Song of the chapter - Soul Searcher by Tom Player
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With the jumping beat of a song in her ears, Lily Morgan was almost enjoying her walk home from school. Despite the fact that it was raining, humid, and her Aunt Ollie had an emergency shift so she couldn't pick her up. The music was the only good thing about her walk home.
If her music stopped, so would Lily. She would stop and cry out of frustration.
Lily was heavily reliant on her music to get her through the several kilometre walk. The pavement was wonky with tree roots coming from the forest nearby. As Lily's beat-up trainers thudded in puddles on the path, she almost smiled as the beat dropped in her song.
Popping her lips in time with the tunes, Lily looked up around her and felt a sense of wariness as she locked eyes with the dark forest and its shadows.
Her class today had been on the dangers of the woods and the darkness. Most teachers warn their students of the possible bandits, drug dealers, and rapists that patrolled the woods for victims. Most schools pressured use of the buddy system: to always travel with a male friend and/or another person.
Her school wasn't most schools. Her teachers weren't most teachers.
Lily's teachers taught her and her classmates how to unleash their claws, use their inner supernatural abilities to defend themselves, and blend in with humanity.
Nova High School was created by the Supernova over a decade ago, which taught all the students no matter their supernatural race about the rules of their beings, and how to control their powers.
There was shifting classes for the werewolves to gain control of their beastly side, as well as blood control classes and classrooms with tinted windows for the vampires ease. The agricultural gardens were for the witches, so they could be at one with nature and control their earthly abilities. The nurses office consisted of fairies, helping them come to terms with their powers of healing.
With compulsory classes for every supernatural creature to go over the rules and history of all the species known, Lily had a breeze of a timetable. She didn't have a compulsory class, only basic human subjects. She had a lot of free time.
Unlike everyone in the school, she didn't know what type of supernatural she was. Werewolf, vampire, fairy, or witch? Lily had no idea.
Although those four were the most common there were others species too, just so rare everyone's forgotten what they were. The only other factor they had in their community was the Supernova - the most powerful supernatural in the world and the leader of them all, the rank gave them the right to dictate everyone as they saw fit - for who could challenge the powerful?
The only reason Lily knew she was supernatural was because of her family. She never found out what kind exactly before they died.
Thinking of her family made her heart ache, and Lily turned her music down with a sigh. Feeling her thick red hair stick to her face from the heavy downpour, the orphan looked towards the forest once again, out of the corner of her eye. Something pulled in her gut but Lily hesitated.
Her Nova High studies told her walking through the forest was a bad idea, especially with the dangers it held. It was very dangerous for her because she didn't know how to use her unknown abilities to defend herself. Lily only knew basic self-defence.
But it meant a quicker walk home and less time in the rain.
Decision made, Lily diverted into the forest, quickly noticing less rain pouring on her. Humming the next song to herself, she could feel her mood start to pick up at the new path.
She was so caught up with her music that most people would've thought she wasn't listening to her surroundings, but Lily couldn't have missed the scream even if her volume was on full.
It pierced her soul. The high-pitched cry of a child, its plea for help. Lily, despite hearing loud and clear, hesitated. What could she do? She was almost human without knowledge of her abilities. But, as a supernatural, she still possessed more strength and stamina than most humans.
She knew it wasn't right to keep walking. She couldn't ignore that scream. Even if she knew nothing of herself, Lily had to help the girl. That sense of helping others had been engraved into her since her family died. Supernatural-born or not, she started to run.
Filled with a new sense of determination, Lily sprinted into the forest. She would do her best to save the girl, and knew she would go as far as to lay her life down for her safety. Anyone else in her position would do the same.
Using all the remaining strength in her legs, Lily dodged roots and branches in an attempt to reach the girl quicker. Her heart was beating too fast for her to keep track, and rain splattering her vision, but Lily drew in the humid air to propel her faster.
When she heard a closer scream, no doubt from the same girl, adrenaline kicked into Lily's soaked system. The pain from her muscles disappeared and her heart rate calmed down as she passed more trees.
Lily's mind blurred. The only thing she could hear was the pulse from the music still in her ear, how it was in time with her heartbeat, and the third scream that sent chills down her spine. The shadows of the forest almost rippled, pointing the way to the poor girl. Lily, clear of any doubts and fears, charged into the clearing and halted.
Three large men stood around a wide-eyed young girl, whose lips were trembling with fear. Hearing the commotion from Lily's entrance, the men turned around with gleaming gold eyes that bounced their light around the clearing.
Werewolves, Lily thought. She felt her own eyes burn - a static sizzling at her retina. She couldn't see the colour they held that identified her supernatural self. Lily had spent hours in front of the mirror trying to get her eyes to shift, to awaken that inner part of her.
Three rogue werewolves. One little girl. She screamed. They're surrounding her. Lily only had to take a breath before she looked at the girl.
"Are you okay? Are these men bothering you?" Lily asked with a tone she didn't recognise. It was alluring and powerful, but her focus was still on the werewolves, who were now surrounding her. Her glowing eyes, whatever colour they were, identified her as a threat.
The little girl whimpered, holding her knees tightly, as her eyes flashed the colour of an eclipse. Glowing black eyes meant alpha blood and Lily immediately knew she'd have to be more than a helping hand - she needed to be a protecting one too.
