Chapter 3 Shadows in the Moonlight
The forest felt like it breathed around me, dark and alive. Every rustle of leaves, every snapping twig, made my stomach twist. My chest hammered, and my hands shook. Something, or someone, was moving out there, just beyond the pale moonlight, and my instincts screamed that it wasn’t human.
A low growl rolled through the trees and my heart froze. I pressed myself against a thick trunk, trying to steady my breath.
My eyes darted through the shadows, but the figure moved too fast, weaving between the trunks like it was part of the darkness itself. Its glowing red eyes fixed on me, and a shiver ran down my spine.
I had never been this scared in my life.
Not from bullies, not from being alone in the forest, not even from the memories of my parents’ accident. This, whatever it was, was different. It radiated danger, malice, a hunger that made my skin crawl for help.
“Stay calm… stay calm,” I whispered to myself. My hands tingled, the familiar pulse of my powers stirring, but this time it was weak, and uncertain. I wanted to reach out, push, and defend myself, but I was frozen.
The creature stepped closer. Its movements were fluid, silent, and precise.
The shadows seemed to stretch toward me, wrapping around it like smoke. My chest burned. Panic clawed at my throat, and for the first time, I realized that running might not save me.
A branch snapped nearby. I flinched and stumbled back, twisting my ankle on a root. Pain shot up my leg, but I couldn’t focus on it. My eyes widened in terror as the figure moved smoothly and closer, its gaze fixed on me. The forest seemed to narrow, trapping me.
And then it rushed forward.
Instinct took over. My hands flared, energy spilling out like a shockwave. The figure froze, startled, its red eyes narrowing. Leaves swirled, branches snapped, and a gust of wind rolled through the clearing. My pulse thrummed in response, faster than ever, as if the forest itself was alive and feeding off my fear.
It hissed, a sound that scraped along my nerves, and I realized I was holding nothing back. Power surged through me, wild and untamed, coiling in my fingers, and scorching the air. The shadow backed off for a moment, circling, eyes glowing brighter.
“Focus, Luna!” a voice rang out, sharp and commanding, but I didn’t know where it came from. My stomach flipped and my head spun. Was it the creature mocking me? Or… something else?
Another figure stepped from the darkness. I froze. My breath caught. My chest tightened. The air around me shifted, heavy with energy. The new presence didn’t move like the monster, it was deliberate, calm, and terrifying in its silence.
I couldn’t see it clearly, just a shadow, a silhouette against the silver moonlight, but something in its aura made me shiver. Was it human? Or was it another creature? My instincts screamed that it was powerful, ancient, and dangerous.
I stumbled backward, energy flaring in panic. My pulse thrummed in rhythm with the forest, wild and uncontrolled. I had to fight, I had to defend myself, but I couldn’t think straight. The monster advanced again, its red eyes piercing me.
Then the shadow, moved with a speed and grace that made my stomach drop. He raised his hands, and the air around him shimmered. A wave of energy pulsed outward, slamming into the monster and sending the creature sliding backward and crashing into a tree.
I gaped. My legs shook. The shadow...he..was saving me.
But I didn’t know who he was. My fear didn’t fade; it doubled. This stranger, this being of impossible calm and terrifying power, was protecting me… and I had no idea if he was friend or foe.
The monster hissed and lunged again. I screamed instinctively, pushing with the surge of power in me. A shockwave ripped through the clearing, snapping branches, scattering leaves, and forcing it back once more. I had never felt anything like this.
My hands tingled, and my chest burned, my senses screamed in overdrive, and the forest itself seemed to bend to my fear, to my anger, and to my desperate will to survive.
“Luna! Trust yourself!” the shadow called again, with a voice deep, calm, and commanding. It was human, I realized.
Alive. But my pulse throbbed with both fear and awe.
The monster shrieked, retreating slightly, but its eyes glowed brighter, and more furious. It wasn’t defeated. Not even close. My chest tightened as I realized: it would come back. It would not stop.
The shadow stepped closer to me. Calm. Powerful. His icy blue eyes met mine, and something in him made the fear in my chest flicker. Relief? Maybe. Or maybe it was something else, something wild, dangerous, yet undeniably protective.
“Who… who are you?” I whispered with a trembling voice.
“No time,” he said, voice low, and clipped.
“You need to move. Now!”
Before I could respond, the monster lunged again, faster than ever, and I realized the clearing itself was no longer safe. Branches bent toward us, roots tried to catch my feet, and the forest seemed alive with intent.
I had no choice. I ran, energy flaring, heart hammering, guided by the shadow’s calm presence. He moved beside me, a guardian I didn’t yet understand, pushing the monster back with waves of force.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the monster vanished into the darkness. My chest heaved, and my legs shook, and I sank to the ground, hands trembling, pulse raging.
The forest was quiet again. Too quiet. The moonlight spilled across the clearing, silver and cold, and I realized with a sinking feeling that this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
The shadow crouched beside me. “You’re stronger than you think,” he said, voice calm but edged with warning. “But they know you’re awake now. And they won’t stop coming.”
I swallowed, and my heart kept racing. Fear mixed with awe, confusion, and something else I didn’t want to admit. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know what he was. All I knew was… he had saved me.
But even as I tried to catch my breath, a rustle in the darkness told me the forest wasn’t done with me. The shadows stirred, and I knew with a chilling certainty that this was just the beginning.
Something had marked me.
And I had no idea if I would survive what came next.