CHAP. ONE—PASTONVILLE.

『.*+ • ᴄʜᴀᴘ.ᴏɴᴇ • *+.』

~TUESDAY

WITH THE POPULATION OF ONLY 46,000, Pastonville was one of the smallest remote settlements in the whole United States.

Not a lot of people come around the place, tourism covers mostly 54% of the town's annual income. With gorgeous lakes, woodlands and the best camping spots, 'Pastonville' relied on its mountain forest scenery for the tourism industry.

"Alright, final stop; Pastonville!" The bus driver ceased at one stop.

One girl docked out of the bus, with large baggage with her, she took them out of the trunk by herself. After getting her stuff out, the bus casually drove off, fuming out smoke from the exhaust without care. The teen violently coughed at the exposure.

"Asshole." She cussed under her breath. The red-headed teen looked around the quiet, empty town. Shrouded under the orange leaves of the fall season. She didn't want to be here, but her dad said it was for the best.

Now that he remarried and "unfortunately" couldn't take care of her anymore, her dad decided to move her to her uncle's place at this remote dump. Which was actually her mother's hometown.

Scarlett never knew much about her mother. She died right after she was born. For years, she's searched for a mother figure, and her dad's choice of women was always questionable. Now that he's married, again, he thought he could help his daughter at least find her mother's roots. And so...here she was.

The 17-year-old looked down at her locket, the only memento of her mother. She opened it and looked at the gorgeous redhead with clear blue eyes staring back at her with a serene smile. Her dad never mentioned her mother or her past, he had only one-word answers about her.

That she was often fun, and outgoing. But nothing deeper than that. Scarlett just wished she would've met her. At least once. She's had countless dilemmas where she needed a mother in her life. And her dad's girlfriends all didn't make the cut.

She sat on the bench, waiting for her uncle. She doesn't remember him much, her dad said she was two the last she saw him. And after all those years, he just...never visited. Maybe there was a feud between them that she doesn't know of, she wasn't sure. But whenever Scarlett asks about her uncle to her dad, he'd be tense about it. He'd say he was really busy so he couldn't visit anymore.

Understandable. But for 15 years?

It's been over an hour, she was beginning to think maybe her uncle doesn't know she was coming. Maybe she should just go, but where would she go? She doesn't even know her way back to Texas. She doesn't even know this town! Why would her dad drop her off here, and when her 18th birthday was only a week away? Talk about rotten timing.

No, sweetheart. I'm not abandoning you or anything like that, he said.

You just need a new place to stay is all, he said.

You'll be alright with Uncle Josh, okay sweetie? he said.

Scarlett murmured inaudible cusses in frustration. Her ears pricked at the sound of a truck laggardly bringing itself to a halt by the bus stop. It was a second-hand dark blue Toyota two-seater van. A tall male, with the equally ghost pale skin tone as hers, got out of the car, with a sincere smile and worn-out body language.

"Hey, sport! Sorry, I'm late. Had work I had to sort out." He chirped. Scarlett looked at the guy. He has a camouflage jacket on, with black jeans and boots. He had ginger red hair almost like hers, not to mention the stubble facial hair and brown eyes. He hasn't changed one bit from the photo she once saw. Literally. He looks so young.

"Surely you still remember your uncle Josh. Ah, I wouldn't blame you. You were only two. God, you've grown so big," He ruffled her red tufts. Yep, that was her uncle alright. She actually remembered him being a bit bubbly, even though she was a baby. Scarlett timidly shrugged. Josh passively sighed and concisely looked up to the cloudy sky.

"Right," he acclaimed, turning his gaze back at his niece. "Let me help you out with your luggage. Thought I'd give you a tour of the whole town, but it's getting late. You must be exhausted too. All the way from Texas. That's far, right?"

"Uh...yeah," Scarlett muttered solemnly. After packing her stuff at the back, she opened the passenger seat, and went inside. Josh got in the driver's seat and turned the keys to the ignition before driving off into the road.

It was eerily quiet in the car, she could smell the odd odour of two-day-old fast food, and possibly beer stained on the rugs. She quickly opened the window for some fresh air. "Sorry about the stench, I mostly wash the car on weekends. So, how's El Paso?"

"Humid. Crowded as always." She consciously muttered, passing down the small town of trees, with barely a person on the streets. "O-Kay," Josh nodded awkwardly. "I know it's sudden but I already enrolled you, so you got school tomorrow."

"Oh..." Scarlett blinked slowly. Was it going to be like her old school back in Texas? Where no one sat next to her? No friends? Being looked at weirdly because she has pale skin tone? Being told that she was a freak? "Don't worry, your father told me about your old school. You'll make new friends before you know it."

'That's what Dad said,' Scarlett thought. And it never turned out right.

Moving past one neighbourhood, there was one house with blinking lights and a booming bass that vibrated even the whole van. The house had a party going off, with empty drink cups and toilet paper scattered all over the front lawn. Guess the town wasn't all quiet.

