Chapter 3

Ava found herself in her high school’s breakfast room.  Where she was meeting up with a few people that she enjoys talking to in the morning.  When she sat down in one of the cold hard chairs.  She felt the weight of the world coming down on her.

“Ava, did you get any sleep last night,” asked one of the girls in the group.  “You don’t look so well.”

A huff escaped Ava’s lips, “I’m alright.  I just had a strange dream.”  She knew not to tell anyone about her gift; not many people would understand.  ‘Most people were right about me.  I am a freak.’

“Oh, come on, Ava.  You can tell me.”

“No Mavis,” Ava shook her head.  Trying to get her point across to the other girl.  “It’ll be alright.”  A sigh left her closed lips, making it more of a muffled sound.  “It's not the first time I was faced with it.”

“When did it started?”

Ava almost wanted to yell at her young friend.  Hoping that it would prevent her from knowing what she was.  Just before she was about to do so.  Ava saw a spirit wandering around the room.  It was enough to hold her temper.

“Since I was eight.”

Mavis looked around and noticed many people were looking towards their table.  Even their friends were talking among themselves.  Not paying attention to what they were saying. “I would like you to come to my house.  After school.”  She looked around, hoping that none was listening in.  “There are some things I would like to talk to you about.”

“I don’t have a way home if I go to your house.”

Mavis sighed, “Don’t worry about that.  I can always find a way to get you home.”

Ava closed her eyes and nodded.  Her eyes opened, looking into the other girls.  “Okay.”

Another girl spoke up after a while.  “We should head for our classes soon.  School starts in five minutes.”

Ava stood up and picked up her backpack and started heading towards the main hallway.  They walked towards the left and into her history class.  She normally loved this class, but she really did not have the energy to feel much that day.

She found her seat and threw herself into it.  Placed her backpack on her desk and laid her head on it.  Hoping that it was not a note taking day.  She just wanted a day of not paying attention.

Even though her head was on the desk and her eyes were covered by her pack.  Ava knew where everyone was in the room.  Some were standing by the door.  Some were in their seats or on their way.  That was why she was not surprised when someone sat down behind her.

“Didn’t get any sleep, Ava?”

“No, Dustin.  I didn’t.”  

Not when she saw monsters lurking in the shadows of the forest that she lived in.  Hollywood did not give the nighttime creatures justice.  The ones on the silver screen look like puppies with warpaint on their bodies.  The thought of being alone made Ava chuckled darkly.

“You’re starting to scare me, and you are not acting like yourself.”

“Sorry,” mumbled Ava, before sitting up and turning towards the young man behind her.  “I just thought about becoming a writer or something.  Some creative words came into mind before laughing.”  She smiled, cheekily but it did not reach her eyes.  

“I’m hoping for an easy day today.”  She shook her head.  “I don’t think I can focus enough to write a page or two of notes.”

“I know how you feel.  But seriously, what happened to you last night?”

“I’m fine Dustin.  I think I’m watching too many horror movies lately.”  She smiled briefly.  “I dreamed about a werewolf.  Nothing else.”  She shrugged her shoulders before facing towards the front of the class.  Just as all the rest of the students came rushing into their seats.

  “Whatever you say.”

The teacher walked towards the front of the class.  With his hands behind his back.  Ava always believed he was some military man.  Just by the way, he stood at times.

“Today class.  I want you all to give me a list of things that you know about history.  I also want complete sentences.”

Most of the class moaned but Ava was pleased.  It was something that she could do, even without a fully working brain.  A few people were trying to scoot their way towards her desk.

“And I want you to work by yourselves.”

Causing those people to scoot back to where they were.  Ava knew not to jump to conclusions with her history teacher.  At least not until you hear him out.  

She pulled out a piece of paper and pen from her pack, before placing it on the floor.  Ava went on to place her name on the paper, as well as the date.  Before going to work on her paper.

‘I hope the rest of my classes are like this.’

***

By the end of the day, Ava had found that all her classes were all easy.  Hoping that her teachers had taken pity over her.  Seeing that she was not herself that day.  

Since it was an easy day.  Ava shoved everything into her locker.  Not wanting to carry anything around, when she went to Mavis’ house that night.  She made her way downstairs to the main entrance.  A place that she and Mavis agreed to meet at during their lunch break.

When she made her way to the front entrance, she found her friend waiting by the door with other people as well.  Ava was not really surprised.  Mavis has always been surrounded by people.  Even by ones that just want to say that they had hung out with her.

