Blood Moon

Chapter 6: New Horizons

~ From the basement to a quaint cabin ~

For a brief moment we stay sat unmoving, still trying to process everything Jacques has just told us. "We should take a look around the house" Rue suggests, breaking the quietness. She stands up and makes her way towards the small rustic kitchen which was separated from the living space by thick wooden columns. "How quaint" she comments, stopping just in front of the matching wood counters. Both me and Kyra rise to follow her into the kitchen, leaving Scarlett to stay seated on the torn leather sofa. 

Kyra runs her forefinger along the countertop, accumulating a heap of dust. "Ugh, we'll have to clean that later. Let's just get some rest before Jacques comes back. I think the bedroom's must be upstairs" Rue groans, before exiting the filthy kitchen. We continue to follow her out into the entryway, grabbing Scarlett as we pass the living space. Following in Rue's trail we make our ascent up the creaky staircase. Once we reach the top of the stairs we are met with 5 doors that match the wood the house was made of. 

My cousin opens the door closest to us. It's the bathroom. Inside we see some rather old looking plumbing squished together in a tight space with the toilet looking like it's seen better days. Kyra and Rue grimace. It's a lot better than the corner I used to shit in at least. 

"Let's all just pick a room and rest. We'll meet downstairs when Jacques returns alright" my cousin says before walking into the room right next door to the bathroom. The young girl beside me quickly chooses the neighbouring room, leaving both me and Scarlett in the landing area alone. I lead my little sister to the room adjoining Kyra's and then make my way to the one farthest from the stairs. 

I close the door behind me and let out a long sigh. This is the first time that I have ever been left alone. It's quite... peaceful. I take in my surroundings. There is a double bed with a wooden frame in the middle of the room. To my right there is a wooden dresser alongside a large standing mirror which directly faces a window on the opposite side of the room. I amble my way to the mirror and stand in front of it. This is the first chance I've ever had to take a look at my appearance. 

My lengthy dirty blonde hair reaches all the way down to my hips with a considerable amount of silver strands that I have never noticed before also present. My skin which up until now has never seen the light of day is as white as a piece of paper. I begin to examine my eyes. I gasp. Now I understand what Jacques was talking about. My right eye is ice-blue just like my father's and my left eye is pure silver. Not like my mother's, Scarlett's or the twins; theirs are more grey while mine is pure silver. It matches the strands of silver in my hair almost exactly. Despite my eyes being blood-shot and puffy, they are quite pretty or at least that's what I think. I then turn my attention to the whole picture, observing my body fully. It is thin and fragile with my bones almost being completely on display. It's the same as my siblings, they were also wafer-thin, malnourished. Kyra is also quite small but most definitely nowhere near this slim and as for Rue, her body is much fuller and toned. I assume that being due to her training.  

I turn my gaze away from the mirror and make my way over to the small closed window on the other side of the room. I look outside, the barren road we drove down in clear view. Beyond the road is the entrance to the forest. I stare at it for a little while. I guess that's where the members of the local pack go running when they shift. Should probably steer clear of it then. 

In the corner of my eye I catch the light reflecting off of something black. I turn my head to see a flip phone on top of the bedside table. Picking it up I sit down on the edge of the bed as I inspect the tiny device. I make a note in my head to ask Jacques what this is for later. I plop it back down on the table and run my fingers across the cotton sheets. 

How did I get so lucky? In less than 24 hours I have escaped that prison and managed to find myself on the other side of the world. Not only that but I somehow managed to survive when everyone else couldn't. It's bittersweet. I am glad to be alive and extremely grateful to be 'free' but I can't shake this feeling. I can't shake the guilt. Even before that nightmare on the plane it was there. I feel as if it was wrong of me to leave my siblings. They're... gone. Truly gone. And I'm... not. 

The door swings open, startling me. My little sister Scarlett bolts in and takes a seat beside me on the edge of the bed. She leans against me. I guess she just doesn't want to be alone. Looking down at her I smile faintly. I place my arm around her, allowing her to cuddle into me. "You don't want to be left alone do you?" I ask, already knowing the answer. She nods slightly, closing her eyes. I rub my hand along her arm. "Don't worry Scar, we'll be okay. I'll protect you, you're not alone I promise" I say, continuing to soothe her as she begins to drift off in my warm embrace. I rest my head atop of hers and begin to doze off myself. My thoughts and worries disappear for a brief moment until I am yet again surrounded by the shadows.

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Author's note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's a relatively short one I know. The chapter coming out Friday will be a bit longer and most certainly more important! I wonder what will happen...

As of right now I plan to release 1-2 chapters every Friday. Any feedback both positive and negative will be greatly appreciated. This is my first time writing a story like this so I hope that it turned out alright.

Thank you for reading!

Yours,

xgwenux