Walter Marvin tossed another empty beer can across the kitchen. On top of his game for many years his life started to spin out of control when his wife found him in bed with another woman. Not his fault she came home early from a business trip. In no time at all, she cleared out her things, half of their bank account and left without a word. Opening another beer, Walter emptied it in seconds. Now prison might be in his future as well.

As the manager of the local BMW dealership, he didn't sell many cars so was surprised when one of the most beautiful women he ever seen asked for him personally. She apparently knew what she wanted, money was no object, and it took no time at all to place her behind the wheel of a brand new black BMW seven series.

The next day Walter decided to thank her personally for the sale when it was discovered that all of the paperwork and the down payment were missing. The finance department also had no records of any account opened or even that he had run a credit check. What Walter couldn't understand is why no one in the dealership remembered the woman however they remembered him driving away with the car.

Finishing another beer, Walter wondered if he could find his grandfather's old service revolver. Suicidal plans were interrupted by a gentle knock on the front door. Expecting the Sherriff to his surprise, Walter found a beautiful woman dressed in a long green gown standing right outside.

Walter leaned on the door frame maybe his luck had changed after all. Suddenly he realized that the pale white-haired goddess playfully fingering a set of keys was the woman who drove away with the BMW.

"Oh my God, I thought you were a hallucination."

"Walter baby I am so much more than a hallucination and maybe if you play your cards right so much more."

"What do you mean?" Walter couldn’t keep his eyes off her body, it was hypnotizing.

"If you let me in we can discuss your future." She gave him a seductive pout. "Walter, be a gracious host and invite me into your home."

For a brief moment, some sort of primal fear screamed to shut the door, but lust overrode his actions. "I welcome you into my home, please enter."

Clapping with delight the white-haired beauty quickly reached Walter's side and linked his arms with hers. "Is it OK if a friend of mine comes by, he is also going to help you."

Walter nodded, "Of course he is welcome into my home as well."

"You're such a dear Walter. Let's go into your living room maybe we can find some music. I would love to dance with you." She ran a black fingernail across his cheek. Walter could not help but moan.

++++++++++

Stepping into the shower after a long night I seriously mulled over the word schizophrenia. I couldn't remember where I read about its symptoms which including audio hallucinations and that it more often occurs in young men under the age of nineteen.

Trust me, if you had just spent most the night listening to what sounded like the music from Bilbo's birthday party from the Hobbit bringing up the word schizophrenia shouldn't really be too much of a stretch. At least the music wasn't too bad however as the night wore on I decided I hated Peter Jackson.

Luckily the thought of seeing Abigail pulled me out of my funk. For our date that I wasn't sure was really a date I picked out a nice pair of jeans and a dark green shirt. With the latest 'Dresden File' novel in hand, I sat with my back to 'Father Oak' and waited for Abigail to arrive.

'Father Oak' was the nickname for the old tree that lorded over the town's commons like a silent guardian to the entrance of the park. It was a Quercus alba or 'White Oak' and was said to be at least four hundred years old, older than the town itself. Its presence filled me with a serene calm, thoughts of my crazy night faded as I immersed myself into another tale of Harry Dresden. I was halfway through the book when a gentle nudge made me look up. Abigail stood before me dressed in a pink T-shirt and black shorts. I also couldn't help but notice she filled out that pink T-shirt quite nicely.

Nervously fingering a green picnic basket Abigail gave me one of her cheerful smiles. "Hi Morgan, my Aunt wasn't sure if you would be comfortable going to a restaurant."

"No, I like restaurants well enough, but picnics are so much better especially since it's such a nice day outside."

Abigail gave a small squeal, and after a quick hug, she began to set up our picnic. From inside the basket, she produced a large blue checkered cloth, plastic silverware, drinks and a copious amount of food.

"Aunt Eshne wasn't sure if you eat meat." She gave me a nervous frown as she set out wrapped sandwiches.

"Oh, your Aunt isn't Diana from the bookstore or is she your mom?"

"Diana, oh…no she is in the same…" Abigail paused for a moment looking back towards the library. "…club as my Aunt."

I didn't understand how her Aunt discovered I stopped eating red meat a month or so before but decided to leave well enough alone. "Oh well it's true, I am not really into red meat, but that Tuna Fish sandwich looks nice."

Abigail shyly found a comfortable spot next to me and placed a Tuna fish sandwich into my hands. It took no time for us to start chatting about school, favorite movies and books. My new friend gave me an understanding smile when I explained my home life issues, and in turn, I found that she never knew her father.

Her mother was almost a stranger spending months away on business, so her Aunt was more or less like a second mother. By the end of lunch, we were both laughing hysterically tears running down our faces as we told each other stupid things we have seen at school.

Abigail took a deep breath and rested her head on my shoulder. "I like you, Morgan."

Reaching up to wipe the tears from my face I nodded. "I like you too Abigail."

"Good." Abigail began to collect the remains of our picnic.

"You have to go?"

Abigail nodded, "I have to work at my Aunt's store this afternoon." She gave me a hopeful look. "Can I have your cell phone number?"

After exchanging cell phone numbers, I walked Abigail back up to the Library parking lot. For some reason, I wasn't at all surprised to find her Aunt already waiting. What I was surprised was that her Aunt sat behind the wheel of a cherry red '66 Mustang Convertible.

"That’s my Aunt."

"The car?" Abigail punched me in the arm playfully. "Oh you mean the driver, yes so I gathered." I could see that the two were related to her Aunt's appearance reminded me of an older version of Abigail.

I gave Abigail’s Aunt a friendly wave. The look she returned wasn’t hostile, but it wasn't entirely pleasant. Perhaps she wasn’t happy with her niece going out on a date. Before I had the chance to introduce myself, Abigail gave me a one arm hug and quickly climbed into the passenger's seat.

