The Dawn Falls

PART ONE: NEW HOME

CHAPTER 1

Before the sun seeps between the dark ash clouds, a group of wolves attacked our home.

Our neighbors were talking about wolves nonstop since the day that I remember. I thought it was a myth because I haven't seen one. But now, I've seen not one but five of them. They all looked hungry with their saliva almost dropping from their pointy teeth.

I can't do anything about it. I'm weak. All I do was stare at my parents, trying to block the main door by leaning heavy objects we could find. Felix, my oldest brother, was the one helping them while Jay held my hand tight.

"Jay, hide your sister!" Mom cried and her voice almost broke. "Go inside your rooms, make sure that you lock the doors. Don't go outside whatever you hear."

"But mom..." Jay didn't dare to continue on his words when Felix shot him with a deadly glare. He turned to me and held my hands tighter. "Let's go, Catherine."

He tried to pull my body away from my parents but I stayed frozen in my place. I didn't want to leave them. If the wolves attacked them, I'll fight them as well.

"They're five and we're five. Jay, we can fight them with knives and other things we have in our home." I walk towards the kitchen, finding a weapon to use but Jay's grasp hardened.

"Don't be stupid, Catherine. We have to go. We humans don't have the capability to face those wolves."

"Catherine, go with your brother now!"

My dad screamed at me. My mother was glaring at me as if she was going to slap me if I don't follow Jay. Jay was grabbing my arms tight and it hurt me. They were all mad at me, and I don't know why.

When they finish blocking the door, Felix strode towards me and compressed my arm. He was the harsh one and tougher one between him and Jay.

His fingers scratched through my skin as he pulled me upstairs. That's when I knew I have to follow them. I didn't have the strength to pull myself back from him. Jay followed behind us. Were we leaving our parents downstairs with those wolves?

I would've to stop Felix from pulling me upstairs, but I also knew that he'll be madder at me when I do that.

We're inside my room. Pillows scattered on my bed and my assignment that I decided to do when I woke up the next morning was still on my table. Felix roamed his eyes around my room, searching for a place to hide.

"The bed is a good option," Jay suggested.

Felix didn't dare to speak. Instead, he pushed my back so I could crouch under the bed. I hesitated to hide under it but he pushed me again. Glad that I'm slim so hiding under the bed was successful. After I hid in the middle of my bed, Felix and Jay also crawled on both of my sides, pressing me between them. Their perfume was so strong and that was the only thing that I can smell.

We were all breathing hard while we were in our position. With every slam of those wolves on our door, our heart throbbed faster. I hoped that mom and dad were already hiding somewhere else. They said that those wolves will disappear when the sun had risen. It's fucking 5 AM in the morning and I don't know the exact time of sunrise today.

Then I heard screams from downstairs, from our parents. I don't what to think when I hear them screaming in pain. I hope they weren't hurt but surely they are.

"Mom and Dad," I cried in a low monotone voice.

"Don't make any noise," Felix said.

How can I not make any noise when my parents were already dying on our ground floor?

I covered my ears but the screaming of pain downstairs was still audible in here. Felix and Jay weren't able to do anything but to pursed their lips. There were crystal clear tears that were ready to fall from their eyes. Like me, they knew that was happening downstairs.

I want to go downstairs and help them. I don't want to stay under this bed and let my parents die because of those wolves.

Everything stopped, sunlight peeked inside our room. It lighted our room with its natural charm. The golden rays of it blighted the tears crawling down my face.

"Is it done?" I asked, my voice was about to break.

Jay only nodded and placed his hands above my shoulders. Felix was the first one who got out of the bed, and he held a bar of metal that was approximately a meter long. Jay also got out and I followed him. He placed his arms on my shoulders and that made me breathe though I'm still worried about my parents.

We were shaking as we walked to the stairs. Felix froze as his eyes drifted downstairs. My forehead creased and I was curious what he was staring at right now. And when I saw it, I wished I did not dare to look at it.

They were the dead bodies of my parents, looked like they were eaten by a group of wild animals.

...

Everything that happened was fast. Felix said that we should pack all our things and we need to leave the day before the sun sets again. He said it was dangerous to stay. We left our home like a mess and no one dared to clean it. When we already packed everything, we rode Felix's car with bags in its trunk.

I don't know where we are going, but it seemed that Felix knew the way where we were going.

