Chapter 1
Start writing I pressed my forehead against the glass as I tried not to succumb to air sickness. I was sittingin the economy aisle next to some guy whose snores sounded like a broken squeaky toy. I hadn’t slept a wink, the food was terrible, and I felt like I was gonna puke at any moment. I guess, I should introduce myself to you. My name is Louis Freeman and until three months ago I was a normal teenage boy. Or at least as normal as you can get when you’re a teenager. The story started back in my hometown of Willow Creek.
It was the first day of school tomorrow and I was looking forward to it. It was the beginning of my sophomore year. I wanted this year to be different from the last. I had been studying and taking extra classes over the summer. I was going to be a new, better me. I brushed my teeth and walked up the wooden staircase to my room.
As soon as my head hit the pillow I slipped into a deep, murky nightmare. I was sitting in the middle of a pitch black room and I was being told to do something over and over by a female voice. “You have to find the others!“. I tried to answer but, I couldn’t speak. As the volume of the woman’s voice increased I noticed another sound concealed beneath her voice. It was a low repetitive hum. Her voice began to strain as she started screaming her command at me. “Find them. Find them!”
I looked up and noticed the silhouette of a man in front of me. As he came closer, I started to discern some of his features. He was about 10 feet tall with unproportionate long arms and legs. He kind of looked like a spider. As he came closer I began to notice some more sinister features. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent and webbed with an intricate network of veins all over his body. His mouth was perpetually stuck in a hideous grin, from ear to ear. It showcased his impressive but terrifying set of teeth. They were all at least a foot long and needle like. His mouth simply bristled with hundreds of theses needle teeth. He had no ears and no nose. Perhaps his most terrifying feature were his eyes. They were large, black orbs akin to those of a spider. I looked at them and they seemed to suck in all the light. They were so inky black that I couldn’t even see my reflection. I was hypnotised by his eyes. He raised his hand to my face and stroked it slowly. I tried to bat his hands away but I was paralysed. Suddenly he grabbed my neck with a frightening strength. I gasped for air as it held me close slowly squeezing the life out of me while I gazed into those eyes. Into the void.
I sat bolt straight up and gasped for breath. I was covered in cold sweat and my throat was on fire. It felt like the monster had actually tried to strangle me. I rubbed my eyes and massaged the bridge of my nose while I calmed myself down. I looked out the window just in time to see the sun rise. I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the shower to clean myself up. It was the first day. I had to make a good impression. I took a fifteen minute shower, to try and wash the dregs of my restless sleep down the drain. I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked towards my closet, to pick out my clothes. I eventually settled on a black sweatshirt, khaki pants and black combat boots. I had my breakfast, grabbed my keys off the hook next to the door, yelled goodbye to my Mom, and walked out.
I strode towards the garage where my bike was kept when not in use. I inserted my key and turned it to ignition. I was happy to hear that the engine was purring after the last tune-up. I gunned it and pulled away.
I drove down the road towards school, flanked by deep forest. I thought back to my dream last night. What had that voice meant? And what was that… that thing?
I was jarred out of my thoughts when a deer collapsed on the road 10 feet ahead of me. I turned off my bike and walked towards the deer. I knelt down and looked at it. It was covered in slash marks and bizarre bruises. It’s eyes were rolled up in the back of its head and its tongue had been ripped out of its face.
"What kind of animal could do this kind of thing?” I wondered to myself.
I whipped out my phone and took a picture to show to my Biology teacher Mr. McMaster. He would know what to make of it. Suddenly, I heard a twig snap and realized how deadly silent the forest had become. It was normally awash with the sound of birds singing. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I backed away from the deer, got onto my bike and rode away hurriedly. I chanced a glance and saw that the deer had disappeared off the road.
I arrived at school, without further incident. I rode in just in time to see my best friend Avery Hernandez walk up.
“Louis! It’s been too long. C’mon, give daddy a hug.” he smiled.
“How was the summer with Serena? Did you finally get it on?” I asked as we embraced.-
“You just wait. I’ll give you a blow by blow description of Serena Anderson’s body.” he smirked.
I laughed along with him, and everything was fine. Everything except for that deer.
“Are the homeroom’s the same as last year?”
“Nah. I’m not with you anymore, thank God.” he joked.
“Where can I see the list?”
“Hold on, I got it on me somewhere…” he said, proceeding to turn his pockets.
We walked towards the school building as he searched for the list. We pushed through the swinging door. I held it for the person behind me and gasped. It was her.
She was wearing her hair up in a messy bun, her glasses balanced precariously on her nose. I could see the surprise in her amber eyes as she recognized me. Her alabaster skin gained a rosy tinge on her cheeks and she broke the eye contact and looked at the ground. And just like that our moment was over. She hurried past me, her hand brushing mine. I caught her familiar vanilla scent and an entire year’s worth of raw emotion resurfaced. It was her. The girl who got away.
I watched her back as she disappeared, taking my innocence with her.
Without warning her name slipped out of my mouth.
“Adelaide.” I whispered my voice husky. It was a name I hadn’t uttered in months.
I was jarred back into reality when Avery tapped me on the shoulder.
“Found it!” he said cheerily. He pulled out the list and handed it to me. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that Mr. McMaster was my homeroom teacher. I could ask him about the deer I found on the road. The bad news was right under my name, in bold black print was the one name I didn’t want to see: Adelaide Rose.
I walked into the class and found my seat next to the window. I leaned my forehead against the glass and tried not to look at anyone who was walking in. Naturally, I looked up the exact moment Adelaide walked in. We met eyes for a split second, before I snatched my gaze away. I fixed my eyes on the daisies outside the window and tried to count all the petals on one flower. She walked up to my desk and stood awkwardly for 3 seconds before she moved to sit at another seat. I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Mr. McMaster walked into the class, I was about to say good morning when I saw that he was followed by two Sheriff deputies.
