Alpha's Property - The Rise Of The Moon Series

People around me always talked about supernatural creatures and how they walked among us, humans. I've never been one to embrace mysticism and popular beliefs; truth be told, I've always been skeptical about life. I wasn't the type to believe in religions, supernatural stories, or even aliens. I always believed that such stories were told so many times that they caused collective hysteria, something that justified these visions and encounters with the unknown.

In childhood, my dream was to grow up, get into a good college, and have a good enough excuse to leave this small, outdated town and go somewhere that truly understood me. The only people who understood me in this town were my friends Austin and Pierre. Even though my twin sister was the person who understood me the best, the one who truly felt that everyone in this town was crazy and that we had to get out of here, we weren't as close, and it only worsened with her move to our grandparents' house.

As the years passed, I gradually distanced myself from my friends and, at the same time, became closer to Austin and his cousin Pierre. We became best friends, inseparable. At the same time, I continued learning more about the town and its history. Despite my parents believing in the legends, they didn't act like the other people in town. It wasn't something suffocating; they simply warned me about how to protect myself and that I shouldn't enter the forest under any circumstances. Looking at it from a skeptical angle, that's good advice regardless of your belief in the supernatural world.

Through my interactions with the local citizens, I grew up hearing that I should fear the creatures of the night. They told me thousands of legends about the forest near the town, various macabre theories about the deaths of residents were created. But like any young person, I didn't pay much attention to the warnings of adults. I thought the forest was just like any other forest... Too bad I was wrong...

(...)

I run desperately, I can hear the footsteps and the sound of branches breaking. It's scary to run away from something you don't know what it is. That thing was definitely not human, even though it looked like a man, I saw it attack innocent people, I saw its huge fangs and nails.

"God, help me.", my voice comes out breathy and tearful. With little air and courage left, I scream. "Get away from me, beast!"

His demonic laughter echoes throughout the forest, sending shivers all over my body. It seems that luck really wasn't on my side, not even the strongest of gods could save me now.

A startled scream escapes my throat as I trip over a thick root and lose my balance. My head hits hard as I hit the ground. I can't see due to the tears, the fall messed up my senses. I'm dizzy, I can barely see a foot away. I try to get up, but my foot is stuck in the root.

I let out a grunt of pain when I feel a weight on my body and heavy breathing on my neck. The smell of blood on your body makes me sick. I hear an evil laugh near my ear, and it makes me panic. I would die, I feel it in every cell of my body. I know that this will be my last moment of life, this is my destiny.

"I'm sorry, Daddy.", my voice comes out hoarse and shaky. "I should have listened to you."

I feel the tears fall down my face. His teeth enter my neck, and it makes me scream in pain. The tears continue to fall down my face, and the image of Dad's face comes to mind. Soon, I would join my family.

My body is weak; I feel my blood drain from my neck. I can't fight; I'm trapped by the weight of this damn creature's body.

A film of my life plays before my eyes. I see Simon running with me on the beach, our parents laughing as they filmed us. My first ball, Simon accompanying me; he was so happy to be part of this phase of my life. Anna's birth, Sarah's departure from home, and our last night together at a sleepover. Simon's college acceptance letter.

Our crazy night on the town, where we exchanged our best friend necklaces.

His face is so clear in front of me, it's like he's really here.

"It's not time to give up, lotus flower.", her voice is calm and beautiful. A tear runs down my face and he smiles before wiping it away. "Be strong."

"I can't.", my voice comes out weak, as low as a whisper. "I've already lost too much. There's no reason to go on. At least if I'm gone, we can be together."

Simon smiles, a beautiful and sincere smile. His eyes shine, and he caresses my face before bringing his lips closer to my ear.

"It's not time yet.", he kisses my cheek. "I'll always be watching over you. Calm down, help is coming."

His face disappears like a mist into the air, and the adrenaline snaps me out of my trance. I feel my survival instincts again.

A loud howl makes the creature turn its attention away from my body and sniff the air. Its body seems to have entered a state of alert, the creature looks around in fear.

The growls in the bushes give me goosebumps. They are very close, a howl a few meters away makes me tremble with fear. The creature rolls off me and runs in the opposite direction of the sound, as if fearful for its safety.

Relief settles in my body, and I sigh, but one thought makes me freeze: the beast was scared, so is there anything worse than this creature that was hunting me?

