I spent Sunday at home, doing homework and cleaning up the place while Alex was working, yet again. That boy never stopped. I was in an incredibly good mood, dancing around the place feeling all light and fluffy. The rational part of me wanted to puke, but the other part that was becoming increasingly dominant these days was enjoying it.

I even was pleasant to my mother during the 35 minute phone call where she filled me in on Louis' nude modelling for an art class and demonstrated all the French she'd learned. I shudder thinking about the detail that went into the former part of that conversation.

So things were looking pretty good, feeling much better than they had been, when in the typical fashion, things got weird.

Alex crashed into the house at about 4, yelling my name. I looked up from my book as he slammed into my doorway.

"We have to go."

Are you serious. Again?!

"Look, the bonfire was fun but I think I'll just stay here this time," I sighed, jumping off my bed and following him down the hall. I watched as he attempted to drag a massive duffel bag out of the cupboard.

He shook his head. "There's a situation, we have to go somewhere safe."

My stomach dropped. "What kind of situation?"

He looked at me, exasperated. "Uh, forest fire. Heading right towards the town."

"Forest fire? Are you sure...?" I trailed, looking out the window to the forest, which looked very un-on-fire.

"Just trust me, okay?" He finally succeeded in grabbing the bag, threw it over his shoulder and headed towards the door.

Super confused, I grabbed a jacket and my phone and followed him.

We drove towards the edge of town, getting further and further away from civilisation. It crossed my mind that if there was a forest fire, shouldn't we be heading away from the forest, not deeper into it...?

Alex was being uncooperative, so I stopped bothering to ask him questions. Would our house burn down...? Surely the fire brigade would get there first.

We finally pulled up in front of a massive wooden house, practically camouflaged against the surrounding dense forest. I stepped out of the car and noticed how still the forest felt. I mean I'd never been in a forest fire, but surely you'd hear crackling or something...

"Uh Alex, this is very 'Cabin in the Woods' and I'm really not feeling it," I protested as he stepped towards the house.

He finally turned to me and a look of guilt washed over his face. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just very stressed. Uh, okay this is like a safe house, I guess you could call it. Those affected by the, uh, fire are all coming here until the threat's eliminated."

I looked around. There were no other cars. I gave him a dubious look.

"Trust me, Danni. Please? I have to get inside."

"What, are you part of the town volunteer fire brigade or something?" I scoffed. The silence of the forest was really getting to me.

He shifted the huge bag he was carrying. "Something like that. C'mon, please."

Sighing, I threw my hands in the air and headed towards the house. The inside was a lot nicer than the outside, almost homely. I could hear low murmurs of voices coming from somewhere, so there were obviously other people here. What, did they walk?!

Alex led me to a room where about six other girls were sitting on sofas. Their conversation halted abruptly, and they stared at us with mouths slightly ajar.

"Alex, why-" One of them protested, eyes wide, looking nervous.

"This is Danielle, my sister. I was told she'd be safe here," he said, putting weird emphasis on some of his words.

The girls shifted their eyes to me, but none of them would quite meet my gaze. I smiled weakly, feeling very out of place.

"Of course, come in," another girl said quickly, and the rest nodded.

"Alex, sidebar." I hissed. He sighed and stepped aside.

"What the hell?!"

He put his hands on my shoulders and brought his face to my level. "Danielle. Stay in this room. You will be safe. We are going to help with the fire, okay? Do not leave. Do not go anywhere alone."

I looked at him incredulously. "Are you freaking kidding me?! You're leaving me here to be babysat by a room of girls who don't want me there!"

"They don't really have a choice. Besides, they'll love you. I have to go now." And with that, he basically pushed me into the room and slammed the door shut behind me. Talk about making a scene.

I cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed.

"Please, sit," a blonde girl gestured to an empty spot on the sofa. I sat, and looked around at the women. They looked very tense, almost nervous. But of what? Was the fire freaking them out that much?

"So uh, the fire must be pretty bad," I said in a lame attempt to break the silence.

They looked at each other, unreadable looks on their face.

"That's why we're here, right? Hiding from the fire, or whatever?" I continued when they didn't answer.

"Right. Yes. Our houses were all in danger," a red head finally spoke up. Something was seriously making these girls uncomfortable.

"Hopefully they can put it out," I said, trying to be optimistic and lift the mood.

A brunette with sharp blue eyes gave me a look that was almost condescending. "Of course they will. They're way stronger than the...fire."

Not wanting to risk questioning who 'they' were, I kept quiet. Eventually conversation picked up around the room, but I felt way too out of place to contribute. And to be honest, it sounded very forced and laced with double meaning.

About an hour in, and dying of boredom, I stood up, and silence once again followed.

"Uh, where's the bathroom?"

"Down the hall, take two lefts and a right then it's the third door on the right."

I nodded and left the room. There was no way I was remembering that. How many rooms could this place have, anyway?

Turns out a lot. I opened many, many doors before admitting I was very lost.

Sighing, I pulled open a door and was surprised to find it was some kind of back entrance. Dusk was setting in, casting a pretty yellow-pink light across the back grounds. A hundred meters or so back from the house was a line of dense forest.

Intrigued, I stepped out onto the soft grass. There was something about this part of the forest that was enchanting. I took a few steps forward, then felt a strange prickling on the back of my neck. I spun around and gasped.

For only a second, I swear I saw a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at me from the tree line. I did a double take, and they were gone. Shaking my head and putting it down to a trick of light, I laughed a little.

