The Myth

By Jessica R. Koster

Things arent quite what they seem. One day you are sharing a mocha with your friends at the local cafe and the next youre running for your life. Not knowing who or what is chasing you. Just knowing that if they find you, youll wish you were dead. The things they would do, the torture they would put you threw and in the end if you where good enough, they would keep you as their pet, their puppet. Use you for their petty work. But if you werent good enough they would throw you out. Or at least let you think that you were free. You would get five maybe ten minutes head start if you were lucky before they released their pets on you. Using you in turn for training of the Better Stock. Survival, there is none. Because once you are captured there is no turning back.

That is the life Augustas parents had known, the life that her mother is trying to keep her safe from. Little does Augusta know that her life will soon never be the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481776226

Jessica R. Koster

Jessica currently works as a Teacher Assistant for Pre-K in Tulsa Oklahoma and is attending College at (Northeastern State University) to get her Teaching Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been writing poems and short stories since she was a young child and loves the world that her imagination creates for her every day. She currently lives in Broken Arrow Oklahoma. She used to be a Wildland Firefighter and lived in Ruth California where she frequented Journey's End and that community had inspired the location of the book The Myth.

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2013 by Jessica R. Koster. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/15/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7620-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7621-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7622-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013912559

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 –    Change

Chapter 2 –    Van Duzen High

Chapter 3 –    The Camping Trip

Chapter 4 –    Horse Issues

Chapter 5 –    Six Rivers National Forest

Chapter 6 –    The Truth

Chapter 7 –    Powers Within

Chapter 8 –    Not So Happy Birthday

Chapter 9 –    First Lesson

Chapter 10 –    Full Moon

Chapter 11 –    Sister Missing

Chapter 12 –    Visions

Chapter 13 –    Under Pressure

Chapter 14 –    Sector 13

Chapter 15 –    Run

About the Author

The days grow shorter

The nights get colder

The wind whispers in my ear

Full moon in sight

A telltale sign

A monster is somewhere near

It smells of musk

Of sweat and dust

I need to hide, but where?

My heart is pounding

My bones are shaking

The werewolf knows I am here

PROLOGUE

He left the store as if it were just any other night. His car was sitting alone, waiting patiently in the empty parking lot, as it always did. A light breeze blew, sending the American flag on a soft course. Then the wind suddenly shifted, giving a soft hint of something familiar: a scent that he couldn’t quite place. A shadow detached from the car, and there stood the old friend whom until that moment he had presumed dead. As he got closer, he detected something wrong, and just then they were on him. The trap had been set quite well, but unlike his so-called friend, he would not give in. His life was worth giving up to save those he loved.

How could you do this to me, to us, to our kind? We were friends. There was a time when you would have had my back and I yours, said Julius.

Oh, Julius, you did this to yourself. When you married that woman and had those abominations of children, what could you expect? That they would just turn aside and ignore it? You put us all in danger; they found me and gave me an option: your life for my family. What else would you expect from me? replied his old friend

I would expect the same that every other one of us has done from the beginning: protect our own, not giving in and working for them. Once they are done with you, they will throw you away just like everyone else. You’re a fool! responded Julius.

No, you’re the fool, Julius. Just give them what they want, and you can go. Live your life—but perhaps you should consider making better choices, said his old friend.

Let me guess, said Julius. They want my family. It’s not going to happen. I won’t do it. I guess you’re just going to have to kill me.

I’m sorry, friend, that it has to end like this.

You’re no friend of mine, responded Julius.

The shadow group descended on him there in the empty parking lot. When they were done, there would be no chance for survival. Within a few minutes, Julius was dead.

Chapter 1

CHANGE

Augusta was looking out of her bedroom window, contemplating the new view. How could her mother ever dream of moving them from Brooklyn, from such a complex city as New York, to Ruth, a middle-of-nowhere, desolate town—no, not even town, more like community—in Northern California? The entire area was really four different communities: Ruth, Mad River, Van Duzen, and Zenia. There was nothing there, just a bunch of mountains, open land, a lake, small neighborhoods, a few farmhouses, and lots of forest. She missed the busy lifestyle of Brooklyn. She missed the diversity of the people, the fashion statements, the noise, and the cabs. How was she supposed to get around out here, anyway? There was no way she was going to stick around this stupid place any longer than she had to. She was only sixteen and had yet to take the driver’s education class required for her license, so driving was out of the question. From the looks of it there was no chance of hailing a cab out in the middle of nowhere. And if she had to walk, she would never get anywhere. Her new school was about a thirty-minute drive away; the nearest store would take forty minutes to reach. A combination diner, bar, and gas station was only about fifteen minutes’ drive away, but it was closed during the winter months. This new so-called home was really going to suck!

Sues came running into Augusta’s room, eyes wide and seemingly out of breath, with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. She was Augusta’s irritatingly happy little sister by ten years. Most times Augusta felt more like an adult figure than Sues’s sister. Sues had their father’s hair and their mother’s eyes and was as much a tomboy as could be. She was rambling on far too quickly for the average person to comprehend. Since Augusta had grown up in the city and lived with Sues, though, comprehending the six-year-old was fairly easy for her. Sues was excited about their new home. She loved the mountains and even wanted to ride a horse as soon as humanly possible. For the life of her, Augusta couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to even consider touching one of those big, smelly, disgusting creatures. There was no way anyone was going to get her near one.

Girls, come help me unpack the kitchen! yelled Kathrin.

Their mother was now nothing more than Kathrin to Augusta. She had long, beautiful, dark red hair, amber eyes, and a deep tan complexion. She was six feet tall, with an elegant body structure and looks that could kill—if that were at all possible. She was wearing cutoff jeans, a red tank top, and this bizarre-looking necklace that Augusta had never seen her take off.

What kind of mother would come home out of the blue one day and start packing up their lives without some kind of explanation? They had to leave most of their belongings behind. One day was all they had to pack as much as they could. They would be leaving that night. There was no warning at all. Kathrin just blew through the door and started throwing things in containers, telling the girls to pack essential items only. Augusta had brought along CDs, her radio, bedding, pictures of her friends and of her father, makeup, jewelry, shoes, and clothes. Everything else was gone forever. Augusta had thought that after her mother sold their first house, saying that it had too many memories of Julius, Augusta’s father, that would be it. They had started new memories, and for what? To just pack up and leave again? Why? Well, if Kathrin didn’t care about Augusta’s feelings, then Augusta didn’t care about Kathrin’s feelings either.

"Augusta, today—unless you don’t want to have dinner tonight," yelled Kathrin.

Why can’t we just order out or something? asked Augusta.

Were you not awake when we drove through town, honey? There are limitations to ordering out here. There is no delivery service, and before you ask, no, there are no Chinese restaurants either, responded Kathrin.

What kind of hellhole did you bring us to? asked Augusta.

Augusta, don’t start with me now, said Kathrin, sighing.

Why did we come here? questioned Augusta.

I told you: it was time for a change in all our lives, said Kathrin.

Yeah, said Augusta. Well I was content with my life, thank you very much—at least up until the point where you ruined it for me.

"Augusta! Kitchen, now!" stated Kathrin.

Whatever, retorted Augusta.

Their house was rather large compared to their fifth-story walk-up in Brooklyn. It was an old, white two-story house just on the outskirts of Ruth. The paint was so worn that it was chipping away in most places. There was a large front porch that wrapped around the entire house. It had four bedrooms, which