My vision is blurred with tears, and the memory of my entire family being murdered won't leave my head. This is all my fault, I should have listened to my parents' advice, I shouldn't have been so skeptical.

Now everyone is dead, and that's just my fault. I invited misfortune into our home, I was the one who brought this demonic creature into our family. And all I can do is just cry and accept my fate.

At least soon I will be together with my family again.

Simon's words come back to me and a rush of adrenaline invades my body, blocking my thoughts..

All I can do is get up and run. I had never run so fast in my life, it was as if my legs were guiding me, as if they knew where to go.

I enter an unfamiliar part of the forest, but I can hear the sound of cars passing on the road. I try to run a few more meters, but I lose my balance and feel strong pressure on my ankle.

I look at my leg and scream in horror, I had stepped into a damn bear trap!

The strong adrenaline in my blood makes me act without thinking, and the next thing I know, I have freed myself from the old trap.

I hear sounds of something approaching, and I am lifted off the ground by a huge wolf. I scream in horror, start to struggle, and my coat rips. I take the chance and run towards a huge tree. I climb with difficulty due to the weakness caused by my multiple injuries. I feel so fragile and defenseless like never before.

I have to be quick, but my body hurts, and that makes it difficult to climb the tree.

"Damn!", I grumbled when I realized I was bleeding. I hear sounds of something surrounding the tree, and my desperate scream echoes through the forest. "Get out of here, monster!"

The noises around the tree are scary. The animal surrounds me, my knees shake. I can't stay crouched forever, and the wolf seems to know that. My hands are sweating, I won't be able to hold on for long. A noise makes me scream, the branch I'm on falls and takes me to the ground. Another huge branch hits my leg, and the sound of bones breaking echoes through the forest, making me scream in agony and pain. My sobs of pain are loud, and I hear the creature getting closer and closer. I try to move, but the pain of having a broken femur makes my head spin.

"Daddy, I'll be with you soon.", I say between sobs.

I know this is the end of me, I won't have any more chances. My foolish choices have brought me here. I feel alone like never before in my life, and the loneliness hurts even more knowing that I am to blame for all of this.

I feel my head spin as I try to move the branch. My vision becomes blurred, my breathing becomes shallow. I only hear the footsteps approaching and the sound of his growl.

Violet Hathaway

Hathaway Residence

hours before

Today is Annabel's birthday, my 2 year old little sister. She looks a lot like me, everyone says so. Annabel is white, with black hair and blue eyes. She's like I was when she was little, except for her eye color, mine are black. My name is Violet and I am the eldest of the twins. My identical twin is named Sarah, but she's been living in another city since Mom found out she was pregnant with Anna.

I think Sarah just wanted to have her own life, so when she was sixteen, Dad allowed her to live with Grandma on the farm.

Fortunately, today she is here. Let's celebrate our sister's birthday as a family.

I help Sarah move the party decorations out into the backyard. Several pink and white balloons are hanging in an arch. Behind the arch is a pink panel with some of your favorite cartoon characters. Colored lights adorn the backyard, which is filled with light wood tables and chairs. In the center of each table is a vase of white roses, Anna's favorite.

The whole family is in a festive mood, happy for Annabel's big birthday. She is an adorable child and easily befriends everyone who meets her. Your school friends are also coming to the party. Dad hired a magician to entertain the kids and rented a bouncy castle. It will be a memorable day.

"Violet!", Sarah yells, catching my attention. Her face has an amused expression. "Think fast!"

With bad reflexes, I can't catch the ball and it flies over the fence, heading towards the trees that begin the forest.

"Fine.", my voice comes out irritated. "You know my reflexes suck. Now we lost a ball!"

Sarah's purple hair blows in the wind, and her blue eyes stare at me, not hiding her boredom. Her sarcastic expression soon turns to dread, and I watch the color drain from her face.

"That was the ball Grandpa gave Annabel.", Her voice is nervous, despite her efforts to hide it. "Violet, if you lose the last gift he gave Anna alive, Mom will kill us!"

I know she's right. I can't let my parents know I've lost Anna's ball, especially since it's her favorite toy.

I put on my coat, it's very cold, and I feel safer with it on.

With the help of a chair, I climb over the fence and land in the tall grass. I look around and a shiver runs through my body, as if there is bad energy in the place.

