Page 18 of Blood Moon
In a universe complete with wonders, still, I dreamed of a new world.
Article I, Lost Letters from Aadan the First
Small stretches of white light filtered in and out through a lattice of leaves. Somewhere, tucked in the sky, was the sun, only the forest refused to share it.
Nearby, a stream bubbled over slick rocks, curving gently to the bend of the forest, and I stood close by, listening to something moving with tenacity against the moss-covered earth and tangled weeds.
I breathed in, unable to take a step forward, unable to face whatever thing had come up behind me. But the sound came to a halt, and with it, so did the life of the forest.
And in front of me, like a vision, was Rena. Pale brown skin and flowing black hair danced around her. Had she always looked this way, or was I seeing a distorted version of her?
Her long, white nails were like an arrow as she pointed behind me.
I turned reluctantly, panic at the tip of my tongue. Tucked in the shadows of the shrubs were red eyes and sharp white teeth. A venomous growl.
When I turned back to my mother, she was already gone, running.
My heart pulsed in my ears, and I followed her, trying my best to catch up, but she was going too fast, and I caught bits and pieces of her body cutting in and out past thick tree trunks.
Only then, at the realization that I couldn’t catch up to her, did I heave. I was losing her again, and it scared me more than whatever was behind me. I screamed out for her, but she kept going, kept running.
In an instant, the forest was absent of light, too dark to make out my own hand in front of me. Nothing but the sound of my broken breath, echoing far and wide.
“Please,” I cried out. “Please come back.”
She didn’t stall, didn’t bother turning around. She wasn’t coming back. It was never about my safety; it was because she couldn’t stand to face the truth …
“Mira,” a voice whispered from the nape of my neck. It sent a wave of chills down my spine.
There was no time to move, to scream. Fingers as cold as ice yanked me around, and before I could look, the monster sank their teeth into my neck, drinking me in and dragging me to the ground.
I jerked awake, wheezing in bouts of air as my heart squeezed and tears pricked my eyes. I clamped my mouth with my hands, silently giving in to the way the crying took over my body, hoping the sounds were muffled enough to not wake Stevie.
It was my mind playing tricks on me, but every emotion felt so real. Because what if Rena got my hopes up only to tear them down again? What if the letter and the necklace were the last things I had from her? What would I do? Who would I become?
The uncertainty was grave, but I knew I couldn’t live with this bitterness anymore. It was rotting me inside and out, turning me into something dark and callous, turning me into the same thing that hunted me in my dreams.