The Reincarnated Luna

Memories

The first couple of hours of the drive was excruciating. Lilly kept asking 'are we there yet' every ten minutes or so, and she had to pee at least every hour. Luckily, she fell asleep and is now drooling all over the window to my right.

I wish I was as lucky as she was. I would give anything to be able to sleep right now.

Weirdly, Eli sat in the back with me and had Sam drive. Another man (that Eli introduced as Denver) was sitting in the passenger seat.

The small sedan was actually spacious on the inside, leaving a good chunk of space between me and Eli, which I was kind of grateful for. The car was about as nice as my father's government-issued one. Obviously the top of the line with dual swing-up dragonfly doors, and aggressive sleek angles. Almost resembling a black bullet. Occasionally, when we hit a rough patch in the overgrown pavement my knee would connect with Eli's and a spark would travel through me.

I can't get my heart to calm down long enough to even be able to think about trying to sleep. Small talk was okay at first, but my mind just kept circling back to everything I learned in the past 24 hours. I wasn't really close with my father or my stepmom since they were always away on business, but my older brother was one of my closest friends.

He was never stable, but we were there for each other. He often had outbursts and he had trouble holding down a job. Dad had to bail him out a few times for public intoxication and bar fights, but I never imagined that he would be capable of-

I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes.

-murdering me, or even Lilly. No matter what I am, I expected him to be on my side; to have my back against the world.

"He doesn't matter now, all that matters is we are safe. Lilly is safe." The same feminine voice cut through my thoughts.

How could you say that? If you're me then you know how close we were. You know that he was there for me when no one else was. I was only 14 when the relentless bullying had finally stopped, but that was only because of him.

****

I was curled in a ball, hiding in the storage closet. I refused to go to my next class in fear of what the other kids would do. This has become the usual since we moved to the New York Colony a year ago. At first, it wasn't bad, then Maria decided I was the perfect person to take her anger out on. It started one day at lunch. She randomly walked past me and without a word dumped her entire tray on my head. I had never even spoken to her before so I assumed it was an accident, but when I peered up through the mix of red pasta sauce and juice she sneered at me.

"There is plenty more where that came from, you disgusting bitch." Shocked, I didn't respond as she stomped away. I never knew what provoked her that day, but the torment only grew worse as time went on. Eventually, she got her friends in on it, and daily I would suffer beatings. Sometimes it was an all-out brawl and I would fight back, but other times they would just trip me or hit me in the head with a book as they walked past.

Of course, I would retaliate. I fought back many times, which ended up in me getting in more trouble instead of the problem going away. My brother watched every day as I would come home bruised and bloodied. He'd walk me to and from every class just to make sure I made it there safely. Maria and her friends tried to attack me a few times with him there, and I'll never forget him making her apologize to me after she tripped me. I had never seen her face so red, and she made sure to pay me back for it the next day when Alec wasn't around.

Today was worse than any other day. Maria started at breakfast, dumping all of her food on me once again, but to the teachers it seemed like she had just tripped. They must have believed she was the clumsiest kid in the world. Being used to this I stood up to get clothes from my locker, but her friends Camila and Beth met me there. They came up from behind and slammed my locker shut on my hands, then pushed my body into the wall of lockers. My head slammed into the lockers, causing a resonating shutter to fill the empty halls.

"Why do you always think you're better than everyone?" Camila spat, placing a hand on her slender hip.

"You aren't pretty, no one likes you, and you barely know nothing. You're Stupid." Beth made a show of moving her chubby arm, motioning to my face.

"You barely know anything." I corrected in a matter-of-fact tone. Beth's normally red face turned an even brighter shade of tomato red, spreading the flush past her double chin.

"You dumb b***h!" She slapped me hard across the face, slamming my back into the lockers once again. Before I could react, a bony hand connected with my stomach.

"That's for acting like you're better than everyone!" Camila's bony hand made a cracking sound. She immediately clutched her wrist. I took my chance and lunged. My fist connected with her cheekbone but the satisfaction was short-lived when Beth yanked my ponytail back, slinging my small frame. I struggled, clawing, and kicking before a sharp knee hit me in the abdomen. I doubled over, gagging as I tried to catch my breath. Their attack didn't stop, the endless punches and kicks rained down on me until I was able to catch one of their feet. I yanked with all my strength and was delighted to see it was Beth. She flailed her arms, catching Camile in the face before she hit the floor with a satisfying smack. I took the opening and darted down the hall, not only drenched in food but bleeding as well.

Eventually, I found myself in front of the same storage closet I always run to. I heard the echo of footsteps growing closer, so I wasted no time hiding behind the shelves in the storage room. After a few minutes the footsteps receded, and the bell for classes rang throughout the hall. I wrapped my arms around my knees sobbing, my entire body was sticky and I could feel the aches over the bruises that haven't formed yet.

Why. Is all I could ask myself for the past year. I've never knowingly hurt them, I never tried to put myself above them, it just doesn't make sense. I don't know how much time passed, but the next time I looked up from my shaking knees the storeroom was an orang-ish hue.

"Alora." Alec shook me. "Alora look at me, are you okay?" His face had beads of sweat sliding down it and his eyebrows were drawn together.

"Yeah-" I winced as my muscles pulled and tensed. Alec helped me up, not even having to ask who did this.

He didn't utter a word the whole way to the car. He slowly helped me slide into his small red two-seter. I must have fallen asleep in the closet because the sun was already setting. Once we pulled into the driveway I noticed all the lights in the house were off.

Dad must be on a trip again.

