Chapter 4: The Dark Forest

1881 March, New Orleans

Claude

A big fire had engulfed the whole village, I could hear the screaming. Men with black hoods rode their horses and continued to burn the houses. While the others were slaughtering the people. I looked around at the chaos and saw some children were left at the corner crying while the helpless villagers were running for their lives. I ran as fast as I could but a black horse blocked my way, I turned on my back and ran on the opposite side but the hooded man followed me. I cannot outrun a horse! I thought. When I was running away my foot get caught on a piece of wood and I fell facedown.

My face hit the muddy ground and I heard some heavy footsteps coming towards me, I turned my head around to see the black hooded man with his hands stretched out. He grabbed me by the neck and began to strangle me. I fought back, I scratched and kicked but he was too strong. I grabbed his hood and revealed his face.. his face.. her face... Clodette!

I woke up with a scream, cold sweat streaming down my forehead. As my breathing relaxed, I looked around the darkroom. It was just a dream.. just a dream... I thought. I touched my neck.

It felt too real, I thought.

That morning, Clodette requested to see me. I stood at the corner of her room, her room was painted in light pink with tiny butterflies drawn on the wall. In the middle of her room was her enormous bed with a satin silk drapes falling down from the ceiling. I turned towards Clodette who was sitting on a wooden chair near the window. She was cutting the dead leaves of a rose. She looked up and motioned me to sit next to her.

"I heard you screaming last night," She said, uninterested.

"I had a nightmare" She stopped cutting the leaves and looked at me. "You shouldn't go back to the library"

Library? I thought then I picked up my courage to ask her:

"What is that book?"

"You don't need to know that" She turned away from me and began to cut the leaves again.

"I want to know... Julius said I am the only one who can read it... I want to know more about it. If you can just let me read it one more time" As I spoke, Clodette moved her hands furiously until she cut her finger.

"Ah" She exclaimed.

I took her hand on mine and placed a handkerchief on it to stop the bleeding. "You don't need to do that," She told me.

I lifted the handkerchief from her wound and as I did, my eyes widened with surprise and fear. I moved so quickly that I made the wooden chair fall down behind me. I looked at her as she smiled at me.

"Your wound... it.." I didn't finish my sentence because I was trembling.

"Are you afraid?" She asked me as she smiled.

"I ..am not" I managed to speak. I moved back when she stood up and walked towards me.

"I am not easily fooled, Claude" She walked slowly, with every step my heart skipped a beat. I distinctly moved backwards.

I kept on walking backwards until I could feel the wall on my back. Her beautiful face was too close to mine.

"You're afraid of me... I can smell it" She whispered.

I quickly turned to my side and ran for the door when I was outside I could hear her laughing.

******

I searched for Evangeline, I found her sitting on the bench in the garden.

"Evangeline!" I ran too fast that fell on my knees right in front of her. She looked at me, alarmed. "My goodness!" She exclaimed.

"What happened to you?" She placed her hand on my cheeks.

Evangeline's palm was wet from my tears. I must've been crying but I haven't realized it.

"Clodette.. she.. she is not..human!" I blurted out. Evangeline's face said it all. She knew.

"You need to be quiet and forget what happened" She touched my head and began to stroke it gently. I looked at her with surprise. She knew... and she didn't care! I slapped her hand away and I ran. She called after me but I kept on running.

I ran and ran deeper into the forest. I turned back from the path but I couldn't find it. It was getting dark and I didn't know which way to go back to. As I continued the path in front of me, I could hear the trees shaking because of the wind and the sound of the cicada. This is bad... I might be eaten by wolves. The sun came down and I found myself in the middle of the forest alone and afraid.

"Which way...Which way!" I began to panic, It's getting dark. I was moving back and forth when I heard a rattling sound from the bushes. I turned to where the sound is and saw a pair of yellow eyes, wolves!

The grey big wolf ran towards me with his yellow teeth exposed!

'I need to run...I need to...I need...' My mind kept on chanting these words but my body wouldn't move. My butt legs were stuck on the ground like I was glued on it. 'Move! Move!' My mind screamed.

With trembling hands I covered my eyes.

'This is it.. the end...I should have let Clodette sucked my blood!'

I was waiting for the wolves to devour me but there was silence, I opened my eyes and saw a woman dressed in a white satin gown with a messy golden hair.

The hem of her dress was torn and her hands were soaked with blood. She turned to me and said, "Are you alright?" Her eyes filled with concern. I stared at her wide eyed; She moved towards me and bent her knees so she could look at me straight in the eyes.

"Are you afraid?" She asked me.

I looked at her pale face, red eyes and blood-stained lips. She's beautiful. At that moment I didn't fear her, I was thinking of how beautiful she was with her golden hair shimmering underneath the moonlight.

I remembered the first time I saw her; How my heart skipped a beat at that very moment.

"I am not afraid" I spoke with confidence.

She smiled at me and took my hand on hers.

"I know".