Dear Alex A.

Chaptear 1

It was some kind of party. The people here were dressed as if they were of high status. They talked amongst themselves in the grass while sipping champagne or some other spirit. The children ran around, laughing and chasing one another without a care in the world. All of them looked adorable in their fancy clothes, completely innocent. But as the shadows steadily grew longer and the sun began to set, my nerves also grew more unsettled. It felt as if another side to these beings was awakening with the coming darkness. They were closing in on my family without moving an inch. Should any child or adult come any closer than fifteen feet, I felt the rage of a mother protecting the vulnerable. My body acted on its own, springing out, growling, and flashing invisible fangs. My tail, which no one could see either, stuck straight out, high in the air with warning.

"What's wrong with you? Relax, it's just a kid." Mom gripped my shoulder pulling me back from where I stood. No one else seemed to notice, neither did I. Instead, my focus was already on another child about to enter my radius. Again I sprang and the child ran away.

"Mom you need to go, now!" I urged her, my eyes still darting back and forth. I didn't understand what was going on, nor why I felt they were in danger and not me. If anything, it felt natural for me to be in the midst of these people. But my family was my priority, if they aren't safe here, I don't belong here either.

"What? Why?" I felt her doubt, but she still reached for my little sisters' hands and walked to the cars with a brisk pace. Again, no one seemed to notice or care until we reached the cars. Zulie, my mom's close friend, had also followed us and piled her own kids into the SUV. As they did, all hell broke loose. First it was the blood-curling screams and snarling, then we saw them. They came with a fury, slamming into the vehicle to stop. They clawed with a feeding frenzy known only to them.

"Go! GO NOW!" I slammed my palms on the outside of the SUV. Turning to the seemingly rabid beings, I attacked. My body acted on its own with only one thought in mind. 'I need to protect them no matter what! They need to escape!' Mom stomped on the gas pedal and the scent of burning rubber suffocated us all. Screams could still be heard from the park as the once clean and civilized now feasted. From the ones who tried attacking my family, only a few stood up again and disappeared in different directions.

It was made clear through the sound of snarls growing louder and the gradual decrescendo of the cries of terror and agony, there was nothing I could do for anyone else. All I could do was hope and pray my family was far away and managed to find somewhere safe for the night.

My body felt exhausted as I trudged on down the road. How long had I been walking? What was that awful smell? A church came into my sight and I headed straight for it. What happened back there? 'Ghouls, vampires, and werewolves.' My brain thought. How did I end up somewhere like that, ending with that kind of situation? The big question was why I didn't feel personally threatened around those peop...creatures. If they're really what I think they are, what does that make me?

Walking into the church was the chapel, dozens of rows of empty pews. I continued past them to a door on the far right, then down a hallway that came to a kitchen. The moment I stepped inside I felt someone's presence but had no idea who, or what, they were. If this was to serve as my temporary safe haven, I needed to protect it. The same feeling from earlier came as I bared my fangs, growling. Allowing the feeling to take over, I sprang, ready to pounce on whatever was emitting the pungent scent of fear. A little girl shrieked quietly, pushing herself closer into her mother as they all cowered in the far corner. In that instant I stopped short, aware of who the family was.

"Hey! It's just Zulie!" I heard my mother before I saw her. Zulie looked up, still ashen faced, holding her children close.

"What are you doing here?! It's not safe!" I snapped at my mom who came out from the hallway from the opposite side of the kitchen. She stared at me with wide eyes of disbelief.