I dived into the thick forest this time filled with bravery for it was a bright, warm day and the sun made its way through the thick pine trees. There was no sign of the moon and thus no sign of the bloody beast. The day made me feel safe and protected as the monster hunted at night only.
I was determined to end my "trip" before the moon and lock myself tonight for I was afraid the beast could come after me to accomplish whatever it wanted to when it pulled me in the forest last night. I was actually happy that Michael was going to return home so that I would be all alone, waiting for the werewolf to come and kill me.
I entered deeper and deeper into the forest.
The smell of pine trees and dirt was mixed with the fresh air, and was all over the forest. I made sounds as my shows stepped upon fallen brunches and dry leaves, which were the only sounds around here. There were no birds around, nor bugs. The forest felt as if it had been abandoned from all living creatures and now completely dead. That was all thanks to the werewolf.
I wasn't afraid that I might get lost since I had my phone with me. It was my way out of this huge forest. Of course, I couldn't check all of it... only the closest parts to town and around the gypsy village. Maybe I could find something about the werewolf there and if I had luck - its very lair.
But I didn't. No luck today, no werewolf's lair. Maybe it didn't have a place after all, because it knew that if it had, people might find it eventually. I'd been wandering in this forest for hours now and I grew tired and hungry. I decided to sit down for a while to rest.
Sadness and fear had taken over my body and hope abandoned it. I no longer believed I could find something about the beast. I had no idea what I was going to do... I didn't know who the beast was, nor could I find something to connect me to the person behind it. Was waiting for it to come kill me my last option?
Dead end before me.
This idea was a bad one. There was no sign of it, so I took out my phone and decided to head back home. I was pretty far away, so that mean more hours of walking.
After what seemed like two hours, I decided to sit down and rest again. My feet were hurting so badly! What was I thinking in the first place?!
I sat down and leaned against a tree, then rested my head and took a deep breath. It was a day, but the forest still felt scary, knowing that there was no living creature left around to destroy the disturbing silence. After five minutes, because I didn't want to be here alone for a longer period of time and wanted to return home before it got dark, I got up and just before I took the first step, I saw something glisten in the distance.
I looked again and moved a little since it glistened when the light reflected on it. I slowly went to it.
It was something coming from the leaves on the ground, it was gently buried in them. I reached down and grabbed it and to my utmost surprise it was a picture of me, mom, dad and Michael. We took it when he first came to live with us.
Me and Michael were in the middle, sitting on the big dining table and my mom was supposed to be next to me, and dad next to Michael. Supposed, because they were cut out from the picture.
I couldn't understand at first what the meaning of it was and how could our picture end up here and why are my parents cut out?
Then I realized, there was only one explanation.
The beast had been in my home.
I didn't know what it was doing there, but it probably saw the picture and took it. But why would it cut out my parents and leave only me and Michael? And had it been carrying it around with it? Why would the beast carry our picture?
Was I supposed to be worried about this?
I got even more scared because of the picture, so I decided to head back home and this time walk faster, but I did come up with something new! I was going to search my house inch by inch! Maybe the werewolf left a trace when it broke into my home and that trace would lead me to it. It would fall into its own trap! I guessed, this "trip" to the forest wasn't for nothing after all!
When I finally returned to the town, I walked pass by the priest's house and saw a police car in front of the house. His wife was crying and the policemen were saying something to her.
I quickly looked away while guilt and shame were eating away at me inside, knowing what we did last night, which I wanted to forget so badly. The only good thing about this whole story with the priest was, my hope to blame this on the beast or as they like to say 'the bear in the forest'.
After a while of walking to my house, I heard someone calling me.
"YN!" I turned around and saw Jess. "Where are you? I've been calling you and it's like you're not here!" she stood in front of me.
"I'm sorry.. I-I just am little.. hard to concentrate lately... you know."
"Yeah..." then she looked at me up and down "Where have you been?" she asked suspiciously.
"I ah.." of course, I couldn't tell the truth, even if she was my best friend "I was around town, Michael's coming tonight so I though I would.. you know.." great. I couldn't even give some logical explanation.
"Why you have dirt all over your pants?"
