Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

This story will be beta'ed by The Real Teacher and before I take you on this trip I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for lending me her beta skills and her advise and holding my hand while I worked up the courage to post (me and posting is much like Elizabeth going over to Hyacinth's for coffee at eleven, for those who, like me, remember Keeping up Appearances).

This story is going to be about as different from Foundations as the downhill from the slalom in alpine skiing. Into the Wild is going to be my attempt at writing a sort of fairytale for grownups, though more in the style of The Village (which has influenced the plot quite a bit) than of Sleepy Hollow (Ugh, I don't think I could sleep if I had a headless horseman running around in my story).

But enough of my ramblings….let's get this show on the road.

~ Prologue ~

No one who valued life ventured into the woods after dark.

It was a truth that every inhabitant of the small town of Forks knew to be self-evident; a lesson every child within the town learned as soon as they were able to understand the underlying message.

Danger.

A danger that lay within each and every one of them, though only a select few of the town elders were aware of that. To the others, it was just a terrible curse, laid upon the town in retaliation for an equally terrible crime.

It had happened long ago, so long that with each passing generation the story had been added to and made so wondrous that it was almost hard to believe. However, the essence remained the same and would never be doubted, not when almost every inhabitant of the town had first-hand proof of it: the woods that cut the town of Forks off from the rest of the world were cursed by an ancient magic, imprisoning all those who dwelled within the city limits.

It was the finality of that truth that had driven Charles Swan, chief of police of that same town, to the watchtower that stood tall amidst the pastures and plough lands that made up the border between the town and the forest. It was the place where he had spend many a night in his life, sometimes tense and wary, always vigilant but never as anguished as he was that night.

"Good evening, Chief Swan." Much to his own mortification Charlie was unable to hide his reaction to the sudden noise coming from behind him, inwardly cursing himself for not paying better attention to what was going on around him. "How fare you this night?" He shouldn't have been surprised by the doctor's nocturnal visit to the watchtower. Over the last six days Carlisle Cullen, his childhood friend and the town's doctor had become a regular feature up at the tower. It was common practice for every father out there with a son on the brink of adulthood.

"As well as any father with a child out in the woods," the policeman sighed in his characteristic half-growl. "But I don't think I have to explain that to you. How's Esme?"

Now it was his friend's turn to sigh, his face clouding over as the memories of the last few days seeped back in. "Coping as well as could be expected, though I wish I could do more for her." The memory of the unspeakable pain and anguish on his wife's face when he left her that day, visible even as she lay asleep, had haunted him as he went about his daily work, treating wounds and curing fevers to the best of his ability.

He had never felt so powerless before, not even when he had watched his sister slip away under his hands, knowing there was nothing he could do to save her. And now he'd lost his last remaining tie to her: her son, the boy he'd raised as his own…loved as his own.

"And you?" The gruff voice of his childhood friend pulled him out of his dark thoughts.

"The same."

Silence fell between them after that, the comfortable silence between two friends who needed no more than two words to know how the other was feeling. Both elders of the town, they had stood beside each other during hardships and challenges over the years but none as big as the one they were facing right now.

"She will be safe, Charlie," his friend reassured him. "If there is anyone who could make it out there, it's her."

"I know," Charlie grunted, his eyes never leaving the dark shadows on the edge of the wood, "but I still wish I'd never let her do this. No offense…."

"None taken," the other man replied with a sigh. "Though I think you would have been hard pressed to keep her there against her will."

"True." Charlie chuckled even in spite of himself. "But you forget….I am the chief of police after all. Locking folks up is part of my core business."

Their conversation was cut short by a loud sound coming from the darkness in front of them, a lonesome howl reverberating through the trees.

"What the hell was that?" Carlisle breathed, his eyes frantically scanning the darkness in front of them, the answering howls of the rest of the wolf pack making their skin crawl.

"What the hell do you think," Charlie cried, his hands gripping the railing so tight it was in danger of breaking into two. "It's the wolves….they must have caught her trail."

"Charlie I….."

"You'd better get back home, Carlisle," Charlie barked, his shoulders squaring and his eyes narrowing. It was a shift in demeanor Carlisle knew all too well. He had witnessed it countless times when they grew up. It was the end of their conversation. "You're not supposed to be out after dark anyway. Esme will be sick with worry."

Carlisle breathed in a deep breath as he watched his friend, the shadow of Chief Swan's proud, commanding frame standing out against the dark. He wished it would be different, that their roles would have been exchanged, that it would be his son out there searching for Charlie's daughter. Not the other way around.

It wasn't supposed to be the other way around.

Still, Charlie could hope where he could not. His child had only been out there for a day, less even, when Carlisle's boy had set off into the woods six days ago.

Six nights of listening closely.