"Why did we leave Mom and Dad's bodies? Why are we leaving?" I asked, letting my tears out from my bloodshot eyes. Felix didn't dare to even glance at me, but Jay turned to me.

"For good. Don't worry, Felix and I will fix everything once we settled into our new home."

That wasn't a good answer. I want answers. Why are we leaving the home in which we stayed for sixteen years? Why does a group of wolves attack us? Why does it seem that they don't care that our parents are dead?

"Why does the two of you are not reacting? Mom and Dad died! It seems that nothing happens based on your face!" I screamed at them and I don't care if they were older than me. Greater age doesn't mean that they have greater knowledge than me. I admit that I was younger but not a dumb person like them who doesn't react to the death of our parents.

"Shut up, Cath!" Felix screamed in his deep voice. Now he's mad at me, his eyes were blazing fire as I saw it from the mirror in front of the car. He focused on the way and his teeth were grating each other as if he's ready to bite me.

"Just answer me!"

"Cath, don't..." Jay tried to stop me.

"I need answers and I don't want to look like the only one who's reacting that our parents died."

"CATHERINE! I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE FUCK YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" I pursed my lips when he screamed at me. "You're not the only one hurting, but we have to move or all five of us will be found dead in our home."

I shouldn't dare to speak more if I don't want to drive my brothers mad at me again... They love but I crossed my boundaries and maybe this wasn't the right moment to seek answers for what happened.

Our car entered a small town with a sign 'Dusk and Dawn' on its entrance. Citizens of the town glanced at our car, knowing that we were newcomers. My brother drove, not having a doubt on where to turn and break his way. It seemed that he got here before and I don't have any clue about that.

My two brothers were already working. Felix works in a small business enterprise, near our previous home. While Jay works whenever there's an opportunity for him to work. He graduated with a degree in English, but the competition in the community college was high. He did not qualify.

We weren't poor but we're not rich. I wanted to work in an office someday though the city was far enough from our home. Now that my parents died I don't know what to do with my life anymore. I lost a reason to strive in my life and to pursue my dreams for them.

There was a small park, a mini-hospital, and a high school inside the town. The name Dusk and Dawn for a town were cool enough to catch my attention. I hoped I would enjoy my stay here, but I guess I won't.

Felix parked the car in front of one of the suburban homes which were definitely smaller than what we had. It only has one floor and a small garden outside. Felix was the first one out of the car. I watched him stride to the old woman who smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

I swear that wasn't our grandmother.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked me. "I'm always telling you to not make him mad."

"I'm frustrated earlier. No one's answering me. We lost mom and dad and we got into this town as if nothing happened."

"We're also hurting, Cath," he said. "But the danger is on our old home. If we don't escape during the day, then our bodies would be like what Mom and Dad had become."

"Then why there are wolves? Why did they attack us? Why we're here in this town?"

"It isn't the right time for the answers to your question, but we're here for your safety. We're safe in here." He smiled at e before leaving me alone inside the car.

Why are we safe in here? What exactly we're in here? What's this place?

CHAPTER 2

Mom and Dad were the first people who believed in me. They told me that I could do anything with perseverance and self-confidence. I wasn't confident in myself, especially in school but the two of them gave me the motivation to do so. Now that they're gone, I don't know what to feel anymore. I lost my interest in the things that were fun for me before.

I stayed inside our new house for a whole week. I read a book but got constantly distracted by the noise of children playing outside. Jay and Felix weren't home as much as I do. The only time I see both of them was either in the evening or in the early morning before they go to their respective jobs.

In one week, I finished four fantasy books and a contemporary book that made me cry. It wasn't a sad book, but I remembered Mom and Dad when I read it. I miss them so much.

When my brothers left for their work, I followed their advice to live my life. The outside world was surprising to me. It felt like I was a bat who stayed inside a cave for a few days. The sun shone above my head and the heat of it kissed my face.

I supposed that the children were already at school because I couldn't find their traces around. We have a few neighbors beside our house. I've seen my brothers talking to the old woman who lives in the house a few walks from ours. I bet she's kind enough to welcome us to our new place.

I place my hands inside my pockets and walked around the village. The time was around nine before I left the house and left my phone inside. When I'm walking around our old town, I don't use my phone unless it's too noisy outside. Then I will play some music or audiobooks.

