Black Moon Rising

Chapter 2

I woke up the next day with an empty feeling in my chest, but I had to push through. I went to school as usual, losing myself in the sea of students being pushed along from class to class. I sat through each period, my mind restless still. At lunch, I could feel eyes on me again, only this time I couldn’t find him in the crowd. Frustration bloomed in my chest. The next four days went on like that: school, eating, sleeping. The last day of school came, and I didn’t bother getting out of bed.

It was graduation and there was nobody there to cheer me on as I crossed the podium. Nobody would even notice me not being there and I didn’t have the heart or strength to do it. I curled up in a ball on my mom’s bed and cried again. I’ve cried so much the last several days that I don’t know how I have anything left, but the tears keep coming.

I lost track of the day until my stomach rumbled hard enough that I knew I needed to get out of bed and eat something. I made myself a sandwich and went to sit on the back porch. The weather was getting hot again as the summer approached but there was a breeze that blew through the trees that lined the back of our property. The sound of it rustling through the leaves helped ease the chaos and worry in my heart and mind. I closed my eyes and just listened.

I could hear the occasional car drive past my house, my heart leaping into my throat at the sound. I prayed that one set of tires would hit the gravel in my driveway, but each one kept driving. The birds were singing in the trees. Insects were chirping faintly, and a branch snapped nearby. My eyes flew open and tried to zero in on the place the sound came from. My eyes had a hard time adjusting to the darkening forest but when they did, I was met with a large set of cerulean blue eyes staring back at me. A second later they had disappeared, and I was left questioning what I had actually seen.

I quickly stood up, noting that the forest had suddenly gone quiet. I gathered up my things and went back inside, slamming the door behind me before locking it. Whatever the hell was out there, was not coming inside this house. As I walked to the kitchen, a howl ripped through the quiet and a moment later, I heard a pounding on my door; an unknown voice screaming my name.

“Jasmine! Dammit, open the door! They’re here!”

I ran to the front room to see the same mystery boy from school pounding on my door, a frantic look in his eyes. He was much taller than I originally thought. Our eyes locked. “Open the door before I kick it in!”

I ran to the coat closet and got in as I heard the splintering of the door being kicked in. I covered my mouth to stifle the scream that ripped out of my throat.

“Jasmine, please! We don’t have time! Please, I need you to trust me! I can explain everything once I have you safe. I am begging you,” he pleaded desperately. His footsteps moved away from my hiding place, and I opened the closet door quietly, peeking through the c***k. The front door is lying broken on the floor and the sky outside is bright. The smell of smoke wafts through a broken window, carried in by the breeze.

I gasped. The neighborhood was entirely consumed by flames, and I could hear people yelling outside. Suddenly, a freckled face appeared in the c***k. “Please, I don’t want to force you, but I need you to come with me before it’s too late,” he whispered loudly. He opened the door more, cowering above me as I shrank further into the floor.

“Who the hell do you think yo-,” I began to yell before a heavy hand covered my mouth. “Shhhhh, they’re going to hear you!”

“Who?!”

“This is going to be hard to believe but there are witches outside and they’re hell bent on finding you. I can help you; I can keep you safe, but I need you to come with me.”

“Witches?! Listen here, Blondie, this isn’t Hocus Pocus and witches aren’t real. And even if they were, what do they want me with me? I’m nobody.” I stared at him with a skeptical look.

“They want to kill you,” he stated simply.

Kill me?? What the hell is going on?! I heard an explosion outside and quickly left my hiding place. A shadow fell over us as another brick wall of a man walked across the threshold.

“Carter, we need to go, NOW. Our guys can’t hold them back for much longer and they’re almost here,” he said urgently.

“Tell them to fall back. They know where to go.” His gaze turned to me. “I’m sorry to do this but we are out of time.” He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder before running out of the backdoor, into the forest. He set me down for a moment and crouched down to look me in the eye. “Please don’t freak out, I can explain everything to you, later.”

