Chapter 1

SHELBURNE, VERMONT

Cirilla's point of view

Firmly, I adjusted the black boxing bag gloves around my wrists. I get my stance right by standing with my feet shoulder-width apart and my front foot facing the punching bag. I do not hesitate in unloading my punches, making sure I throw powerful and snappy punches at the punching bag. I plant my feet firmly when throwing the punches and when I'm not throwing punches I move around on my toes. My breathing labored. I've been at this for probably an hour or maybe more. I can't exactly tell. Suddenly, I'm getting bored with the exercise. It would have been a little more fun if I was sparring against an opponent. Now that would be entertaining.

I absconded the boxing bag gloves. My long and thick black lashes pressed firmly together and the gate of my eyes shut closed. I inhaled deeply and calmly. And as usual, my subconscious formed a well-built and sturdy figure. It looked virile and manly. He wore black leather pants and a black tacky jacket that looked like one forged from the heat of battle in medieval times. His face was covered with a silver mask. But the color of his eyes was dark and dangerous. The conviction in his eyes was as firm as always. To kill.

I smirked to myself. My electric blue eyes hardened and so was my conviction to protect myself as always. He balled his hands into fists and pulled them up in a fighting stance. Eagerly I lunged at him, striking him. He blocked and sent a swing at me, which I was swift to avoid. I kept my eyes closed to avoid breaking off my connection and losing this imaginary character my mind always created to escape my very own hell of a life.

Everything was going well. I was still standing strong even after countless minutes of heated combat. Abruptly, I felt a mighty force of wind that forced me to pull from my subconscious. My eyes flung wide open. I scanned the slightly huge gym I worked at after school hours. The doors were shut, and so were all windows and anything that could pull in the cold air from outside.

"Hello!" I called out to the faintly dark silence of the gym. "Is someone there?" It couldn't be Jim, the gym instructor who usually camps in the gym throughout the night. He wasn't even in town, so I decided to have the gym all to myself. Believe me, it was damn better than spending the night home with the chances of being deafened by the loud moans from sensual sex and repeated banging on the bed. Sometimes I feel the little exercise even gets done on the wall of the room next to mine in a hellhole called 'a home'. What an irony. Home is usually a teen's haven, a personal space where you belong and feel loved. But mine was a constant hell that I was willing to take whatever bus I could find to escape.

I didn't get a response. With a cautious last scan of my surroundings, I resolved to return to my training when I heard the unmistakably loud thud of the door, which I'm well damned sure I locked when I got here after escaping from home.

I was alarmed, but not terrified. I had a lot of scary shit going on in my life to be terrified of a little invasion. I picked up a long metal stick. Whatever or whoever the unlucky bastard was trying to break in picked an awful night for that.

I headed to the entrance door, and as expected it was opened. I checked around but there was no one. My eyes caught something strange on the door. It was some kind of a scratch. I trailed it with my fingers. It seemed like a work of anything but art done with the nails. But that was an impossible theory. Each scratch mark was a few inches apart from the other. It couldn't be a human, probably some wild cat that lost its way or something.

I dropped the metal stick, taking a step outside into the cold unwelcoming night. I scanned the surroundings, into the deep woods miles away from the gym. But there was nothing out there. The Moon was up in its abode as usual and smiled up at it. In my seventeen years of existence, that shimmering work of nature up there has always been something that intrigued me.

I felt the biting cold already feasting on my poor skin since I had only a light long-sleeved round shirt on. I was about to head back in when I felt the rustling of trees around. Now that was creepy. Hastily, I marched for the door. Before I could grab the doorknob, I felt myself being lifted roughly and dragged away into the woods in a speeding motion. I didn't know by who or what as the hold around my waist was sharp and piercing. It was dark and the more I was carried deeper into the woods, the Moon's protective ray on me slowly disappeared due to the canopy of trees that shielded the woods.

Fuck! I was already in the woods, with my head upside down. I wriggled free from whatever hold that held me, crashing against the slightly wet earth and dirt. I was on my feet quickly, running in the direction I was pulled from, hoping to get back to the gym.

Something didn't feel right. Especially not with the loud animalistic, and unseen noises that kept hounding me. My boots kept diving deeper into the moist earth, leaving a trail. And the emotionless crisp air was against me as well. I was forced to halt in my tracks when I was blocked by someone or something.

It was awfully dark, and I couldn't see a thing aside from the blinding red eyes that bored down at me from where I stood. I visibly gulped as an army of several emotions I couldn't make outran down my spine and every vein in my body. I felt the heat of breath fanning my face. It wasn't human. An animal of some kind. Its gaze held a dark and crystal-clear conviction to attack.

My survival instinct that had always been birthed within me kicked in, and I had to save myself. For just today, I chose flight rather than my usual theme for fight. It was sheer lunacy to fight that which wasn't human.

I dashed in the opposite direction. I could hear the aggressive drumming of my traitorous and frightened heart in my ears. Before I knew it I was thrown back off guard. I winced. Pulling my back off the muddy surface of the earth. I was surrounded by three of the wild beasts. They had murderous red eyes as they bore down at me.

I scrutinized my surroundings and grabbed a wood stick lying idly on the wet surface of the earth. Instinctively, I swung at one of the creatures, and from the other side, I was attacked by another creature. I felt a sharp pain in the side of my stomach. It wasn't deep, but it hurt like hell. From another angle I was hit, the impact was strong as it swept me off my feet and I landed harshly against the trunk of a giant tree.

Cold crimson fluid flowed from my head, I was bleeding. I tried to move as the three creatures moved closer to me, seeming pleased with themselves. My vision went hazy, and my body slowly went numb. They were already at me when from utterly nowhere one of the creatures was thrown away. Immediately, a small fire broke around, circling me as if protecting me from my attackers. I heard a piercing sound and a dying groan. It alarmed the other two creatures. Whoever came to my rescue lunged at them. Everything moved so fast, and soon the creatures were killed.

From the corner of my vision, I saw someone racing to my side. The figure was that of a man. It was a man. My heart nearly stopped as he approached me. His body blazed in a streak of yellow and orange flame. It seemed like it didn't hurt him... almost as if he was extremely comfortable... fucking hell he was.

He wasn't human either. My vision almost gave up when he reached for me. His arms captured me and I felt a warm feeling in them. His eyes were…. were…. something... something between flaming yellow and shady green. It was terrifying, yet comforting. This had to be a dream. I drifted into darkness.