In the shadows

Amelia POV

"Why Norwich?" My sister Brianna asked me. We are currently packing our stuff because we are leaving for Norwich in an hour.

"You know why," I replied while folding a shirt and putting it in the bag.

"Mel, Why you choose Norwich?" Brianna asked again. She always calls me Mel, not Amelia. I knew I couldn't hide this from her for long. I walked around her and picked my handbag from my bed. I opened it and pulled out a picture of my mom.

"Here you go," I said while handing her the photo. She looked at it and her eyes softened. She was more close to mom than me and it was quite tough for her to move on. She regained her composure and gave me a questioning look.

"I found this photo in the attic. I don't know why it was there but see this photo looks quite old. That's not dad in this photo and look behind it, this photo is from Norwich." She turned the photo and read the words.

"I'm not getting what you're trying to say." She said confused.

"We both know that mom was killed and it wasn't a freaking animal attack. Mom had been to Norwich so maybe we could find something related to her death. The deaths and attacks in Norwich lately might help us to find something." I said.

"How are you so sure that we will find something there?" She asked curiously.

"I did some research and most of the victims were killed the same way as our mom. Their necks we're snapped. They had cut over their skins." I said. Her eyes went wide and she gulped.

"You can't tell dad anything. We will investigate but secretly." I said. I know she would never tell dad anything like that but I had to make sure.

"I won't," she said while giving me a knowing look. Brianna is one year older than me but we both are juniors as Brianna joined the school with me. We are very close to each other. She is like my best friend so I know that she will help me find about our mother's death.

I nodded at her and start packing my stuff. Brianna went to her room to pack her own stuff. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and pulled out the handle of my suitcase and dragged it outside. I went down the stairs where my father was waiting. I looked at him and he gave me a small smile. We were moving out so that we could start afresh and forget what had happened. Everything had changed since mom died. Dad busied himself in work and Brianna and I focused more on school so that we can just forget about it. Dad wanted us to decide which city we wanted to move in and I choose Norwich because of mom but I didn't tell him that. A wave of guilt passed over me because of my lie. I lied because that was the only way. Dad was adamant that it was an animal attack but I don't believe it and I won't rest until I found out the reason for her death.

I went outside and Brianna came shortly after. After putting our stuff in the car we were on our way.

After nearly 2 hours we have reached Norwich. The city was very simple just like I'd imagined, small houses in the exact grid pattern. Grey clouds covered the sky making the environment more depressing. Brianna looked at me and gulped. I don't know why but the environment was making me a bit nervous. There was something about this city that doesn't feel right.

"This city is giving me chills. Are you sure about it Amelia." Dad asked. No im not but I didn't say that.

"Yes, dad. We both feel that we can start afresh from here and you also found a job here." I lied. I looked at Brianna to say something.

"Yeah, dad. I know it's a bit dangerous city but we will be careful, don't worry." Brianna said. He just nodded his head.

We reached our new home in 15 minutes. I opened the car door and walked outside. Our house was quite nice from the outside Not that big but it was enough for the three of us.

"Mel, our house is near the woods. This can't get any more creepy." She said lowly so that Dad couldn't hear. I sighed.

"You know in most of the movies, the killing scenes always happens in the woods. What if someone kills us when we are sleeping? What if an animal attacks us? Or what if ghosts live in these woods?" Her eyes getting wider with each sentence. I gave her an Are you a serious look.

"You should stop watching these kinds of movies," I said and rolled my eyes at her.

"What? Anything can happen and you know most of these kinds of movies are based on true stories," she said. I rolled my eyes at her and dragged her inside. Sometimes I don't even understand how she's even my sister.

The next few hours went in a blur. Almost the whole house was set up by 6. Tomorrow is Sunday so we still have another day for unpacking but I wanted to set up my room today.

Dad helped me carry my stuff to my room. He dropped the boxes on the floor and went to help Brianna. I sighed and looked around me. I opened the first box and start taking the stuff out from it. There were also some photo frames. I picked one of them, it was a picture of me and my mom playing in the pool. We both had teamed up and were splashing water at Brianna. We both were laughing while Brianna was playfully glaring at us. The next picture was a family photo. It was this year picture when we have gone hiking. Tears strung at my eyes and one of them fall down on my cheeks. I missed her but I promise that whoever killed you will die the same painful death. I wiped my tears and start setting up things.

After 3 hours I am finally done, it's nearly 9. I was literally starving by now. I went downstairs and saw Brianna sitting on one of the stools scrolling on her phone.

"Where's dad?" I asked while walking towards the microwave.

"He was tired so he ate early and went to bed. I didn't stop him because he didn't sleep last night. I was waiting for you to come so that we can eat together." She said.

"You could have called me," I said while reheating the food in the microwave.

"I was also busy setting up my room at that time." She shrugged.

"Come in, Let's go and eat in my room," I said. We are having a pizza for dinner. I put the food into two plates and went towards my room. We both sat down on my bed and dug into our food.

"You know I miss us," Brianna said after a while. I stopped eating and looked at her with questioning eyes.

"You know this is the first time we are eating alone. I understand that dad was tired but he doesn't sleep at nights. He cries and have you noticed the change between us? He doesn't talk that much. He never smiles anymore. The house is so quiet now." She said with a sad smile. I put my hand over hers and gave her an assuring smile.

"Everything had changed since mom died. He is in pain, you know how much they loved each other. He needs time to heal. And we will be back to live our normal lives but it will take some time. I miss our laughs, the activities we used to do together, mom's scolding when we didn't use to wash our hands before eating." I said and Brianna chuckled.

"I miss everything but we have to stay strong. Okay?" I asked and she nodded.

"Sometimes I feel like that you're the elder one." She said with a chuckle. I smiled at her.

Brianna went to her room after eating the food. I walked towards my window to close it when I saw something in the woods. I saw 2 brown wolves. They both were growling at each other when one of them suddenly jumped at the other. I was so shocked to do anything. I mean what can I even do? How can I stop two wolves from fighting?. Suddenly another wolf appeared behind the trees. He was much larger than them and more....beautiful? I can see it's colour because there was little light coming from the street lights. He was a grey wolf and was huge. He had blue eyes which were shining in the light. He growled at the two wolves fighting and they immediately stopped and moved away. Huh? Weird. I averted my eyes away from that grey wolf and closed the window quietly. I went towards my bed and turned off the light. The new chapter of my life has started and now I have a new aim, a new purpose in my life. With these thoughts, I drifted off to sleep.