Having a self-help audiobook in the background made me feel inspired. Though sometimes I don't follow their tips and rules. The thing about this new town was that it wasn't too hot during these hours. Maybe it was the season that I forgot about. It wasn't that far from our old town that's why I supposed that they have the same climate.

I stopped walking when I heard a woman calling my voice. I looked up behind me and saw the old woman who talked to my brothers the moment I arrived in this place. I strode towards it because our parents never taught us to snob people, especially an old woman.

"Are you the daughter of Nora and Jack?" I nodded as she spoke the name of our parents. How did she know about my parents? Were my parents here before?

"Do you know my parents? And my brothers?"

Her crumpled old face, which I thought she was already in her seventies or nineties, nodded. "Of course, I know them. They lived here before."

Our parents lived in this town before? Why they didn't tell me about that? Since the day that I can remember, we didn't move out from our home and never visited this place before.

"Have you known my brothers before?"

She nodded again. "They were cute little boys back then, but now they've grown so much and become handsome like your father. When your parents weren't around, I was the one who look after them. As far as I remember, you weren't born when that happened."

Of course, I don't exist at that moment. If I do, I would've remembered it. If we lived here before and we had a home the moment we got here, then the house where we're living right now was ours? I never heard my brothers talking about rent and such.

"How am I supposed to call you? What is your name?" I changed the topic. I don't want to cry while thinking about my parents. I don't want my mind to wander around on the details my family didn't tell me.

"I don't tell my name that easy, young woman. But the people in here, including my grandchildren and children, call me Nana. They said that I am the oldest woman in the town of Dusk and Dawn."

"Right, Nana." It is boring to talk to an old woman if I cannot share things that only teenagers could understand. She also speaks gradually. My attention span, which is as short as a TikTok couldn't handle waiting for her response. "I'll tour around the town again so I could familiarize myself with it."

"Sure, young woman. If you need someone to talk to, don't be afraid to talk to Nana." She laughed weirdly and it vibrated my nerves inside. "Also, don't stay outside before the sun sets."

"Why?"

"When the night creeps in, ghosts and monsters come alive."

I'm not afraid of ghosts and monsters. They weren't real. If there's a thing that I should be afraid of, it must be a weird old woman who has a creepy laugh. She sounded like a witch with her laugh.

I got back inside my house. Instead of staying in my room, I fetch my phone, AirPods, and the current book that I'm reading before I continue to walk around the town. I wish I could find a perfect place to read and hang out alone.

What I like about this town was that there were trees everywhere just like what we had back then. The fresh air surrounded me and made me breathe easier. As a nature lover, I tend to enjoy these kinds of places.

The town has cool and clean air and a great path to run with. There were small stores of different products and foods but I didn't bring any money with me so I can't buy any of those.

Whenever I have an award during middle school, my two brothers would bring me to a restaurant to celebrate. Jay would show his appreciation of me more obvious than Felix, who'll make me feel that I was appreciated and loved. Nowadays, many teenagers felt that they weren't loved by their families. They don't understand how each family would show their appreciation and love.

Jay would tell me amazing things and how much he loves me. I don't see that as fake because that was his unique method of showing how he loves me so much. Omit, Felix will have a deeper connection to me that would make me feel loved. He's the most protective person in our family and I could go into a war with him as my defend. Both of my parents materialize their affection. When I won a spelling bee, they bought an expensive Pilot pen. I don't know why I wanted to have an expensive pen back then.

After a few minutes of walking, I was amazed that there was a high school in here. The sign said that it is the community academy for the teenagers of this town. It is smaller compared to the school I was attending, but I get that since the town wasn't big as well.

They were students passing by and they looked me in the eyes. Their stares shivered me down through my spine, making me avoid my eyes on them. Weird and scary. Are they eating a person? Probably not but their stares said so.

I ignored them and ran for more minutes. I hadn't seen a huge house or mansion in this town. Most of the houses were only covering a small area and didn't have a second floor. Back in our old town, people seemed to brag about their status by having the tallest building and largest lot.

As I ran more, the houses on the sides of the pathway were disappearing one by one. It looked like a crooked mouth, not having teeth on some parts of it. Then, it completely disappeared when I've come into a place full of trees and the pathway ended. The vivid green grasses were scattered on the ground, and this place has the freshest air ever.

I breathe heavily, letting the oxygen pump inside my lungs. The ground was clean and I sat near the river, leaning my back on the bark of the tree. My back tends to ache when I don't have something to lean on. That's why in my life, I tend to lean on my brothers.