Six nights of watching the same damn tree line, hoping for a sign of life.

Six nights of knowing, when the wolves began to howl, that all hope should be abandoned.

Six mornings of starting all over again.

"I'm sorry," he spoke in the general direction of the shadow of his best friend.

Because he was.

~ x ~

Meanwhile somewhere deep in the forest Bella Swan was lost in more ways than one. Initially when she had set out into the forest earlier that day, determination and focus on the task at hand had been enough to keep her going, but as night fell and the forest gave birth to sudden movements and unsettling sounds, both of those had vanished like snow before the sun, leaving only fear.

Fear for herself, but most of all fear for those she loved.

Her father.

Her sister.

Her lover……

If only she could have found him. If only she knew…

The thought that he might still be alive there somewhere, needing her, while she was standing there in the middle of a moonlit clearing petrified with fear…

"Pull yourself together, Bella," she growled at herself. "It's only trees. Trees and leaves and roots. Nothing to fear."

Although, her subconscious was quick to add, roots had made her slip more often than she cared to remember. Not to mention the thorns on the brambles…..

"Just put one foot in front of the other." It was easier said than done with a body that had suddenly decided to speak a different language than her mind. Between the throbbing of her slightly sprained ankle and the crippling fear, movement was pretty much the last thing her body had in mind. The only thing that could make it move, in the end, was the image of the one she had set out to find.

I have to find him.

Next thing she knew she was on the edge of the clearing, her eyes scanning into the darkness, hoping to satisfy themselves that all was safe and hopefully detect a sign of life…human life.

It all happened so quickly, her brain barely catching up as the horror scenario's it had made up all came true at once.

A twig snapping underneath her feet.

The bloodcurdling howls of the wolves, followed by the sound of living beings moving through the forest at a dazzling speed.

Moving towards her…..

Preferring light to darkness Bella backtracked into the clearing again, though she realized that the sense of security the moonlight gave her was nothing but falsehood. The wolves would react the same, whether they could only see her fear or just smell it.

The only difference was that she would be able to see them, though in retrospect she wasn't quite sure whether or not that would be an advantage.

A dark shadow crept out from beneath the tree line, minutes after Bella had backed into the clearing, it's piercing eyes and bared, glistening teeth the only things standing out against the darkness surrounding it.

It must have smelled her through the forest, fear and the dried up blood from where thorns and branches had scratched her skin guiding it towards her through the darkness like a hungry man towards a roasted chicken.

And with the same purpose…..to devour.

Instinct took over right that moment, her sore foot forgotten or just blocked out by the adrenaline rush, survival outweighing visibility as far as her subconscious was concerned and Bella took off in a sprint, the fabric of her dress rustling against her legs as she ran for dear life, hoping that the cover of darkness and the thickness of the forest would somehow shield her from the evil that pursued her.

It was to no avail.

Soon the rustling of branches and the heavy foul breath coming from the animal's snout could be heard behind her, stopping only when it paused to emit a deep, low howl, the answer coming almost immediately and from a space right behind her.

Crap!

Spurred by fear Bella made the capital mistake of looking back, the shadows of at least five wolves closing in on her making her feet pick up speed and loose every caution they had held on to until then.

The result was almost immediate, a slippery tree stump causing her to lose her balance and crash onto the ground. The fact that the adrenaline coursing through her veins overrode the pain she would normally have felt only a small blessing as she scrambled for a nearby tree.

She had seen death many times, even in spite of her young age. As a volunteer at Carlisle Cullen's clinic she had stood by powerless as men with the strength of juggernauts crumbled before her eyes, not to mention watched as her own mother sacrificed her own life to save that of her unborn child.

However, she had never given much thought to how she was going to die.

Not until then.

A frightened whimper left her mouth as she crawled backwards, her hands clawing at the earth beneath her as she pressed her body against the wood of a tree, hoping it would somehow protect her.

"Please…." She whispered at the dark shadows moving in on her, a lone tear dripping out of the corner of her eye.

A figure sprang forward from the circle of wolves that surrounded her, its menacing snarls a taste of what was to come.

Bella's voice barely registered above a whisper as she started to pray, the words leaving her lips in a frantic flutter as the shadow slowly but surely crept forward.

She prayed to be saved.

She prayed for a quick ending.

But most of all….she prayed for the man she loved, more than her own life.

As the beast before her crouched, his figure poised to strike, the moonlight caught its eyes, a familiar shimmer catching her eye.

She would have recognized those eyes anywhere, having caught that same shimmer from across her father's dining table many, many times.

It was then, and only then, that Bella screamed.

Don't worry. This is about as scary as it's going to get. A lot of answers will come in the next couple of chapters.

Loved it? Hated it? Let me know.