First bite

Stranger Danger

Her golden locks flittered violently in the strong winds of Brooklyn. Kara had just left the farmhouse and packed all the essentials to run away. No one was to know what she had become. She turned around to catch one last glimpse of the city before she could change by tomorrow's full moon. Her eyes felt tired, her arms ached as if there were about to fall off and her teeth felt tender. She ran off.

Its eyes stared at her through the thick bushes. They glowed yellow in the moonlight. The creature pounced at her, shoving her towards the ground, knocking the breath out of her. The wolf snarled at her. Sudden pain seared through her body, she could feel its teeth sink into her.

Kara woke with a start, her hair was stamped to her forehead with sweat and her blankets wrapped around her tightly. She had been attacked like that last week and she hadn't stopped dreaming about it. Every time the moon came up, she felt weary and always found herself wondering if she was attacked by a werewolf. She staggered up to her feet; she had fallen asleep by a river bank. A rustle of leaves jarred her alert. Heavy footsteps started towards her. Kara froze, her heart thumped to her ears. A shadow approached from behind the tree, a casual male strolled into the moonlight cursing at his phone. He was gorgeous through Kara's eyes. His dark eyes stared at her passively; his warm skin tone matched his dark hair. He wore black jeans and a grey t-shirt that shaped his form. She was speechless.

"Oh! Hi. I can't get any reception here. My name's Sam." He held out his hand. She took it and said, "I'm Kara. What are you doing here?"

"Just trying to find my way to my aunt's house. I'm supposed to be there by Thanksgiving but at this rate, I'll be there by Easter. What about you?"

"I-I was j-just-" before she could finish, he butted in.

"Running away?" She gave a slight nod and said, "You wouldn't understand. I've got to get going. See ya." She picked up her bag and was about to turn and walk when Sam reached to take something out of her hair.

"Leaf," he explained "It's pretty late. If you camp here, I'll stay with you."

"It's alright, really." And she headed off.

She checked her phone; 12% battery at 3:47am. No way could she last another day. Ahead of her was a small dam that connected to the bank she had slept near. She kneeled on the edge and washed her face. She shrugged out of her jacket and curled it under her head to suffice as a pillow. She drifted into sleep.

Kara screamed as she woke. Blood ran down a crescent shape cut on her left leg. She saw a little creature dash off. She was in tremendous pain; she reached down to grab hold of her leg but she was still shaking and fell unbalanced into the dam. Every time she tried to kick with her legs, they buckled, making it harder for her to get back on land. She was getting sucked into the middle of the water. Water stung her eyes and her throat swallowed so much water that it felt like pins at the back of her throat.

"HELP!!" she cried. Tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn't tread water much longer, her legs were not obeying her instructions and her arms were weak. A big splash covered her head underwater but she couldn't get back up to the surface. She closed her eyes, hoping that she would die looking peaceful. A pair of arms dragged her out of the water. She tried to breathe but water had clogged up her lungs. She was aware that someone had saved her but she couldn't respond.

"Breathe Kara. Godammit breathe!" She heard someone say.

Her head tilted back, someone pinched her nose and breathed into her continuously. Someone landed a punch to her chest and the water surged out of her lungs. She leaned to the side and coughed out all the water. She was shivering and whimpering.