Snow (Christmas Contest 2013)

"Anna! Hurry up!"

I looked up at the sound of my name, only then realizing that the others were a great deal ahead of me. I could barely see them through the thick evergreens. A bit of a misnomer right now, I thought absently, considering the trees were dusted pale white. That's what I'd been looking at- the snow. We had barely gotten any in the small South Carolina town I used to call home.

I thought about the woods there, on the edge of the grounds of my old school. My old friend Hannah and I had found an old obstacles course out there one day during the time we were allowed outside between classes, which we'd assumed used to be part of the gym program, even though it was obvious no one at the school had any idea of it's existence. We'd nicknamed the area Terabithia, after the hidden world of the book we both loved. After that we met there whenever possible, exploring the secrets we'd uncovered. My hand went instinctively to the pocket of my silver parka, where I still kept Hannah's hand-drawn map.

A few months after our discovery, I'd stayed behind one day after Hannah left only to find that we hadn't been alone.

The troop of silver-clad tween girls had been using the abandoned equipment to 'train', apparently. The explanation they'd given me sounded absurd at first - I mean, a group of eternal teenage girls that traveled the world fighting monsters?- but when the lead girl offered to let me join them, I started to suspect they were actually serious. And I'd accepted.

And so now, years later, here I stood, a member of the Hunters of Artemis.

"Anna!"

Zoe's voice, more urgent this time. I ran to catch up to my sisters-in-arms.

WIP