I pulled the book from my tote bag. Before I open it from where the bookmark was placed, I gulped water to refresh myself.

Then I started reading.

...

"Get a life, Cath," Felix said one morning while we're having breakfast.

"I'm alive."

"That isn't what I mean." Felix raised his voice.

Jay stopped chewing his food. "He wants you to go outside and socialize with other people. Make friends with other teenagers. You can't spend your life forever inside."

Jay has a sense and I know Felix only wanted me to enjoy my life after our parents died. They said that they were already buried in the cemetery. They didn't tell me so I could pay a visit. They said it was too for me. What's with the word dangerous that it's overused by my two brothers?

"I don't need friends. I need justice for Mom and Dad."

"We can't," Felix muttered. He stood from his chair and his face got closer to my face. The spaces between our faces were less than an inch. "The thing that killed them werewolves."

No one can imprison a wolf. I knew that was the thing he wanted to point out. I stayed silent for the rest of our morning. Before my two brothers leave, they kissed my forehead. They told me that I have to enroll in the community college for the next semester. They were the ones who processed my papers and I have to wait for a call to attend the school.

School sucks. Since my brothers didn't want me to stay inside forever, it is also an escape from what happened to my poor parents.

That night, I didn't have the choice to help them. What I did was listen to their screams and groans caused by pain. Every time that moment struck my mind, I can't help but let the salty tears make traces on my cheeks.

I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I could've done better for both of you.

CHAPTER 3

The place was a sanctuary to me. I finished the book that I was reading without being distracted on scrolling through social media platforms and watch short videos about books instead of reading. My brothers were glad that I finally got out from my shell and started exploring.

When we had dinner, they warned me again on not staying outside during the night. They've been at home earlier, before the sun sets. Because of that, I would want to see the sunset and ran back home during the night.

"Where are you going?" Felix asked me while he's reading a book.

"Running around the town."

He nodded. "Don't go that far away. It's already afternoon and don't go home after sunset."

"Fine," I answered and disappeared inside our house. Felix would've been a perfect father to a child if he decided to be one. He had a girlfriend back then but I'm not sure what happened to them. Maybe they broke up because the girl stopped from visiting our home.

Jay also had one before. A genius woman, an honor student in her high school, wanting to take law after her undergraduate degree in college. Jay was more open to tell me that they broke up because law would be that girl's priority after she finished college. Why can't she mix up things and not break up with my finest brother?

I don't know if Jay cried after that. We all have separate rooms back then. Now that we moved into a smaller home, he and Felix were already sharing one with each other.

I opened the book the moment I arrived at my favorite spot near the river. Butt on the ground, hands on the book, eyes on the page, mind into a new world. I don't know how long I can focus while reading in this place. This was an nice place with nice air to read for an hour straight. Then I remembered that my brothers didn't like me to stay here until the sunsets. But they couldn't do anything about that. That's why I will stay here until the time I wouldn't able to read the words on the page.

The world I was forced into was more magical than I expected. It felt like I was living inside it, the words were devouring me into it. I wish life was like books, bad things were not real and mostly it's a happy ever after.

I only had to end it when someone grabbed the book from my hand. That's when I noticed that it's already dark around. Not the pitch black darkness, but the kind of darkness that creeps out on me. Why does the night in this town looked darker than before?

I raised my head, also my eyebrows, to the guy who grabbed my book. He's thin but not sluggish. Tall, carved face, and attractive. This was the first time I saw an attractive person in this place. He looked like an angel or a campus crush. Still, he grabbed my book without my permission.

I thought he was going to flirt with me, use his sexy ways after pissing me off. "What are you doing in here?" He was serious. I can see it through his eyes.

"I read. Isn't it obvious?" I don't care about his looks or how dark he feels. He grabbed my book and stopped the peak of my reading experience. He's a stranger and could be a dangerous person.

He's wearing a uniform, maybe a student in the university nearby. And he doesn't know me so why did he care.

I grabbed my book, hug it close to my chest. "Also why did you grab my book from me?"

He didn't say a work until a howl crept us. It sounds like wild beast... or dog. He quickly grabbed my hand, not too tight or light, and ran away from the woods. I didn't know what he was trying to do. But I was scared of the howl as well. Can a guy like him was also scare of that sound?

