Moonbound: The Curse of the Bloodline30.00%

Chapter 3

Into the Forest

The Blackpine Forest loomed before her, an endless expanse of darkness that seemed to swallow the very light of the stars above. Evelyn stood at its edge, her heart pounding in her chest as she gripped her mother's journal tightly in one hand, the flashlight in the other. The beam of light flickered weakly, barely cutting through the thick, suffocating dark beyond the first few trees.

Her breath caught in her throat. She hesitated.

The stories weren't just whispers passed down through her family they were real, dangerous. The villagers spoke of Blackpine in hushed tones, of the disappearances that had plagued the area for generations. Some who ventured into its depths never came back, while others who did reported of strange happenings. Dark eyes. From the corners of their eyes, they saw slithering shadows. It was the howls of something much older and more primordial than wolves.

Even as her pulse accelerated, Evelyn's fingers clenched around the flashlight's handle, the icy metal stabilizing her. With bitterness in her tongue, she muttered to herself, "This isn't a choice." In the vast, unforgiving jungle, the red "X" on the map in her pocket served as her sole guide and a silent ray of hope.

With a forceful sigh, she drew the night air into her lungs. Before her consciousness could object, her legs began to move, propelling her into the darkness. Every stride felt more weighty than the one before, as though the forest itself were beckoning her closer, claiming her as its own.

Behind her, the world dimmed as the weight of the silence and the thick trees engulfed everything. The night seemed to press in, its shadows stretching, reaching, as if the forest were alive, watching her every move.

Evelyn's breath quickened as she crossed the threshold, the air colder here, sharper, as though it were infused with something otherworldly. The night closed in around her, swallowing her whole, leaving only the faint, unsteady beam of light to guide her deeper into the woods.

Although she had started her journey, the shadows seemed to get closer with each step she took. The jungle was also waiting.

The air altered the instant Evelyn crossed the threshold. It was cooler, heavier, charged, as if the forest itself were waiting, breathing. With their twisted branches intertwining and twisting overhead to create a suffocating canopy that sucked out the light, the towering trees appeared unnaturally tall. The jungle was enveloped in an uncanny blackness as the moon and stars vanished. Behind her, the world faded. The distant hum of the town, the familiar comfort of her home all of it was swallowed by the oppressive silence. The only sounds were the crunch of her boots on the brittle undergrowth and the erratic hum of insects.

Even the insects sounded wrong. Their chirps were sharp and uneven, piercing the stillness like jagged shards of glass. It wasn't the soothing rhythm of nature it was a warning, a discordant plea for her to turn back.

Her flashlight flickered. Evelyn froze, her breath catching in her throat. The beam dimmed, sputtered, then went out for a fraction of a second before sputtering back to life. She smacked the side of the flashlight, her pulse quickening. "Not now," she whispered, her voice barely audible, swallowed by the forest around her.

Her hands shook as she looked around the trees, but the spotlight steadied. The silence made her ears strain. A deep, guttural groan followed, as though the forest were straining and stretching beneath its own weight.

Her gut knotted at the sound, but the murmurs were worse.

Faint at first, like the soft hiss of leaves brushing together in the wind. But no wind stirred the air. The whispers grew louder, weaving together, almost forming words she couldn't quite make out

Evelyn spun toward the sound, her flashlight jerking across the darkened forest. The beam of light landed on nothing but trees.

And shadows.

But the shadows weren't still. They didn't flicker or shift naturally with the light's movement. They moved deliberately, with purpose, slithering like living things. They stretched and bent, coiling around the bases of the trees like ink spilled into water, retreating just out of the light's reach.

Her throat tightened as she stepped back, the flashlight shaking in her hand. The forest watched her. The shadows waited.

"Just the trees," she whispered, her voice shaky, trying to convince herself. But deep down, she knew better.

The forest was alive, and the shadows were not her imagination.

They were authentic.

And they were on their way.

The silence behind her was broken by a harsh snap. Evelyn's breath caught in her throat as she froze. She spun around, the flashlight beam cutting through the darkness, her heart hammering in her ears.

"Who's there?" she demanded, her voice trembling despite her attempt at steadiness.

No answer.

