Prologue

People around me always talked about supernatural creatures and how they walked among us, humans. I've never been one to embrace mysticism and popular beliefs; truth be told, I've always been skeptical about life. I wasn't the type to believe in religions, supernatural stories, or even aliens. I always believed that such stories were told so many times that they caused collective hysteria, something that justified these visions and encounters with the unknown.

In childhood, my dream was to grow up, get into a good college, and have a good enough excuse to leave this small, outdated town and go somewhere that truly understood me. The only people who understood me in this town were my friends Austin and Pierre. Even though my twin sister was the person who understood me the best, the one who truly felt that everyone in this town was crazy and that we had to get out of here, we weren't as close, and it only worsened with her move to our grandparents' house.

As the years passed, I gradually distanced myself from my friends and, at the same time, became closer to Austin and his cousin Pierre. We became best friends, inseparable. At the same time, I continued learning more about the town and its history. Despite my parents believing in the legends, they didn't act like the other people in town. It wasn't something suffocating; they simply warned me about how to protect myself and that I shouldn't enter the forest under any circumstances. Looking at it from a skeptical angle, that's good advice regardless of your belief in the supernatural world.

Through my interactions with the local citizens, I grew up hearing that I should fear the creatures of the night. They told me thousands of legends about the forest near the town, various macabre theories about the deaths of residents were created. But like any young person, I didn't pay much attention to the warnings of adults. I thought the forest was just like any other forest... Too bad I was wrong…

(...)

I run desperately, I can hear the footsteps and the sound of branches breaking. It's scary to run away from something you don't know what it is. That thing was definitely not human, even though it looked like a man, I saw it attack innocent people, I saw its huge fangs and nails.

"God, help me.", my voice comes out breathy and tearful. With little air and courage left, I scream. "Get away from me, beast!"

His demonic laughter echoes throughout the forest, sending shivers all over my body. It seems that luck really wasn't on my side, not even the strongest of gods could save me now.

A startled scream escapes my throat as I trip over a thick root and lose my balance. My head hits hard as I hit the ground. I can't see due to the tears, the fall messed up my senses. I'm dizzy, I can barely see a foot away. I try to get up, but my foot is stuck in the root.

I let out a grunt of pain when I feel a weight on my body and heavy breathing on my neck. The smell of blood on your body makes me sick. I hear an evil laugh near my ear, and it makes me panic. I would die, I feel it in every cell of my body. I know that this will be my last moment of life, this is my destiny.

"I'm sorry, Daddy.", my voice comes out hoarse and shaky. "I should have listened to you."

I feel the tears fall down my face. His teeth enter my neck, and it makes me scream in pain. The tears continue to fall down my face, and the image of Dad's face comes to mind. Soon, I would join my family.

My body is weak; I feel my blood drain from my neck. I can't fight; I'm trapped by the weight of this damn creature's body.

A film of my life plays before my eyes. I see Simon running with me on the beach, our parents laughing as they filmed us. My first ball, Simon accompanying me; he was so happy to be part of this phase of my life. Anna's birth, Sarah's departure from home, and our last night together at a sleepover. Simon's college acceptance letter.

Our crazy night on the town, where we exchanged our best friend necklaces.

His face is so clear in front of me, it's like he's really here.

"It's not time to give up, lotus flower.", her voice is calm and beautiful. A tear runs down my face and he smiles before wiping it away. "Be strong."

"I can't.", my voice comes out weak, as low as a whisper. "I've already lost too much. There's no reason to go on. At least if I'm gone, we can be together."

Simon smiles, a beautiful and sincere smile. His eyes shine, and he caresses my face before bringing his lips closer to my ear.

"It's not time yet.", he kisses my cheek. "I'll always be watching over you. Calm down, help is coming."

His face disappears like a mist into the air, and the adrenaline snaps me out of my trance. I feel my survival instincts again.

A loud howl makes the creature turn its attention away from my body and sniff the air. Its body seems to have entered a state of alert, the creature looks around in fear.

The growls in the bushes give me goosebumps. They are very close, a howl a few meters away makes me tremble with fear. The creature rolls off me and runs in the opposite direction of the sound, as if fearful for its safety.

Relief settles in my body, and I sigh, but one thought makes me freeze: the beast was scared, so is there anything worse than this creature that was hunting me?

My vision is blurred with tears, and the memory of my entire family being murdered won't leave my head. This is all my fault, I should have listened to my parents' advice, I shouldn't have been so skeptical.

Now everyone is dead, and that's just my fault. I invited misfortune into our home, I was the one who brought this demonic creature into our family. And all I can do is just cry and accept my fate.

At least soon I will be together with my family again.

Simon's words come back to me and a rush of adrenaline invades my body, blocking my thoughts..

All I can do is get up and run. I had never run so fast in my life, it was as if my legs were guiding me, as if they knew where to go.

I enter an unfamiliar part of the forest, but I can hear the sound of cars passing on the road. I try to run a few more meters, but I lose my balance and feel strong pressure on my ankle.

I look at my leg and scream in horror, I had stepped into a damn bear trap!

The strong adrenaline in my blood makes me act without thinking, and the next thing I know, I have freed myself from the old trap.

I hear sounds of something approaching, and I am lifted off the ground by a huge wolf. I scream in horror, start to struggle, and my coat rips. I take the chance and run towards a huge tree. I climb with difficulty due to the weakness caused by my multiple injuries. I feel so fragile and defenseless like never before.

I have to be quick, but my body hurts, and that makes it difficult to climb the tree.

"Damn!", I grumbled when I realized I was bleeding. I hear sounds of something surrounding the tree, and my desperate scream echoes through the forest. "Get out of here, monster!"

The noises around the tree are scary. The animal surrounds me, my knees shake. I can't stay crouched forever, and the wolf seems to know that. My hands are sweating, I won't be able to hold on for long. A noise makes me scream, the branch I'm on falls and takes me to the ground. Another huge branch hits my leg, and the sound of bones breaking echoes through the forest, making me scream in agony and pain. My sobs of pain are loud, and I hear the creature getting closer and closer. I try to move, but the pain of having a broken femur makes my head spin.

"Daddy, I'll be with you soon.", I say between sobs.

I know this is the end of me, I won't have any more chances. My foolish choices have brought me here. I feel alone like never before in my life, and the loneliness hurts even more knowing that I am to blame for all of this.

I feel my head spin as I try to move the branch. My vision becomes blurred, my breathing becomes shallow. I only hear the footsteps approaching and the sound of his growl.