“Good Morning class. My name is Mr. McMaster and I will be your homeroom teacher for the foreseeable future. I have with me Officer Gonzalez and Officer Johnson. They are here to talk to you about… Well I’ll let them tell you. Please give them your undivided attention. Officers?”
“Thank you, Mr. McMaster. Good morning, my name is Officer Johnson and this is my partner Officer Gonzalez. We have been tasked by the Sheriff to inform you of a new curfew we are installing. No one under the age of 18 is allowed to leave their place of residence after 23:00 hours. Anyone who is found violating this curfew will be fined $200 dollars on the spot. Are there any questions?”
Quinten Mallory, the class know-it-all raised his hand for a question. “Um, Officer Johnson, is there a reason why this curfew is being imposed?”
“Yes.” answered Officer Johnson simply.
“What’s the reason?” demanded someone behind me.
Officer Gonzalez sighed. “There have been a recent spate of fatal animal attacks on joggers in the area as well as pets and local wildlife. We believe that a foreign predator has migrated here.”
Whispers erupted around the class at this new information. It took a while for the three adults to silence the class.
“If you have any information that could lead to the capture or extermination of this animal, come on down to the station and make a report.” Officer Gonzalez finished.
“Thank you, officers, for that. Have a good day.” Mr. McMaster smiled as he closed the door behind him.
The rest of the first period passed by without further incidence. When the bell rang for recess, I grabbed my phone and went up to Mr. McMaster’s desk.
“Hey, sir. Uh- How you doing.” I said.
“Hi, Louis. Can I help you?” He smiled cheerily.
“Yeah, I wanted to show you something.” I told him the story of how I had found the deer on the road and what had happened next. By the time I had finished everyone in the class was gone.
“That’s quite a story, Louis.” Mr. McMaster said.
“I managed to take a picture of it before I left. I wanted to know what you made of it.” I pulled out my phone and showed it him. He squinted his eyes at the dim screen for about five seconds. His eyes got wider and wider as he appreciated how bizarre the deer’s mutilation was.
“What do you think, sir.” I asked after a while.
“I think that you should pay a visit to the police station.” he uttered.
“No, sir. I meant, do you have any idea what kind of creature could do this kind of thing?”
“I-I have no clue. A cougar would have asphyxiated its prey leaving puncture wounds on the neck. There are none here. A wolf would have slashed the throat, there are slash marks all over the body but none on its neck. And don’t even get me started on the tongue hanging out of head. Whatever did this is a predator we have never come across.” he finished, looking shocked.
The rest of the school day was dominated by talk of the animal attacks. Everyone was trying to come up with new theories for what kind of animal could have done this. Avery wasn’t any different. He regaled me with all his theories as we biked home. Somehow the conversation turned to my ex Adelaide Rose.
“Dude, she kept looking at you during lunch, I felt self-conscious for you.” he said.
“I don’t get it. She broke up with me and now she wants a second try? I don’t think so.”
“Really?” Avery asked me.
“Yeah. Really.”
“Okay, because her birthday party is this weekend and she told me to tell you that you were invited.” Avery smiled.
“Are you going?” I asked.
“Only if you are.” he smiled.
“Alright. I’ll go but only for her birthday. Nothing else.”
“I knew it! You never did get over her.” he teased.
I rolled my eyes but remained silent. We eventually arrived at my house and I waved goodbye at him. I turned around and placed my bike in the shed. I glanced in the side mirror and something bright caught my eye. I spun around just in time to see a bright meteorite fall somewhere in the middle of the woods with a muffled boom. I dropped my bag and jogged towards the place where it crashed. As I walked towards the meteorite, I noticed two things: My mouth suddenly filled with the taste of blood and the woods were strangely silent. I looked up and saw a twisting spire of smoke 20 feet away from me. I increased my pace as I got closer to the crashed asteroid.
Suddenly, the tree line ended abruptly and I was in a clearing. Right in front of me was a massive crater. The crater was so big, my house would probably fit. At the bottom, I spotted a silver glint: The meteorite. I slid down the side of the crater. When my feet touched the bottom, I made my way to the rock. It was big, about the size of a refrigerator. One side of it was smooth and the other was blackened and pitted with craters. Out of the craters was oozing a silvery-gold liquid. I reached down and dipped my index finger into the goo. It was icy cold and was as light as a feather. I dipped my hands in and brought out a handful of the liquid.
Suddenly the liquid started to bubble furiously. The taste of blood filled my mouth again and a deep hum resonated from the meteorite. I dropped the liquid and it splatted on the ground. I stumbled away, and started to clamber my way up the edge of the crater. I run through the woods, all the way back home to my house. I opened the door and immediately the world shifted and rolled. I fell to the floor and tried to wait for the attack of dizziness to pass. When it had faded I stumbled back to my feet. It suddenly felt freezing cold and my clothes were drenched with sweat. I fumbled to open my door and then dashed to the toilet. I heaved my guts into the clear toilet water. I looked down and saw that my vomit was a raw blood red. I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn’t respond. I tried to drag myself across the floor, but my arms stopped working after a while. I struggled in vain as pins and needles racked my body. The paralysis slowly crept up my body until it was neck level, I was struggling to breathe at this moment. I looked down at my hand and saw that the silvery liquid was still on me. It started to spread all over my body, coating it in a thin layer. I tried to yell for help, but the sound was caught, I felt my vision cloud over and before I knew it I had blacked out.
