Chapter Three

Even if she never attended the camp she knew where it was because news of the incident was all over the news and even the mayor had to come see the horror for himself.

She hid her hands in her jacket as she walked swiftly through the quiet and deserted road, it wasn’t exactly deserted because people still passed there during the day but due to what had happened, the police department ordered a curfew.

The full moonlight was her source of light as she walked along the road; she was starting to wonder why she held her phone in the first place because she could see everything. She finally got to the entrance of the campsite, there was this yellow and black police tape that clearly stated “Do not cross”

But screw that, she wanted to know what happened to her sister and not even an industrial tape was going to stop her. she bent over the tape and swallowed as she walked into the camp ground, she could hear nothing but crickets, the squeaking sound of squirrels and somehow the creepy sound of night.

She got to a point where she had to use her flash light, she turned on her phone flash light and kept checking the cabin at which the campers slept. Some of their stuff was still there except for the dried blood everywhere and maybe a little skin accompanied with rotten smells and the smell of blood.

She had to hold her breath as she walked in and out of each cabin, she didn’t know Danica’s cabin but her flashlight caught the campfire they sit around to hear stories from their camp ranger. She could see bloody blankets on the floor, also more blood but nothing that belonged to Danica or gave hints of whatever happened there. Only a blood covered dead flash light that must have belonged to their camp ranger.

She exhaled and battled the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes; she held the necklace around her neck for comfort. She and Danica had the same silver whistle necklace but when Danica was seen, it wasn’t around her dangling neck which means it would be around the camp somewhere. Maybe when she was running for her life, it fell. But Harley was going to find it.

She inhaled sharply and was about leaving the camp ground when she noticed a red laser pointed at her and soon a bullet passed through the side of her head and went towards the tree behind her.

“Shit! Hunters!” she cussed under her breath and started making a run for it, why were they shooting at her? She had no idea but she had to stay alive for what it’s worth.

“It’s on the trees! Don’t miss” she heard one of the hunters yell, what was on the trees? She definitely wasn’t the one but that made her know she wasn’t the target. They were after something else.

Bullets kept flying towards her, but she wasn’t the target. Something else was and maybe whatever it was, was behind her.  She had passed the entrance to the campsite and she was now further into the woods.

She stumbled on a log and fell on her face, she turned to get up and her eyes caught something silver shining from the reflection of the moonlight as it was slightly covered with leaves. She reached for it, “Danica’s necklace!” she whispered happily to herself, another bullet passed her and she knew she wasn’t totally out of the clear yet.

She bolted up from the ground and was about running when her ears picked up a growling sound, and rustling from the bushes. She knew the hunters were running but this wasn’t one of them, her breath quickened and she turned back slowly to see red eyes glaring at her.

The strange creature was blending in with the leaves but the sinister glaring of its bright eyes was clear enough to increase her heartbeat. Except it could hear how fast her heart was beating to the sound of how hard she was swallowing down.

“it’s out of sight, everyone spread out!” she heard one of the hunters voice, she glanced for a second and then back at her own situation.  Her legs kept making crunching sounds as she stepped on leaves trying to back away, “Remember Harley Brien, you are not dying today” she said to herself and turned sharply and bolted as fast as her legs could take her.

For someone in the school’s track team she was fast, but it was faster. She noticed something jumping on the trees and in a matter of seconds she was knocked off the ground and landed hard on her back that she winced.

The Creature was now on top of her and it snarled angrily, it was a wolf. “Please” she begged as she closed her eyes in surrender but her mom’s words kept replaying in her head

The wolf dug its canine into her flesh and she screamed in agony, blood immediately soiled the grey jacket she was wearing and tears poured from her eyes. She reached out to the whistle around her neck, she knew it would draw the attention of the hunters anyway but she blew into it. The sound made it uncomfortable and it teethed out of Harley’s body and started to give her a sniff.  It backed away, the color of its eyes dimed and it made whimpering sounds.

The wolf crashed on the ground beside Harley, it was in pain but why?  Its eyes met Harley’s innocent ones and then did it realize that it just sunk his teeth into his- MATE

Harley noticed that the wolf seemed to have relented from what she did, at least she thought so but she got up with the last strength she had in her, with the hunters fast approaching she ran out of the woods. But something kept replaying in her mind, the whistle only kept it away but it could get up back and attack her, it didn’t. Instead it looked at her with pain in it’s eyes, did the whistle hurt it? it couldn’t have  but either way she stayed alive

She finally arrived in front of her house after making her way through the woods in pain , her chest was still pretty much tightened in fear but she made it. she knew she couldn’t go through the front door so she just had to climb back in through her room window.

She fell as she crawled in and groaned in pain, her jacket was completely soaked with her blood and some had started dripping on the floor. She hurried into the bathroom and undressed, the pain was agonizing. It was like something was tearing through her, she opened the cabinet in her bathroom and grabbed the first aid equipment she laid her hands on which was the antiseptic. She immediately doused the bite mark with it and screams threatened to rip through her throat but she couldn’t make noise, instead she held strongly onto the bathroom sink as the antiseptic kept making her wound sting.

Her legs weakened and threatened to make her fall but she had to treat the wound first, she took the bandage and wrapped it around the wound for a final touch before she collapsed on the bathroom floor.

This was not what she thought living in a small town in California would be, she had envisioned getting more good grades, getting a good job with her sister and maybe even apply to the same college and finally have a love life. Now all that has changed and so will she.

She titled to pay attention to the loud knock on her door, “Harley, Harley are you in there?” her mom asked as she kept hitting the door, she must have found her note,

She struggled to get up and placed her head on the door, “Yes mom, what do you want?” she answered weakly and she tried to hide the pain in her voice

She could hear her mom heave a sigh of relief, “I found your no….I just want to know if…if you are okay” she paused uncertainly in between sentences

“I’m fine…jus…” Harley paused as tears rolled down her cheeks, “get some rest…I’ll see you in the morning” she backed away from the door and fell on her bed.

“Oh-um okay darling”

She held Danica’s whistle with her bloody hands and more tears just kept rolling, “I’ll miss you so much, but I’ll find the person who did this to you” she was determined to find the culprit, but her mind didn’t go to what had attacked her. Danica’s throat was ripped out, the wolf only bit her. Could it do more than just that? Maybe it killed Danica. She didn’t have answers to those questions but she was ready to find out

She held the whistle close and drifted off to sleep, only for her to open her eyes the next morning and find herself back in the woods.