"Ignited" Book One of the Autumn Trilogy

Chapter Four

Autumn waited patiently well into the night. She listened to Oliver, as she walked around in her home, until she heard her crawl into her own bed and her breathe slowed. Autumn was'nt used to all this noise; not only could she hear every inhale and exhale Oliver made, even from the other side her small home, she could hear the rustle of the trees outside, she could hear the occasional footsteps of someone walking by, she could hear the faint pitter-patter of a small creatures feet in the dirt. She thought that maybe if she laid still enough, and focused hard enough, that she could hear the very earth groan as it spun. But instead she quietly stepped out of bed, her bare feet making no sound on the clay foundation of Olivers home. She peaked into Olivers room, and saw her dead asleep, sprawled out onto the bed. She hadn't heard anyone outside for awhile now. This was her only chance.
     Autumn creeped outside. The dirt was soft on her feet. She looked around, and saw that the woods had never been so bright and vibrant. SHe looked up to the sky, expecting to see the moon looking back at her, but instead saw the sky full of stars and empty of the moon. Of course, she realized, it made sense that she could see more clearly in the night now. Along with her amplified hearing and strength, better eyesight came with her new abilities as a shifter. She thought back to the messenger bird, as she silently crept from Olivers home to the trees, and how she was able to take it down in one move as the other men struggled to even pull it down from the air as a group. She knew that Dusters were stronger than Bone-Breakers, but were they really that much stronger? It seemed like an unfair distribution that nature had given to them. Autumn walked, crouched, through the woods until she felt she had given herself enough distance between herself and Olivers home. Then, she sat silently in the foliage, listening intently for any sign of movement, making sure she was completely alone. After hearing nothing for a long time, she finally let herself stretch towards the sky. Autumn approached the nearest tree, and began to climb. She had to figure out where she was. It seemed easier now compared to when she was young. She had always struggled with the first few branches, where she had to lift herself into the tree to get to the branches that were closer together and easier to maneavure, but now she slid upwards with ease, as if her body carried no weight.
    It seemed that not only was she stronger than the men combined, but she had an instinct to protect them as well, something they obviously lacked. Her father had told her, as ALpha, that it was their duty to protect their pack. She was always destined for it, one day, to become an ALpha to her own pack, if not the Aris family. But he had never mentioned to her that it would just come to her, as a primal instinct, like the beast form inside of her. Even if it was relying on pure energy in her heart, she didn't understand why she wanted to protect a bone-breaker. Woudlnt she want to protect her own family, her own pack, if not her own kind? Is this what really came with being a Duster, and he from the Aris family?
    Autumn reached the top of the tree. She peered out into the world, silent in the night, the top the trees slightly bent in the breeze. The air felt more clear, it seemed that the weight in her chest was lifting with every breath. Autumn took a moment to appreciate this peace. She knew she wouldnt be able to feel this again for along time. She began to search, eyes scanning the forest in all directions. Then, as she twisted around, she saw a small clearing not far away. Black dust was being swept into the air, towards the stars. It was the ash of her home. SHe had found it.
    Autumn immediately slid down from the tree, seeming to practically fall to the ground in her urgency. The moment her feet touched the solid ground, she was off, running as fast as she could in that direction. Everything seemed to pass by in a blur, her legs burned, stretched, and burned again. Before she knew it, she had arrived at the clearing. The ash was being swept away in breeze, lightly bringing it into the sky before disappearing in the stars, like the world was finally laying the debris to rest. Autumn approached, and saw where the ash had been disturbed by her. A giant hole where her body had risen from the dead. She saw the burned foundation of her living room, and rounded to the other side. She was searching for something that hadn't been burned by the fire. There was only one thing she could think of that could have survived. She leaned to the ground, and began to dig in the ash. Her skin was black to the elbows before her fingers finally hit something cold and hard. With a heave, she pulled to item to the surface. It was a safe, charred black, but still very much intact and unopened. She knew that this would have been the first thing her famil would have come back for, the safe that she didn't even know the contents of, where her family had tucked away it's secrets. Autumn twisted the knob, and pulled, but it was sealed tight. She tried multiple combinations, birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions. Not one was right. Finally, Autumn let out a growl of frustration, and landed an angry punch against the steel. It dented. Autumn nearly jumped back in shock at this. There was no way she could have done that, right? Her father had tested the safe himself; he had clawed, ripped, punched, fought this safe like it was his worse enemy, and it never, ever budged. Her father was the most powerful shifter she knew, and not even he could have forcefully broken it open. Autumn hesitated, then landed another punch. It dented more. Perhaps the fire had melted it down. That was the only explanation. She hit it again, and again, and again, before it finally cracked. She tore the metal apart, it groaning in again as she bent it open.
    There sat the pile of files she was looking for. Is was a very small stack, the safe seemed irrationally big for the amount of objects inside, but that just made them seem more secretive, more important. Autumn eagerly took them out, her ash covered hands leaving small smudges on the paper. She saw the agreements between the Traville pack and her own. She tore them open, but read nothing of importance. Everything written was simply the location of where they would meet, and only one held any information. It spoke of Autumn, that she would be safely delivered to the Bird Isles by Mr. Traville himself. But why? Why did they want to give her away? There was no way that they could have been preparing for Vicks attack, no one knew it was going to happen, everyone had thought he was dead. What did they want from her? She moved the paper into her pocket, and continued through the pile. She found another set of papers that showed where he family was going to move, starting all the way before Autumn was even born. The papers felt weak and brittle in her hands, and were yellow with age, but some were more fresh. They were the plans for the future, years ahead of time. Autumn hoped that maybe her family had gone to these locations now, and were traveling still. She pocketed this as well, and was about to stand before she saw some smaller letter, hidden in between a stack of papers. There were only three, and they were old, yellow and thin, the ink writing dull with age. Each one had a Bird Isles sigil on it from the high order. They looked just like the one Nash had. Autumn ripped one open, eyes scanning the cursive writing. It didn't make sense. The words seems to be coded, barely any full sentences. It was signed with an elegant M.