"Chapter One - The Flare"
- JADE -

'and just as she saw her step out of the forest, weary and pale, full of fright, she felt like a part of her was missing. She felt as if it was taken away.. But for good purpose.' - No Tomorrow

Jayden wasn't just a grammar know-it-all, she was also an extreme book lover. She had started to obsess over books at the age of seven. Jayden wouldn't just read picture books as well when seven, she was also a huge chapter book fan, reading at least a chapter everyday. 
     That's how she came across this chapter book (that was two inches thick) titled 'No Tomorrow'.  

Jayden was a bit of an addict on horror, not that she was never scared of anything. She's been scared of many things in her life. Like bugs, headless people, etc. Things like that would scare her. Things like that would make her stay up all night reading a book with a flashlight to help her calm down. Things like that would make her think a shadow from a tree were the long, stretchy arms of the headless people. 

Her brother on the other hand thought that was 'cool.'

No Tomorrow was simply a story about an eleven year old boy who was camping out in the forest with his family of a little sister, older sister, and parents. Everything was like a normal camp-out. They roasted marshmallows, sang campfire stories, made s'mores. Like any other family would do. Well, not until the boy had witnessed something horrifying sitting beside his father. A white, weary woman, pale as the moon and eyes glowing like some flashlight. He had ran away from the campsite, sprinting in the woods. The night stretched even longer.
    It was as if the night would never end. It was as if there was no tomorrow.

Jayden wasn't very terrified by that book though, considering that she thought she'd never be able to even see the woods.

But here she was now, helping her father with the tent for her mother and herself. There would be a tent for the boys and a tent for the girls. Though Jayden was kind of glad she wouldn't be sleeping beside her bratty little brother who'd tell stories all night long of what would happen if he had seen a real life dragon. 

"Hey Jaydee, could yah help me with this?" Jayden snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the nail her father was holding up to her. Jaydee was a nickname she was given not too long ago. They'd use that nickname often, but not all the time. Jayden sighed and grabbed onto the nail, along with the hammer he was also holding up. Her father would usually ask for help just to get Jayden moving so she didn't have to sit on the log by the pile of sticks supposedly for the campfire. Jayden set the nail on the ground, holding up the hammer in the air to push it down in the grass below her. 
     Soon enough, the nail was fully inside the dirt, only the top of it able to see. Her father smiled, nodding.

"Nice," He chuckled, his shoulders moving up and down like usually. Jayden fixed her hair, smiling a bit. His laugh would always make her smile. It was funny. Jayden walked off, looking back at the trees that towered above her. She always imagined them as giants in disguise. Not that giants were real. 
     A gust of wind smashed onto her, her hair waving in her face. Jayden moved it out of the way quickly, looking back in front of her to see a flare. It lit up an area of the forest, fading away slowly. It seemed to blink on. Off. On. Off. Until it faded away, a patch of darkness as a replacement. Jayden stared at it for a while, jaw open just a bit.

"Hey," 

She yelped in fear, almost stumbling over as she stepped back, but fortunately kept her balance. Jayden looked back at the one who had said that, spotting her little brother laughing hysterically.

"What's wrong with you? I just wanted to tell you that we're going hiking now," James laughed, not even bothering to ask what she was looking at. Jayden furrowed her eyebrows, eyes narrowed as she grumbled and glared at her brother. How could she be so foolish to get frightened by her little brother of all things? She thought it was rather pathetic of her. She began to calm down, taking a deep breath and walking alongside her brother.

"That quick? I swear I just helped dad with the first nail," Jayden explained, looking back at the dark void behind her just to check if that glow was there again. She'll admit. It scared her a bit.

"Yep. Time flies, am I right?" James grabbed onto Jayden's stuffed animal and handed it to her, then grabbing onto his gigantic backpack full of items he didn't even need to go hiking with. Jayden nodded slowly, hugging onto her stuffed bunny. She held it gently between her hands. What would James think if she had told him about that glow? 

Jayden decided to test it out.

"Hey.. I saw something," Jayden grabbed onto his shoulder, forcing him to face her. After all, Jayden always thought it was impolite to talk to someone and not look at them while doing so. James rolled his eyes.

"Like what? Some monster with one eye, horns, and a short green body?" He joked. Jayden pushed him angrily, but then again in a playful way.

"No! That's Mike Wazowski, you idiot!" She let a smile emerge on her face. James set on his backpack, making sure to keep an eye at his parents while his sister was blabbering. He didn't really pay attention, and he didn't want to pay attention. Not unless it was about dragons, of course. "Hey! Are you listening to me?" James was whirled around to face his sister, she seemed very serious, her eyes stern. 

"I saw something glowing. It filled up the whole area over there! Then it just faded away and it was just.. The forest again," Jayden let go of her brother's arms, giving a huge sign that she was scared. James raised a brow. "Was it cool?"

