So far Elena's time in Red Oak had consisted of being chased out of a cemetery by God knows what, being told about dragons and 'multiverses' by God knows who and to top it all off, now she had left her cell phone God knows where. It really was not her week, by any means, and she tugged on a hoodie to head outside and try to fix at least one of the current problems in her life.
It was colder than she had expected outside, and surely it was her paranoia but she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. A crack sounded behind her and she jumped and spun around, hand diving into her bag for the stake - one of the few possessions she actually had. Gripping it tightly, she walked forward to see....
An owl. It hooted and flew out of the tree, and Elena couldn't help but laugh. So used to danger around every corner, she couldn't even go go a walk after dark without her paranoia getting in the way. She shook her head, turned to walk back down the path and put the stake back into her bag. With a few mental stern words about toughening up and getting on with things, she continued away from the main building of the manor and out towards the gatehouse. She had been up there earlier, writing in her diary. Perhaps she had left the phone there.