Chapter 3

The sun finally smiles at Andra. After what she witnessed last night, there was no way that she would simply go to sleep knowing that whatever she saw could sneak into the lake house and harm her brother. Instead, she stayed in the living room and guarded the house with a knife on her hand.

"Andra? What the hell, did you even sleep?" Ethan's voice made her turn around. She's already on her tenth cup of coffee.

"Ethan, we have to talk."

She tried to explain what happened the other night with as much clarity as she could possibly muster. That is despite the truth that none of it made sense to her either. Her brother listened to every word she said without saying anything until she's done. He wanted to show his sister that he is listening, not just out of respect or obligation but because he loves her.

"What is happening to us, Andra? You said it yourself, you were able to see the paw and foot prints despite the darkness. What is going on?" Ethan then asked to his sister.

"I don't know, Ethan. I have no idea." She replied, the hint of confusion and fear evident on her voice.

"We have to call Uncle Barry. Maybe, he knows how to help us? He's our guardian, right?"

"Yeah, call him. I'm all out of answers."

They both waited for Barry Connor to arrive. He was their father's best friend, and the only person their parents trusted enough to look after them when they died. It was actually like their parents knew something bad will happen to them. Andra and Ethan both question him before about how their parents named him as their legal guardian upon their death.

It was unusual for a parent to name another person for their children's guardianship, like it was expected for them to die early. But, the only thing Barry told them is that their parents just wanted to make sure they are properly looked after even when they are gone. For teenagers, that answer was good enough, for two grown ups, question is starting to rise up again.

"Hey, kids. What happened?" Barry arrived two and a half hours after Ethan called him. "I came as soon as I could."

"Uncle Barry, something happened last night. Actually, it was midnight, after we had a few beers. I went out for a walk, and I heard a wolf howling. I followed the sound out of curiosity, and weird enough, I found it's paw print despite the darkness. But, that's not all, the pawprints changed into footprints. Then, I saw a naked man covered in blood unconscious, and lying on the ground." Andra gave the brief version of what happened.

"Tonight was a full moon, right? Did you find anything else aside from the man? Was he alive when you saw him? Was he covered in wounds? Claw marks?" Barry's questions raised an eyebrow of Ethan and Andra

"No, I didn't see anything else, and there was no wound in his body. He was just lying there, unconscious. What's with all this questions?" Aradia asked back.

"Nothing, you needs to go back to Soul County. This is for your own safety, okay? I will call the animal control of this town to report the wolf incident. Pack your things."

Even though their minds are full of questions, they trust their Uncle Barry. Right after they finished packing, the two of them traveled back to their hometown. Barry stayed behind because as he said, someone had to talk to the authorities.

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Back to Soul County, Ethan and Andra are both restless. Now that they are both experiencing unusual things, a lot of questions are swimming in both their minds. Everything started with Ethan and his experience in Valencia. None of them have ever experienced seeing anything related to the supernatural.

Out of nowhere, Ethan went to their family library. Even Andra never understood why their parents own so many books. But, none of those books explains what was happening to them. All of the books inside their library was just about academics and literature.

"What are you doing here?" Andra asked. She was on her way to her room when she saw the door to the library open.

"Hey, I'm trying to find anything that could explain whatever it is that is happening to us. I can't just sit and do nothing while waiting for Uncle Barry." Ethan responded behind one of the bookshelves.

"What made you think that there's something in here that would help?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, Uncle Barry is here."

They both left the library and went downstairs. For some reason, they stared at each other involuntarily. It's like without even uttering a word, they understood each other's thoughts. Barry's aura seemed dark, and they it was obvious. Ethan even noticed that red spot on his shirt, but he didn't say anything.

"Uncle Barry, is everything okay?" It was Andra who asked the question.

"Yes, everything's fine. However, I don't want to leave you two alone. I'll be staying here for a few days, if that's okay with you." Barry responded.

"Of course, that will b wonderful. You're the only family we have left, Uncle Barry." Ethan then said.

"You two are all I have, as well. Anyway, enough of that. I have to show you something."

Barry took them to their mother's botanical garden. She was the only person allowed on that place when she was alive, and after her death, the responsibility of taking care of her plants was given to Barry. It is the first time that any of them will enter the botanical garden.

"Why are we here, Uncle?" It's time for Andra to ask a question.

"For this, Aconitum Anthora." He said.

"Aco–yellow wolfsbane? Why do we need yellow wolfsbane?" She exclaimed.

"Just watch and learn." Barry took a stem of the plant and asked them to follow him.

They watched quietly as he started grounding the petals of the wolfsbane. He never said anything while going through the process. Ethan and Andra sat on the kitchen, and watched quietly. Even though none of what Barry is doing makes sense to any of them, they just watched quietly.

"What is that?" Ethan asked. His voice is full of curiosity.

"Liquid solution. I need you both to remember everything I did. The final step is this."

Barry took out his .45 caliber gun, and unclipped its magazine. He dipped each bullet to the liquid solution, and let it dry at the table. Ethan can see that his sister is watching everything intently, with her questions still in her mind.

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The siblings never had the chance to ask Barry all the questions that they have in mind. After he put all the bullets back to the magazine, he sent them out to buy some things that only added to their confusion. When they got back home, he was gone. He left a note to inform them that he left to do something important.

When they were young, Ethan used to say that their Uncle Barry is a member of the G.I Joe. Or that he is a member of a secret agency of spies. Their parents used to laugh at his ramblings, but Andra always notice the look on their parents' eyes.

"It's nine o'clock, where is Uncle Barry? I tried calling him, but he's not picking up." Ethan said with a worried voice.

"I'm sure, he's fine." Andra replied to ease his mind. Out of nowhere, they heard howling outside their house.

"What in the world is that?" Ethan exclaimed. The howling was followed by the sound of breaking glass. "Holy sh*t!"

"Come on, let's go upstairs."

"Are you kidding? Something's inside our house!"

Then they heard these light thuds coming from the living room. It sounded like it's approaching the kitchen, and it made Andra's heart beat ten times faster. Her eyes kept darting back and forth trying to find something that she could use to defend themselves. That's when they heard a growl.

"Ethan, stay behind me." She said after picking up a knife. "I said stay behind me!"

"No! I'm not gonna let anything to happen to you." But, Ethan also have a knife of his own. "Andra, you've protected me my whole life. I will not let what ever that is to hurt you."

"I'm your big sister, of course I will protect you as long as I'm alive."

A huge white wolf appeared in the kitchen, its sharp teeth looked more terrifying because of the light. The wolf slowly approached them, preparing to attack. Out of instinct, the two of them held each other's hand, and waited for the wolf to pounce. But, before it can even move, the sound of a gun shot echoed through the night. Behind the wolf is their Uncle Barry holding his gun. He was panting and covered in sweat.

"Are you two okay? Are you guys hurt?" Barry immediately asked.

"No, we're fine, Uncle." Ethan replied.

"How in the world did that wolf get into our house? Soul County doesn't even have wolves in our wooded area." Andra stated.

"It's nothing. Just a random, freak animal attack." Barry's response only frustrated the two of them. It's becoming more evident that he is hiding something from him. They don't understand, but they can see that their guardian is hiding something from them. They just don't know why.