Chapter 14
My aunt answered the door and I heard a familiar male voice. His voice sounded panicked and I heard him saying something about Luna.
I saw Luna’s twin, Joseph, when me and Miss Baylor hurried into the foyer.
“What is it, Joseph?” Miss Baylor asked.
“It’s Luna!” He was very agitated. “She’s disappeared into the woods… we have to find her!”
“I’m sure she’s fine, Joseph. You know she does this all the time when you boys upset her.”
“Not this time. She went into… the dark part of the woods.”
“She knows that part of the woods is dangerous. What would compel her to go there?” Miss Baylor searched Joseph’s eyes.
Joseph looked briefly at me, and I could tell he knew where Luna and I had gone earlier. I quietly shook my head at him and mouthed the word please while he had my aunt’s and Miss Baylor’s attention.
“I don’t know,” he lied. “She was upset about something, but she wouldn’t say what.”
They all three looked at me. “I don’t have a clue where she is.” Which was the truth. I really didn’t know where she went, but I’m sure everything that happened tonight had a lot to do with why she ran away.
“Where are your brothers?” Miss Baylor asked.
“They’ve already gone searching. Twilight will be here soon.” His gaze shifted away from Miss Baylor, to me and Aunt Bev, then back to Miss Baylor. “We have to hurry.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said to Joseph.
“No!” He said, not unkindly. His gaze was hard at first, but then his large golden eyes softened. “It’s not safe for you out there.”
“I don’t care. It’s… my fault she ran away.” She had wanted to be the “chosen one” more than anything, and maybe she felt like if I hadn’t come to Haven she could have been. I would have gladly given it to her if I could, but unfortunately for me that wasn’t the way it worked.
“Stay here.” He demanded, before disappearing through the sliding glass door.
I tried to run after him, but by the time I got to the door he had disappeared. I stood at the open glass doors, with my arms wrapped around myself, staring out toward the lake. Tears stood in my eyes when I thought about Luna out there with God only knew what.
Miss Baylor left a few minutes later, promising to let us know as soon as they found Luna.
My mind raced. I had to help find her, and I had an idea. “I’m going to my room,” I told Aunt Bev.
“Do you want to talk about anything first?”
I shook my head and walked past her to the stairs. I glanced back at her and forced a smile that fell away quickly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
When I got to my room, I quickly figured out how to remove the screen from my window. I made sure to turn up my music to make sure they couldn’t hear me sneaking out.
It turned out to be quite easy. When I climbed onto the lower roof and peered over the edge, it looked to be a bit higher than I originally thought. The temperature was dropping quickly. I climbed back in and grabbed a hoodie. Before leaving again, I yelled downstairs to tell Aunt Bev I was going to bed. That’s what I did almost every night, so I felt sure she didn’t suspect anything. I stuffed clothes and pillows under my covers to ward off Aunt Bev, just in case she got nosy, then grabbed my flashlight, and out the window I went.
Inside the tree-line behind my house it was completely dark and very frightening, but I couldn’t risk Aunt Bev seeing the illumination from my flashlight. I fumbled my way through the woods, running into briars, and tripping over roots or rocks—I wasn’t sure which— and kept looking back until I could no longer see the lights from my house.
“Finally.” I let out a sigh of relief until I turned on the flashlight and saw the eeriness of the woods at night. When I shined it around, the shadows it cast made the woods look even scarier. I stopped and took in a deep breath. “This is no time to be a chicken,” I chastened myself. As I walked and called out Luna’s name, it suddenly dawned on me, I had no idea where the “dark” part was. From where I was standing everything looked pretty dark to me. Joseph must have meant something else… but what?
I looked up, but the trees were so tall I couldn’t see the sky past them. I was in an endless black pit. What if I got lost? No one even knew I was out here, so they wouldn’t know where to look for me. With that, I decided to go toward the lake, and use it as a guide.
When the sound of bullfrogs grew louder, I knew I was getting close to the water. A few more steps and I saw the water through a break in the trees. As I stepped into the clearing I heard a low growl and I froze. My eyes flitted from side-to-side, but I didn’t move. When I heard it again I realized it was coming from somewhere behind me.
I bolted, running parallel to the water, and the low growl I’d heard previously turned into a vicious snarling noise. It was growing closer, and by the sound of the ground thudding under its feet, it was running straight toward me. Adrenaline raced through my veins, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to explode in my chest.
Suddenly, I tripped and went flying with my arms straight out toward the ground. I looked behind and spotted a giant wolf-like animal running at me, teeth bared. I was too scared to run. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see my attacker rip my limbs off. I silently prayed that death would come quickly.
I heard a fearsome growl, different from the one before. I opened my eyes just as much larger “wolf” leapt from the side, colliding with the first, and their tangled bodies rolled toward the water. The larger one was a beautiful reddish color, and for some reason I didn’t feel threatened by its presence. I watched as the smaller was grabbed and slung across the clearing. The wolf then glanced at me, revealing blood covered fangs, but it didn’t growl. The smaller one saw its chance for attack and I screamed, “Look-out.” The larger one turned, and the smaller one sank its teeth into the larger one’s back, and they went rolling again.
I was on my knees huddled over, my eyes tightly closed, and my hands covered my ears, trying to block out the volatile sounds of gnashing teeth. Ripping fur, and snarling, that sounded almost like thunderous explosions filled the air around me. I was sure they were killing each other. I cracked open my eyes just in time to see the larger, clearly more dominant, one reaching down and ripping the throat out of the one that was chasing me.
The victor looked up for a brief moment; I managed to get to my feet without taking my eyes off of it. I stared, unable to move. It looked up at me one more time, and I saw large golden eyes. I think it was waiting for me to go before ripping the other one to shreds, so I ran back in the direction I thought was home.
I ran until my side throbbed in pain, and my lungs burned from lack of oxygen. I tried to keep pushing my legs, but they would no longer move and I was forced to stop. I bent over, placing my hands on my knees, but still never took my eyes off my surroundings. The creatures—I still wasn’t ready to call them by what they were—massive size would cause the earth to pound beneath my feet, and I would be fully aware they were still coming.
After I caught my breath, I stood upright. The pain in my side had not completely stopped, so I pressed my hand hard against it, but got little relief. I started moving again anyway.
I knew I was almost home when I saw the dimness of light between the branches. Just before reaching my back yard, I saw a shadow moving toward me. I left my flashlight where I had dropped it when the animal attacked me.
Once again, my heart pounded. I was too tired to run, so instead, I stopped.
“Gen, it’s me, Luna.” She spoke in a low, throaty voice.
I could hear her, but the shadows of the trees hid her from view. “Luna? Where have you been?” I asked, and then my anger took over. “I almost got killed looking for you! Some kind of giant wolf-like… beast almost had me for dinner-”
“Werewolf! Say it!” She said it, almost in a growl-like voice.
I crossed my arms tightly
across my chest. “It wasn’t a werewolf! It… it… was a giant dog turned rabid.”
“Go home. It’s not safe out here,” she said, sounding defeated.
I took a few uncertain steps toward the shadows.
“Stop! Don’t come any closer, just go home.” Luna’s voiced had softened only slightly.
I heard her walking away. “Luna!” I shouted, but she didn’t answer, and I didn’t follow.