The next thing I knew, his body exploded in front of me. His bones snapped as he changed shape, fur sprouting from his skin. A few seconds later, the biggest wolf I have ever seen in my life was standing where Carter used to be. This wolf was a solid, silky grey with one black ear, and a black and white spotted front leg. Even while frozen in terror, I had to admit that this was an absolutely beautiful animal. Is this Carter?!

"Hold on tight," Carter’s voice filled my head.

“What the fu-,” but before I could even finish my sentence, Carter ran right at me, using his snout to toss me onto his back. I grabbed a handful of fur for dear life, screwing my eyes shut as I listened to the wind whistle past us. He was running so quickly, weaving in and out of the trees, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Before I could even think about ejecting the contents of my stomach, the tree to my right exploded.

“You can’t save her, boy! Hand her over and you and your band of misfit mutts can go free. Keep running and I’ll slit her throat and make you watch her life drain from her body,” a deep, baritone voice boomed, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I looked around wildly, watching more trees explode around us. The fire began to spread, speeding towards us almost as if it was seeking us out specifically. “I’m going to find her one way or another. She’s mine!”

Carter ran impossibly faster, once again weaving in and out of the trees. I heard twigs snapping all around us and I screamed, terrified that the voice had caught up with us.

Calm down! They’re with us!

Howls and snarls filled the air around us. I looked up again and saw the forest around us come to life as more wolves emerged from the trees, flanking Carter on all sides. They moved swiftly through the trees, moving soundlessly until another explosion went off right in front of us, catching the foliage around us on fire. Carter tried to miss it, his paws sliding as he struggled to change direction. He was suddenly hit by an invisible force and I found myself flying, my arms flailing, trying desperately to find his fur again. I landed on my side, hearing a crunch and snap as my arm broke my fall.

I quickly shot up onto my feet, my eyes darting around trying to make sense of what was happening around me. My brain was in overdrive, nothing that I was seeing should be possible. A searing pain shot up to my shoulder as I was lifted from the ground, my broken arm left falling helplessly to my side as my other tried to break the vice-like grip. My heart was pounding loudly in my ears, my breathing erratic as I began to panic. Time seemed to slow and I watched in horror at the scene unfolding before me. A fire was raging all around me, the heat mirage skewing my vision. Wolves were fighting an invisible opponent. Screams and snarls were everywhere, the stench of blood thick through the smoke. I couldn’t tell if the wolves were winning or not. And I had no idea if I even wanted them to.

“Your cute little puppy couldn’t keep you safe for long, pet. This was far too easy,” whispered that baritone voice in my ear. Fear blossomed in my stomach. Whoever this was, I couldn’t see him. I could feel his hand around my neck as he dragged me backwards with him, but he was completely invisible. How the hell is this even possible?! It’s like one impossible scenario after another tonight. I must be dreaming, that’s the only plausible explanation, but the pain in my arm and shoulder told me otherwise.

“Let’s get going, we have much to discuss.”

“Who are you?” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. I drew in big gulping breaths as the hand finally released me. I felt myself being dragged back, my back stopping against his front as his arm replaced where his hand was just a second ago.

“Ahhh so rude of me, I’m Sebastian. I’m sure you have many questions for me, but as your puppy said, I am here to kill you.”

“Over my dead body,” a voice said fiercely. I saw Carter’s naked body out of the corner of my eye, running towards us as he shifted mid stride.

A deep chuckle erupted near my ear. “That can be arranged,” and once again I was falling. Out of the corner of my eye, a solid black wolf came, breaking my fall. This wolf was smaller than Carter, with yellow glowing eyes.

“Go with her, don’t stop until you’re on the other side of the river,” Carter’s voice shouted in my head.

Well, I guess this is my ride now. I tried my best to hold on, my broken arm making it impossible to grab on properly. I fought to stay conscious, but the pain was getting worse as time went on. We slid more than we ran, the forest floor slick with blood, the metallic smell filling my nose. I wretched, finally expelling the contents of my stomach. This was too much. The smell was everywhere and the pain in my arm was so intense, I finally stopped fighting the blackness, finally allowing it to consume me.