"Where are we going?" I asked halfway back home. I recognized that path and knew that it was the same way I walked before.

"Keep you voice low. They might hear us." He was almost whispering, gasping of air. Maybe he was tired of running. He looked better and more handsome because of the sweat he has all over his face, even on his hands that touched me.

"Who? Who can hear us?" I copied the volume of his voice. I'm new in this town and I don't know if there were killers or kidnappers in this place. And I even don't know if this man I am trusting is safe! "And I'm not sure if I'm safe with you. What if you're the one who's going to do harm on me?"

He clicked his tongue, glanced left and right. When he saw nothing, he gazed back at me. "I'm Nana's grandson. I guess you already met her."

I didn't see any patterns of Nana on his fac.e Maybe he didn't inherited any of her features. Or her features were already smothered due to her age so I wasn't able to see it through him.

So what should I call him? Nana's boy? Nana's guy? I don't even know his name!

After running and escaping from the thing he's scared of, we arrived in our home. I'm not sure if my brothers already met him, but they looked so worried about me. Thankful on this handsome stranger. Nana was also sitting on our couch. I don't know if she was smiling or her reaction was just bland.

"Where have you been, Catherine?" Felix asked. Brows furrowed and his voice was mad again.

"Read my book near the lake."

"I thought you were already in danger." Jay sighed. He hugged me. I've always loved hte comfort of my brother. Before anything else, why were they that worries about me being outside during the night. They knew how much I love watching the stars and the sky.

"You're still not listening on me, Cath!" Felix said. He glanced at the strange guy. "Thank you for looking out on her, Angelo."

So that was his name? Angelo. I thought it would have been a more complicated one because of how he looks. I guessed his parents were tired of thinking names for him.

Jay released my body. "You should thank him."

I turned to Angelo, a bit of smile was on his face. "Thank you. But can you tell me why are we running away from the night? It wasn't even midnight. And what's the howl that I heard?

My brother's face turned pale. Everyone didn't even open their mouths. My eyes focused on Nana.

"Werewolves, dear. Humans that turns to wolves. Like us. Like everybody in this town."

Like them? Was Nana saying that they were also werewolves? They were the same creatures like the ones who killed my parents?

We left our previous home because our parents were killed by werewolves. And now, we're living in a village full of them? Even these people, not actually humans, were like them?

"How? If you're like them, then you're also capable of killing me and my brothers? Werewolves are killers. They killed Mom and Dad!"

I can't help but to turn emotional. The same night my parents were killed came back to me like a precious memory. Except that it wasn't precious. It was a nightmare.

As far as I can remember, my brothers brought me here because they said this place was safe from those creatures. They said that if we stay from our previous home, I would be in danger. How come that this place was safe when I just ran from the night?

"You're not like your brothers and sisters. This young girl has difficulties in understanding," Nana said as if her words were magical. Was she saying that I have a problem in my brain?

"They were not like them, Cath. They weren't part of any pack. They were good werewolves and they will not hurt you. They took care of us when we're younger. They promised our parents that if something happened to them, Nana's family were the ones who's going to take care of us," Felix explained. This was one of those moments where he's calm and not scary.

"Cath, do you remember when Mom and Dad always tell us stories about werewolves?"

I reconciled that moment. Mom and Dad were telling us a stroy about a family of werewolves who were bullied most of the time because they weren't Beta or Alpha. They can't be Nana and her family though the main character of my parents' story was an old woman who has the exact features like Nana.

"I remember. I thought they were kind back then. But they are the same creatures who killed them." I strode to Angelo. Our faces didn't have any distance. "If you're also like them, tell me who killed Mom and Dad!" I shook his hard body a little bit. "Tell me!"

I let my tears fall from my eyes. The revelation I had hit me directly to my face. Overwhelmed, the only word I can describe to myself.

Angelo shook of his head, clueless of my question. "I'm afraid we don't know about it as well."

I can't accept it.. I can't embrace anything when I'm overwhelmed and thoughts were scattered in my mind. They brought me here because Nana's family are going to guard us, and no one from them knew who killed Mom and Dad. The thought of living in a town full of shapeshifters shivered my whole body. From this day forward, my life wouldn't stay the same. No, it already flipped when some other creatures attacked our house and killed my parents.

There must be a reason. I can't be something special that they wanted to capture like the chosen one characters I've read in books. Was I?