Bloody Festival

Chapter 3

Amyra's POV:

The crowd gasped in horror as Luke fell flat on his face, swimming in the pool of his own blood. Turned out Kael couldn't stand the shame of defeat. Engulfed with rage, he had taken out his hidden gun, and shot at the unsuspecting winner, blowing his head off. The once celebrated match had turned into a travesty of honour and sportsmanship.

Orlando roared in outrage, summoning pack enforcers to restrain Kael. But instead of holding him down, they surrounded Kael with their eyes cold and calculating. Without hesitation the pack enforcers opened fire at the audience. The crowd scrambled to get out of their way, but it was too late. Werewolves from within the darkness emerged, attacking the audience. The pack enforcers aim were true and precise; they were targeted at the members of the Moon glow pack. Then the realisation hit me. This was the planned invasion, the planned attack.

"No no no." I cried, moving my head sideways.

The hall was in disarray as people scrambled around for safety, some looking around for their loved ones, while others were mourning the death of the people they cared about. The stench of death filled the air. Alpha Greg watched in horror as his pack members were being cut down by the very people he had welcomed into his territory.

Kael, still standing over his opponent's body, gazed up at Grand uncles Valtor and nodded. He seemed impervious to the chaos around him, signalling some werewolves, he ordered, "Enter into the territory and take down whoever you see."

Orlando stumbled into the ring, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What are you doing? He shouted at the Pack enforcers" why are you taking down your very own kin..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a bullet passed through his throat.

The terrible sight I had witnessed, left me in shock. I was glued to my seat, wishing deep down that it was only but a terrible nightmare.

How come all of this? What had my people done to deserve all of this? My mind kept racing with these thoughts, and then, I suddenly felt a hand grab my shoulder.

"Amy, we need to leave now!" Claire said trying to pull me up. "We've got to go and find your mother."

We both ran out of the hall, shielding our heads with our hands. Getting to the parking lot, we couldn't find my mum's car. Taking out my phone from my purse, I noticed there were six missed calls from her. I dialed her line but then it went straight to voicemail. My mind was racing with thoughts.

Where is my mum? What happened to her phone? Is she safe? 

My head kept spinning uncontrollably.

"Do you think my mum's okay?" I asked, my voiced cracked, with panic written all over my face.

"Yeah I'm sure she's fine. We just have to keep looking, she's definitely our there looking for us as well." Claire said with a comforting smile.

How could she still smile in this messed up situation?

Determined to look for my mum, we both went further into the woods following Claire wolf's senses. My heart sank as I called out for my mum but got no response. My eyes scanned through the forest, hoping to see her. The usually bustling area was totally deserted, with only a few scattered wolf lingering around. The air was thick with arid smell of smoke and char.

Panic started to set in, and I silently prayed in my heart, begging the moon spirits to not let anything bad happen to my mum. I looked around frantically, our footsteps quiet on the crunching leaves. We heard a faint wailing growl In the distance, it sounded so familiar. As we ventured deeper into the forest, the growling grew louder and more frequent, making my grip on Claire's hand tighten further.

"Did you hear that?" I asked as my eyes shimmered with hope.

"Yes I did, and it sounds so familiar.". She answered with a nod.

"That's it." I whispered, "That's my mum's voice ."

We climbed up a small hill, and my eyes widened as I saw a massive tree lying across a path. The growl was coming from beneath it.

"My goodness!" Claire breathed.

The tree had fallen right on top of my mum's legs. I pushed aside a branch and peeped underneath the tree, and then I saw my mum's face, twisted in pain and fear as she tried to free herself from beneath the fallen tree trunk. Seeing my mum in that hopeless state made my heart bleed. I felt as though I had been punched in the gut.

This was my mum, covered in dirt and leaves, her clothes torn. As Claire and I frantically struggled to pull her free, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat. My mum's eyes were locked into mine, filled with a mixture of hopelessness, relief and love.

"My baby." Mymum called softly as she extended her arm towards me.

"Mum!" I exclaimed, throwing myself on her body.

My mum wrapped her hands around Claire and I, holding us close as tears streamed down her face. "Oh my girls." She whispered, "I thought I would never see you again."

As we hugged, I noticed a faint howl from a distance. It was a wolf unlike anything we've ever heard before - a mix of growls and wails that sent shivers down my spine. My heart raced with fear.

"A group of wolves are coming, and they're close." Claire signaled.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"We've got to leave now, before those monsters get to us." Claire said.

My mum gazed at me, with sadness and despair in her eyes. "Amy, you're a brave woman, and I love you for that. But for now, I want you and Claire to get the hell out of here."

"I love you too mum, and that's why I'm saying No!" I exclaimed, "I'm going to get you out of here, and we'll all get to safety." I whispered.

"Right now," She inhaled deeply, "I don't think that's possible, even if you manage to lift this tree off me, it will be of no use." She continued.

"No mum, I can't leave you here." I cried.

"My legs are damaged, I'll simply just be a burden by slowing you guys down."

I frantically scanned the environment thinking of ways to set her free. Then an idea struck me, since I was wearing my mum's lucky chain, and it was the festival of the moon spirit, shifting into my wolf wouldn't be that difficult. If I could do that, then I could combine efforts with Claire. Not only would I be able to lift the tree trunk off my mum, but I'll also be able to carry her on my wolf's back till we get to safety. With my gazed fixed at the full moon, I silently prayed to the moon spirits for the ability to shift into my wolf.

I instantly got up, walked towards the fallen tree, closed my eyes and with a loud growl I tried to pull the tree up. I slowly opened my eyes in anticipation, only for me to realise that there was neither a significant shift in the position of the tree nor had I transformed into a wolf. In despair, I slumped on the floor.

Suddenly a group of wolves emerged from the woods, their eyes glowing in the moonlight - they were strangers with menacing looks on their faces. Without further delay, Claire shifted into her wolf, grabbed me by the collar and pulled me unto her back, breaking into a race.

As she ran through the underbrush of the dark forest, my heart bleed. I thought back to the happy moments my mum and I had shared - the countless hours spent baking cookies together, the late night conversations about dreams and aspirations, the silly jokes and giggles that filled the room. Most of all I remembered my mother's unwavering love and support. As the thoughts crossed my mind, tears began to flow form my eyes.

My heart was heavy with grief as our hearts pounded in our chest. I could still hear the snapping and snarling of the wolves closing in on us. With me being the cautious one, I led us through a narrow alleyway between two large trees. In a bid to escape the werewolves chasing after us, but then I noticed the more we struggled to loose them, the more they were closing in on us. It was almost like they were tracking us.

What could possibly be going on right now?

Taking a close glance at Claire, I noticed her drop something on the ground, each time we took a new turn. Then it all dawned on me as I put two and two together. Claire was behind all of these! She is the traitor. No wonder she has been acting suspicious lately.