Sira

Chapter #1:

    Melissa stepped from the cool green of the forest onto a large, grassy, open area. Now she knew she was lost.
     Her little expedition had turned into more trouble than she'd fully realized.  For a long time, Melissa had talked about how she intended to explore the immense forest on her parents' property one day, but when her parents died in that terrible car accident. . . But she had promised herself not to think about that. Well, she felt no more attachments to the outside world, so she decided to leave it for a while. She was only sixteen, but her father had taught her well, and she felt that she could survive alone in the wilderness for a few days, or even a few weeks if that was how long it was going to take to. . . to, forget . . .
     The morning she started, Melissa had packed everything she thought she needed to live alone in the woods. That was five days ago. Melissa had spent the first few nights in selected trees, and the next in a cave she had discovered in an outcropping of rock. She'd been eating the food that she brought with her in a backpack, and some wild raspberries she'd found along the way. But her food supply was running low, and she worried about having to resort to hunting for food.
     Scanning the meadow she'd just entered, Melissa spotted only a single animal, very far off. This was common, and Melissa had been seeing deer, foxes, and even the occasional wolf. That was okay though, they tended not to bother her, so she just left them alone.
     Melissa felt a slight breeze on the back of her neck. The creature lifted its nose into the air, sniffed, and looked in her general direction. Her nose began to tickle and Melissa sneezed. The creature looked directly at her. It must have been at least a mile away, but she had the distinct feeling it smelled, heard and saw her. It started forward, using a strange loping run, that allowed it to use its wings, yes they were wings, almost as much as its legs. It held her in a captivated trance as it moved steadily nearer.
     As it came closer, Melissa could see it more clearly. It was a tawny, orange color that grew lighter on bottom. She could see that it had very large ears, like a rabbit, with black outlines, and extra long neck. A little closer and she could make out the stripes of a tiger. Then there were the wings. They looked almost like some kind of huge wings that came from a giant osprey.
     Melissa suddenly realized that she had been so busy observing this strange creature, she hadn't realized how fast it could move, or how close it had come. It must have been ten yards away! She took a frightened step back. The creature stopped, then took a careful step forward, lowered the front part of its body, almost to the ground, laid its ears back, and spread its wings as if ready to flee. The movements were so fluid, that they blended together into one grand bow. By now, Melissa was so terrified and confused that she couldn't move. But the greatest shock was yet to come. "Hello," it said cautiously.
     She fainted.

Like it so far? Next Chapter...