Eric trudged through the forest that surrounded Beacontown. Twigs snapped under his feet, echoing eerily through the trees around. He was scared shitless, and yet he couldn't stop himself from walking into the thickness of the woods. Every fibre of his being wanted to bolt out of there, but it was as though there was an invisible energy pulling him deeper and deeper into the forest.He paused and looked around, realising that he was severely lost. If he took a detour left, he might come out to Beth's backyard in about twenty minutes. His mouth went dry as he thought of Lauren, only a few minutes away from him. How he missed her, how he wished things could go back to the way they used to be, before....well, everything had happened, but he knew that everything was past wishing for at this point. He still was getting used to the idea that his best friend was a werewolf.He'd left his house last night, and now it was almost night again. He'd been walking aimlessly around for a whole day,
Eric's heart raced as he ventured deeper into the dense forest. He still had no idea where he was headed, but the pull in him was getting stronger. As he walked, he thought of Lauren, his mind consumed with thoughts of her safety. Every step he took was guided by an unexplainable force, a magnet pulling him towards something unknown. It was as though the attack from those rabid wolves had somehow tied him to them, forced his will under theirs and made him do things that an otherwise sane Eric would have objected to.The weight of the responsibility Lia had placed on him pressed heavily, but he was determined to protect Lauren from her vicious father, no matter the cost. He stopped and stared through the canopy of leaves and branches above. The sun was beginning to rise already, painting where he stood a brilliant mix of orange and yellows. Hikers and other nature-loving people would soon come out for their rounds: perhaps a quick rest wouldn't be so bad anyway. He would rest for some
Eric stayed awake throughout the truck drive to Perkins, his mind amok with several thoughts. A part of his heart was still in Beacontown, with Lauren and all the memories they had shared. How he terribly wished things could go back to that period of time, those moments that seemed alive only in his mind. He wondered if Lauren still thought about him, if at all. It seemed that the only part of her heart that wasn't populated by thoughts of her villainous father was taken over by that overbearing Aidan boy.Eric sighed and closed his eyes as the truck flashed past the large sign that declared that they were now in the town of Perkins. He wished he'd told Lauren more about how he felt before leaving Beacontown. Right now, with the prospect of death before him, he wished his words had been enough.He'd had a crush on her ever since he'd seen twelve-year old her in the playground with those bullies. She'd looked small and inconsequential, and yet her dark eyes had blazed with a fierceness
Eric's heart skipped a beat at Doctor Makovsky's words. Lure Lauren and her mother here? "What do you plan to do with them?" He asked, his voice betraying a hint of defiance. "Why drag them into this? You already did that, didn't you? You used Aidan to kidnap Lauren so she could be with you. And it didn't work."Doctor Makovsky's smile widened, breaking through his poker face. "Sure, it didn't work the first time, because neither of them wanted to be with me. But this time...""...Things will be different." Eric echoed. He looked up at Doctor Makovsky slowly. "This time, you're using a bait. Me.""I want my family to witness firsthand the extent of my power and influence." The doctor continued. "They have defied me for far too long, thinking they could escape my grasp. But they will soon realize that no one can escape the fate I have designed for them. Katherine...she's a strong woman. And I know she loves her cop husband. But ultimately, she belongs to me, and so does Lauren. They're
Katherine took a sip from her styrofoam cup as she calmly watched the bustle of the crowd in the coffeeshop. The shop was filled with a blend of people, from nine-to-fivers on their laptops to high school teenagers with backpacks and chiming cellphones. Typical Perkins evening, she thought. Her attention was drawn to the door as a middle-aged man with white hair entered the coffeeshop. The raucous chattering in the shop was reduced to a low murmuring as the customers turned their attention to the man. His stance was intimidating. He isn't even tall, Katherine thought as he located and walked towards her. What he lacked in height he made up for in a frightening aura. He reached her table and took a seat without asking for an invitation. She watched him as he placed his hands on the table and folded his fingers. "You're avoiding me." He began "What did I do, Katherine?" His English was thick with a Russian accent, but Katherine could decipher his words due to practice. "Frank, y
Like a fish on a hook, Mike was yanked back to the brink of consciousness. He twisted, trying to take stock of his surroundings while making as little noise as possible. A little shake of the wrists and ankles told him that he was being held down with something, presumably metal clamps since he still had a little wriggle room for his wrists. His behind was extremely sore, which meant he was probably on a hospital bed, not too comfortable, probably covered with sterile sheets. His surest guess was that he was in a sort of hospital or facility, and his being held down was probably down to the fact that he was some sort of lab rat for an experiment. The alcohol had completely worn off, and all the bad choices he'd made the night before was coming back in torrents. Why had he gotten so drunk in the first place? Why had he left his daughter at home unsupervised? And what type of tranquilizer gun in God's green earth caused so much unbearable pain? He opened his eyes. Shafts of artificial
That same rainy night in late April, the whole town of Perkins was deathly silent, save for the overexcited crickets and frogs in the bushes, and perhaps one late night driver or two. The clouds parted to reveal a full moon high in the sky, hanging like a hunter's lantern over the house where Mike Sommers lived with his daughter Lauren. Twelve-year-old Lauren was in her room, reading a book in the warmth and comfort of her bedcovers. "Mr. Phillips took a chalk crayon and wrote on the blackboard above her head," she read in her mind. "Ann Shirley has a very bad temper. Ann Shirley must learn to control her temper,' and then read it out loud so that even the primer class, who couldn't read writing, should understand it." The young girl shifted on her bed and drew the covers closer, "Anne stood there the rest of the afternoon with that legend above her. She did not cry or hang her head. Anger was still too hot in her heart for that and it sustained her amid all her agony of humiliat
Beth Norman sat at her kitchen island, a cup of coffee in her hands, staring but seeing nothing, her feet tapping away. The weather mirrored her mood as it was pouring buckets. Her mind was in an emotional turmoil, her eyes red-rimmed and devoid of tears but her heart was weeping. She had caused an irreparable physical transformation to an innocent man, probably unknowingly caused several other deaths by the hands of the monster she created. She couldn't find peace, no matter how much she tried to think herself out of the situation. Nothing could ever be right with her again.She took a sip of her coffee and scowled. Cold coffee was the nastiest thing ever. With a laborious grunt she got up and shuffled to the sink where she poured the cupful of coffee away and poured another from the coffeepot. Before she could take a sip of the brew, someone knocked at her kitchen door. She scowled again and leaned against the fridge, closing her eyes and wishing the visitor would just go away.Anoth