Crimson

The Beginning

The dull brown forest with thick pine trees grew and flourished for archers, as it was a woody haven for all creatures. My town - well really a village - was known for it's mystery and for it's forest as the ancient trees stretched away from the bleached white floor, the lucid snowflakes sprinkled over the thick ground as your shoes would sink far into it. I loved my home and my friends more then anything but the forest had always pulled me into it's chaining grip as it's ancient songs would call out to me. My haven would grow into a nightmare in one particular spot near the plain field of stones that grew like the skyscrapers would in the cities far away. One stretch of road, the locals called the wolf's tail but I called it the devils trap. They gave it that name from the amount of wolf packs we had here. It started when I was five, my mum, her brother and I where in the car singing to some kiddy song that my mum put on the radio as I hugged the wolf toy to my chest while I sat in the booster.

"Honey! Close your eyes!" My mum suddenly shouts at me as I do what I'm told, I scream once the car flipped, all I saw was the flash of a dark shadow and a growl that I've never heard before, I cry as I sit upside down in my seat still clutching the toy to my chest, the sound of metal being crushed made me scream more as I was grabbed by a clawed hand, the creature looked at me, it's eyes glowing a deep fiery red as it placed me down onto the ground, I turned to see my mother laying peacefully on the ground her eyes closed as the creature just sat there whimpering like a giant dog does, my uncle laying not too far away as I got up from my seat and walked over to them.

"Mummy! Come on!" I say as I try to shake her getting some of her blood on me and my toy, she doesn't move just falls deeper into the snow as the flakes kiss my cheeks making them glow the same colour of the slashes that I see on her back, chest and on her face, my uncle in the same position. The creature walks towards me and leans it head down, I somehow manage to crawl onto it's back as it runs off into the woods, towards a house as I slide down the creature, I turn to it putting my small hand to it's face as tears still cascade down my face, it nudges me towards the house as I turn to it but once I turn back it was no longer there. It's prints in the ground, four giant paw prints as I run to the house and bang on the door until someone opens it.

"Chloe? Chloe! Are you even listening to me?" her voice rings through my head as I shake myself back to consciousness, I turn to her as she looks at me concerned slightly, I look around to see the woods again and sigh a little.

"Sorry Beth I was a little busy . . . Not listening" I say with a slight joke she smiles and hugs me from the side.

"You where thinking about Beast again weren't you?" she says to me, Beast was the creature that I met when I was young, the one I was talking about before to you, I nod my head at her and smile a little running a hand through my hair.

"You sure you're ready for this dude?" she asks me as we stand out in the cold with our winter jumpers on and jeans with beanies, I nod my head and step forward cupping my mouth as I howl, the stars glisten above us as we stand out here on the mountain side.

"See?" I say as we hear the sounds of howls coming back, we laugh and sit down on the blankets that we brought as our breath fogs in front of our faces a little, I have my legs out in front of me, one knee bent as Beth had hers crossed.

"So when do you think Beast will come back? He's been gone for a while now," she says to me, I sigh and shrug my shoulders. It was true he has been gone from the woods for months now, I haven't seen or heard him in a while, and though Beth knew of Beast she's never seen him before she just knows that he's big, angry an likes me.

"I don't know really I hope soon though - can you imagine the look Conner's face when he see's Beast though?" I say to her with a laugh, she punches my shoulder and looks back out over the town as we just sit here with the creatures in the woods sing to us.

"We don't go back to school for another couple of days what should we do?" she says to me as she was slightly concerned.