"Elian! I swear to the goddess when I catch you..."
Serenya tried to sound brave, but her voice cracked and her heart lodged in her throat.
"Elian!" She screamed above the crickets. She brushed strands of dark hair out of her eyes, her brows drawn in worry.
Darkness had long covered the earth. And anyone with functioning ears could hear the sounds of gongs and the nightly announcements that filled the stale air. A daily routine for the citizens of Drestmere.
Return to your homes! Bar your doors and windows! Night crawlers abound!
"Where is he?!" She gasped under her breath. She gathered her skirts in both hands and raced through the woods, her eyes keen for any sign of a boy of eight.
The last thing Serenya wanted was to be caught by the night crawlers and made an offering to King Alaric, the cursed Lycan.
And right now, Elian, her baby brother, was going to serve her right up to them.
She was running out of options, having already checked all his hangout spots. The bakery in town, the treehouse down Ale street, the fields where he played with friends. Nothing.
Defeated, she paused to catch her breath. All around her was darkness and the sounds of the night. It would have been a peaceful sight, if her brother wasn't missing, and night crawlers didn't exist.
"Maybe he's home already," she tried to give herself some hope. Surely he wouldn't stay out this late, right?
With a loud sigh, she offered up a prayer for Elian's safety and decided to leave the woods.
The moment she turned around, something moved at the corner of her eye.
Her spine went rigid, freezing her in place. Her heart flew into her throat and lodged firmly, making it near impossible for her to breathe.
"E-Elian?" She whispered.
It had to be him. Night crawlers wouldn't be in full action till midnight. It was barely eight pm. It had to be…
A few seconds passed and nothing happened.
Serenya's knuckles faded colour as she gripped her skirts tightly. She took shaky steps forward, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Something cold and slimy slithered down her spine, making her gasp. She knew that feeling too well, the feeling of eyes following her.
Someone…no, something was in the woods with her. She could swear she felt a wisp of hot, rancid breath down her nape. Each step she took, dry leaves rustled behind her.
Fear clogged her throat. She knew she had to get out of there immediately.
Breaking into a sprint, she ran through the woods as fast as she could. Whatever was after her took off, chasing after her hot on its heels. She could barely hear anything over the rush of hot blood in her ears, and her own thunderous heart.
She had barely gotten a few paces away before her foot got stuck in a half buried tree branch. A scream ripped through the forest as she fell, her face landing in the dirt.
Something growled behind her.
Her spine went rigid. She forced herself to turn around, get up, run, or do something at all. The fear formed bounds on her feet, pinning her firmly in place.
Something moved in front of her.
Despite her sharp senses as a wolf, she could barely make out the outline of the twisted creature in front of her. It was as if it sucked whatever was left of the light, making her near blind.
"Please…" her voice came out shaky and afraid.
It's low, demonic growls belonging to only one creature. The way the space around it warped….she was sure of what it was.
Night crawler.
She felt the exact moment it lunged at her, the wave of air that whooshed with it, the smell of its breath. She screamed and covered her face with her hands, bracing for its claws and fangs tearing into her.
Nothing happened.
The forest went pin silent for two seconds. Then a roar shook the forest ground.
Serenya lowered her hands, chest heaving so hard she feared she'd have a heart attack. Six feet away from her were a pair of glowing crimson eyes.
Wolves didn't have red eyes. Neither did crawlers.
A terrified whine filled the air, followed by a sickening squelching noise. Serenya smelled blood, rotten blood.
Something was feeding on the crawler. That red eyed creature…
Her fear amplified. Did she get saved only to be eaten by an even worse beast?!
The sounds of flesh torn apart, bones breaking, and blood spurting were all she could hear. The sounds of the night had vanished. Even her own heart seemed to beat in slow motion.
She couldn't look away from those glowing eyes. It was the only thing she could see in the pitch darkness.
Serenya moved her arm, and immediately those eyes darted over to her. The creature growled, sending cold dread all over her body. She froze, a whimper caught in her throat.
She had never heard such growls before.
The creature continued to watch her, making no move to attack. She took it as a sign, slowly gathering herself and getting to her feet.
It continued to watch her and growl, almost as if it was trying to say something to her.
She refused to consider it for one second. The moment she was on her feet, she turned and bolted. Her footfalls were all she could hear, and she didn't want to be relieved or further scared. Those growls rang in her ears till she could no longer hear them.
Her lungs burned and tears clouded her eyes. Brambles cut into her legs and arms, yet she didn't stop running. Till she saw the light of home.
She ran right up for the front door, nearly knocking it off with the force she slammed into it with.
Over her shoulder, all she could see was the woods. There was no beast following her. The sounds of the night were back.
But the feeling of eyes didn't abate. If anything it got worse. Whatever that was watching her was still out there.
She wiped sweat and tears off her face. She inhaled large gulps of air, trying to calm herself.
For the first time since the court banished her and her family from the kingdom, she resented living close to the woods. She wondered, just for a second, if she could make an appeal to her betrothed. Have him taken back the ruling and bring them back to the centre of the kingdom.
A bitter laugh escaped her. That was near impossible, right next to squeezing juice from a rock.
The terror in her veins slowly began to dissolve. She didn't know what made her turn, but she faced the direction of the woods.
There was nothing but peaceful trees swaying in the night breeze.
She placed a hand over her chest and sighed with relief. "It's over….thank the goddess,"
Just as she said those words, an arrow whizzed in front of her eyes, aimed right at her.