"Violet?", Sarah speaks with a strange voice. "Are you well?"

"It would have been better if you hadn't made me come here."

"Take that ball and come back at once!", his voice turns arrogant again. "You're already pissing me off!"

When I go to respond to your affront, I have my attention stolen by a tree. The tree was littered with marks, but the ones that gave me the creeps were the most recent ones. They were thick, like scratches. I run my hand over them and see that each mark is thicker than my fingers. Not even a hunting knife could make such a mark with such precision. My vision focuses on the other trees and I see that there are more of the same marks on them, but this time thicker, bigger and at a lower height.

Something red was between the marks of a tree, I run my finger and see that it is fresh. Was it blood? I widen my eyes when I smell it and see that I'm right.

A shiver invades my body and he goes into a state of alert. A strange sensation of being watched makes me look towards a tree. I shiver when I see, for a brief moment, a man jumping between the trees.

"Violet?"

I come back to reality at the sound of Sarah's voice. I wipe my hand on my pants and look around for the blessed ball. Okay, this must just be another one of my hallucinations. My medications are probably no longer working.

My gaze roams the length of the forest, I feel breathless when I see a red-haired young man running injured. He seems to be faking something. His feet barely touch the ground and his body is riddled with cuts that ooze blood. I see a tall man wearing a hood slowly approaching the fugitive, and in a few seconds, this vision turns to mist.

My heart races. Damn, what was that? I always had these visions, but usually my meds kicked in and prevented me from seeing these things. Even with my meds, I still sometimes have these visions. I don't like to talk about it with my parents as I know it's out of my control. They are not as vivid and not as frequent.

But now? Now they are becoming more and more frequent and realistic. I can feel people's emotions in these visions, smell the smells, hear their voices and even see the weather change. It's like watching a movie, I see the place differently, in a time that I can't decipher. It's like you can see the past and future of a place. I know this is just an excuse for these visions due to my psychiatric disorders, a way to feel normal in this world of drugs and therapies.

"I didn't.", I say in a shaky voice. "I think it must have fallen among the trees."

I'm not going into that forest, not after seeing these marks and seeing this macabre sight. These marks make me almost believe in the legends that surround this forest, as if the popular beliefs were true. And that vision only makes me more certain that I must never set foot in that place.

"Go get it!", Sarah shouts irritated. "If the mother finds out that you lost, she will kill us!"

I walk towards the forest and startle when the birds start to fly. The sound of animals is relaxing, the birdsong, the sound of the wind, the fresh air.

I walk for a few minutes until I hear footsteps. I stop walking instantly. Was it Sarah coming to see why I was late?

I look towards the sound and see that there is no one there. I roll my eyes, it's probably some prank by my twin sister.

"Very funny, you can stop now!", I said irritated.

I see a figure move quickly through the trees, a movement impossible to be reproduced by any living creature. The forest is silent and I feel like I'm being watched. I look up and see no one in the trees. I jump in fright when I feel a hand on my neck, I look around and I don't see anyone. I put on my hood and start running, I hear the footsteps following me quickly. I look through the trees and watch the figure getting closer.

I trip over my own feet, rolling down the ravine. I hit my head on a rock and feel my vision blur.

Dizzy, I get up with difficulty. I clean my body, removing the sand and dry leaves.

I look at the ravine and wonder how I'm going to get out of this forest.

My only alternative is to keep walking. I know Sarah won't come looking for me, and even if she does, she won't imagine I'm here.

The feeling of being watched gets worse the farther I get from the house. It's like every step I take into the depths of the forest puts me in the territory of whatever is following me.

A footprint in the mud scares me. It looks like a dog footprint, only much bigger. I compare it with the size of my foot and I'm startled to see that it's much bigger.

I take a picture and put my phone in my pocket. I hear the sound of a growl very close by. I look in the direction of the sound and see a huge brown wolf a few feet away. Its size is frightening, as if it were bigger than me, something totally illogical. I've never seen an animal that size.

The wolf glares at something behind me, baring its teeth like it's about to attack. I look in the direction he is looking and I see the figure in the middle of the trees. It seems that whatever this is, it's something wolves don't like. My heart races as I remember the vision. That figure could be the man in the hood.

"Stop fooling around, Violet. This is just a view due to the wrong dosage of your medication. There is no such thing as a hooded man!" I say to myself, but it doesn't seem to work, because I see, a few meters away, an extremely tall person wearing a black cape that covers his entire body.

