7. Who are you

There was a sudden shift in our surroundings.

The air had gotten more dangerous. We were no longer the only ones standing uninvited on the forest ground.

Something was moving behind the trees, something that couldn't be seen, it only showed its presence by the rustling sound of leaves.

My eyes finally caught a glimpse of something or someone moving behind the trees at an unnatural speed.

I gasped.

"Shh," the stranger who was hiding me behind himself whispered.

The mark on my wrist flared up, and I held it with my other hand, not looking away from the trees.

"What is that?" I whispered as it circled around us.

"Something that shouldn't have found you."

I felt as though we were trapped. Unknowingly, I took a few steps away from the stranger who was just waiting for the figure to appear.

The forest went silent....too silent. I could feel my heart beating loudly.

Suddenly, a figure lunged towards me.

I gasped, stumbling back, but before I could even process what I was seeing, the stranger was suddenly in front of me. He didn't move at human speed. Within the blink of an eye, he was standing there.

He caught the attack mid-air, his grip locking around the creature’s throat.

A loud growl echoed in the forest, it was deep, raw, and unreal. I felt the ground shake below my feet.

For a moment, I didn’t know if it came from him… or the thing he was holding.

My eyes widened as I witnessed the scene in front of me.

The stranger's posture had changed.

Every muscle in his body was tense. The creature struggled against his grip, letting out a distorted snarl.

The creature in his hold looked human but it was far from human, its eyes were blank...but beside the emptiness, the color was amber...like an animal. But the iris was not only amber, they were glowing. The nails...they were not nails, they were claws. His hands were gripping the stranger's arm, trying to free himself, but the hold kept getting tighter.

“What the hell,” my voice broke.

“Get back!” the stranger snapped without looking at me.

I didn’t argue this time.

I stumbled further away, my back hitting a tree as I watched in horror.

“I told you not to come back here, little moon.”

Something was different about the stranger as well, his voice had changed. It was darker, filled with authority...like something inside him was surfacing.

Something not entirely human.

The creature in his hold twisted unnaturally, slipping from his hold and lunging again.

But this time toward me.

My body froze. I hid my face behind my hands, waiting for the pain. But it never reached me.

The stranger was faster than the creature.

He intercepted the creature's action mid-motion, slamming it to the ground with a force that shook the leaves beneath them.

Another growl erupted, this time, I was sure it was from the stranger.

I saw the fear in the creature's eyes, but he suddenly got over it and then something else changed. The creature's body started changing in an inhumane way. I could hear the sound of his bones cracking.

I froze in fear.

But before something else could happen, the stranger snapped the creature's neck. Life left its body in front of my eyes. I didn't get enough time to understand what was happening in front of me, or was it even real?

The stranger was now facing me, but I couldn't look at him.

I was still watching the lifeless body of that creature twisted in a way no human's body was possible of doing.

"Hey," the stranger's hands were now cupping my face, the same hands that took the life of that creature a while ago.

"Look at me."

I finally looked at the man, whom I knew nothing about. Was he my savior or something far more dangerous than that creature?

Those eyes, there was an unknown comfort and familiarity in them.

"I know you're scared and confused, but you'll have to trust me, right now."

Did I trust him?

No.

I shook my head in a no.

“I don’t need your trust. I need you alive."

"Then why should I trust you?" I quickly argued.

"Because I will never let anything happen to you, little moon," there was a promise in his voice.

"What was that?" I finally asked.

He quickly glanced around the forest.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now we have to go. The others are coming," there was urgency in his voice. I knew he was stating the truth.

I decided not to argue and listen to him this time.

We started running.

We didn't stop until we saw the end of the forest.

I quickly took a step out of the forest and turned to face the stranger when I noticed he had stopped running.

"Go back home."

"What about you? Are... you going back?" I questioned, even though it was difficult to get the words out with my heavy breathing.

The stranger, on the other hand, didn't have one drop of sweat on his face.

"This isn't about me. Next time… I might not get to you in time," his voice was deep, and his tone was dark, like there was a warning behind it.

"That's why I need to know what that was?"

"This is not the right time."

I shifted my eyes towards the forest. He was right. There were others like that creature in the forest.

But how could he kill that creature so easily?

"We need to inform the police," I blurted out.

"You'll go back to your house and do nothing, you won't tell a soul about this."

I hesitated but decided to think about it later.

"Who even are you?" This time I was annoyed by not getting any answers from the stranger.

"I am Lucien. little moon."