The Teacher's Beta

Chapter 1

Calli

I took a step outside and took a deep breath. Ah, the sweet smell of freedom. My first day of summer. Yes, I love my job. Teaching tiny humans is fun and no two days are ever the same, but after being trapped in a room with second graders for nearly nine months straight even a saint would be ready for a break. Even with it being May, it is still fairly cool this early in the morning, so I threw on a pair of black leggings with a hot pink work out tank top before making my way up to my favorite trail in the nearby forest. It's a long hike, but I haven't had time to do it in months so I'm up for the challenge.

I park my old, beat up car in the same spot my dad used to all those years ago when he would bring me up here. This forest holds some of my fondest memories. Camping, hiking, fishing, roasting marshmallows on the fire and that one cringeworthy attempt at deer hunting he drug me along on. Apparently a thirteen-year-old girl can't walk in a freaking forest without making any noise.

Who could have guessed that?

I grabbed my water bottle and take a minute to spin in a slow circle. The sky is bright blue with barely any clouds. The evergreens are taller than most houses and there were multicolored wildflowers growing along the edge of the dirt trail leading up the steep hill. The sunlight shines through the heavy branches, creating beams of light accentuating the forest floor. The only sounds were of birds chirping and I took a moment to enjoy the near silence. Something you don't get in a room filled with kids all day. I took another deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh air. It seemed to give me a sense of renewed peace and energy. I pulled my dark brown hair up into a high ponytail and shoved my phone into the tiny pocket on my leggings before starting up the long, winding trail.

I'm not sure how long I had been walking before coming to a small stream. I remember my dad trying to teach me to skip rocks here. I never was any good at it. The weather is gorgeous, but I've worked up a little bit of a sweat from the nearly straight uphill climb, so I sit by the stream and take off my shoes and socks. I dip my big toe in to test the water. It's still pretty cold, but I pull up my leggings a bit and sink both feet in up to my mid-calf. I take the break to drink some water and pull out my phone. There isn't much reception, but I didn't expect there to be. No missed calls and no texts. It seems everyone is following the 'leave me alone on the first day of summer' rule I enacted after my first student teaching stretch. I had only had my own classroom for a couple of years, but it's important for me to decompress. I've never been very social, which may be why I enjoy hanging out with kids who only want to talk about cartoons and how many times they can jump rope before they trip. I tuck the phone back in my pocket and splash the water a little with my feet. I look around me, studying the beauty of the forest. The water rolling on the rocks of the stream creates a quiet trickling sound that lulls me into a sense of serenity. After a few minutes, I pull my feet out and let them rest on a rock so they can dry.

Wet socks in shoes?

Ew.

After my feet have properly dried and my shoes are retied, I wound my way through the rest of the trail, taking pictures of flowers and trees with my phone. I neared the top of the trail, that was guaranteed to give me a gorgeous view of a valley full of tall grass and sunflowers, when I heard a twig snap behind me. I spun around but didn't see anything. I shrugged it off, blaming a harmless bunny, and continued my trek. A few minutes later I heard a rustle of leaves off to my left, closer than before. I turned again, but still couldn't see anything.

'Don't go looking for anything.' I told myself. 'That's how girls die in the movies.'

Rather than hanging out to see what was making the sounds, I did an about face and started jogging in the direction I came from. It was easier going down than up, that's for damn sure. I heard more twigs snapping and turned to look behind me. I still couldn't see anything, but the sounds were getting closer.

'Typical Unsolved Mysteries episode. Chick goes hiking in the woods and is never seen again.' I thought to myself as my heart rate sped up and my arms began to shake from pure adrenaline.

Given the choice between fight or flight?

I'm a flight kinda girl. Hard core.

I heard what sounded like something chasing me, paws or hoofs hitting the ground and becoming louder. The thumps came faster and faster. My heart started beating harder against my chest and my lungs started to hurt from my pathetic attempt at keeping oxygen in them.

I heard a menacing growl that sounded like it was directly in my ear. I squeaked out of fright and I chanced a look behind me. Which turned out to be a terrible idea because that momentary loss in concentration had me tripping over a tree root and shooting into the air. I landed on my left side, my ankle screaming out in pain. I let out a scream and turned to see what had been hunting me down.

I was met with the yellow eyes of a giant wolf.