Curse of the Moon Goddess

Fight for Your Life

“Anna come on!” my best friend, Lizzy called from a few feet in front of me.

I chuckled before calling out to her, “I’m coming. Sheesh.”

She giggled as I ran to catch up to her.

There were six of us in the group. We had the weekend off and decided it would be nice to go camping. Apparently, there was a town several miles from here that owned part of the area we were planning on hiking. I guess Lizzy knew someone who knew someone who had a friend that lived there that asked permission for us to walk through this area. From what I heard, they’re pretty sensitive about foreigners coming here. They claimed it was because they do a lot of hunting and they don’t want one of us to accidentally get shot.

I had smiled when I heard that. They sounded like a pack of wolves and without a doubt, wolves were my favorite animal. I seemed to have a strange connection to any dog or wolf. I’m drawn to them and they’re drawn to me. I always joke it’s a  superpower, but maybe I just seem trustworthy enough.

At last, we found a great place to set up camp. Thankfully it was still pretty early in the morning, about 10am and I was feeling restless. I looked to the woods and felt an indescribable need to go unveil its secrets.

“Hey Lizzy. I’m going to go get some firewood. I’ll probably be gone a few hours,” I say, already grabbing a small bag from my backpack for emergencies. I didn’t want to weigh myself down since I’ll already be carrying wood. But I also knew how important it is to be prepared.

Lizzy scrunched up her eyebrows, obviously not happy, “We just got here and you want to leave! Come on. Stay and play a few games with us. We’ll get the wood later.”

I shook my head, smiling. Lizzy loved being around everyone else and I did too, most of the time. If I had to choose between people or the woods, the woods would always win.

“At least let me go with you,” the handsome young man in our group volunteered.

Oh, Adam. He was super sweet and definitely the most handsome guy I knew, but I never felt the same connection to him as he did me. Anyone could tell he liked me and that’s the only reason he came with us. He hates the outdoors. He prefers spending time in his gym or playing video games. I didn’t mind that, but I wanted someone who liked being outside. Who would plan these kind of events rather than tag along simply because I was there.

“Thanks for the offer Adam, but I was hoping to explore the area around here. And I think you all know what I mean by explore.” 

There was a collective moan and Adam flinched before shrugging. No one liked going with me when I went exploring. Last time Adam tried going with me he ended up doing the splits and I had to drag him back to town. It was quite humiliating for him. In fact, it seemed as if anytime someone came with me they ended up in the most awkward positions trying to follow me. I have tried a few times making my exploration a little easier, but to no avail. I was strong, limber, and comfortable in the woods. I didn’t scare easily either, unless it came to snakes. Snakes and I were worse enemies. Want to see me scream? I find a snake.

I waved goodbye to everyone and headed out. I wandered around for awhile, walking aimlessly. I didn’t worry about getting lost. I have an amazing sense of direction. Another unexplainable attribute of mine. 

I found myself becoming lost in thought. At last, I decided I should start looking for firewood and head back. That’s when I heard it. A scream. 

Without a second thought, I took off towards the sound. In moments, I busted through a clearing, coming face to face with five very intimidating men surrounding a single woman.

No way. Uh huh. They were not doing what I think they are.

I could feel my blood beginning to boil as I processed the situation. 

“What do you think you are doing? Get away from her!” I nearly growled. Even to myself I sounded threatening. I gave myself an internal high five. 

The men hesitated. After a moment, they let the girl go, but three of them started making their way towards me, a nasty smirk on their faces that I didn’t like one bit.

I glared at them daring them to take another step. Surprisingly they did stop, but my happiness was short lived as they spoke, “You really think we would listen to a weak human like yourself.”

Inwardly I smirked. You’re human too dufous. But something stirred inside me telling me they weren’t. It made me slightly uneasy, but I didn’t care. Someone needed help and there was no way I was going to back down. 

I watched as two of the men began to enclose me in a circle. I knew this was a bad sign. I needed to attack and fast. 

Right as I was about to lunge for the one in front, the men stopped in their tracks as a fierce, low growl erupted through the clearing.

The men snapped their heads towards the source of the sound, but I didn’t hesitate. I took this opportunity to pick up a stick next to me and attack my original target. I landed a fierce blow to the man’s head, knocking him to the ground.

“Get the girl!” I yelled to my savior. I knew it was a wolf, but I sensed no hostility from him. I didn’t know how I knew it was a him or a wolf, but I felt something tug at me saying to trust him. I never questioned my instincts and I didn’t have time to think about it right now anyways. 

Both the wolf and I fought our way to the girl. Me fighting off two to three guys at once, while the wolf was only focused on getting the girl. I didn’t blame him and I was grateful. At last, I saw them in the corner of my eyes make it to the edge of the clearing. Only then did he stop to look at me.

“Get her out of here! Now!” I yelled as I landed another massive blow to one of the guys, causing blood to spray from his head.

The guy I assumed was the leader and the first one I attacked smiled devilishly at me, “You sure are an i***t. You really think you can handle us all by yourself?”

I returned his smile, “I haven’t done too bad so far, have I? You guys look like you’ve been through hell and back. Me? I don’t feel tired at all.”

I know I was provoking them, but I hated it when someone thought they were better simply because they had something their victim didn’t. Strength, wealth, height, beauty, fame, connections; whatever it was I hated it when someone thought they were better by such inferior things. If you want to be better than your opponent, never share your true strength. 

I felt the glint in my eye come alive. There it was. The power I hid deep inside. I have been in so many fights and each time I came up on top. Why? Because I didn’t exploit my secret. I didn’t really know what it was myself, but it was powerful. There was no way these men could beat me now that it was alive.

The man’s face turned into a scowl, obviously not liking what I had said.

“Don’t bother with saving her. Kill her now. I want to see her suffer,” he commanded the other guys.

That’s when I finally realized it. Most of them were no longer human. They were wolves. I watched in minimal surprise as the guy in front of me also shifted into a wolf, his clothes falling like confetti to the forest floor. I should be afraid. I know I should run. I should get out of here and get help.

Instead of doing all the logical things, I smiled.

“Bring it on.”