The oppressive quiet pressed in, amplifying her own ragged breathing. The flashlight wavered in her unsteady grip as her eyes darted between the trees, searching for movement, for a glint of eyes in the dark, for anything.

Nothing.

She shook her head, forcing a shaky breath through her lips. "It's just the wind," she murmured, though the words felt hollow. The prickling sensation on the back of her neck refused to fade. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, of something unseen tracking her every move.

With her shaking fingers straining to keep it steady, Evelyn took a quick look at the chart. Ahead, in the maze of the woodland, the red "X" appeared to be so far away. She swallowed hard, straightened her rucksack, and retraced her steps on the dim route, a game track that was overgrown and hardly visible with her flashlight.

The air became thicker and colder, and the only sound to break the stillness was the rustle of leaves.

Then she smelled it.

It was metallic iron and sharp. The distinct smell of blood.

As she turned a bend in the trail, her stomach churned. The beam from the flashlight fell onto a gory scene. Blood seeped into the underbrush and stained the earth in dark, sticky puddles. In the dim light, twigs and leaves gleamed damply.

Evelyn's pulse quickened. She edged closer, her flashlight sweeping across the scene. Deep gouges marred the nearby trees, claw marks carved into the bark with such force that splinters still hung loose. The earth was churned up, evidence of a violent struggle.

She crouched, her heart hammering, examining the ground. Her flashlight revealed clumps of fur caught on the rough bark of the trees, tufts that looked coarse and dark.

And the prints.

Massive, irregular tracks pressed into the dirt, far too large to belong to any normal wolf. The extended toes had what seemed to be claws on the tips.

Evelyn gasped for air. This was recent, not merely a sign of werewolf activity.

The blood was still wet.

The realization sent a chill down her spine as she staggered back. The cause of this was not far away. Worse, it could still exist.

For a brief period, the shadows surrounding her appeared to grow darker and coil like smoke as her illumination flickered once again. Evelyn resisted the need to run, and her throat constricted.

With the map in her pocket and the cursed woodland encroaching on her, she couldn't afford to lose her composure right now.

The forest was alive, and so was the thing hunting her.

A low growl reverberated through the still air, sending a jolt of fear through Evelyn. She shot to her feet, her flashlight trembling as she aimed it toward the sound. The beam wavered, cutting jaggedly through the oppressive darkness, and for an instant, it caught movement a fleeting flash of silver fur slipping behind a tree.

Her chest tightened, her breath catching in her throat. She wasn't alone anymore.

Once more, the roar grew closer and deeper. It sounded like a warning that echoed in her bones, vibrating through the earth beneath her feet. With her free hand frantically searching for the silver blade hidden in her bag, Evelyn retreated. The blade was cool and comforting in her hands when her fingers finally closed around the hilt and she yanked it free.

The woodland suddenly appeared to be alive and working against her. With their skeleton branches extending downward like claws, the trees came closer. As though the forest itself wished to hide what was about to happen, the darkness became darker and engulfed the dim beam of her flashlight.

Then she caught sight of them.

eyes.

They glowed dimly yellow in the oppressive darkness, dozens of them. At first, they were dispersed and hazy, floating like will-o'-the-wisps.

But then they began to move, circling her, closing the distance with eerie coordination. The faint glow illuminated nothing else-just the unblinking, predatory stares fixed on her.

Evelyn's breath hitched, her instincts screaming at her to run. But her feet refused to move, frozen by a primal fear she couldn't shake. She tightened her grip on the dagger, its silver edge catching the faintest glint of light. It felt like the only thing tethering her to survival.

"Stay back," she whispered, her voice trembling, barely audible over the pounding of her heart.

The words were swallowed by the forest, meaningless against the relentless advance of the glowing eyes.

A pair darted forward suddenly, faster than she could react. A low snarl echoed through the trees, guttural and menacing. Evelyn swung the flashlight wildly, her beam catching the briefest glimpse of a massive, hulking figure. Its shape was wrong-too large, too twisted. The silver fur glistened for an instant before it melted back into the shadows.

Her pulse thundered in her ears. She spun in place, trying to keep the circling eyes in sight, but they moved too fast, too fluid, always one step ahead.