Josh seemed to drive ahead as the rest of the houses were all quiet, and the only sound was the car engine roaring on the streets. The van drove uphill towards a simple middle-class-looking region. She never thought her uncle was wealthy. The car pictured him as a run-in-the-mill home person.

He parked right by a garage driveway of a two-story home. The front lawn was swarmed with autumn leaves, he needed them raked. The sun beams were drenched under the clouds and forest around them. It is still yet a beautiful earthy background she could never see in El Paso. A nice change of scenery, she thought.

Across the street, she noticed a house, with various furniture and boxes laid across their lawn. One person walked out the front door as they carried a heavy-looking box. At that second, the homeowner across the street made eye contact with the teen. Scarlett blinked at him for a second, until the homeowner quickly paced inside, not as much as a wave.

New neighbours, she assumed.

"Oh, I see you caught our new neighbours. I met them earlier, they're a nice family." Just as she got in, it looked like an average bachelor pad. Josh walked in with her luggage in his hands, he was surprisingly strong for a stubby guy like him. He wasn't out of shape or muscular either. And honestly, he looked way too young to be her uncle, wasn't he supposed to be like—45 years old? More like 23, Scarlett illiterated. "Your room is upstairs. Follow me," he carried the heavy bags almost with ease.

She sauntered upstairs down a narrow hallway, she looked at his open bedroom on her right. "Here you are. I hope you like blue." Josh opened her designated bedroom. She had a window with a clear view of the forest behind her. The blue and the white matched the furniture and the walls.

"What do you think?"

"It's... really nice. Thank you." She answered monotonously.

"I took some time to paint the room. And I thought turquoise would fit. Not all girls like pink these days." She lightly chuckled at his little quip. Josh smiled. Scarlett could practically still smell the paint, even though it was dry. Better than the roadkill or damp wooden ceilings she's gotten used to. "So I guess I should start laying some ground rules first;

No friends coming over.

No parties.

And don't, I repeat—DON'T...go out into the forest. Always...always arrive back here after school, before sun down. Am I clear?" Josh wasn't strict from his tone, but he sounded really frank, and almost desperate. He seemed like a concerned parent, no doubt. And she was new to the place, it was understandable.

But what's in the forest? Bears? Wolves, maybe? And it's not like she'll have a friend over when she has none anyway. She'll just be a droplet in an ocean of hormonal, wild adolescents with high ranks, popularity, sororities, or whatnot. Something Scarlett Lax doesn't give 2 cents about.

"Scarlett?" her uncle said, breaking her train of thought. "You understand the rules?"

The 17-year-old redhead nodded obediently. "Good. Want dinner? I was thinking take-out. Pizza?"

"Sure," Scarlett shrugged unconcernedly.

"Any requests?"

"Anything that doesn't have garlic. I'm allergic."

"Good choice, I hate garlic too. Pepperoni it is!" Josh goofily grinned. "While I get our orders, make yourself comfortable. As they say; Mi casa, Su casa." The red headed uncle walked out of the room, Scarlett breathed out coolly as she set herself down on her new bed. There were fairy lights just above her bed which were curled out as: DREAM. Her room wasn't much like this back at Texas. She lived in a two bedroomed apartment, with the rats and roaches. Some places in El Paso were not really sanitary, but she's lived with it.

Her room only arms lengths and she could bearly sleep without hearing someone screaming for help at night. Either getting robbed or killed. Now she felt like she can actually breathe the fresh mountain air. There were barely anyone she saw. The place almost felt like a ghost town. How did her dad meet her mother in a town like this, Scarlett thought.

'I wonder what Pastonville is all about.'

_______________________________________________

"Don't let them escape!"

As swift as a serpent, figures whished past the timberland with mind blowing speed; as fast as a blur.

Three figures were running away, being chased by about a group of six people. All of them dashing fast close to the speed of sound. Not even the naked human eye could catch them. Two of the three sprang into the air, with such athletic prowess and proficiency; they began to skillfully leap from branch to branch. Evading their chances from ever getting caught.

Half of the six followed the two while the other half of them ran after the one bolting through the woods. One of the six; a male, pounced high into the air towards the running figure. The figure looked back, with one swift move, the escapee threw a counter kick, thrashing the male far back into the trees with such power.

The two sprinting in the air couldn't out run the three. A female, a member of the six, leapt and caught one of the escapees by the leg with the similar strength. She threw the escapee far hard into the ground, causing a crater underneath them. "Got one!"

The female, landed back on the ground and wasted no time in smashing her foot against the figure's neck - snapping it off like a twig before bursting into violet infernos; and left with nothing but a body outline of ashes. As for the remaining two, one of them managed to vanish before they could catch up to their scent.

"Dammit!" cussed one of the six. "Two got away."

"At least we took down one." The other panted, coming down the stairway of branches before hitting the ground hard. "It's been over 50 years since more than one Alpha came around this town. Suddenly, they all just started appearing."

"What do you think they're here for? Cashing at the blood bank maybe?" said the other.

"I'm not sure. What we know, is they're not here for a leisurely pass. We'll have to alert Garrix about this. Come on!" With that, the six of them vanished in a blur.

-END-​