The red piercing eyes

Jennifer sat in the car as she looked at her phone in disbelief. The one phone call she was dreading, to come back home because her parents died. Jennifer left Palmdale after finishing high school and made a promise to herself that she would never return to her family's property. Palmdale was a small town in upstate New York, with about a thousand residents that never left the town. Jennifer was an only child who was homeschooled and never allowed to leave the property. She didn't have any friends and the older she grew the more she would wonder what was going on in the world outside of Palmdale.
Jennifer grew up in the 90's so getting online to meet people wasn't an option and the nearest neighbor lived about 100 miles away.
Since Palmdale was such a small town everyone knew everyone and the Griffith's weren't exactly the friendliest and held a bad reputation with the rest of the town. After getting her a full scholarship to Washington State University she packed her bags and never looked back, but this unfortunate event would force Jennifer to face one of her biggest challenges yet.

Jennifer wasn't your average teenager, she loved reading books and using tools. For her thirteenth birthday she designed and built her own version of a tiny house before they became a thing. So to get away from the ominous feeling of her house whenever she wasn't doing school work or her chores she would spend time in her tiny house making future plans that would allow her to travel the world. The Griffith's lived on about fifty acres of land that had an old Victorian style house with an old barn about fifteen feet away. The property was surrounded by very large trees that lead to the forbidden forest. Growing up Jennifer was never allowed in the barn or the forest, all she knew was that her father would go out to the barn early in the morning and wouldn't return back to the house until late every evening. She would occasionally see a very large owl with red piercing eyes flying by her window to the barn every night. She would hear faint screeching sounds and see flashing lights in the distance but never really paid attention to it, because what took place in the barn was never to be discussed. Whenever Jennifer would ask questions pertaining to the barn her parents would always brush the questions off by either lying or just changing the subject altogether. Jennifer had so many questions that never got answered. Why were her parents being so secretive, what was going on in the barn, and why was that owl with those unforgettable red piercing eyes flying to and from the barn every night.

Jennifer tried to brush off the curiosity she had in regards to the barn but it just wouldn't let up. Jennifer was more on the stubborn side of things, so once she had her mind set on something there wasn't anything that could change it. She started to plan out her next move on finding out what exactly took place in the barn. During the day Mrs. Griffith would tend to the upkeep of the house and garden, she was in her mid to late forties so she had no reason to leave the property. When it came to Mr. Griffith he kept many secrets about his past and his dealings with what was going on in the barn. Mr. Griffith was in his fifties and stood about 6'5, he was well known in Palmdale as the man of very little words. One Thursday morning Jennifer woke up as usual to get ready for school when she noticed that a note was left on her bedroom door that read " Gone out, breakfast is on the table we'll see you later." After checking the house for signs of her parents Jennifer took this opportunity to get the answers she'd been looking for. Jennifer didn't know how much time she was working with, so she rushed out to her tiny house and gathered her explorer's bag which contained a flashlight, gloves, rope, water, duck tape, a swiss army knife all of the necessary items that might be needed, then she made her way out to the barn. The barn stood about three stories high, was painted all black, and had a very large window at the top where the owl with the piercing red eyes would usually sit. Surprisingly the door to the barn was partially opened and covered in bloody hand prints, but a little blood wasn't going to scare off Jennifer. After all, she'd been waiting for this moment since laying eyes on the barn.

It was only 7:30 in the morning but, the inside of the barn was pitch black with the exception of the sunlight coming in through the window. Luckily for Jennifer she'd brought a flashlight. Upon entering the barn Jennifer heard a familiar screeching noise in the distance but couldn't find where it was coming from so she kept walking. The floor of the barn was covered in hay, which was weird because the Griffith's hadn't owned any farm animals that required the need for hay. The further she walked, Jennifer noticed a bloody trail that led to a hatch door on the floor. Right as Jennifer reached down to open the door a deep voice in the shadows said " You don't wanna do that". Not knowing where the voice came from Jennifer started looking around to see if anyone was there, but all she saw were those piercing red eyes staring back at her. "Hello, is someone there?" The voice answered yes, but I don't think you should be wandering around this barn. Jennifer then asked the voice, "Who or what are you?" The voice answered, my name is Samuel, and I'm the owl that flies by your window to the barn every night. Before Jennifer could ask her next question Samuel flew up to her. At this point the sunlight had the inside of the barn illuminated with light, and for the first time Jennifer could see not only the inside of the barn but, what Samuel actually looked like up close. Samuel had black feathers with a white streak going down his back, red piercing eyes, a 7ft wingspan, he stood about 4 ft tall and could talk. After landing in front of Jennifer she asked the obvious question of why he was able to talk. Samuel formally introduced himself to Jennifer, and then said I'm originally from a planet called Earrigon. I'll be more than happy to answer any of your questions but first we must leave this barn before your parents return home and find you here, it isn't safe. Jennifer was very hesitant about leaving the barn because she waited so long to find out what her father had been up to, but after seeing all the blood she decided to go talk with Samuel.