Jayden groaned loudly, annoyed by how her brother acted as if this was some kind of joke than seriously.

"I'm serious, James. There was something there. And it's not cool. Got it?" Jayden whirled her brother around so they could start walking to their parents who were gathering up their stuff. 

"Then why'd you tell me?" His sister never really seemed to tell him secrets or important stuff often. She'd usually keep it to herself.

"Who else would I tell? Mom and dad? They'll never believe me!" Jayden rolled her eyes at him. It was true. She couldn't tell anyone her secrets except for her little brother. Jayden never got to have a best friend who'd agree to have sleep-overs with her, who'd come over at her house with no second thoughts.

"Point taken,"

"So if we see a real dragon we can't tell them?" James looked up at her just as they reached to their parents. Jayden shook her head no. "If we see a dragon. I'm pretty sure that's impossible,"

"At least try to believe, Jayden. I don't care if you think it's real or not. Just pretend that you do. Then we'll both be happy," Odd. It's like James was getting smarter by the second.

"Then I'll try to believe you're not dumb,"

"Shut up,"

James groaned, exhausted of walking so much. Barely awake, he dragged himself up the hill, trailing behind Jayden, who was completely fine. She was wide awake, unlike her brother who'd usually stay up late.

"Why are we here again?"

"Because you wanted to, dumbo!" Jayden rolled her eyes, playfulling hitting her brother on the shoulder. He nodded and looked around, noticing his parents stopping for a moment to take a picture of a river. It had little pebbles all around it, along with large, smooth rocks that made a kind of trail. Jayden and James took this as a chance to sit down somewhere and talk. After all, they couldn't just stand around waiting. They're parents usually took forever to take the perfect picture.

"It's too blurry," this. And, "It's too light," that. There was always something wrong with the picture. James had found a large rock to sit down on that'd fit Jayden as well. Jayden, still thinking about the flare settled beside her brother. He raised a brow, as if knowing she had something on her mind. Jayden showed emotion too much. When she was angry, you noticed. When she was sad, you notice. When she was happy, you notice. And so on, and so on. James was the total opposite. It was funny how different the siblings were from each other. Jayden pursed her lips, taking off her backpack from behind her and setting it in front of her beside her legs. James smirked while looking at her. It was weird how he done that.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jayden asked, pointing at his wide smirk. James shrugged.

"Just looks like you've got a lot on your mind,"

It was silent for a moment. Jayden pulled her legs up to her chin, resting her head on it while wrapping her arms around her legs. Her skin felt cold, goosebumps appearing on her arms, face, stomach, and legs. Jayden shivered, shaking her head as she looked behind her. Always feeling like someone was watching her.

James looked back as well, wanting to know what on earth she was looking at. She's been acting rather strange recently. And for the first time.. He felt worried for her. Not that he was about to talk about feelings and all in front of Jayden. He had never really talked like that in front of her. Most of their conversations were silly, none of them were serious. James might have never showed it, but he loved his sister. He just didn't like the idea of showing that. It felt.. Strange. Weird. Not ordinary. So he didn't do it.

A slight gasp escaped from Jayden as she handled onto her brother, digging her nails into his skin, which made him hiss in pain. He growled while glaring at her.

"Ow! What was that for?" James felt Jayden grab onto his face, facing it towards a certain area of the forest. That's when he saw it. The flare. The odd light that Jayden was talking about. It was true. Not that he ever disbelieved Jayden. He didn't know. It just sounded.. Unreal. But there it was. Right in front of his eyes. A mysterious glow in the darkness of the forest.

"I'm gonna go see what it is." James stood up from the rock, snatching his backpack from the ground quickly and walking over the grass towards the glow. Jayden widened her eyes. What was wrong with him? She quickly sprinted over to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"James! No! You can't go there!" She whisper shouted. She didn't know why though. Maybe it was because the glow looked like a pair of eyes staring back at them so she had to keep quiet. James rolled his eyes.

"Why not? Don't you wanna know what it is?" He spat, glaring back at Jayden. She kept a good grip on him, knowing he couldn't escape her grasp. She was older, and much stronger than him. Jayden's mind filled with answers to reply to his question.

Because I don't want you to get hurt?
It might be dangerous?
We don't want to get lost?
What if mom and dad find out?

She honestly didn't know what to do if her parents found out. Tell them it was harmless? They'd never believe her.

We gotta keep this a secret.. Jayden this thought to herself, not even noticing the voices of her parents calling for her. In fact, she didn't even notice the flare fading away just as her parents arrived.

"Jayden! James! Don't run off please," Her mother spoke out to the siblings. Jayden and James turned around, slow at first, but picked up their speed. While running to their parents, Jayden grabbed James by the shoulder and whispered in his ear,

"Promise to keep this a secret. Okay?"

James nodded, making sure not to mention the glow anywhere near their parents.

"Chapter One - The Flare"
- JADE -