Lily took another breath before glaring down the other three werewolves. Their glowing eyes were fixated on her, ignoring the little alpha.
The middle wolf let out a smile. "What can you do, girl?" He locked eyes with Lily, but somehow, Lily saw past the façade of confidence. She saw fear and doubt. They were afraid of her. Good.
As the tunes in her ear started to climb to the beat once again, Lily trained her glowing eyes on the werewolves. Her pulse thrummed through her body until she couldn't feel the cold. Lily felt the puddles at her feet ripple as the music flowed through her mind. As the beat was about to drop, Lily couldn't stop the defiant look in her eyes.
The base dropped and Lily launched herself into the music. A clenched fist knocked the middle wolf out cold, and the one on the right barely breathed before a fierce kick from Lily sent him flying into a tree. Lily ducked as the left wolf swung but hit open air. Lily slammed her elbow into his gut before twisting her body so she caught the right wolf, who was approaching again, with another punch to the head and catching her heel against the slumped left wolf with enough force to make him stumble.
The song started to increase, time moved, and Lily let it drive her. The water under her feet flew up as she flung her foot out again to kick the left wolf back with a groan and she and the right wolf found themselves in a fist fight.
She blocked. He swung. She ducked, hearing nothing but the sound of the song in her ears. The drums so fierce they propelled her punches towards the wolf's bloodied face, he was barely able to save himself from the pounding of her knuckles. Her wet hair whipped her face as Lily spun, crouching, and swung her leg out to trip the wolf over.
The wolf jumped with a yell but Lily's foot caught his ankles. He crashed onto the damp soil and his head collided with a rock. He was as still as the middle wolf.
Lily spun to face the left wolf but he was gone. The music died out, and Lily's eyes sizzled as they returned to their normal brown. Shock entered her system as she surveyed the scene around her. Two knocked out werewolf rogues, and a whimpering alpha girl.
Pulling out her earphones, Lily approached the little girl with palms up. She was surprised to find she could smile despite her knuckles beginning to throb. "Are you okay?"
The little girl's eyes flashed black once again and she edged closer to the tree. A keen whine escaped her shivering body, no doubt almost getting hypothermia from the cold rain. Lily was starting to feel it too now she'd calmed from the fight. Wiping her loose hair away from her forehead, Lily tried talking to the girl again.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she promised. "What's your name? I'm Lily."
The girl stared with glowing black eyes before slowly faded to a tearful deep brown. Her rippled black hair was soaked against her head as the girl shivered again. "A-Alice."
Lily shook off her waterproof jacket, careful not to let any rain drip onto the inside. She gently covered Alice with it, seeing her finally shed her held tears, and Lily smiled at the girl.
"Let's get you home Alice. Do you know the way back?" Lily asked, extending a hand to help her stand off the moist foliage. Alice trembled and gripped her sore palm.
"It's this way," she whispered but Lily picked up on the shiver in her voice as they walked. Alice was too cold, she could feel it in her hold. "My daddy will be looking for me."
"I'm sure he's worried about you." Lily comforted, but as they walked away from the two unconscious werewolves, knowing the third was still awake and lurking in the forest spiked her adrenaline again. Alice stumbled over some loose roots and Lily picked her up. Alice stiffened, black eyes flashing again.
"You're going to freeze out here Alice. I'm going to run with you home, we have to be quick, okay? Tell me where to go." Lily explained as she quickened her pace, wincing at her soggy shoes.
Alice's eyes didn't shift back to their original brown but she nodded. The little girl was small enough to grip the school bag Lily still had on her shoulders. As Alice was wearing the waterproof, Lily shivered as her clothes dampened further.
She had to get the little alpha home so she started to run with all the energy she had left. The werewolf pack of her town, Trawalla, would protect her from the last rogue. Their Alpha Roman looked after all the territory, including Nova High, but Lily hadn't been to the pack house before. Alice guided her through the trees, and the closer Lily got the more excited Alice became. She was almost bouncing on her back when they broke through to a clearing at the back of a large house.
The clearing led stood between them and the back entrance of the pack house. Alice howled as soon as they saw the battered red-brick home. Lily stopped in her tracks seeing the broken wall like something had exploded through, and the back door opened immediately to see a boy about her age.
"Alice!" The boy cried and sprinted towards them. Alice bounced off her back and sprinted towards the boy, and leaped into his arms sobbing. The boy held her close, eyes shut, but Lily spotted the black they'd harboured - another alpha.
Lily, feeling left out and soaked, stumbled back a couple of steps. The boy snapped his gaze to her, his eerie black eyes fading back to a brilliant blue, but Lily didn't spend any more time intruding on the family reunion.
She sprinted back into the woods, ignoring the boy's cry for her and Alice screaming her name. However the scream wasn't one of pain, but confusion. Lily didn't know exactly why she was running, not until tears started to run down her own cheeks and mix in with the rain drops.
Lily Morgan, the unknown supernatural, had just fought three werewolves and saved an alpha. Her eyes had finally glowed, her fists were bruised from the punches she'd thrown, and she was sure she'd pulled a muscle in her leg.
Her tears, however, were of horror. She knew basic self-defence, yes, but she'd fought like an experienced fighter even though one escaped.
What was she?