THE BOY WITH THE MOONSEAL

Chapter One The Night the Forest Spoke The first thing Eli Carter noticed was that the forest was too quiet. Not peaceful. Quiet. There was a difference. Peaceful meant there were sounds beneath the silence—the distant rush of water, insects humming in the grass, leaves shifting whenever the wind passed through the branches. This was different. This silence felt as though the entire forest were holding its breath. Eli stood at the edge of the trees with his hands shoved into the pockets of his gray hoodie. Behind him, the lights of Blackridge High glowed through the darkness. Ahead of him stretched the forest. It looked almost black beneath the moon. "Tell me again why we're doing this." Noah Bennett's voice came from somewhere behind him. Eli didn't turn around. "Because you said you weren't scared." "I said I wasn't that scared." "That's basically the same thing." "No, it isn't." Eli smiled. Noah walked up beside him, holding a flashlight in one hand and his phone in the other. His dark hair was messy from the wind, and his school jacket was still covered in mud from the football field. "We could be at my house," Noah said. "Playing games. Eating pizza. Living normal lives." "We don't have normal lives." "That's because you keep making terrible decisions." "You came with me." "Because apparently I'm an excellent friend." "You are." Noah sighed. "Unfortunately." Eli finally looked at him. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Noah raised the flashlight. "So we're actually going in?" Eli glanced at the forest. "Just for a few minutes." "You said that ten minutes ago." "I know." "And twenty minutes ago." "I know." "And—" "Are you coming or not?" Noah stared at him. Then he muttered something under his breath and stepped forward. The beam of his flashlight disappeared between the trees. Eli followed. The forest swallowed them. --- Blackridge had always been surrounded by woods. The town was small enough that everybody knew everybody, but large enough that you could disappear for an afternoon if you wanted to. The forest was different. People didn't disappear there. Not if they knew what was good for them. At least, that's what Eli's grandmother always said. Don't go past the old railway. Don't follow the creek after sunset. And whatever you hear in the trees, don't answer. Eli had never understood the last one. Until tonight. He pushed a low branch out of his way. It snapped back behind him. "Did you hear that?" Noah stopped. "Hear what?" "Nothing." "You literally just asked if I heard something." "I thought I did." Noah looked around. "Maybe it was an animal." "Maybe." They continued. Their shoes crunched over leaves. The deeper they went, the colder the air became. Eli pulled his hoodie tighter around himself. "How much farther?" Noah checked his phone. "No signal." "Mine either." "Great." They kept walking. The reason they'd come was simple. At least, it had seemed simple when Eli had suggested it. A girl from their history class, Jenna Moore, had disappeared that afternoon. Not permanently. At least, nobody knew that yet. She had simply vanished after school. Her backpack had been found near the old railway line. Police had searched the road and the nearby houses. Nothing. Then somebody had posted a photograph online. A blurry picture of something in the forest. At first Eli had thought it was a deer. But when he zoomed in, he'd seen something else. A person. Or something shaped like one. Standing between the trees. Watching. The photograph had been deleted less than an hour later. That had been enough to make Eli curious. Noah had called it a terrible idea. Then he'd followed him anyway. They reached the railway. The tracks were old and rusted, half-buried beneath weeds. Eli crouched beside them. "There." Noah raised his flashlight. Something was caught in the grass. A silver bracelet. Eli picked it up. A tiny moon-shaped charm hung from the chain. "Jenna's," he said. "How do you know?" "She wears it every day." Noah stared at the bracelet. "Okay." "What?" "I don't know." "What?" "This suddenly feels less like an adventure." Eli stood. "You're the one who wanted proof." "Proof that something weird is happening. Not proof that we're idiots." Eli laughed quietly. Then he heard it. A sound. Very faint. Like