Who is the girls best friend?

Emily ran along the field outside of her new home. She was an only child and both her parents were authors, so she had to entertain herself a lot. They had moved from the busy city life of New York to a small cottage in Oklahoma. It was a dramatic move for 7-year-old Emily. Everything and everyone she knew went away in an instant. Her parents kept telling her “this was good for all of them.” and “they needed quiet for their next books.” That didn't help the way she felt towards the whole thing. She was mad. Choosing to act out all the time. Now finding peace outside, away from her parents. One day she found herself in front of the woods that surrounded their house. Her parents told her never to go in there because she could get lost or hurt. She stood still staring at the tall trees. Her brain was telling her not to go in and her body just started to walk. Before long she was lost in the thick forest. No panic set in, the beauty of nature was calming to her troubled soul. She kept walking and walking and walking. No end in sight. Then a cold breeze ran through her body. WOOF WOOF she looked over to see a small dog. It was very shaggy, with matted hair, looked like he had been in the forest for a long time. “Hi, there little guy.” She knelt to let the dog smell her hand. He slowly walked over to her, tail between his legs, to smell her hand. It took a few minutes for this little dog to warm up to her, and soon they were playing around as if they’d known each other their whole life. Emily knew her parents would be pissed if she brought a dog home. She could hear her mom yelling “They are full of diseases!”

The shaggy dog and Emily walked together for a while. No idea of where she was, Emily felt safe with her new little guardian. The woods started to grow dim and a light fog was beginning to form on the forest floor. “We better start looking for a way home or we would have to sleep in the woods.” Emily thought. Now the panic started its way into Emily’s mind. “Bear? Lions? Frogs? Who knows what’s out here.” Emily was talking to the little dog to calm her nerves. “I’m sure mom and dad would let you stay with us. We just have to find our way back.” She giggled “You wouldn't happen to know the way back to my house?” She asked it as a joke, but the little dog barked and started to run towards the left. She started to sprint to keep up with the dog. “Hey slow down!” They ran through the trees and before Emily could catch her breath. The little dog abruptly stopped. She was standing in the middle of the field outside her house. She could see the little cottage and smoke coming from the chimney. “Wow guess you did know the way back.” She giggled, beginning to walk toward the house. The little dog on the other hand didn't move. He stood at the edge of the forest, completely still. “Well come on!” Emily motioned for the dog to come over. He then turned back to the forest and ran into the foggy trees. Emily couldn‘t help but feel a little sad. She finally made a new friend and he is already gone. She debated if she should run after him. “EMILY!!! COME INSIDE!!!!” She heard her dad yelling in the distance. She made her way back to her house, Promising herself that tomorrow she’d go look for her friend again.

The next morning Emily was so excited she woke up way too early. Glancing outside her window to see the moonlight shine over their backyard. She was looking around the outskirts of the forest, hoping to spot the little dog. To her surprise, she saw a little girl. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and a cute sun hat. She sat on a fallen tree by the edge of the forest. She couldn’t have been much older than Emily. The little girl motioned for something and the little dog Emily had befriended early, jumped onto the girls' lap. Emily sat watching this little girl pet the shaggy dog. The sun started to rise and Emily watch the little girl place the dog on the forest floor, giving him a few more pets. She then turned, looking directly at Emily. The same weird feeling came over Emily, like a cool breeze going through her body. The little girl smiled and Emily watched her slowly dissolve into the forest fog.

Emily was stunned. She didn’t know if she should move or what she had just witnessed. She slowly crawled back into her bed and hid under the blankets. Hoping it was just a bizarre dream.

“EMILY!!! BREAKFAST!!!” Her dad yelled shocking her back into reality. She got up, got dressed, and made her way to the kitchen. “Good morning dear, how’d you sleep?” Her mom sounded loving, but her face was stuck in a book. “I slept alright. Thank you for breakfast.” She was still feeling uneasy about her weird dream but didn’t feel the need to explain it to her mom, who clearly wasn‘t paying attention. After breakfast Emily watched her parents dive into their work. She had made her way outside, a little uncomfortable with going into the forest so she stayed close to their house.