"Violet!", I hear Sarah's voice, seeming to be very close. "Where are you?"

When I look in the direction of the wolf, he is no longer there. I see that figure walk slowly into the forest and, in the blink of an eye, disappear.

Heavens, I must be crazy.

People laughed and chatted lightly as I stared at the phone, oblivious to my growing apprehension. I stared at the footprint photo, and the image of the imposing brown wolf echoed in my mind. However, even considering the size of this wolf, I suspected that the paw in question did not belong to him. It appeared to be from an even larger animal.

Jeez, is it possible that there is an even bigger wolf in this forest?

Soon, legends about men turning into beasts and being exiled to the forest occurred to me. If these legends were true, then the stories about demonic creatures that fed on human blood could also be true.

I laugh to myself, amused by my own imagination. This can't be real. There must be a logical explanation for all of this.

I decide to search the internet for information about "Direwolves in the Legalville forest".

To my surprise, the only results I find are reports from locals about encounters with giant creatures, legends and intriguing stories. I come across a blurry photo of a towering black wolf and a chill runs through me, for this wolf is at least twice the size of the brown wolf. In addition, I find photos of footprints identical to the ones I captured and videos of wolves chasing something through the trees, something similar to what followed me today.

These coincidences are all hard to ignore. Was it possible that all this was just a bad joke perpetrated by some bored person? Honestly, it just might be. The feeling of helplessness began to settle in, while the disturbing reality imposed itself before me.

Something inside me tells me that this is all true and that I made the worst mistake of my life walking into those woods.

My head starts to ache, and I feel everything spinning. "Please, not now!" I think uselessly.

I always have severe headaches and dizziness. They are usually accompanied by a strange sight that gives me nightmares for weeks. I feel the air miss in my lungs and my heart races. It's like I'm about to panic.

I look at the door of the house and see a pool of blood. "Not now, please", I mentally ask for the visions to disappear. I grip the pendant on my necklace, and it burns my fingers, making me quickly drop it. Usually my pendant heats up during these visions and attacks, but never like this.

I see bloody footprints going towards the wall that goes towards the forest. I begin to smell blood strongly and hear Dad's terrified screams. I cover my ears with my hands and begin to recite the old chant my mother taught me when I was a child. He always makes those images go away. I close my eyes and sing with more conviction, but I feel like my body is floating. I open my eyes and realize I'm in the living room. I see my mother lying lifeless on the floor, her throat slashed and her eyes open and lifeless gray.

" No no! " I pull away and feel my back hit the wall. " It can not be!

A loud sound comes from the top of the stairs, and I can hear Sarah's screams. I grip my necklace tightly and begin the prayer Grandma had taught us when we were kids. I feel my eyes sting, and the stone in my necklace heats up, burning my hand. The smell of burning skin makes me nauseous, but that only makes me grip the necklace tighter. I close my eyes and whisper the final lines of the prayer.

" Are you OK, darling? " I hear Mom's sweet voice. I open my eyes and see her looking at me scared. Her hand touches my face. " Wow, you're hot and sweating cold. Your eyes are red, and you're pale.

I let go of my necklace and sigh in relief. Mom's eyes flicker, her gaze focused on my rock. I notice that it has changed color, it is dark and shiny pink. Gradually, it returns to its normal black hue.

Sometimes, during my visions or attacks, it changes color, but it has never turned dark pink. For some reason I feel like something is going to happen.

" Did you have another vision? " His eyes widen when he sees my burnt hand." Come on, I'll take care of it.

I walk into the living room and sit on the armchair. After a few minutes, my mother appears in the room with a first-aid kit. I hold out my hand and drift in my thoughts as my wound is cleaned.

" Okay, we're done." Mom says, bandaging my hand. She laughs at my confused expression." You've always had a high tolerance for pain, you don't even feel it when I bandage.

I smile shyly. Out of everyone in my family, I've always been the luckiest in terms of health. I never got sick, not even with a cold. I never broke a bone, and my wounds healed quickly. Sarah used to say I was a mutant, because even my pain tolerance was high.

"So, my daughter." Mom lets out a long sigh." Her stone glowed differently today. Did something happen?

I gape. My mother always denied that the sparkles of the stone had anything to do with my visions, and even said that this was something common, that it was nothing more than my anxiety.