someone whispering. "Eli." He froze. Noah looked at him. "What?" Eli stared into the forest. "Did you say my name?" "No." The whisper came again. "Eli." This time it was clearer. It sounded like a girl. Eli stepped away from the railway. Noah grabbed his arm. "Don't." Eli looked at him. "You heard it?" Noah didn't answer. "Did you hear it?" "Yeah." They stood together. The forest remained still. Then something moved between the trees. Eli raised the flashlight. Nothing. "Hello?" Noah's eyes widened. "What are you doing?" "Maybe it's Jenna." "Or maybe it's the world's most obvious trap." Eli stepped forward. "Eli." The voice came again. Closer. He moved between the trees. Noah swore and followed. "You're going to get us killed." "I thought you said you weren't scared." "I lied." They went deeper. The trees became thicker. The moon disappeared behind the branches. Eli's heartbeat quickened. Then the ground dropped. His foot slipped. "Eli!" He fell. Branches tore at his clothes as he slid down a steep slope. He landed hard on his shoulder. For several seconds he couldn't breathe. Noah scrambled down after him. "Are you okay?" Eli sat up. "Yeah." "You sure?" "Yeah." Noah helped him stand. They were at the bottom of a narrow ravine. A stream ran through it. The water was black beneath the moonlight. Eli looked around. Something felt wrong. Not dangerous. Not exactly. Familiar. He had never been here before. But somehow, he knew the place. "There." Noah pointed. Across the stream stood an enormous stone. Symbols had been carved into its surface. Eli crossed the water. Noah followed reluctantly. "What is that?" "I don't know." Eli reached toward the stone. The moment his fingers touched it, pain exploded through his hand. He screamed. "Eli!" He pulled away. A red mark appeared across his palm. It looked like a thin crescent. Then the stone began to vibrate. Noah stumbled backward. "What did you do?" "I don't know!" The forest suddenly came alive. Birds burst from the trees. Branches shook. The stream began moving faster. And somewhere behind them, something growled. Neither boy moved. Noah whispered, "Tell me that was your stomach." Eli stared into the darkness. It growled again. Louder. A pair of pale eyes appeared between the trees. Eli's breath stopped. The creature stepped forward. At first it looked like a person. Tall. Thin. Wearing a dark coat. But something about it was wrong. Its arms were too long. Its movements were too smooth. Its face was hidden beneath a hood. Noah grabbed Eli's sleeve. "Run." They ran. --- Eli didn't remember climbing the ravine. He didn't remember crossing the railway. He didn't remember reaching the road. He only remembered running. Trees blurred around him. His lungs should have burned. They didn't. His legs should have become tired. They didn't. He could hear Noah behind him. Then suddenly he couldn't. Eli stopped. He turned around. "Noah?" Nothing. He ran back. "NOAH!" His voice echoed through the trees. Then he heard footsteps. Fast. Coming toward him. Eli raised his flashlight. Noah emerged from the darkness. "Where were you?" "I thought you were ahead of me!" "No!" They stared at each other. Noah was breathing heavily. Eli wasn't. That bothered him. "Something chased us," Noah said. "I know." "What was it?" "I don't know." "It looked human." "Yeah." "But it wasn't." "No." Noah looked at Eli's hand. The crescent-shaped mark had spread. Thin dark lines now traveled from his palm toward his wrist. "Eli." "What?" "Your hand." Eli looked down. The mark was glowing faintly. Then the forest went silent again. Eli heard something. A heartbeat. He looked at Noah. Then he realized it wasn't Noah's heartbeat. It was coming from the forest. Boom. Boom. Boom. Slow. Heavy. Closer. Eli suddenly felt something inside himself respond. His own heartbeat changed. Boom. Boom. Boom. The two rhythms became synchronized. Then the creature appeared. It stood at the edge of the trees. Watching them. Noah whispered, "Run." This time Eli didn't argue. --- They reached the road just before midnight. A car passed. Its headlights briefly illuminated them. The driver honked. Noah waved. The car continued. Eli bent over, trying to catch his breath. Noah stared at him. "You're not breathing." Eli straightened. "What?" "I mean—" Noah