Samuel and Jennifer went back to the tiny house and started discussing what was really going on in the barn, and with the Griffith's as well. Samuel had been watching Jennifer from afar for many years now because he knew the truth behind her parents but didn't want to scare her off too soon. He told Jennifer that he would fly by her window every night to ensure she was safe. Apparently the Griffith's took great honor in being parents, but that never stopped Samuel from being on guard. Jennifer still didn't understand why Samuel felt this way about her parents so she let him explain everything without any interruptions. So Samuel continued with his story. I'm from a planet called Earrigon which is located many light-years away. I'm a well known scientist on my planet, and I study the different life forms on Earrigon and the health benefits they can have on extending life. I ended up on earth due to the selfish nature of your father's greed, and after he found out what type of research I did he tied me up and brought me back to earth in hopes of me healing his sick wife. Jennifer interrupted by saying my mother was never sick, why are you lying to me. Samuel continued by saying yes, your mother was sick and what your father didn't know was that our medical products are a lot stronger than the medication on earth and taking too much can cause death. You were still a baby when this event occurred therefore you weren't aware of any of these events. Samuel then asked Jennifer if he could continue with his story that he would answer any questions that she had when he was done. With a shocking look on her face Jennifer nodded yes and Samuel continued with his story. Your father used his teleporter and ended up on Earrigon, after exploring the land and watching the beings he decided that Earrigon held all of the answers he needed to help heal his dying wife. On Earrigon there were many different creatures and beings that coexisted without violence, hatred, or even anger which caused a longer lifespan and in some cases immortality. Earrigon produced many magical plants that would heal many sicknesses that people had on earth and after your father figured this out he tied me up and brought me back to earth. It wasn't until we returned to the barn that your father realized that he didn't have the necessary items to travel back to Earrigon. When your father made the initial trip to Earrigon he wasn't aware that the teleporter could only support one round trip at a time before needing more plutonium. The same way I'm sitting here having a conversation with you, I would've helped your father after learning his true intentions behind coming to Earrigon. I would've also given him the plutonium to return for multiple trips but instead his selfishness caused me to be stuck on Earth and him to lose your mother to her illness. Once we made it back to earth, I was held captive in the basement of the barn for years before I was able to gain his trust.

Over the years your father tried everything in his power to gain access to more plutonium but failed several times because he didn't have the proper clearance. Mr.Griffith used to work at a highly classified laboratory in Maineville, that was researching different planets that showed signs of life. The team that Mr. Griffith worked with was watching Earrigon for months studying the behavior of the beings to make sure it would be safe for humans to travel there. Much like Earth, Earrigon showed signs of drinkable water and oxygen levels that humans could survive with. The team made several trips to Earrigon collecting samples of the different plants and making contact with the beings as well. During this time Mr. Griffith would grow impatient with the progress because his only concern was healing his dying wife. So he took matters into his own hands by building his own teleporter in the barn and the pieces of equipment he didn't have access to he would steal from the laboratory. By the time everyone realized what Mr. Griffith was doing he stole the plutonium and never returned. They weren't able to locate him because he went by another name and was even able to change his appearance to look different.

The woman that Mr.Griffith is married to is your mother's sister, who was estranged from the rest of the family because she decided to start a relationship with your father. They decided to keep this secret to avoid any confusion with you. After many years of being held captive, I began talking to your father to find out if I could be of any service to him. Upon speaking to him I discovered that he wants to go back to Earrigon so that he could cure his wife as well as himself from a cancer they both develop from going into the barn and being around such toxic chemicals. There was blood all over the barn because he cut his arm in the process of repairing the teleporter and your mom took him to the hospital. I wanted to use this time to explain everything to you and let you know who exactly you're living with. I understand you're a very smart girl and I hope you don't plan on staying in this town. The world outside of Palmdale has so much more to offer than those books I've seen you reading. After listening to Samuel, Jennifer started to put A and B together about her parents and why she never really bonded with them. Then she looked at Samuel and said all I ever wanted was answers about what was going on in my family, but could never get through. Samuel then said the reason why you were never allowed to go into forbidden forest was because your family's cemetery is out there and that's where your mother is buried. I've been going out every night to gather the item to fix the teleporter to return to Earrigon because I've been here for over 20 years and I have a family back home, I don't belong here. I know this is overwhelming information, but you needed to know this before you leave to go off to college, which you did get accepted to. I was able to intercept the letter before your parents threw it away. So now that you have this information I hope you can live a happy and adventurous life outside of Palmdale, because I'll be returning to Earrigon to be with my family. What happened to your father today was my chance to make my proper escape and your parent's will never know we came in contact with one another.