[2 years later...]
Deep in the forest, a man was crouched down low to the ground. He held a gun tightly in his hands. He was aiming at an antelope in the distance. He peered through the scope on his gun, lining up the perfect shot.
Suddenly, something whizzed by him so fast he could barely see it. It was almost like a shadow zooming past him. Startled, he pulled his face away from the gun scope. He looked all around, trying to spot what had moved so quickly near him. But he didn't see anything unusual. The forest seemed still and quiet.
Shaking his head, he returned to aiming at the antelope. He put his eye back up to the scope, searching for the animal in his sights. Just as he located the antelope again, the same shadowy thing streaked past him a second time! Once again, he jerked back from the gun scope in surprise.
"What in the world was that?" he muttered to himself, scanning the trees around him. But like before, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The forest appeared just as peaceful as always.
His heart was beating faster now. Something strange was going on. He didn't know what the shadowy thing was, but it had sped past him twice. Hands shaking slightly, he lifted the gun scope to his eye one more time. He was determined to refocus on the antelope and take his shot.
But when he looked through the scope this time, he didn't see the antelope at all. Instead, he saw a single glowing red eye staring right back at him from the end of his gun barrel! Alarmed, he pulled the gun away from his face and looked at it with his own eyes. There was no red eye there. He quickly glanced around the forest again, but he still couldn't spot anything unusual.
Now the man was scared. His breaths came quick and short. His mind raced with confusion. He didn't understand what was happening, but he knew something was very wrong. Why had he seen a creepy red eye glaring at him through his gun scope? And what kept whizzing past him in the forest?
The man's instincts screamed at him to flee.
Without wasting another second, the man jumped to his feet. He grabbed his hunting gear with fumbling hands and took off running through the trees. His truck was parked not too far away at the edge of the woods. If he could just reach it, he could get out of this eerie forest and away from whatever was stalking him.
As he ran, he heard rustling noises in the branches above him. It sounded like something was chasing him, leaping from treetop to treetop! The man's heart hammered against his ribs. He pumped his legs faster, desperate to escape.
"I guess you're right," Celena mumbled, still looking disappointed. "I'm sorry, Dad."
Celena's father hugged her tight. "I know your heart was in the right place. Just promise me you'll be more careful from now on, okay? No more chasing hunters."
"Okay, I promise," Celena agreed.
Hand in hand, Celena and her dad started walking through the forest towards home. Before long, a simple house came into view at the base of a tall mountain. Celena's mother was standing in the doorway. She hurried over to them, her forehead creased with worry.
"There you are!" Rose exclaimed. "I was just about to go looking for you two!" She looked down at her daughter. "Celena, did you run off to terrorize the humans again?"
"She sure did," Blake confirmed. "I found her right after she chased some poor hunter out of the woods."
Celena's parents exchanged meaningful glances. They knew they needed to have another serious talk with their daughter about using her supernatural abilities responsibly and staying hidden from the human world. It wasn't easy raising a child who had such powerful gifts. But they loved Celena more than anything and just wanted to keep her safe.
Shaking their heads in exasperation, Celena's parents each took one of her hands. They gently swung her up into the air between them as they walked to the house. "What are we going to do with you, silly girl?" Rose asked.
Celena just giggled, happy to be back with her family. For now, all thoughts of dangerous hunters were forgotten as the three of them went inside their cozy home nestled in the mountainside forest. The only sounds were their laughter and the cheerful chirping of birds in the trees all around.
***Author's note*
I'm sorry for the irregular updates. Exams got me by the neck. I'll try to reset the update time so you all get it as at when due!
Anyways, check the discord, I'll be dropping illustrations for Celena Shelton.