He growls became louder, the trees seemed to shut in tighter, encircling her like a chorus of predators. Evelyn forced herself to concentrate and swallowed hard. She was dead if she panicked now.

She inhaled steadily, holding the flashlight in one hand and the dagger in the other. She trembled in defiance and muttered, "You want me?" her voice louder now. "Come get me." The first shadow then lunged.

Her heart thundered in her chest as the realization hit her like a cold slap: they weren't attacking her they were herding her.

The glowing eyes closed in, their movements calculated, forcing her steps in a single direction.

A wave of panic swept through. With her lantern bouncing wildly in her hand, Evelyn turned and ran. The woodland, a tangled labyrinth of gnawing branches and snagging underbrush, hazed around her. As she sank down into the darkness, jagged branches slashed at her flesh and tore at her garments.

Behind her, the growls remained persistent, frighteningly steady, always just out of sight. Herding her along with relentless accuracy, the eyes followed like ghostly lights, darting through the foliage.

Even though her legs cried out for rest and her lungs burned, she was unable to stop-not right now. Not so near them. She burst into a clearing, stumbling to a halt. The sudden silence was deafening, a jarring absence of the growls and whispers that had chased her. Her chest heaved, her breath ragged as she stood trembling in the eerie stillness.

The flashlight beam swept across the clearing. It was unnaturally circular, the surrounding trees warped and gnarled, their twisted forms leaning back as if recoiling from the center. The air here was different heavier, thicker, tinged with something ancient and unspoken.

And there, in the middle of the clearing, stood an ancient stone pillar.

Evelyn's breath caught. The pillar loomed like a sentinel, its surface etched with strange runes that seemed to writhe and shift under the light. The carvings were jagged and alien, pulsating with an energy she could feel but not see.

Her mother's journal had described runes like these marks of warning, of power. Warnings tied to the curse, tied to the artifact.

Evelyn approached cautiously, her steps faltering as the weight of the moment pressed down on her. The air felt colder the closer she got, biting through her clothes and raising goosebumps on her skin.

Reaching out, she let her fingers graze the carvings. They were icy, the chill unnatural, as though the stone itself repelled warmth. A shiver raced up her spine, and her vision seemed to swim for a moment. The forest blurred at the edges, the clearing narrowing to the pillar alone.

Her pulse was accelerating as she blinked and shook her head. Was the curse to blame? The artifact, was it? According to the journal, it had the key, but to what end her salvation or her destruction?

Her instincts begged her to flee, to get out of this damned place. However, Evelyn remained steadfast, holding the necklace at her throat with one hand and the silver knife firmly in the other.

Her voice was tremulous but determined as she said, "Show me what you are."

A slight murmur, like a sigh from something old and invisible, swept through the clearing as the breeze stirred. The glowing eyes then materialized from the shadows at the clearing's edge, frozen in place, seemingly waiting. observing.

Evelyn's fingers tightened on the dagger. Whatever came next, she had crossed a line she could not uncross,

Before Evelyn could study the runes further, a sharp snap echoed through the clearing, loud and deliberate.

She spun around, dagger in one hand, flashlight in the other. The beam caught movement slow. deliberate. From the shadows, a massive figure emerged.

The creature stepped into the weak light, and Evelyn's breath hitched. It was a werewolf, towering and monstrous, its fur matted with dirt and blood. Its glowing yellow eyes burned with a feral, predatory intensity, and its lips curled back into a snarl, revealing rows of jagged fangs that gleamed like knives.

"Stay back!" Evelyn shouted, her voice trembling but defiant. She raised the silver dagger, the blade catching the faint light as she stepped backward toward the pillar.

The werewolf's bright eyes narrowed as it paused. It seemed to weigh her threat as its ears. flicked back. Evelyn gripped the dagger more tightly. Was it able to detect the silver? Was it scared?

However, a second growl roared from the treeline before she could sense the glimmer of hope.

Then she caught sight of them.

Pairs of bright eyes emerged from the woods, penetrating the darkness one by one. The first growl was followed by a deeper, more sinister one. Then another. They circled around her like predators snooping on their prey.

The pack had found her.