stopped. Eli took a deep breath. Nothing hurt. He could smell the wet road. The gasoline from the passing car. The pine trees. Noah's shampoo. Even the faint scent of smoke drifting from someone's chimney several streets away. Eli looked around. "Do you smell that?" "Smell what?" "Smoke." Noah frowned. "There's no smoke." Eli turned. The smell was still there. Strong. He could almost taste it. He looked toward town. A house several blocks away had a chimney. There was a faint trail of smoke rising into the sky. Eli stared. "We need to go." "Yeah." "No." He looked at Noah. "I mean home." --- Eli's house was dark when he arrived. He slipped through the back door. The kitchen clock read 12:37. He expected his grandmother to be asleep. She wasn't. She was sitting at the kitchen table. The lights were off. Only the moon illuminated her face. Eli stopped. "Grandma?" She looked at him. Then at his hand. Her expression changed. All the color disappeared from her face. "Where did you get that?" Eli slowly lowered his hand. "What?" "The mark." He stared at it. "I don't know." She stood. "Where were you?" "Out." "Where?" "With Noah." "Where?" Her voice was different now. Not angry. Afraid. "The forest." She closed her eyes. For several seconds, she didn't speak. Then she whispered: "You're not supposed to have it." Eli felt cold. "Have what?" She walked toward him. Her eyes remained fixed on the mark. "Go upstairs." "What?" "Go upstairs." "Grandma—" "Now." Eli didn't move. "What happened to me?" She looked at him. And for the first time in his life, Eli saw fear in his grandmother's eyes. Not ordinary fear. The kind of fear that came from remembering something you'd spent years trying to forget. "Your grandfather had that mark." Eli's stomach dropped. "My grandfather?" She nodded. "He disappeared when your mother was seventeen." "You said he died." "I lied." The kitchen seemed to shrink around him. Eli stared at her. "You said he had a heart attack." "I know." "Why?" "Because some truths are dangerous." He looked at his hand. The mark pulsed. "Is he alive?" His grandmother didn't answer. "Grandma." "I don't know." "You don't know?" She turned away. "I haven't seen him in twenty-three years." Eli stepped closer. "Then why does this happen to me?" She looked at him again. "Because the forest has found you." --- The next morning, Eli woke before his alarm. He stared at the ceiling. For a few seconds, he couldn't remember the previous night. Then everything came back. The forest. The creature. The stone. The mark. His grandfather. Eli sat up. Something was wrong. He could hear the shower running downstairs. He could hear his grandmother opening cupboards. He could hear a dog barking several houses away. He could hear a car engine starting. He could hear everything. He covered his ears. The sounds became louder. Not quieter. He rushed to the bathroom. He looked into the mirror. His eyes seemed normal. His face seemed normal. Except for the mark. The crescent on his palm had darkened. Eli ran cold water over it. Nothing happened. He grabbed a towel. His reflection stared back. Then something moved behind him. Eli spun around. Nobody. He turned back toward the mirror. A shadow stood behind his reflection. Tall. Hooded. Eli stumbled backward. The bathroom door slammed open. His grandmother stood there. "Eli?" He pointed at the mirror. "It's there." She looked. "What?" "The thing from the forest." She walked into the bathroom. There was nothing in the mirror. Eli's breathing quickened. "I saw it." His grandmother placed both hands on his shoulders. "Listen to me." "What?" "Whatever you saw last night, you must not go looking for it." "Why?" "Because it may come looking for you." --- By eight o'clock, Eli was sitting in the back of Noah's car. Neither of them had told their parents everything. There were certain things you couldn't explain without sounding insane. They had agreed to keep the story simple. They'd gone into the woods. They'd gotten lost. They'd found Jenna's bracelet. Nothing more. But Noah knew Eli was hiding something. "So," Noah said, keeping his eyes on the road, "your grandmother knows." Eli looked out the window. "She knows something." "That's not what I asked." "I know." "Are you going to tell me?" "Eventually." Noah sighed. "You're terrible at