WOOF WOOF She looked over to see her little friend running toward her. He was so excited to see her, wagging his little tail. She smiled and started to play with the little dog. Almost as if her mom had a sixth sense, she yelled “THAT BETTER NOT BE A DOG I HEAR!!!” It startled both of them and the dog started to run back to the forest. Emily started to follow but quickly stopped at the edge of the forest. Remembering the little girl disappearing she felt uneasy about going in. She watched her little furry friend run deep into the forest. Emily headed back to her house “I am going to stay close to home today.” She whispered to herself.

The next morning she looked out her window again and saw the little girl. She was walking along the forset line with the little dog next to her. The same thing happened as the day before. She watched the little girl dissolve into nothing. Instead of being afraid, she was now more curious. That day she stayed in her house. At one point the little dog was barking by her door, but she remained inside. That night she went to sleep in her clothes and placed her shoes by her bed. waking up in the middle of the night, she quickly put on her shoes and quietly ran outside. Walking around the edge of the forest waiting for the little girl to come.

The air was so chilly she could see her breath as she waited for the weird girl to show. “I guess she isn't coming” Right as Emily turned to head back, She heard a faint. "hello there" Quickly turned around to see the little girl in the white dress, standing a few feet away from her. "Hi?" Emily was caught off guard, she didn't even think the little girl could speak. "What's your name?" The little girl motioned her over to the end of the forest. "I am not supposed to talk to strangers..." She was uncomfortable, even though the girl looked to be her age. "Well, I'm Isabella. Now you know my name we aren't strangers anymore" The girl smiled gently. "I'm Emily" She smiled back. "What are you doing in the forest? Its night time, shouldn't you be at home with your family?" Emily asked. "I could ask you the same thing." The girl giggled. "I guess that's true." Emily giggled back. Within minutes the two girls hit it off. They found out their lives were extremely similar. Both moved unexpectedly, parents always worked, and always had to play alone because they were the only child. It was one of those friendships where you feel as if you have known each other your whole life. "I came into the forest to find something to do and found so much more. This is my home now." Isabella looked at Emily's house. "Do you like it there?" Isabella asked pointing at the house. "I liked our old house... I hate it here. I'm always bored and my parents never look up from their books." Emily felt the anger she had weld up inside of her. "Why not come live with me?" Isabella sounded inviting and pointed at the forest. "I always have fun and no parents to boss me around. You'd fit right in." Emily was taken off guard. "Leave my parents?" Was the first time this thought ever crossed her mind, no, but she never had another place to go before. "You can't be serious. How do you even eat? What about when it rains? I mean we are just kids." Isabella giggle. "Think about it." The words sent a shiver down Emily's spine. Before the conversation could go on, Emily had noticed the sun starting to rise. "You will come to visit me again?" Emily nodded and watched her new friend disappear into the forest. She stood still for a moment with the shaggy dog sitting by her feet. Letting out a big sigh she made her way back to her house. Back to her bed. Back to her boring life. Back to her parents who could care less about her. Back to her normal.

Emily woke up only a few hours later to her dad yelling for her like he did every morning. She walked to the kitchen, finding her dad cooking their breakfast and her mom covered by today's newspaper. While she spaced out she noticed something or better yet someone on the cover of the newspaper. The headline read Missing Girl Reward for any Information. Below it was a picture of her new friend. Isabella was in her white summer dress and had her cute hat to match. "Listen to how sad this is. A young girl around Emily's age went missing just last week. Close by us too. Says here she got lost in the forest." Her mom looked sadly at the paper. Her dad spoke in his serious voice. "You have been staying out of the forest correct?" She nodded. Honestly, she was too stunned to speak. Her new friend was some freaky ghost that she had imagined but an actual missing girl. Her parents were even concerned and looking for her. Emily knew what she needed to do. After breakfast, she grabbed the newspaper and found the number to call if you had information. Emily was a smart girl, she knew if she had said it was her then her parents would flip out about her going into the forest. So her call was anonymous, instructing Isabella's parents on where and when they would find their missing daughter. After hanging up the phone, Emily felt a sense of relief. "No kid should be living alone in a forest, this is for the best." She said under her breathe.