I kept walking forward, enjoying the last of the sun on my arms and neck. A strange melody came from deep in the forest, so quiet that I could hardly make it out, but strangely hypnotic. It wrapped around me, pulling me forward. I was in a trance, aware but unaware at the same time. My feet carried me closer and closer to the line of trees. Such strange music to be coming from a forest, I thought. Strange but beautiful. It was laced with whispers. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying. I had to find it.

I was close enough to touch the nearest tree trunk when something slammed into me from the side, and I was suddenly in mid air. I yelled out, closing my eyes instinctively, waiting for the ground to smash against my body. Instead, I found myself on my feet, back against the house. My heart racing and breathing heavy, I opened my eyes and almost cried out in relief.

Levi was standing in front of me, looking at me with a crazed kind of anger in his eyes. He was practically shaking, and his hands were clenched by his sides. Seconds later, he spun around and ran to the edge of the forest where I had just been standing, practically prowling along the edge.

The forest in front of me now looked sinister, dark, long shadows hiding secrets and an eerie fog hugging the ground. It send cold shivers down my spine. It felt evil. What the hell had I been doing?! The memories felt like they too were shrouded in fog, like I was watching myself doing it rather than doing it myself.

Having apparently decided that we were safe from whatever was in the forest, Levi headed back towards me.

"What the hell were you doing?" He managed to get out from between gritted teeth.

"I... I don't-" I stuttered, taking a step back. He was kind of freaking me out.

My fear must have been evident, as that familiar pained look crossed his face and he groaned, pulling his hands over his face and through his hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... Why are you out here?"

I wrapped my arms around my waist, eyeing the forest nervously. "I think there was an animal. I saw eyes, and, and music and I couldn't stop and..." I wasn't making sense. In fact, I was feeling pretty shaken up. Whatever had just happened had felt very, very unnatural and very unsafe.

He swore and began pacing. I just wanted to get as far away from that forest as possible. "What kind of eyes? Did you see anything else? What was the music like? Are you sure it was music?" He threw question after question at me, and with an obvious lack of self control, I burst into tears.

It's very hard to describe, but I'd felt as if my body was taking me, against my will, right into something sinister. And the last thing I needed was this third degree interrogation.

Just like that, all the anger dropped from his face and was replaced with concern. I felt so stupid, but I couldn't stop crying, the sobs shaking my whole body.

Levi closed the distance between us. I could barely see him through my tears, but at that moment I didn't care. I all but threw myself at him, my arms tightening around his shoulders. The three seconds that he didn't respond in felt like an eternity, but they were worth the wait. As soon as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, I felt safe again.

Neither of us moved as my crying died down, leaving me just sniffing unattractively into his shoulder. I almost wanted to start crying again over how good he smelt and how relieved I was, but I managed to pull myself together.

"Are you okay," he asked in a low voice after my final shaky exhale.

It took all my strength, but I pulled away, wiping my eyes on my sleeves. "You probably think I'm crazy. There wouldn't have been music in the forest. And I got your shirt wet."

He shook his head, looking at me seriously. "I believe you."

"You do?"

Nodding, he turned to scan the tree line. "I've seen unexplainable things in that forest too. For now, it's safest if you don't go exploring alone."

I nodded. No way was I going in there alone. Not after whatever just happened.

"Lets get you inside." He didn't have to tell me twice.

"Why are you here," I asked, as we stepped into the house.

I didn't turn around, so didn't see whatever look was on his face. But I could hear the evasion in his voice. "Strategy meeting. About the fire. Here's I'll walk you back to the other girls."

"No," I said, feeling uneasy. "Can I... Do you know where Alex is?" I turned around, feeling desperate. I didn't feel safe with those girls.

He looked at me for a moment, his beautiful face blank. I used my best puppy eyes, channelling all my begging into one look.

"Follow me," he sighed, heading towards a staircase and leading the way up and down another hallway. Loud voices were coming from behind closed double doors. I gulped, regretting my decision.

Before I could protest, Levi opened the doors, and like what seems to happen with all my entrances, the room went silent.

"Danielle? What happened?" Alex crossed the room, stopping in front of me. Right, so I must have looked like shit. Tear stained face, probably white as a ghost.

The other men were staring at Levi, looking like they were trying to have some sort of telepathic conversation with their minds.

"I'm sorry, I went outside and..." I trailed off, not really knowing what to say without sounding insane.

"Alone? What did I tell you!" Alex groaned. Levi shot him a look, and Alex shook his head.

Suddenly all the men in the room inhaled sharply and their gazes switched to me, with incomprehensible expressions on their face. Some looked concerned, others looked shocked, others looked angry. I shifted, uncomfortable under their gazes. Who were all these guys, anyway? The illusive strategy committee? What kind of strategy would you need to put out a fire?

Without seemingly noticing, Levi reached out and touched my elbow lightly. I froze, my skin tingling under his touch.

"The important thing is she's okay. A little freaked out, so I'm sure you all don't mind if she stay in here with us," Levi said with authority, asking the question but making it sound like there was only one right answer.

"But she-" a guy called out. Levi gave him a look so cold that he physically stepped back.

"Good. C'mon," he shifted his hand to my lower back, pushing gently and leading me towards the back of the room. I gave Alex an apologetic look, and he just looked at me with concern.

Levi led me to a couch at the back of the huge room, nestled between two massive book shelves. This looked like some kind of study.

"Here, you can wait here. You're safe now," he dropped his arm, gave me a long look and returned to the other side of the room, where all the guys were seated around the table. I felt like I was intruding, but at that point I was beyond exhausted and didn't care. It felt like all the energy had been drained from me, and as soon as I hit the sofa, I felt myself drifting off.

I fell asleep to the conversations of the guys, with one sentence lingering in my mind. "So now we know, he's after her...."