secrets." "So are you." "True." They arrived at Blackridge High. Students filled the parking lot. Cars lined the street. Someone was playing music loudly from a truck. Everything looked normal. That was the strange part. Eli stepped out. Immediately, the world changed. He could hear hundreds of sounds. Lockers opening. Shoes scraping against pavement. Conversations. Laughter. Phones vibrating. He could even hear the faint clicking of a pen inside a classroom on the second floor. He looked at Noah. "Does school always sound like this?" Noah stared at him. "What?" "Nothing." They walked inside. The hallway was packed. Eli suddenly smelled something. Rain. Earth. Smoke. And something else. A metallic scent. He turned. A girl stood at the end of the hallway. Maya Reyes. She was new. Eli had seen her once or twice since she'd transferred to Blackridge. She was standing beside the lockers, holding a stack of books. Their eyes met. For some reason, Eli couldn't look away. Maya tilted her head. Then she looked directly at his hand. Eli instinctively covered it. Her expression changed. Not fear. Recognition. She walked toward him. "You're Eli Carter." He frowned. "Yeah." "I'm Maya." "I know." "You do?" "You're new." She smiled slightly. "You're observant." Noah stepped between them. "He's usually not." Maya looked at Noah. "And you're?" "Noah." She nodded. "Nice to meet you." Then she looked back at Eli. "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "You look pale." "I'm fine." Her eyes remained on his hand. "You sure?" Eli nodded. Maya walked away. Noah watched her leave. "Interesting." "What?" "She knows." Eli's stomach tightened. "Knows what?" "I don't know." Noah grinned. "But she definitely knows something." --- The first bell rang. Students disappeared into classrooms. Eli entered history. He took his usual seat near the window. Mr. Vale stood at the front of the classroom. He was young for a teacher. Maybe twenty-eight. Dark hair. Sharp eyes. He had been teaching at Blackridge for only a few months. Eli had never liked him. Not because of anything Mr. Vale had done. There was simply something about him. Something difficult to explain. Mr. Vale began writing on the board. LOCAL HISTORY: THE BLACKRIDGE WOODS Eli froze. Noah leaned toward him. "That's not creepy at all." Mr. Vale turned. "Mr. Carter." Eli looked up. "Yes?" "Perhaps you'd like to tell the class what you know about the forest." Eli swallowed. "Not much." "Are you sure?" Their eyes met. For one brief second, Eli saw something strange in Mr. Vale's expression. Recognition. Then it vanished. "The Blackridge forest," Mr. Vale continued, "has been part of the town's history since its founding." He drew a rough map. "Early settlers believed the forest was sacred." A student raised her hand. "Why?" Mr. Vale smiled. "Because they believed something lived beneath it." "What?" "Nobody knows." Eli's mark burned. He grabbed his wrist. Mr. Vale noticed. "Mr. Carter?" "I'm fine." "Are you?" Eli looked up. Mr. Vale was staring directly at his hand. Then the classroom door opened. Maya stood outside. "Sorry," she said. "I'm late." Mr. Vale looked at her. Something passed between them. Something Eli couldn't understand. "Come in," he said. Maya entered. She took a seat two rows ahead of Eli. Mr. Vale continued his lecture. But Eli couldn't concentrate. The mark kept burning. And somewhere in the distance, he heard that heartbeat again. Boom. Boom. Boom. --- At lunch, Eli found Maya sitting alone. Noah was beside him. "You should talk to her," Noah said. "Why me?" "Because she keeps looking at you." "Maybe she's wondering why I keep staring at her." "That's possible." Eli sighed. They walked over. Maya looked up. "Hi." "Hi." Noah sat down. Eli remained standing. "Can we ask you something?" Maya closed her book. "Sure." "You know something about the forest." She didn't answer. Noah leaned forward. "Don't bother pretending." Maya looked at him. "Why would I know anything?" "Because you recognized the mark." Silence. Maya's eyes moved to Eli's hand. "You shouldn't have touched the stone." Eli's stomach dropped. "How do you know about the stone?" She looked around. "Not here." --- They met behind the gym after school. The three of them stood beneath the shade of an old oak tree. Maya crossed her