Chapter 3 Someone's watching

Chapter three

Emily's gaze scanned the darkened trees beyond the fence. Fallen leaves swirled across the path, but the shadows within the woods seemed... thicker somehow. Heavier.

Another rustle. Closer this time.

"Hello?" she called, her voice wavering slightly. Only the whisper of wind answered.

Swallowing hard, Emily quickened her pace. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears as her sneakers tapped against the sidewalk.

Then-soft footsteps.

Light and deliberate, echoing faintly behind her.

Emily whipped her head around. The street was empty, but the air felt wrong-thick with an unseen presence.

Panic surged as she broke into a jog, her breath coming faster. The footsteps quickened to match her pace. She rounded the corner onto Victoria Lane, her house just a few blocks away.

The footsteps stopped.

Emily skidded to a halt, gasping as she spun around-again, nothing. Just an empty sidewalk and swaying trees.

Then, a low growl.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Slowly, she turned toward the edge of the park.

Golden eyes gleamed from the darkness. Large. Unblinking. Watching.

And then-

"Emily!"

A distant voice-human, familiar-snapped her out of her trance.

Chest heaving, Emily staggered back onto the sidewalk, gripping a nearby lamppost for support. Her vision swam with flashes from earlier-the wolf's laughter still echoing faintly in her mind.

"Wake up, child of the Forgotten Blood. Your time is near."

Footsteps approached from down the street.

"Emily! Hey, are you okay?"

Beth's voice.

Emily turned to see her friend hurrying toward her.

"I-I thought you went home," Emily stammered, glancing back at the park.

"Mr. Mark had to stop by the pharmacy, so I asked him to drop me off here. What are you doing out here? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I... I don't know," Emily murmured. "Maybe I have."

Beth frowned. "Come on. Let's get you home."

As Emily followed her down the street, her mind remained trapped in that moment-those golden eyes, that sinister smile, and the voice that whispered through her blood.

Nothing felt right.

---

The faint click of the door stirred Emily from sleep, though she remained curled beneath her blanket, dreams clinging to the edges of consciousness.

Her father stepped inside, shoulders sagging beneath the weight of another long shift. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he spotted Emily, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

"Dad..." Emily mumbled sleepily.

"Sunshine, you're awake?" Tom replied, leaning down to brush a strand of hair from her face. His gaze was heavy with unspoken thoughts.

Sinking onto the edge of the mattress, he exhaled slowly. His fingers fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve.

"Emily... There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Dad?" she asked, sitting up.

"I've been offered a new position-Director of Dairon City Medical Center." He paused, the gravity of the announcement settling between them like an invisible presence.

"It's a big opportunity," he continued. "But it's more than just the promotion... They want me to lead research into unusual cases-things that science can't quite explain. Strange beings... things I don't fully understand yet.

We opened the hospital there two years ago, but the doctors are struggling to make sense of what they've seen."

His gaze dropped to his hands.

"We'll have to move to Dairon. I know it's a big change-leaving your school, your friends, this house-but... I think this is something I have to do."

Silence settled over the room, broken only by the faint ticking of the clock downstairs. Emily's brow furrowed slightly. She wanted to refuse, but something stopped her.

After everything her dad had done raising her alone, she couldn't hold him back. Maybe this move would help him heal.

"Dad, I... I don't... I mean... It's fine. I understand. I'll talk to Beth about it tomorrow." Emily forced a smile.

"Is that a yes?" Tom asked, his shoulders easing with relief.

"Of course, Dad! Have you forgotten? I have superpowers-I can adapt anywhere! Let's go kick some monster butt!" she joked, trying to lift the mood.

Tom chuckled softly. "Alright now, sunshine. How was school today?"

Emily hesitated. "It was... strange." She recounted the odd feeling during physics class, the footsteps on her walk home, and the eyes in the woods.

Tom placed a hand on her forehead. "Did you see the woman from your dreams again?"

"No, but I heard the same chanting," Emily replied, uncertainty tightening her chest. "Do you think... could it be Mom trying to tell me something?"

Tom's smile faltered, but he masked it quickly. "No, sweetheart. Maybe the nightmares have been disturbing you lately. Try not to think about it. You need your rest."

"Yeah... Maybe you're right," Emily said, though doubt lingered beneath her words.

Tom stood and kissed her forehead. "We leave for Dairon on Sunday. Goodnight, sunshine."

"Goodnight, Dad."

As the door clicked shut and darkness settled around her, Emily closed her eyes, hoping sleep would offer peace.

---

Beneath the veil of dreams, shadows stirred.

Golden eyes emerged from the dark. Laughter, low and ancient, echoed through the woods.

A voice whispered from the depths of her mind:

"Child of the Forgotten Blood... The path has been set. Dairon awaits."

Emily jolted upright, heart hammering against her ribs. Sweat clung to her skin as her eyes darted around the moonlit room.

No eyes. No laughter.

Only the faint echo of those words lingering in her mind.

Dairon.

As her pulse slowed, unease coiled deep within her chest.

This wasn't a coincidence. Change was coming.

And something out there was waiting for her.