Arkana Legacy

May 29th, 2000. The claw marks across the blank face staring at Ezekiel wasn’t the thing that scared him the most. Sheriff Hardy stooped down to examine the body. This was the second victim of the wild animal attack. The sheriff stared at Rose Griffin and he was glad he didn’t have to be the one to break the bad news to her parents. “Deputy” Hardy turned to Ezekiel, he had a frown on his face, he stroke his chin as he was fond of doing when something bothered him “Take care of things here”. Ezekiel knew he meant they needed to clear out the highway. He was confused as to why a wild animal would leave it’s kill in such an open space. The car honks got louder and more annoying as they tried to keep people out of the crime scene. Hardy wanted the case solved quickly. Ezekiel didn’t want that. “Hey Trevor” he motioned for another officer, the man trotted to where Ezekiel stood “What's the hold up about”. “Some lady insisting she needs to go through the route even though we gave her another direction sir”. Ezekiel hissed, he didn’t need this happening now. He began to make his way to the woman causing the ruckus, but she got into her sedan car and began to follow the officers directions. He only got a glance of her chestnut curls. She felt familiar. He shook off the feeling and returned to his work He was glad that was sorted out, he needed all the focus he could get to make sure his greatest fear didn’t come to reality. The fear of being exposed for what he truly was. A werewolf. Not just him but his entire family—his pack. Lisa Marie already hated New Brook already after her first ten minutes on the town. Thanks to her terrible luck she was back here. After nine years of building a life as a gourmet chef far away from her mother and her old life. “They could have just let me through” she muttered under her breath. Those hostile police officers were not helpful in helping her stomach being back here. She finally stopped in front of the house she had called home in her first seventeen years. Lisa took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to allow herself her feel guilty for choosing a better life instead of holding on to ghosts of the past like her mother did. She always wondered if Antoinette believed her father would ever come back one day. Lisa pulled her twin brown luggage from her car, every step toward the door felt heavy. The door flew open as she reached it, and solid hands wrapped around her. “You're really here!” her mother said, kissing her cheeks. Antoinette Marie stood five feet seven inches, just three inches shorter than her daughter. Her honey colored eyes brimmed with tears. Lisa loved the warm embrace, but she shifted out of it. she felt discomforted by Ann's tears. It reminded her that her mother was dying and soon she would be the one crying. “Thanks Mom….can I go in?” she stepped past her mother into the comfort of the warmth emanating from the house. “I guess somethings haven’t changed Lisa….always in a hurry” Antoinette chuckled. Lisa thought to protest but then she remembered the police officer she had tried to shove out of her way earlier in the day and she let the matter drop—she was indeed usually in a hurry to get somewhere, to become someone. She had been in a hurry to grow up, so she moved out of town once she turned seventeen. She had been too proud to return ever since. Thanks to her impatience she had lost her job too. “Yeah right, somethings do….do they now have road kills in Newbrook?” Lisa asked as she raided the fridge. Lisa pulled her head out of the fridge. She saw Antoinette's face drawn in a frown. “What’s wrong mom? I was only joking” Lisa found a soda in her fridge raid, she opened it and took a sip as she sat on the sofa close to her mother. “People have died, you don’t joke about that”. Lisa made an oh with her mouth. She got up to go to her old bedroom—she wasn’t going to pick a fight with Ann today. “Good night Mom”. Antoinette smiled at her “Its good to have you home Lisa”. “Yeah…go to bed Mom, you need to rest”. Antoinette nodded as her daughter left her alone in the sitting room. Her eyes stung, she was glad for whatever forced Lisa back home after nine years. The room was surprisingly clean, Ann must have cleaned up Lisa thought. She felt a wave of shame wash over her. Her mother didn’t need to stress herself, not over a daughter that abandoned her after telling her how much she hated her guts. Lisa still didn’t like it here, but she didn’t have anywhere else to go, she wasn’t sorry for leaving either but she wished she could buy her mother more time. Lisa took off her denim jacket and she laid down on her pink bed, her curl of brown hair in a mess—she hadn’t washed it in days. Lisa remembered the scene the police officers had tried to block off. The body lying there. She recalled the look of dread on her mother’s face. Her eyes were too heavy to keep them open. “I already have a bad feeling about this place” Lisa muttered to herself as she drifted off to sleep.