The Hunters moon

Fahrradsattel

Angel

The prickles on the back of my neck won't cease. Something is wrong, I know it. Yet, when I look around everything seems to be at ease. Small chatter fills the bookshop, coffee machines brew their liquid gold, pages turn from one person to the other.

Normal, but unnerving. Rubbing my hands up my arms I slump back in the chair, trying to convince myself the mansion is what brought this on. This didn’t begin until after the mansion so there's no other way it could be anything else. Right?

“Angel.”

Sliding from my seat the prickles of something still feel like it’s following me. Once more my head turns in the direction. No one. I take my order from the cashier. Walking back to my seat my eyes constantly scan everything. I don’t know what’s worse. My staying here to feel pressure like this or leaving to walk back through the woods.

“Evening.” A voice from above pulls me out of my mind.

He’s a bit older than I am with the smell of strong cologne, coal eyes and light lashes. Nothing about him particularly peaks my interest. “Hello.”

His face is even when he pulls one of the books I bought towards himself. “Buy anything of interest?”

Annoyance stings at my mind for a moment. Keeping my smile tight, I reply, “Of interest to myself, yes.”

He wraps his fingers against the cover. “Well let's take a look shall we.” Leaning too close for comfort, I back away from him.

Then something happens that sends my nerves on edge. A strange tingling sensation dances over my body. One much like the mansion's essence. The man before me stills, his eyes moving in wild movements. Ripping his hand away from the book like it’s on fire he jumps away and into the table behind him. Their coffee spills everywhere.

“What the hell mate?” The person behind him shouts.

The man’s eyes darts to the book, me, and the floor. With a hand on his chest he runs from the store. The group he looks to be with follows him outside. Everything about this has my senses on edge. Something isn’t right. It’s time for me to leave.

“What the hell was his problem?” One of the people from the table beside me asks.

“No clue,” I say. “Let me help you.”

Jumping up to scoop up as many napkins as I can, I lay them on the spill.

“Looks like he saw a ghost.” One murmurs.

My eyes scan around the bookstore again. “Yeah, looks like it.”

Once everything is clean I sit back down for a moment. Collecting all my things and ensuring there’s no coffee or anything I dash out of there. Once the outside air hits my lungs it’s like a breath of fresh air. The heaviness within slowly fading. I don’t even look back when crossing the street and head back to the camp ground.

With each step the buzzing completely subsides. My breathing becomes even as all feels normal once more. Even with the woods approaching my nerves feel cool. Once my feet step over the border from the street to the sidewalk then the dirt path a new feeling takes over. One that doesn’t feel all too consuming but utterly foreign.

Trying to drop this off I hum low.

The feeling becomes apparent when two teenagers come into view. Towering over them is a man three times their age. Instantly my mouth turns to ash.

“Let go!” The girl calls out, ripping her arm away from the man. Her ponytail has fallen sitting low to the nape of her neck. Her bright eyes blaze angrily at the man. The taller one who is most likely her sister cowers behind her. Large tears roll down her young face. They couldn't be much older than fourteen, fifteen max. Too young to be already dealing with this.

The man’s smile is disgusting, nothing on his face shows a hint of kindness. It’s sickening. My heart begins to speed as heat builds at the base of my spine readying to spew venom.

“Please don’t yell. I was only asking if you two would care to join me back at my spot.”

The taller of the two whimpers, “We said no.”

“Piss off!” The shorter of the two hisses. Her words come out how she intends. Yet the look in her eyes is enough to tell me everything I need to know.

With all my might I boom out, “Is there a problem here?”

The man stops his actions, dropping his smile for a split second. That split second is enough to tell me what kind of man this is. My feet carry me to get these children away from him.

His unkind eyes turn to me calculating. “No problem here.”

I place myself between the three. Over my dead body he’d take these girls anywhere. I nod in the direction I came from. “Perfect. Then you can see yourself back to wherever you crawled out from.” I keep my face calm with every bit of venom seeping from my words. He would not argue this with me.

He licks his lips before he starts “Listen the girls and I-”

Seeing that he'll do nothing more than try to slither himself out from his, I turn my attention to the girls. “Do you know him?”

Both shake their heads no, eyes begging me not to leave them.

Turning back to the man, l motions for him to leave. “You are dismissed.”

“I-”

“Let me make myself perfectly clear here, unless you’d like for me to call the police. I suggest you take off and leave these girls alone.” I keep my head high, shoulder square. My eyes dare him to take one more step in the wrong direction. Truthfully there may not be much for the police to do besides kick him out of the campsite if we are lucky. Still, if he’s smart, he'll want to stay out of the limelight.

His eyes blaze down on me, rage pouring from every pore on his body. “Fine.” He spits. Walking down the path he continues in the direction I am heading.

I should watch him. But I can't help it when I turn to the girls. “Are you okay?”

The tall one breaks down crying, the shorter sister going to comfort her. “We are okay.” She tells herself more than the older one. Even with the strong look on her face her hands tremble.

“Are you two staying at the campsite?”

“No.” The short one answers. “We were just visiting a friend.”

They look to be on guard. Putting a soft smile on, I offer, “I can walk you to the bus stop if you’d like?”

The short one shakes her head pulling her older sister along. “No thank you.”

The older one asks, “Can you watch until we get off the trail?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Quietly I follow behind them. Keeping a good distance in order to make them feel safe. I also don’t press them for any more information they don’t wish to offer. By the time they reach the end the older one looks back and waves. The younger one pulls her until they are out of sight.

I smile and wave to them. Hoping they get home alright. Turning, I do a double take on what I’m carrying. Ruffling through my bag for my taser just in case, my nerves settle when my hand curls around it.

The wind picks up. Causing the leaves to circle around my feet. With each step a loud crunch sounds from below me. The sound puts my nerves on edge. Funny how I can be brave for two little girls and in a haunted house. I guess the real fear really is the people who lurk in the dark.

Something about that man puts my senses on edge. It shouldn't be a surprise when he’s standing on the side of the treeline watching me. His eyes were already shooting daggers in my direction. I knew this was a possibility but I still took the same route. However, I’ve seen enough to know if you make direct eye contact with them it makes them know you are alerrt. So as I pass my eyes lock onto his, while my fist locks onto my taser in my bag. With my eyes I dare him to try something. He doesn’t move as I pass. Just watching me continue down the path.

When it’s impossible for me to continue watching him my head turns to look forward. It’s not until the second one steps out from the woods that my blood runs cold. This one stands taller than the blonde, his eyes just as dark if not entirely black to match his hair. This is why the man was trying to lure both girls.

Clutching the taser in my hand, I smile, “Can I help you?”

He opens his disgusting mouth when the energy changes. That same buzzing feeling overtakes my skin running over me in harmonious patterns. That’s when I finally feel him, he appears before me within the blink of an eye. The rage upon his face at the dark hair man is enough to chill you to the bone. “ I agree with her statement. Is there any way we could assist you two?”