"Dirt?" I looked at myself and hadn't even realized it until now, but I spent so many hours in the forest and I sat here and there to rest, my clothes were dirty! "Oh that's not dirt!"
"If you say so..." she mumbled and looked at me weirdly. "Well, I have to go."
"So soon?" I asked "We haven't talked like friends for a long time..."
"We'll talk next time. Mom sent me to the store."
"Okay.." was it just me, but I got a weird feeling that Jess was avoiding me... "Then, see you around." none of us mentioned yesterday.
"See you!" she turned around, but then I remembered.
"Jess!" I yelled after her. She stopped walking and slowly turned to face me. I got the feeling she didn't want that...
"Yes?"
"Take the other way, which doesn't involve passing by the priest's house." I saw her eyes glisten with fear and disturbance when I mentioned him. I quickly turned around and started walking away. I just didn't want her to see what I saw earlier...
I finally got home and when I got to the door to unlock it, so I can go inside, I noticed that it was already unlocked. I felt blood rushing to my face like fire. My heart started beating like a drum for I suspected the beast might be inside... or the human part of the beast. I gulped down a big lump and slowly opened it, scared, but eager to see who was inside and finally meet the werewolf himself!
"YN! You're back!" I saw Michael running towards me from the kitchen and then wrapped his long arms around me tightly.
"M-Michael?"
"I managed to return home earlier!" I inhaled his sweet aroma as my face was buried in his chest "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Of course I am!"
"Then why are you acting like that?" he looked at me.
"I just... saw the door was unlocked and got scared, I thought some.. burglar had broken into the house.." he giggled.
"No, princess, it's only me!" then he hugged me again tightly and whispered in my ear "I missed you very much..." and then gently kissed it, which made me shiver.
"I missed you more, Michael. I'm glad you're finally home!"
Daniel's POV
ring ring ring
I woke up by the sound of my phone. Someone was calling, but I ignored it and returned back to my nap. However, it rung again. Who the hell was calling and being so persistent? I decided to pick up so that they would stop and I can continue with my nap.
I grabbed the phone and it was Jess. What the hell could she want? Dammit.
"What?" I picked up.
"Daniel, I need to tell you something..."
"Of course you do, that's why you call people, just make it quick."
"I'm really concerned..."
"We all are, it's normal, but you don't need to call me about it! Just lock yourself up and-"
"No, you idiot! Not about that!"
"Then what? Did you broke a nail?" I burst out laughing! I was good. I heard her sigh from the other side, then she said
"Today I saw YN and her clothes were covered in dirt! She smelled like forest! I think that was where she was coming from, Daniel!"
"Maybe she was working at the garden?"
"No! She had green flakes from leaves and looked weird! I'm sure she must have been in the forest today!"
"Jessica, are you sure?"
"Absolutely and I'm very worried!"
"But what would she be doing there? I mean, who on earth would enter the forests and on top of it alone? Even I'm not that brave!"
"Maybe she has a reason to be brave..."
"What do you mean, woman, speak up!"
"What if she and the werewolf worked together?" she whispered.
"WHAT? What are you saying I-.."
"Think about it, Daniel! She walks the forests alone without fear, why? Because she knows that nothing's gonna happen to her! The werewolf never even scratched her! And that night at the gypsies' town, it attacked her in the forest, yet she was untouched and flawless... Why? Why?"
"Because.. they.."
"Yes! They is the correct word... she knows who the werewolf is... and he knows that she knows and they have a plan."
"Plan.. what plan.." now I got really scared.
"I don't know! But they work together, Daniel. Just think about it... and not to even mentioned, how cold and emotionless YN was when the priest died and how she told us exactly what to do with the body. Maybe she's done that before... with the werewolf.." I jumped out of bed "We've been searching for the werewolf and its motifs and they have been under our noses all this time!"
"Jess, what you're saying is insane, but logical... We need to check this! But who could be the werewolf? Why would YN do this?"
"I have no idea, Daniel! We've been best friends from babies and now I realize that I don't know her! I don't know who she really is!"
"Let's go talk to Derek. Meet you at his house in 30 minutes."
"Fine and be careful, YN must not see us! This could make us the next victims..."
Oh-oh! Things are getting even more complicated! Keep reading to find out what's really going on and who the werewolf is!