The Mississippi girl was not just beautiful beyond measure for most people.  She was also the only girl on the wrestling team.  Ava had wondered why the southern had wanted to be around her.  When Ava had more curve than a river road.  

Mavis was thin as a rale.  Long black-purple flowing hair.  Along with her mysterious round brown eyes.  It made Ava feel sorry for herself.  When everyone gave Mavis a lot of attention.  She wondered how they had become friends in the first place.

“Ava,” Mavis smiled.  “Are you ready to head out?”

“Yeah,” she knew it was a simple answer, but she really did not know why her friend wanted her to come over.

“Good,” she turned to one of the friends that gathered.  “Would one of you drop us off at my house and then drive Ava home later?”

Dustin happened to be standing nearby, “I’ll do it.”

The southern girl glared at him for a moment.  “May I ask why; you don’t normally do anything that I ask before?”

Ava turned her eyes to Dustin as well.  He normally followed her around the school, which she never could put her finger on why.  She had seen him try to deter the bullies at times, but he was not always there when she needed him.

“Because like you, Mavis.  I care about Ava, and I would like to know what troubles her.”  His eyes heat up when he spoke his words.  

It was also at this time that the rest of Mavis’ friends had turned towards Ava with strange looks upon their faces.  But none looked like they cared that much to know what was going on.  

“Ava,” Grandmother Willow whispered in her ear, who came out of nowhere.  “I have a bad feeling about this.”

It was also at that moment that Mavis and Dustin looked towards Ava with worry in their eyes.  It seemed to Ava that the two of them could hear her as well.  Which was something that she had hoped was not the case.

Mavis turned to her friends that gathered, “I’ll call you later tonight.”  The group at large nodded before turning towards the exit and left the school grounds.  Mavis then turned towards Dustin with a glare, “Alright; where is your car?”

“Follow me,” he smiled before reaching for Ava’s backpack and carried it off.  Causing Ava to squeak, “Wait...”

“Come on,” he answered.

Causing the two girls to follow the boy out of the school, to the bright sunlight.  They followed him until they reached a turquoise muscle car with black racing stripes.  The fine beauty of a classic muscle car that she had ever seen.

“It’s a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302.  It’s a car that my father and I had built since I was fifteen.”  Dustin smiled as he placed his and Ava’s backpacks in the trunk.  Closing it down, he looked towards the two teenage girls.  “I enjoyed every moment that I had put into this car.”

Ava smiled, causing her cheeks to become pink.  “I find that pleasing that people are bringing back old cars like this.”

Mavis sighed, “Can you two stop flirting.  We need to head for my house.”

“Fine,” grumbled Dustin.  “You’re not fun at times, Mavis.”

He turned towards the passenger side and unlocked the car.  With dismay, having to help Ava into the back seat, allowing Mavis to show the way to her house.  When he made his way to his seat, he brought the car to life and headed out on the open road.  Following every direction that Mavis told him to go.

Within ten minutes, they found themselves in front of Mavis’ house.  Where everyone climbed out of the car.  Making their way into the house; where they found her parents in the front room, watching some Western on the TV screen.

The father glanced up with a raised eyebrow, “Mavis; who are these two?”

“Sorry, father.”  She turned towards the two that followed her into the house.  “This is Ava and Dustin; they go to school with me.  We’re going to study a group assignment in my room for history for the moment.”

“Alright, but I would like Dustin to help me bring in some logs after you’re done.”

Dustin smiled, “I’ll be glad to help, sir.”

Mavis’ father nodded, allowing the group to make their way into the house.  Mavis led them into her room on the far side of the house.  Away from the living room, to where they would not be heard.  She closed the door, grabbing a remote from a shelf next to her.  Allowing the radio to come alive.  

The southern glared towards her female friend.  “Now tell me what’s going on.  I heard another voice at the school.”

Ava raised her hands.  “Mavis that was my great-great-grandmother that you heard.  She is teaching me the ways of being a Spirit Walker.”

The glare softens from Mavis.  Dustin on the other hand, Ava saw the worry in his eyes.  Something that she was growing to tire.  

“Alright, I believe you.”  Mavis sighed before motioning for everyone to sit on the floor.  “This does not leave this room,” she turned her eyes towards Dustin.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”  He shook his head sadly, “I have seen ghosts and know about them.”