arms. "My family has lived in Blackridge for generations." Noah nodded. "Okay." "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the forest." "What kind of stories?" "Stories about people who changed." Eli felt a chill. "Changed how?" Maya looked directly at him. "Some people were born different." "And others?" "Others became different." Noah looked at Eli. "That's not ominous." Maya ignored him. "The mark you have isn't an ordinary mark. It's called the Moonseal." Eli stared at her. "What does it do?" "That depends." "On what?" "On what you touched." "The stone." Maya nodded. "Then it's already started." Eli's heart raced. "What started?" She hesitated. "The awakening." Noah laughed nervously. "Okay. That word definitely sounds bad." Maya didn't smile. "Your senses will become stronger." Eli looked at his hands. "They already are." "Your hearing." "Yes." "Your smell." "Yes." "Your reflexes." Eli remembered running through the forest. "Yes." Maya's expression became serious. "And eventually, your body will begin changing." Eli stared at her. "Into what?" Maya didn't answer immediately. Then she whispered: "Something that the people of Blackridge have spent centuries trying to control." A branch snapped behind them. All three turned. Nothing. Eli could hear breathing. Slow. Close. He stepped forward. "Who's there?" No answer. Maya grabbed his arm. "Don't." The sound came again. A whisper. "Eli." He froze. Maya's face went pale. "You heard that?" She nodded. Noah looked between them. "What is it?" Maya whispered: "The forest." --- That night, Eli couldn't sleep. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling. His senses had become unbearable. He could hear every car passing outside. Every bird. Every insect. Every creak of the house. Then he heard something else. A heartbeat. Boom. Boom. Boom. Eli sat up. The sound was coming from downstairs. He grabbed a flashlight and left his room. The house was dark. He walked down the stairs. "Grandma?" No answer. The heartbeat continued. Boom. Boom. Boom. He entered the kitchen. The back door was open. Cold air moved through the room. His grandmother's chair was empty. Eli's heart stopped. "Grandma?" Nothing. Then he saw something on the floor. A trail of muddy footprints. They led toward the open door. Eli stepped closer. His hand began burning. The Moonseal glowed beneath his skin. Then something moved outside. Eli walked onto the porch. The backyard was empty. Except for one thing. A black feather lay in the grass. Eli picked it up. The moment he touched it, a vision struck him. The forest. A stone circle. His grandfather standing beneath the moon. A hooded figure facing him. Then his grandfather turned. His eyes were glowing. He spoke a single sentence. "Eli, if you're seeing this, they found you." The vision vanished. Eli dropped the feather. He stood frozen. Then a voice came from behind him. "You should have listened to your grandmother." Eli turned. The hooded figure stood at the edge of the yard. Exactly as he'd seen it in the forest. Eli couldn't move. The figure slowly lowered its hood. But there was no face beneath it. Only darkness. The creature stepped forward. Eli backed away. "Who are you?" The creature tilted its head. Then it spoke. Not with one voice. But with many. "Ask your grandfather." Eli's mark burned. The creature disappeared. Eli stood alone beneath the moon. Then his phone rang. He nearly dropped it. The screen showed an unknown number. He answered. "Hello?" Silence. Then a man's voice. Old. Tired. Afraid. "Eli." His heart stopped. He knew that voice. He had heard it only once. In old recordings his grandmother kept hidden. "Grandpa?" A long silence followed. Then the voice said: "Whatever happens next, do not trust the people who tell you they can save you." The call ended. Eli stared at the phone. Behind him, the forest moved. And somewhere beyond the trees, something howled. This time, Eli understood what the sound meant. It wasn't a warning. It was a summons. And deep beneath the skin of his palm, the Moonseal opened its first eye. Eli looked toward the forest. For the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid of what was waiting inside. He was afraid of what might be waiting inside him. The moon disappeared behind the clouds. And Blackridge went dark.