"I'll call you tonight Morgan."

I didn’t even get a chance to reply as the pair drove away.

++++++

I will say that a couple of nights of peaceful sleep does wonders in putting one’s mind at ease. Thankfully the midnight revelers found another location to party. I had a feeling they would return, but at least for now I could concentrate on the day ahead. Yes, these last few weeks have been strange. Trust me. I wasn’t totally out of it. However left with no rational explanation, I decided to go with the flow.

What else could I do? What was I supposed to do tell Rebecca that I think the forest is trying to speak to me? Late at night, my room could be mistaken for an Irish Pub? She would insist they lock me up and throw away the key. Between the forest, my nightly musical accompaniment and these other senses I seem to have acquired this now all falls on my Weird-O-Meter scale of 1 to 10 as a solid thirteen. What was starting to really scare me is that none of it felt out of place. This above all other reasons is why my Weird-O-Meter was set so high.

As I stood in the kitchen cutting up some vegetables for dinner, I decided that with all the weirdness going on I was actually having a pretty good time. For the last few years, I had spent so much time trying to hide from reality I forgot that on occasion reality could be fun.

Strangely enough, I found that talking on the phone was actually enjoyable. I could never understand why Nicole spent hours on the phone with her friends. The only reason why I owned a cell phone was to call Rebecca in case of an emergency. Since my picnic with Abigail, I spent half the night with her using up my minutes discussing what we did during the day. It was nothing earth-shattering, no great revelations just plain old human interaction that I found I was missing. Being busy at her Aunt's store limited our time together, but I was able to set up another picnic 'date' over the weekend, but this time I would do the cooking.

Sadly, my relationship with Rebecca had not changed. She barely acknowledged my presence other than to explain she already ate with some of her coworkers and quickly retreated into her bedroom. She wasn't a bad person just her parental skills left a lot to be desired. It was so much easier to hide in books then to face reality, but I knew that if I wanted to have some sort of real relationship with my adoptive mother I would need to take the first step. Mulling over the problem I spent the evening channel surfing.

I awoke with a start still on the couch, the television playing a rerun of 'I Love Lucy.' A feeling of apprehension and dark foreboding settled over me. I don’t know why I threw on a light jacket and grabbed my tennis shoes. Something or someone was in terrible danger, and I needed to stop whatever was going to happen. Trust me, the thought of me actually being able to help anyone was laughable, but I knew I had to try. Faster than I thought possible, I found myself out the front door and past 'Father Oak' into the forest beyond.

Running through the woods can be quite thrilling. Running through them at night is harebrained. Luckily the light of the moon kept me from plowing into a tree as I came to an unfamiliar part of the forest.

I could feel the unwelcomed visitor ahead, I knew that its presence whatever it was would change my life. At that moment I still had the choice to return home and hide in my books. Coming to a stop, that realization gave me pause. I had that option, but Abigail's cheerful smile filled my thoughts. I could not disappoint Abigail, and for the first time in my life, I realized I no longer wanted to disappoint myself.

Stopping at the edge of the forest I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't an empty parking lot. I realized I was on the north end of the forest where bikers and runners would park their cars. The sound of music on the wind suddenly caught my attention. Skirting the edge of the woods, I swiftly approached the party goers.

Sitting under one of the few street lights stood a parked BMW. The song 'Bullet In The Head' by 'Rage Against the Machine' filled the air as three people stood outside dancing to the tune. Two of the dancers were obviously young men, maybe college students. The third, however, was definitely a woman dressed in a very revealing green dress. Her long white hair seemed to move on its own in tune with the music.

Not knowing what to expect I was shocked when one of the men collapsed as if exhausted. Sprinting across the parking lot, I knew their lives were in danger. The girl or whatever it was stopped dancing when the second man collapsed. Raising her right hand, her nails grew into claws, and before I could say anything, she plunged them into one of the prone dancers.

With not even a weapon in my hand, I slowed down. Perhaps I could lead her off towards the woods. Gathering my courage I commanded. "Leave those men alone."

The woman in green looked up startled, evidently unaware of my presence. Like a cat, she moved from her prey and began to approach her hips moving seductively. "Flee little girl least I feed upon you as well."

"I'm no little girl, and you will not feed on anyone else this night."

"Even better, come dance with me." Her body began to gyrate in tune with the music pouring out of the black BMW.

Whatever power her dance had it did not touch me. "I suggest you leave this place." It was all a bluff, this woman terrified me, but one of those guys lay bleeding to death.

When I finally came into the light, the woman in green stopped dancing and jumped back. Something changed in those few seconds, her appearance became alien protruding from her hands were sharp black claws, her long beautiful legs replaced by animal legs. The creature crouched and hissed.

It actually hissed at me and in a flash jumped away and with a skill that would put an Olympic athlete to shame vaulted over the car. It gave me one last angry look then slipped into the driver's seat and drove away. Still, in shock of the sudden change of events, I removed my jacket and called 911.

Several hours later I found myself standing in front of our condominium with a Deputy Sherriff and somewhat irate Rebecca. The only thing that kept her from losing it was the Deputy explaining how I saved those two boys lives. I was a courageous young man, yes I had to convince the Sherriff that I was a boy but that wasn't important. The two were college students from the local community college.

My description of the attacker would be of great help as I discovered that there were three other men attacked in the area. The police now had an APB on the women but I, of course, neglected to mention the part about the animal legs and razor sharp claws.

Rebecca said I wasn't grounded, pleased that what I did would look good on the family. Of course, I was now given a curfew, in the house by sunset. I had no problems with a curfew with knowing what hunted in the woods at night, at least one woman in a green dress, sharp claws, and animal legs. Taking off my clothes, I slipped into bed and decided to revise my Weird-O-Meter. It was now set to a solid sixteen.