“That wasn’t why I was acting strange,” Ava spoke up.  “Last night I saw wolf-like creatures wandering in the woods of my home.”

“What do you mean, wolf-like?”  Dustin asked with a bit of quiver in his voice.

“They are much larger than any normal wolf.”  She shook her head.  “Plus, they’re only coyotes in the forest.”

  Mavis huffed, “Well that isn’t going to be good.”  She shook her head.  “We live about five miles from one another.  That means that they may be surrounding my home.”  She turned to one of the windows that was in the room, looking out for anything to see.  “But they won’t get past my wards that I have put in place.”

“A witch,” asked Dustin with shock tone in his voice.

“Yes,” growled the southerner.  “But mainly I’m a hunter.  I don’t always rely on magic because it can be burned up faster than weapons.”  She hissed the last few words out.

Ava sighed, leaning her back against something hard enough to support her.  “And here I thought high school was bad enough.  I’m not learning about magic.”

“You don’t have to,” stated Mavis.  “Your soul is the only magic that you’ll be needing.  Your soul can stop the darkness from trying to push you into it.  It’s the light that you carry that is poisonous to them.”

Dustin growled, “I don’t believe this.”  He shook his head sadly, “I do not believe for a moment that Ava’s soul can be used as a weapon against a darker soul.  It just isn’t done.”

“It’s true that it is normally not done,” stated a distant voice.  “But it can be done with the right teachings.”

“Grandmother Willow,” asked Mavis towards Ava.

“Yes.  She follows me everywhere.  Believing I need the extra set of eyes, while I’m growing in the knowledge of my ancestors.”  She smiled, “I’m not just a Spirit Walker, from what I have learned.”

“What else,” asked Dustin. She could see the anger in his eyes, but he quickly hid it from her.

“A shapeshifter,” she did not allow herself to look into Dustin’s eyes.  She did not want to see anything else coming from his eyes that might cause her pain.  

Ava could not understand her feelings that she had for him.  She only had seen him as a good friend.  Sure, he had kissed her once.  But it was only once, and it happened when she had turned sixteen.  They never spoke about it again.

“Great, just great.”  Mavis started walking around her room.  “I’ve never had a shapeshifter on my list of friends before.  Sure, I had worked with them for a time or two.  But never really knew them.”

“Do you know what shape you take,” asked Dustin without any sort of tone in his voice.

Ava shook her head, “Not even Grandmother Willow will tell me.  She said that I must find out on my own.”  She shivered, “I just hope it doesn’t fly.  I hate heights.”

Dustin stood up from where he was sitting.  “I’ll help with that firewood.”  He made his way to the door and looked back to Ava.  “I’ll still give you that ride home.”  Then he went out of the room.

“Don’t worry about him, Ava.”  Causing her to turn to Mavis.  “He looks like he has a lot on his mind.  But I must ask, what have learned so far?”

She found herself on her feet again, looking into Mavis’ eyes.  “All I have learned is how to exit out of my body and must be back into it before sunrise.”

Mavis nodded, “That is the starting of a Spirit Walker, but you will learn more of the other stuff when you are able to.  But I have a feeling that you will surpass many.”

“We must go, Ava.”

“Yes,” Mavis agreed.  “You must go but keep me in touch.  I have a feeling that I will need your help in the future.”

Ava nodded before heading out of the bedroom, which Mavis was following her out.  They saw Dustin bringing a few loads of firewood and stack them on the porch.  Where he had made a neat pile.

“That should be enough,” stated Mavis’ father.  “Thank you, Dustin for your hard work.”

“Thank you, sir.  For allowing us to do our homework.”  He then turned towards Ava.  “Are you ready to head out?”

“Yeah, I am.”

He smiled before leading the two back to his car.  After they had gotten into their seats, Dustin drove off.  Knowing which road Ava lived on.  When they had gotten to her home, he parked the car for a moment and looked at her.

“Are you going to be alright?”

Ava smiled; she knew that she had not lost him as a friend.  “I’ll be fine, you have nothing to worry about.”  She turned her head to see him.  “You have to believe that I’m just learning, I’m not going to head out and fight something that I know nothing about.”

“Good,” he sighed.  “Can I pick you up in the morning.  I would like to drive you to school if you would allow me that is?”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Good, I’ll see you in the morning.”  

  Once Ava had gotten her backpack from Dustin, she made it to her home.  Once inside, she saw the Mustang drive away.