I week as I scoop up her body and place it onto my lap. I rock her as I gently hold onto her head.
"Luna" I cry quietly as I try to shake her awake. "Wake up please." Hopefully she was just knocked out and not -
I can't even say that.
I stay with her body for a few more minutes. I shake her one more time. Her breasts jiggle like Japanese cheesecake.
I stand up and wipe my tears. I then go and collect some leaves and sticks and use it to try and cover up her body. It isn't enough. I take off the backpack she gave me and open it up. There must be something in here. Whether it's a hoodie or a blanket. As I rummage through, my hand brushes against a crumpled piece of paper. I pick it up and unfold it. As I read, tears run down my face.
Dear Mia,
It's Luna. If you're reading this, it's probably too late. I've hidden this letter at the bottom of the backpack I've given you because I don't want you to find it before you find me d-....I think you know. You're probably already crying. I've been planning this for a few days now. I've been blocking my thoughts whenever Chase is around so he can't figure out what I'm doing and stop me. He's been noticing my mind blocks and there's only so many excuses I can come up with. Eventually when he finds you gone, he'll put 2 and 2 together and know what I've done. You know what he's like. He's unhinged. I don't think I'll make it, but it was worth it. He's not the same Chase I knew. He's changed. It has to be because of Jared. He's done something to him. You need to help him. You need to save Blake.
I'm gone now. Don't let me have gone in vain. I saw something in you and decided it was worth it. Prove me right Mia. Hopefully one day we'll meet again. Not in this world, but the next.
Xoxo
Gossip Gi-
Luna.
I fold the paper and place it in my pocket. I quickly wipe a tear from my eye and kiss Luna's forehead.
"I won't let Chase get away with this." I whisper to her before getting up and slinging the backpack over my shoulders. A new determination flows through me.
As I run, I feel my body tingling. I don't know if it's anger or if it's nerves. I've never felt like this before. I shake my head and continue to follow the direction I saw Blake walk in. I fight the urge to call out his name in case one of Chase's guards heard me.
"This way" a voice in my head says.
I drop to the ground. Who was that? I stay silent and wait to hear the voice again. Silence. I slowly get up and start to run again, following the path I originally was going down.
"No! Stop!" the voice in my head yells.
I stop and stay silent. I'm hearing things. I'm too scared to speak.
"Hide now!" The voice yells again in my head. I obey out of fear and quickly duck behind a bush. I don't respond to it. Instead I shut my eyes.
A few moments pass and I start to hear rustling. Two pairs of legs walk past me. I push my body further into the bush. They're talking. As I hear them speak, I recognize their voices. It's the two guys who dumped Luna. I hold my breath and keep my eyes shut until the sound of their walking fades away.
I slowly get up. My heart races.
"Who are you?" I whisper to myself.
"You know who I am Mia" the voice says in my head gently.
"I don't. I really don't. What's going on? I'm scared" I whimper.
The voice laughs gently. It's a soothing laugh. I feel relaxed.
"It hasn't been that long since I went away dear, has it?" The voice asks. I start to recognize it, but I can't pinpoint where I know it from.
"Please...who are you?" I plead as I start to cry out of fear.
The voice coos. "I'm so sorry baby. It's been too long."
"I don't know what you mean" I whisper to the voice.
"Mia..." the voice begins again. "It's me. It's Mom."
I start to feel dizzy. "Mom...is it really you?" I say weakly. The world begins to spin as I panic. I start to stumble. And then...
The world goes black.
*****
I wake up and find myself in an unfamiliar room. I quickly jump off the bed and look at my surroundings. I've never been here before.
The bed is single and plain. The wardrobe is small and brown. The walls are white and pale. This place looks so run down.
I quickly pat down my body. I'm still wearing clothes - ok that's a good sign. I'm not chained to anything. I feel fine. I start to relax and walk towards the door. I open it and take a look. The hallway is empty. Maybe nobody is home.
I grab my backpack and slowly begin to creep out. I make sure to look around the corners before turning. So far so good. Eventually, I reach the front door and I try to open it. Shit, it's locked. I quickly put my backpack down and start to look around for a key.
As I look, I hear a voice behind me.
"What are you doing?"
I swivel around and grab the nearest thing beside me to protect myself.
"Let me go. I won't tell anyone, I swear" I say as I grip the object in my hand. The person stares at me. She's a woman.
"And what are you doing to do with that if I don't?" The woman's eyes beckon at the object in my hand.
"Hit your own mother?" She asks.
I drop the object and stare at her. I instantly recognize her voice. It was the one in my head. It's my mom.
"Mommy?" I whimper. She opens up her arms and I run towards them. We tightly embrace one another and weep tears from our hazel eyes with golden flecks in them.
"Mom" I cry. "I thought you were dea-"
My mom hushes me and shakes her head.
"I'm right here baby."
"I don't understand" I weep. My mom takes my hand and pulls me towards what seems to be the living room and sits me down.
"I love you Mia. You're my only child. But I had to leave. I had to. It was the only way I could keep you safe" she begins.
"What about Noah?" I ask, confused.
"Oh yeah and him" she quickly adds.
"Anyway. When you were in 2nd grade, I was in the middle of divorcing your father. He was a good man, but I didn't love him anymore. I had fallen for someone else. It was a man at work. His name was Andrew. He was so perfect. I fell in love with him. I was honest with your father and he agreed to let me go. He was a good man." She started off. I listened intensively.
"But there was someone else. He worked with me, but he was obsessed with me. He would never leave me alone. When he heard I was divorcing your father, he saw it as an opportunity to ask me out. I declined him but he kept asking me again and again and again." She continued. Her voice grew darker.
"He wouldn't leave me alone" her voice broke. "One evening after work, it was pouring rain. I had no car. Your father and Andrew were out of town. No buses were working. I was stranded outside of work. But then he offered me a lift. We were the only ones left at work. I would normally refuse but I was desperate and said yes. I sat in the backseat and told him my address. As we drove, I noticed he wasn't going the right way. He was going towards the forest. I had a bad feeling so I jumped out of the car" she began to cry.
"I thought he would panic and leave me, but he didn't. He got out of the car and put me back in. We drove to the forest and he carried me inside. Mia...." she hesitated.
I squeezed her hand. "It's ok" I whispered.
"He tried to kiss me but I pushed him away. But Mia, he didn't just get angry. He started to change. Physically. He became...hairy. Bigger. He started to grow claws and fangs. He looked like an animal...a wolf" she shuddered at the thought.
"I began to run. I didn't stop. But he was so fast. He caught me. He bit me Mia. That's all he did. He bit me and then ran off" she rolled up her sleeve to show me the mark.
"I didn't think anything of it at first, but things started to happen to me. Scary things. I was changing. I was becoming...one of them." She whispers.
"I don't want to get into details but...I had to run Mia. It was no longer safe for you and Noah. I was changing. I wasn't...human anymore. And it's all because of HIM." She ended darkly. The golden flecks in her eyes shimmered.
I wiped the tears from her face.
"Who was it Mom, who did this?" I ask.
She raises her face and looks into my eyes. Tears start to stream down her face again as she opens her mouth.
"Jared. His name was Jared. And he didn't even know how to read." She weeps.