That night she couldn't sleep. Half was nerves, the other half curiosity. She wanted to see what was going to happen to her new friend. Around 2 am Emily saw a car pull up near the forest. A couple got out and turned on flashlights. They began to walk along the forest edge like Emily had instructed. Emily noticed Isabella before her parents did. She was sitting on a rock, throwing a little sick for the dog. Once her parents saw her, they ran right over and gave her a big bear hug. "I guess she really isn't a ghost." She whispered to herself. Clearly, Isabella's parents loved and missed her a lot, hugging and crying. But something didn't seem right. Emily couldn't hear what they were talking about but could see a look of terror on Isabella's face. She pushed her parents away and began to yell something at them. They were confused. Isabella pushed them away and yelled pointing at the car. Her parents were confused and tried to take her with them but she kept pulling away. "I wonder what they are saying." Emily thought as she continued to watch from the comfort of her bedroom. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a big shadow on the left side of Isabella and her parents. Everyone froze. The trees were moving out of the way for something large. A bear maybe. No this was much larger than a bear. Everyone was paralyzed in fear. WOOF WOOF the little shaggy dog jumped out of the bushes. A visible sigh of relief overcame everyone... Everyone except Isabella stood in front of her parents, to protect them from the little dog. Just then Emily witnessed something she will never understand or be able to unsee.

This little shaggy dog opened its mouth. Its jaw unlocked and opened wide enough to see rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its bones seemed to grow instantly and its skin stretched. It slowly got bigger and bigger. The matted fur was now barely enough to cover its skin. This little dog that Emily had been playing with for days was now a large wolf and bear hybrid. It had massive paws with long claws, and the mouth now fit the size of the creature as it pointed its nose in the air to let out a long deep howl.

Isabella seemed to be the only one who wasn't frozen, as she was yelling at the beast. Waving her arms in the air as to distract it from her parents. The monster slowly walked over to her and looked at her dead in the eyes. Before Isabella could do anything, The beast whipped its head, opened its mouth, and put Isabella's entire head in. SNAP Isabella's body dropped to the ground, Headless. Blood dripped out of its mouth, as he chewed and swallowed her head. Isabella's parents now shocked back into reality made a run for their car, but they weren't even close to making it in. The beast jumped onto the mom and with its big paws shredded her to pieces within seconds. Her dad made it a little further but the beast was able to stab his back with its long crawls. Lifting him up in the air and slamming him back down. The beast ripped open his chest and began to feast on him.

Emily covered her mouth trying not to scream, as she dropped down onto her bed. Her stomach wouldn't stop turning and she thought for sure she'd puke. After a few minutes, she got up and peeked out the window. Isabella's parent's bodies were gone. The beast grabbed Isabella's body and began to drag it into the forest. Emily watched them disappear. She froze as she saw glowing yellow eyes staring directly into her soul. The beast knew she watched the whole thing. They stared at each other as if they both knew what each other was thinking. They both knew what would happen, they both knew what the beast would do, and they both knew what Emily had to do.

Emily got out of bed and put on her jacket. She quietly walked to the back door and put on her mud boots. Tears filled her eyes, as she grabbed the door nob. "I love you, mom and I love you, dad. I hope one day you will understand" She opened the door. She began her walk to the glowing yellow eyes. She began her walk to her new life. She began her walk to her ultimate demise.

Isabella was never the monster, she never wanted to leave, but the beast was lonely and ready to feed. Isabella tried to save her parents from a predetermined fate, but now the beast is alone again. Looking for its next companion. It was looking for Emily.