" This time was different. I... Well, I don't know how to explain it. " My voice comes out squeaky, and I close my eyes, trying to concentrate to avoid stuttering again. " It wasn't a simple vision, it was as if I were there, as if it were a version of the future. I can't explain it exactly, but it wasn't like the other times, when I feel like I'm in a dream. I felt like it was real, but somehow it felt like it was a version of the future. He understands?

To my complete surprise, she didn't question or make any comments like the other times. Mom sighed, rubbed the back of her neck, and finally looked into my eyes.

" And what did you see?

I remain silent for a few seconds, gathering the courage to tell him about this horrible thought. Before I can say anything, Anna's scream echoes through the room, and the little girl enters in tears, stretching her small arms towards me. I take her in her lap, and she buries her head in my shoulder. Dad walks into the room panting, his hair is messy and his clothes are smeared with paint.

" George! " my mother says, between laughs. " Looks like a clown's car hit you!

" The pogo pump had some problems and when I went to fix it... Well... " he points to his own body. " It exploded, and I fell on the table where the paints that the children are using in their paintings were.

I can't contain my laughter and I get a hard look from Dad, who ends up laughing when he hears the bizarre sound of my laugh.

" Anna was close and she was scared. - He says embarrassed. " I'm sorry, my daughter. I'm fine, no need to worry, my love.

Anna looks at him, her small eyes glistening with tears. Dad looks toward my hand and raises an eyebrow.

" Can you explain the reason for this gigantic bandage?

His harsh tone leaves me speechless. Dad was always a calm and playful man, but he hated to see me hurt, especially since I wasn't as careful as other people, due to my lack of pain.

Mum takes Anna in her arms and smiles at me. I feel my body relieve when I see that she took the lead of the situation.

" This time it was my fault. " she says in a shy voice. " Sarah was with the kids, so I decided to ask Violet to take care of some things in the kitchen. I just forgot to tell you that the platter was hot, and the poor thing ended up burning her hand.

Dad's expression softens, and he sighs. I could even understand that grumpy side of him. I was never careful and ended up getting into

very complicated situations, sometimes with real risk of death. But after Simon left... Well, I guess I was more careful.

" You should take a rest." He says, looking at me strangely. " You don't look well.

I smile sideways. Well, I really needed to lie down.

I thank you for your concern and go up to my room.

(...)

Lying in my bed, I feel my head spinning with so much information and theories. I couldn't stand to stay in bed any longer, I needed to do something.

Gathering courage, I decided it was time to go into the forest and investigate what was going on. I look at the full moon, and my body shivers. My father would disapprove of this idea, so I intended to do it in secret, to take advantage of the movement of the party to go unnoticed.

I leave the house and, without much difficulty, manage to jump over the wall. My attention is caught by something I hadn't noticed before: some green stones are leaning against our wall, alternating between a green stone, a red one, and one very similar to the pendant on my necklace. I pick up the stone similar to the one in my necklace and, with the light of the flashlight, I can see several differences in relation to my pendant. It was as if this stone was darker, older and rougher.

A howling sound makes my heart race, and without a second thought, I jump over the wall again. Maybe you should come back tomorrow.

I approach a table and sit down, I take the stone out of my pocket and look at it, trying to understand why it is there.

I feel that old feeling of being watched again. I look toward the fence and startle to see a tall man staring at me. His eyes are red, his skin is pale, his hair is red and his clothes are black. He watches me like an animal about to pounce on its prey. His smile, for some reason, bothers me deeply, it's like seeing a monster smile.

Children run, blocking my view of the fence. When I look back at the spot, he's gone. A feeling of despair invades my body, leaving me in a state of alert, as if something very bad was about to happen.

My thoughts race, and the feeling of desperation grows by the moment, as if I feel danger approaching, evil lurking.

I couldn't explain where this fear came from, but for some reason I knew it was rational and that something very serious was about to happen.

"Run away, Violet." A voice speaks in my head and I feel my body shiver.

" Heavens, I must be going crazy! " my voice comes out incredulously and I laugh." or it must be tiredness. I need to lie down.

I get up and walk into the house. I guess all this hustle has got me gisa. Children's screams, laughter, parents looking for their children. That kind of thing could have affected me and made me see things. I get a glass of water and look out the window at the trees in the garden swaying in the wind.