ALISHA.
"We are camping here for the night!" Our tour guide yelled out.
Before we had the chance to grumble our disapproval, the car veered off the road. The engine gave one last hum before it went dead. I sighed but got down from the car, just as the other students did. I grunted when I was greeted by darkness and dirt and tall trees.
"Why would we be camping in the bush?" Stella, one of the three queens of our high school, protested.
I watched in sick satisfaction as she flicked away some invisible dirt from her sparkling pink dress. I swallowed the protest that sat pretty at the top of my tongue. If Stella was having discomfort with the arrangement, I was willing to bear it.
"Everybody, choose your spots and set up your tents. Remember to stay close and be in threes." Our teacher who led this class project, Mr. Dan, said.
I ignored him and everybody around and walked a little further away from them. There was no one who would be willing to pair with me, except they were left with absolutely no choice. As one of the poor kids in a school of the rich—one which I only secured full scholarship to because I was brilliant—I was often seen as dirt, something to never be associated with. I did my best to steer clear of their ways, quietly doing my thing.
I wrapped my arms around myself, noting how chilly the air had become. Duets trampled under my feet but I paid no heed.
I saw a heap of leaves in front of me and I walked toward them, fascinated by the unusual trails of colors that glittered from them. As a student who studied Environmental Science, I was often drawn by every strange thing in my environment. I bent and picked a heap of them in my hands, raising them toward the half moon. They were beautiful shades of green and gold and pink and brown—something I had never seen before. After picketing two of them to show the teacher later, I dropped the rest and stood up.
Already filled with adrenaline for the things I could discover, I propelled my legs forward, my eyes scanning for things as I followed a faint dirt path. After maybe fifteen minutes, I got bored, not finding anything extraordinary. I was about to turn around and return to the camping ground when a soft glow flickered ahead. My heart pounded in my chest as all the possibilities raced in my head.
Before we embarked on this school camp journey of exploring this forest, the school had promised to reward any student who did well with some cash prize. The money might mean nothing to the other kids, but I needed it like I needed my breath.
My mother and I could do so much with it, even if it meant stocking the house with some foodstuff to last us for a while.
The trees thinned, opening into a vast iron gate entwined with ivy. Beyond it stretched a cluster of stone buildings, tall and gothic, their windows aglow with warm golden light. Towers rose like sentinels against the darkening sky, and faint music—violins, haunting and beautiful—drifted on the breeze.
I stopped dead.
What the hell was a castle doing in the middle of nowhere?
I looked around, trying to see if anyone was behind me, trying to play tricks on me. I wouldn't put it past those rich kids to be the ones playing the video of a castle with some projectors. It would not be the first time they tried to trick me. Yet, no matter how hard I looked around, I knew I was alone.
The gate creaked open suddenly as if it had been waiting for me.
I swallowed hard, clutching my bag straps. I waved my hand in front of me, truth to catch the illusion but the castle stood still in all its glory. Every sensible bone in my body screamed to turn back. But something deeper, some pull I couldn't explain, urged me forward. My feet moved on their own.
The gravel path led me to a wide courtyard, where students dressed in black uniforms with silver trim laughed and talked. Lanterns lit up the pathway, illuminating everywhere.
Student? In the middle of the forest? In a castle?
An eerie feeling churned up in my stomach and I swallowed hard to quench it. I kept walking, my legs going on their own accords, like they knew where they needed to be.
A few of them turned, sniffing the air as though they'd caught a scent. I ignored them and kept walking, until I got to a hallway.
"You think I'm scared of you, you blood sucking wolf?" Someone yelled.
I creaked my neck but couldn't see him. There were more students enclosing him, blurring him out from my vision.
"You should be." Another male voice said. This one was darker, edgier. "My father is going to destroy you and your father and merge our packs together." He said with a calm voice. The voice was calm but it cut across like a two edged sword, leaving no room about his cruelty.
There was something about the voice of the last person that made my stomach flutter and my knees weak. I groaned as the space between my thighs pooled, leaving my pants wet.
A girl with a waterfall of white-blond hair tilted her head sharply at me, her lips curling into something between a smile and a snarl.
"Human." She said. Her voice sounded like an angel had invaded the space.
The word slithered through the hallway, and suddenly every pair of glowing eyes was fixed on me.
My breath hitched. Human? What else could I be? Why had she said it like that was the last race that should ever exist?
Suddenly, the crowd dissipated, revealing the two men who were having altercations before I distracted them.
One of them has golden hair and eyes the color of the sky that promises a better day ahead when you stare into them. His eyes narrowed at me, staring like he could see straight into my soul.
And the other one? His eyes swallowed me in their greenness like the forest. His eyes were the brightest crimson I had ever set my eyes on. That feeling of weakness visited my knees again. His growl rumbled through the ground itself, catching me off guard. I staggered backward as the two men beheld me like I was the object of their fancy.
They began to stalk toward me. They halted in front of me, each of them staring at me like I was something that wasn't there and they were trying to find me.
"Mine." They growled together.
Gasps erupted from the onlookers.
The word sent a shiver racing down my spine, though I didn't understand why.
"She is mine!" The sky blue eyes guy spoke. He raised his finger, trying to touch my cheek with it. His eyes became tender and warmth filled them.
"If you dare touch what belongs to me!" The one with the green eyes thundered.
By now, the students shifted closer to us. Some watched in excitement. The others in fear.
"She is mine!" The blue-eyed guy argued.
The answer the green eyes guy gave was a quick punch to the face of the blue eyes. Chaos erupted. Snarls here. Growls there.
I looked at the two parties that started the mess, ready to say something even though I didn't know what. Whatever I wanted to say dude in my throat. The guy with the blue eyes was no longer gentle and charming. Abd his sky blue eyes were no longer that. Instead, they shimmered in golden color, ready to smother anything in their paths. The green eyes guy was no longer with green eyes—they had turned to blood red, daring anyone to stare into them.
"W-wh…" the word died in my throat as their turns blurred and their roars echoed. Their bodies creaked and their bones cracked. Skins were quickly replaced by furs that were found on animals. Their short nails were now long and sharp.
"Urrgghh…" the sky blue-golden eyed guy roared, revealing long teeth. Then he lunged for the other guy, their movement too fast for my eyes to catch.
My pulse roared in my ears as I watched the monstrous atrocities happening right in front of me. Finally, my legs caught up to my brain.
I bolted.
I raced down the way I came in, my heart pounding erratically. I didn't stop until the iron gate I had walked through minutes ago stood at the end of the courtyard. I reached out instinctively , ready to open the now locked down. A jolt revolted up my arm. I yelped and stumbled back. I stood up to try again. The door sizzled, and the lock glowing faintly with symbols I didn't recognize. The snap of the gates and the whirring sound of the kick told me what I needed to know.
I was trapped.