SHE VANISHED BEFORE SUNRISE
1448 Words
Ryan Hayes woke up to the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.
His eyes fluttered open.
White ceiling.
Antiseptic.
The dull ache of pain radiated through his ribs.
"...Where am I?"
A nurse looked up from the chart in her hands.
"Oh, you're awake."
She hurried toward the door.
"Doctor!"
Ryan frowned.
"My... game..."
"The Showcase..."
"Relax," the nurse said gently. "You survived emergency surgery."
Ryan's throat felt dry.
"...Survived?"
His heart skipped.
The last thing he remembered...
Three masked men.
A knife.
A howl.
Then...
Golden eyes with fire.
"...Luna..."
The name escaped before he realized he had spoken it.
*
About an hour later.
Dr. Marcus Bennett adjusted Ryan's chart.
"You were fortunate."
Ryan managed a weak smile.
"Doesn't feel like it."
"The blade missed your liver by less than an inch."
Ryan swallowed.
"...Who brought me here?"
The doctor paused.
"Campus security found you."
Ryan stared.
"No."
"They didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't alone."
The doctor looked confused.
"Weren't you?"
Ryan squeezed his eyes shut.
He could still feel someone holding him.
Warm.
Strong.
Gentle.
He remembered hearing a trembling voice.
"I always hurt the people I try to save..."
"I..." Ryan whispered. "I don't remember."
The doctor nodded sympathetically.
"Trauma often does that. Your mom will be here in no time"
“Doc I can leave soon right?”
Ryan asked with all curiosity
Sure. Like i said you're very fortunate. Dr. Marcus added.
But Ryan knew one thing. Someone had carried him, someone had saved his life.
And somehow… No one, even the school securities didn't seem to know who.
*
Outside Hawthorne University...
Rumors spread faster than wildfire.
"I heard four guys were found unconscious."
"No."
"There were actually three."
"My cousin works with campus security."
"They said it looked like an animal attack."
"An animal?"
"Yeah."
"Like... claws."
"You're kidding."
"They said one tree was snapped clean in half."
"That's impossible."
"Exactly."
Within twenty-four hours...
The entire campus had invented its own version of the story.
Some blamed a bear.
Others whispered about a serial killer.
One conspiracy theory claimed the school was covering up an escaped military experiment.
No one mentioned werewolves.
Because no sane person believed in them.
Meanwhile before this time...
Luna Brooks had disappeared.
No classes.
No basketball practice.
No messages.
No explanation.
Her seat in Philosophy 301 remained empty.
Professor Grant glanced toward it several times.
"I hope Miss Brooks is well."
Ryan couldn't focus on the lecture.
He kept looking at the empty chair.
Why did she disappear?
Did she remember that night?
Or...
Was she running from it?
After class…Noah caught up with him.
"You've been acting really weird."
Ryan frowned. "I got stabbed."
"I know."
"But you're thinking about something else."
Ryan hesitated.
"...Have you ever met Luna outside class?"
Noah laughed.
"The scholarship genius?"
"No."
"Why?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Just asking."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"Dude..."
"Victoria's going to kill you if she hears that."
As if summoned...
Victoria Sterling appeared.
She wrapped her arms around Ryan immediately.
"Oh my God."
"I was so scared."
Ryan smiled politely.
"I'm okay."
She kissed his cheek.
"You shouldn't even be walking."
"I'm fine."
Her smile faded.
"...Why were you asking about Luna?"
Ryan blinked.
"You heard that?"
"I hear everything."
"It's nothing."
She stepped closer.
"No. It isn't."
"Ever since you woke up..."
"...you've said her name twice."
Ryan looked away.
"I was confused."
"Were you?" Her voice sharpened.
"Or is there something you're not telling me?"
Before he could answer...
She grabbed his injured side.
Hard.
Pain shot through his body.
Ryan winced.
"Victoria..."
She immediately let go.
"Oh...I'm sorry."
"I didn't mean..."
Ryan forced a smile. "It's okay."
But it wasn't.
For the first time, being near his girlfriend felt extremely uncomfortable.
That same evening...
Ryan stood outside the university library.
He stared through the glass.
Luna always studied here.
Every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The librarian noticed him.
"Looking for someone?"
Ryan hesitated.
"Yeah."
"Luna Brooks."
The elderly woman smiled sadly.
"She hasn't come in all week."
Ryan nodded.
"Thanks ma'am."
As he turned to leave...
The librarian called after him.
"You know..."
Ryan looked back.
"She always reserved the same corner."
"Every time she came..."
"...she'd read romance novels first."
Ryan blinked.
"Romance?"
The librarian chuckled.
"Strange combination."
