless self, Lexa suddenly tripped and fell to the forest floor with a loud thud. Falling in itself would have been fine, expected even, given how dark it was, but what she didn’t expect was to get covered in what she assumed was mud.
Pulling her phone out once again, she tapped on the home button, lighting up the screen and gasped when she saw that part of it was covered in blood. Lexa’s heart started beating out of her chest. Turning her phone into flashlight mode, she shined the light onto her hands to find that they two had blood covering them from where she braced herself on the fall. She followed the trail down the length of her clothes until she reached her feet. There, beneath her rundown converse sneakers lay the missing hiker, throat slashed, much like the rest of his body. Blood covered every inch of him.
Lexa let out the loudest scream she ever had in her life. Struggling to stand up, she shuffled away from the body as fast as she could before turning away and sprinting straight ahead at full force. With her mind so focused on trying to rid itself of that most frightening image, Lexa didn’t notice the descent in front of her and was suddenly sent tumbling down a ten-foot hill, landing at the bottom of a ravine in a large puddle of water.
Now lost, tired, freaked out and completely soaked, Lexa thought at the very least things can’t get worse from here. She picked herself up and wiped the murky water from her face and checked her phone to make sure it wasn’t broken from the fall or damaged from the water. Thankfully it seemed fine.
A branch snapping in the distance caught her attention. She looked up and saw something moving within the shadows. She squinted, straining her eyes to see through the pitch black and was able to make out the shape of some kind of animal. What it was, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that it was too small to be a bear. That’s when it turned its head to look right at her and Lexa saw two glowing, bright red eyes staring her down. It let out a low growl before lunging her way and running towards her.
For the second time that night, Lexa found herself sprinting for her life, wracked with near-crippling fear. She barely made it five yards before the animal caught up with her, swiping at her legs and tackling her to the ground. She tried to wrestle free from its grasp, letting out a blood curdling scream when it bared its teeth and bit down on her side, puncturing the flesh that sat above her ribcage.
On reflex, she swung her leg, kicking the creature she was now sure was a wolf and getting the drop on it. With nothing else to do, she got back up and started running once again. She was too afraid to look back but it didn’t seem as though it was coming after her.
By some miracle, she found herself running out past a line of trees and meeting the highway. Before she could stop herself, she was out in the middle of the road and was startled by a car horn growing closer. Headlights shined in her face and swerved around her at the last second, not bothering to stop as the SUV continued down the road.
Lexa took a second to breathe at the near-miss, the animal attack and the dead body she encountered all in the span of the last two hours. As the adrenaline slowly dissipated from her system, the stinging ache in her side made its presence known. She lifted the hem of her jacket and shirt and took a look at the bite mark that was now dripping with fresh blood. A loud howling sounded from the distance and echoed off the trees. That was all Lexa needed to hear to get her to continue her walk home, now with a much better sense of direction.
Tomorrow she could yell at Raven for getting her into what was, hands down, the worst situation she had ever talked her into. Right now, she just wanted to go home, shower wrap up her wound and go to bed.