Chapter four

~ANGELINA~

My attacker never finished me off, nor did he come around. I’d laid on the bare ground for what could be ages, drifting in and out of sleep which was haunted by nightmares. I kept seeing Glenda running after me with her claws. And having Luca baring his teeth at me. All this meant I wasn't safe.

I'd thought of simply killing myself, but hadn't gotten around doing it. One, I was too scared, timid to carry that out. Two, suicide was a taboo; I wouldn't want to incur the wrath of the moon goddess.

Heaving myself off the ground, I looked around the dark woods. The sounds of crickets and a howl rang it into my ears that I was lonely. I didn't know where to go from here.

Without thinking, I just simply began to walk. The half moon lit my path up; the gently swaying plants whispered nothing but words of sympathy to my ears. Inwardly, I nodded even as tears crowded my eyes. I refused to come to terms with my harsh reality.

Time stretched on and I continued to walk. Soon, the tears dried and the sad expression on my eyes disappeared. What became of my face was a blank mask.

My stomach grumbled nosily out of hunger. The last I’d eaten was this morning before is gone to surprise Luca at the office with the anniversary presents. It was amazing how today alone dealt me with so many harsh surprises.

There was nothing around hat could serve as foods. The trees weren't such that produced fruits. There were no animals on sight too.

Groaning both in frustration and exhaustion, I kept going, hoping I would find something. My prayers thankfully got answers.as I came across a tarred road. At the other end stood what looked like a supermarket.

Gleaming in excitement, I hurried towards it and stopped in my tracks. Some windows were broken and a couple of letters were missing in the signpost. Grasses grew out from crevices running on the wall.

One thing was clear. The shop had been abandoned for quite some time.

I prayed it wasn't empty though. I could make do with anything. Chips, cookies—anything.

Pushing the door open, I was met with the thick, irritating smell of dust. I coughed.

The place was equally dark. The only source of light was the moonlight which streamed in through a shatter on the window. Turning away from the window, I looked back to the rest of the shop which was shrouded in darkness. Numerous thoughts entered my mind.

What if there was something lurking in the shadows? What if it was a dangerous animal? A dangerous person.

But when my stomach growled again, I shoved my thoughts aside and took a bold step forward. Reaching the aisle, I scanned the shelves for anything edible.

I soon found a bunch of packaged chocolate chips. Tearing them open, I stuffed my cheeks with them. I hadn't felt this hungry in all of my twenty years of living—

A loud clapping sounded spread through the shop, making my movements to freeze. Forcing down the remnants of what I had been chewing down my throat, I held my breath to see if I could pick up any sound.

I did. It wasn't what I wanted to hear.

The footsteps came in quick successations towards me. Alarmed, I rushed to the farthermost shelf in the shop and his behind it.

It sounded like there were at least three persons there. I wondered who the hell they were. Fellow vandals, my subconscious chipped in.

They spoke in a low, hushed tone, as though in search of something….or someone.

Feel uncomfortable from how tight the corner I was in felt, I readjusted myself. But in doing so, I made a terrible mistake. I nudged a can on the shelf, sending to the floor with a heavy thud.

The intruders instantly stopped their conversation and came rushing towards me again.

I leapt away from the shelf and headed straight for the door.

“There she is!” one of them yelled. Their heavy footsteps sped towards me. I successfully dashed out of the shop, hasily looked left and right and then, hooted off.

For some reason, I looked back just to see three scrubbily dressed guys racing after me. Unknowingly, I stepped into a nail and stumbled to the ground in pain.

The guys caught up with me and hurled me to my feet. My nail-stuck foot hurt badly.

Their leader, the one who held me, frowned. “She isn't the one,” he said.

The others cursed out in frustration.

“What are we going to do now?” one of them asked.

Their leader watched me intently. Without missing a beat, he replied, “We eliminate her. She saw us.”

“Wait, hold on. I don't know—” Before I could say anything further, something rustled within the bushes that surrounded us, catching out attention.

The leader looked back at me, decided it was nothing serious. “Now, where were we? Right. We were talking about eliminating her.”

Just then, a figure pounced on one of them, sinking its teeth deep into his neck. His sharp scream filled the air, nearly blinding me.

Another figure appeared and took the other guy. The leader took to his heels, but soon after, his yell sounded from behind me. I saw as his back tore open, the clawed fist of someone sticking out.

Stricken with fear, I staggered backwards. My feet struck something on the ground. Looking down, I saw it was the badly gutted bodies of the two other guys.

While I tried to make sense of what had happened, something heavy tackled me to the ground. Its iron-clad grip held my neck.

Short of air, I coughed, fighting as hard as I could to break free from it. It was a black wolf, its yellow eyes shone with malicious intent. Just when I thought I was about to pass out, it suddenly leapt from me.

Another of its kind had appeared. A bigger black wolf this time. The only difference was the glaring red eyes which stared right at me. He stopped and picked up something from the ground. It looked like a necklace.

He began to approach me. I tried my best to drag myself away from him, but couldn't. My energy had run out.

He got to me eventually and simply stood. He definitely was going to maul me. My heart pounded in preparation for what was to come. Perhaps, this would be my end.

But he didn't strike me. Or sink his deadly teeth into my neck. Instead, he dangled the jewellery I’d thought was a necklace. The outline and design became clear to me.

That was a locket.

My eyes widened. He then morphed out of his wolf form into someone with a distinct shoulder-length hair. I recognised the sharp grey eyes and the double scar that ran across his left brow.

I recognised that green cloak.

It was the stranger I'd spotted at the woods. All of a sudden, he raised his claws at me.