"Can you walk on your own?" Alec said from the driver's seat keeping his eyes trained on the house.

"Yeah." I slowly lifted myself out of the car as Alec's attention finally fell on me and I noticed he was shaking.

"Go on in and get cleaned up. I'll be back." He whispered before throwing me the house key and driving off.

He never came home that night, and it wasn't until I went to school the next morning I realized what had happened. Maria and her gang weren't there. Halfway through the school day a rumor spread that the three girls and their families were so close because they were part of a werewolf pack that had somehow blended into society. Their parents had fled with the girls in the middle of the night, hoping to escape the wrath of the council. If there was any proof, the families would immediately be accused of treason, and after a (unfair) trial be sentenced to death. That night, when my brother took me home after school I knew. He either planted evidence or outed the families. Either way, he did it for me. He ruined those families' lives for me. They can no longer live in any Colony City. They will either live on the run for the rest of their lives or die in the rabid monster infested wilderness. With the Mantocre's running ramped they will definitely have a hard time finding out how to survive. That is if they aren't wolves.

My brother ruined three families to end my torment. My brother sentenced three whole families to death just because I couldn't deal with it on my own. My brother saved me from taking my own life.

The car hit another rough patch and my head hit the back of the seat, jolting me from my memory.

See? He was willing to sacrifice three families for me.

"Can't you tell? That was the first sign. Something is wrong with him. In what world is it okay to condemn three families just to get them to stop bullying your little sister?" I opened my eyes, looking at Lilly's sweet face in the puddle of drool. Her naturally platinum blonde hair draped over her shoulders in messy curls. Compared to me with light auburn hair and my brother with dark brown hair, she doesn't even look related to us. Well, I guess she isn't technically blood-related to me.

I don't know what I would do if anyone ever tried to harm her. I definitely wouldn't let them just walk away.

"Yes, we would keep her safe, but there are plenty of other ways to do that without condemning three whole families to death or exile. Those girls were not only children, but their families were innocent. Yes, they deserved to be punished, but what he did was too far." She had a point, but I couldn't tell her that. I did attempt to take my life once, and my brother was the one who found me passed out in the bathroom next to an empty bottle of my medication. He immediately took me to urgent care, but we never spoke of it to my father. The doctor attempted to call him, but he didn't pick up. Alec started to oversee my medication after that day.

"Hey, I take a few different types of medication every night. Did Alec give it to you?" Eli had been relaxing with his broad shoulders pressed against the back of the seat and his head reclining backward, but at my words he stiffened. Slowly he sat up, his eyes meeting mine full of worry.

"No. Is it important?" His breathing slowed as I watched him. I felt guilty for making him worry.

"Kind of-" Eli cut me off and immediately tensed up. I could tell he was thinking the worst.

"We need to step on it." He motioned to Sam in a very deep, masculine tone that was almost hypnotizing.

"Eli wait." I grabbed his arm making him turn to look at me. I ignored the warmth that spread through my hand from our skin touching.

"It's not that serious, it's just anxiety and depression medication. I wont die without it for a little while." I tried to make light of the situation. His eyes softened, and my chest ached in return.

Why is he upset? Furthermore, why does it hurt so much to have him look at me with sorrow in his eyes?

"We should be there soon, so just sit tight." Denver said, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. That was the first thing he had said the whole drive.

"Who are you to Eli? His left-hand man, and I'm assuming Sam is his right?" That got a chuckle out of him.

"You could say that." We didn't break eye contact as I narrowed my eyes at him. A cold chill ran over my shower, making me feel uneasy under his gaze. Is he hiding something?

Lilly stirred beside me, breaking my concentration. She sat up with a huge yawn.

"We still aren't there?" She pouted sleepily.

"Actually we are." Sam smiled back at her before turning her attention back toward the road. Lilly immediately pressed her face against the glass and gasped. Once the thick forest cleared, a large stone fence came into view. It stretches as far as I could see on either side into the forest. Looking through the windshield, I noticed two large steel gates that were reinforced by giant iron bars. Pulling up to the gate, there were five people posted outside heavily armed. One stood in a small shack that was by the fence, and the other four approached the vehicle. Taking one glance inside, they stiffened, and waved us through, murmuring "welcome home Alpha." One even bowed as the gate opened.

A few minutes inside the gate we rolled into a wonderfully beautiful town that seemed to be crawling with vegetation. This city bloomed with plants on every available surface like they were greenhouses that were growing things both inside and out. Sam slowed down the smooth cobblestone road as we passed what I assumed were little shops and Treelights (trees that have been bioengineered to use solar energy, making their leaves turn into tiny lights at night) lined the road. I wasn't able to see a single speck of trash or litter lining the roads. There were quite a few people out considering how early it was in the morning. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon.

Every person we passed noticed the car and either bowed, waived, or said some form of "welcome home."

We drove past a few neighborhoods filled with modern wood-beam and glass buildings that had a tent-like feel until we eventually got on a more deserted road where the Treelights were evenly planted every few feet. After a few minutes, the trees opened up to show a colossal white building that had at least four upper stories and a giant water fountain out front. There were red brick accents along the stairs and sides of the building. Even though this is a fairly modern house there is vegetation crawling from every crevice. Though it didn't have an overgrown feel. It is as if each plant specifically belongs where it was placed. I felt like I stepped through a portal leaving the concrete-plagued world, and into a new place where nature lived in harmony with the people here.

"You coming?" Mesmerized, I hadn't even noticed that the car had come to a stop and Eli held his hand out to me.

"This is your new home."