Hollow's Grove (The Preliminary Version)

Chapter Thirty: Memories (Part One)

I sat in that cramped closet for who knows how long. All the while, I could hear the growls of Marcus. He was still outside, waiting for me to open the door. I knew that if I opened the door, I would find myself in a battle I would surely lose. My wolf paced uneasily around my mind. The full moon was no where near. My human body was weak, I would be torn to pieces. I sat there, in the dark, staring off, unsure of what would become of me.

As I waited, I thought back to the days where everything was fine. I wasn't a child of the moon, my brother and father were still alive, my mother wasn't depressed. Each memory flooded me with emotions that I couldn't place. The one that made my eyes fill with fresh tears, was the one that would stay with me for the rest of my life, it was the night where everything spiralled out of control, the camping trip that caused all of this.

I closed my eyes, letting my memories take me back...

I stumbled up the pathway, my backpack growing heavier with each step. I wiped at my brow, the fresh sweat dripping down to my flushed face. "Hurry up Tobias," my older brother was already at the top of the hill. He was standing there, a playful grin upon his lips. I groaned, my legs felt like jello. "Come on son," I felt the comforting pat of my father's hand upon my shoulder.

I clambered up the grassy knoll. The soft sunlight peaking through the clouds, shone down upon me. The warmth seemed to seep into my very soul, giving me the energy to push myself up to the hill. Finally I found myself lying across warm dirt. I had made it to the top of the hill, falling to my knees in exhaustion.

My father and brother just stood, watching, waiting for me to get up. "Come on Toby, there will be time to rest when we get to the campsite." With a heavy groan, I pushed myself up off the warm dirt. Scott snickered, "Toby, you have dirt all down the back of your shirt." I glanced down, sure enough, my white t-shirt had streaks of dirt all down it.

As I brushed the dirt off, I noted that my father was looking down at something.I turned to face back down the hill. To my surprise there was someone behind us. I glanced up at dad's face, it was pulled into a frown. "Hmm," he seemed to be thinking. Scott was now standing beside us, he was narrowing his eyes.

"Who's that dad?" He asked, shifting his backpack a little. Dad shook his head, "Probably just another hiker," he turned back towards the forest. "Come on you two, let's get going, it is going to get dark out soon, and we still have a long way ahead." We began to walk into the looming treeline. Every so often, dad would look back, his face still worried.

Scott and I gave one another confused glances, why was he so nervous? We headed through the thick flora. Finally we noticed dad had begun to pick up his pace. I turned my head slightly, to my shock, there was the hiker from earlier. He had managed to catch up to us in a short period of time.

I turned my gaze back to the path in front of us. Dad, Scott, and I began to jog. My backpack weighed me down, yet, I pushed onwards. We carried on, none of us said a word. The man kept his pace with us.  Dad was trying to think of a way that we could lose our  pursuer.

Suddenly dad swerved off the path. Scott and I followed. We ran through the thick ferns, not looking back. Finally we stopped, dad turned back. "We've lost him." His shoulder's relaxed. Scott and I turned to where dad was looking. Sure enough we were all alone.

By now the sun was setting. Dad glanced around, we had ended up in a small glen. "We'll camp here for tonight."  Dad said as he set his backpack down. Scott frowned, "Dad, I don't think that this would be-" Dad cut Scott off with a wave of his hand.

"Scott, this will be fine for tonight, come on let's get the tents set up." Soon enough the tents were up and we were sitting around a small fire. I sat there, staring up into the moonlit sky, the full moon was so pretty. "Alright, time for bed," dad's voice startled me out of my daze.

I shook my head, letting reality fall upon my shoulders. Dad was motioning for me to get up, "Come on Tobias, we have to get going early tomorrow morning." I pushed my tired body up. As I made my way towards the tents a sound echoed throughout the surrounding woods. It was an eerie noise, it reminded me of wind on a stormy night.

The hairs upon the back of my neck stood up. Dad froze, "Tobias, get inside the tent," his voice had become low. I didn't hesitate, I ran for the tent Scott and I were sharing. Scott had peeked his head out of the tent. He gave a yawn, he had fallen asleep earlier. "What was that?!" He asked, rubbing his eyes. Dad didn't reply, another cry tore through the night.

Dad ran towards his tent, Scott and I watched as he unzipped the tent flap and raced in. We stood there, listening for the sound. Before we knew it, dad had come out, a flashlight in his hands. "Boys, I want you two to wait here, understand?" We nodded, dad began to walk out of the glen, "I will be right back..."