“Advanced Philosophy...Quantum Physics...and love stories."
Ryan couldn't help smiling.
"...She hid that well."
He nodded and left.
Later that night...
Ryan unlocked his apartment.
His laptop automatically opened to the campus writing forum.
A notification popped up.
Midnight Between Us
New Chapter Published
Thousands of comments flooded in.
Ryan began reading.
Then...
His breathing slowed.
The heroine laughed exactly the way Luna did.
The dialogue...
Sounded familiar.
Then he reached one line.
"Some people inherit money."
"Others inherit loneliness."
Ryan froze.
His heart pounded.
Luna had said something almost identical during Philosophy class.
Coincidence?
He continued reading.
Another sentence.
"The boy who smiles on the court cries where nobody watches."
Ryan's blood ran cold.
No one knew that.
No one.
Except… Ryan himself.
He closed the laptop.
"...Who are you?"
***
Across town...
Luna stood alone outside a grocery store.
Rain soaked her hoodie.
She stared blankly at the shopping basket in her hand.
"...Why am I here?"
She looked around.
She didn't remember leaving home.
Didn't remember walking.
Didn't even remember getting dressed.
An elderly cashier smiled.
"You alright, dear?"
Luna forced a smile.
"Yes."
"...I think so."
As she reached for her wallet...
She noticed mud covering her shoes.
Dark mud.
Mixed with leaves.
As though she had walked through a forest.
Her smile disappeared.
She left the store and went home.
“Mom..?”
Her mother was waiting when she returned home.
"You were gone for six hours."
Luna frowned.
"...Six?"
"You said you were buying bread."
"I..."
"I don't remember."
Her mother's face became pale.
"Luna..."
"When was the last full moon?"
Luna shrugged.
"I don't know."
Her mother closed the curtains immediately.
Too quickly.
Too nervously.
"Mom?"
"No more late walks."
"Why?"
"Just promise me."
"...Why?"
Tears filled her mother's eyes.
"Because..."
"...I can't lose you too."
Luna's expression softened.
"I've already lost enough."
Silence filled the apartment.
Neither of them said the name.
Emily.
Nine years old. Gone.
Years later...
The grief still lived in every room they were together, and didn't seem to leave soon.
The following afternoon...
Ryan visited campus security.
Officer Daniels folded his arms.
"You've got questions."
Ryan nodded.
"I remember hearing..."
"...an animal."
Daniels exchanged a glance with another officer.
"There wasn't one."
"But..."
"There were strange markings."
"What kind?"
"We're not discussing an active investigation."
Ryan leaned forward.
"I'm the victim." Daniels sighed.
"The attackers looked terrified."
"That's all I'll say."
"Terrified of what?"
The officer looked Ryan directly in the eye.
"They weren't running from you."
That answer haunted Ryan all day.
Friday evening.
The campus buzzed again.
Everyone waited for the anonymous romance update.
Students gathered in cafés.
Dorm lounges.
Libraries.
Phones refreshed every second.
11:59 p.m.
The chapter appeared.
Within minutes...
Comments exploded.
One caught Ryan's attention.
AnonymousReader44
"The author definitely knows Ryan Hayes."
Another replied.
"No way."
A third.
"Read Chapter 18. The basketball scenes describe him perfectly."
Ryan opened Chapter 18.
His stomach tightened.
"He always dribbled three times before shooting a free throw."
Ryan whispered...
"...Impossible."
He had done that since childhood.
It wasn't public.
It wasn't televised.
Someone had watched him.
Closely enough all these years.
*
At Midnight.
Luna finally fell asleep.
Outside...
Rain stopped.
The street became silent.
Then...
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone stood beneath her apartment window.
Another.
Then another.
A shadow detached itself from the darkness.
A gloved hand reached into a bag.
Something wet splashed across the apartment door.
Red. Thick. Blood.
A folded piece of paper was pressed against it.
The footsteps disappeared.
Minutes later...
Luna's mother opened the door to throw out the trash.
She screamed.
The bag slipped from her hands.
Luna bolted awake.
"Mom!"
She ran into the hallway.
Then froze.
Bloo
d covered the front door.
Fresh.
Still dripping.
Pinned in the center...
A handwritten message.
Five words. Large. Jagged.
As though carved rather than written.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.
Luna's breathing stopped.
Her mother slowly stepped in front of her.
Protectively.
But before either of them could react...
A deep, guttural howl echoed from somewhere beyond the trees surrounding the apartment complex.
Not one howl.
Three.
And for the first time in years...
Luna felt something inside her answer.
Not with her voice.
But with her heartbeat.
And she smiles faintly as her mom turns to her she sees her eyes glowing in fire and it disappears within seconds.
- Writer
