The Hunter Academy

Chapter 1

Prologue

Running. So much running. I don't stop as the twigs and thorns tear at my feet and legs, but the pain only fuels my adrenalin and need to keep running. I turn my head to try and spot the thing following me. In the dim light peaking through the forest canopy above me, I was able to catch glimpses of a slick, shiny skin that blend in with the colour of night in the forest, the moonlight reflecting off each of it's scales was the only indication that there was something there. It's best defence was its silence, enabling it to stalk its prey without the prey knowing that it'll soon be a meal. Right now, that's me. I keep making my way through the forest, not slowing down for another glance. My feet start to move faster as I start to feel it's breathe on the back of my neck, as if it's holding itself back, taunting me in a sick and twisted game. Playing with its food, tiring it out till it can no longer play. The fear that coursed through my veins makes my heavy breathing turn to pants and soon I find myself loosing speed and energy. All I can think of and feel is the fear. Like it is suffocating me.

Refusing to give up, I continue to run while stepping over rocks and leaping of tree roots that protrude out of the ground, as if their purpose was to slow me down or make me fall. As I take another leap, my ankle snags one of the roots, sending me tumbling to the ground, rolling and crashing into the dirt. I crawl onto my knees and start to crawl forward before attempting to run again, but my ankle gives out, sending me to the ground once more. I give it one more attempt, putting weight on my ankle, but before I can even scream out in pain from that, something solid and slick slams into my side effectively cracking a few ribs and sending me flying past the trees I had just rushed past. I ended up on the ground once more, this time 30 metres away from where my original position. I'm beginning to think the ground is trying to swallow me.

My vision clouds and it's impossible to shake so I am left temporarily unable to see, but I do manage to see its body leap gracefully behind trees and climb them effortlessly only to glide to the next before it landed on it's paws with the grace of a cat, right beside my broken body. Terror began to set into my body again as I come to the realisation that I could never out run this creature. It was that moment, when I was scared stiff that I realized I was about to become dinner to this green-eyed monster.

CHAPTER ONE

Startled, I bolt up in my seat in a disoriented panic. I look around to see that the sun was now high in the sky, meaning I'd been out for a couple of hours. Better to get sleep when you can.

"Good afternoon." I hear a soft voice next to me greet. I turn my head to look at my mum still with my sleep filled eyes. Rubbing them to clear away the grogginess, I then look out side to see us pass a sign but I miss the large white letters it had on it. I look at the dashboard of the rental truck and see the time is 1:09pm. A 4-hour sleep, that's pretty decent for the uncomfortable seat I was passed out on.

"Hey, how much further until we are there? Not sure how much longer I will be able to put up with this cabin." I reply.

"Soon baby girl, we've actually just past the town's boarders. We should be about another half an hour and we'll be at our new home." Her lips pulled into a soft smile, comforting me. She knew it meant a lot to me to leave my life behind. Forcing me to leave my comfort zone. But cant dwell on the pass, change is inevitable. I stared out the window, watch as numerous trees passed the window, giving me flash backs to that dream. I've had it before, nothing knew, but it always manages to terrify me. It's like I was looking through someone else's eyes but then again it was only a nightmare. As the trees began to thin out, every now and then, dirt roads that looked like driveways disappeared into the forest leading up to a house of some kind hidden behind the dense trees. As the trees became more and more scarce, housing started to appear. There were houses of all types, little cottages and your basic humble home. Some had one story, while others had two; each had a unique trait, like the two story house that had the dream picket fence, except that it was painted a bright green instead of the typical white. All different, yet all of them had that look of a home. Lived in for generations and loved all the same. No matter the differences that separated them, they were all gorgeous. From the smallest cottage I saw to the grand mansion that seems to lie in the middle of the row of houses. Every now and then we would pass a stray car, but other than that, no one was around. Right as I thought that, we entered the town area. Shops lined the main road, stretching on. It ranged from little boutiques to major company brands and every now and then there would be a little quaint restaurant that lay amongst the other buildings. People littered the walkway, greeting everyone as they passed. This town was too happy for my current sour mood to deal with.

Once we had passed the last little shop on the main road, the trees appeared again. They lasted for about 5 minutes, before they suddenly stopped, revealing a giant space, cleared of all trees, where the school was located. This would be my new school. It was gigantic and looked out, but beautiful at the same time. It was surrounded by yards of lush green grass. I caught a glimpse of a track behind the school along with a giant metal shed, which stood out against the old brick building, looking as if it was built within the Victorian Era. At the edge of the school, the thick layers of trees began again. Turning away from the side window, I faced out front, watching as we turned onto a dirt road, through thick iron gates that had been pushed aside and approached our new home. It wasn't brand new, but it didn't look old either. It was cement rendered in a light beige colour and reached up two levels but spread wide. We managed to buy this place cheap. It was the only house in the town that was for sale and mum seemed adamant about moving here. Apparently she bought it from a man that her mother was once a friend with. A mate rate gets you far these days. The only condition was that we would have to pay him a little bit of money every month, to pay of a little bit of the rest. I guess mum didn't mind, I mean we now have more money than we need between the both of us. My grandparents used to own 3 vineyards and when they passed away, they were sold immediately and the money was spilt between my mother and my estranged uncle. Mum didn't want the money but she knew we needed it to complete her goal.

"So, remind me why we bought this place again? I mean besides it being the only house for sale. Why something so big when there is only two of us?" I question mum. She pulled the rental truck to a stop in front of the front porch steps. The other two trucks pulled up behind her and the drivers started hoping out. I took my chance and jumped out of the car, giving my legs a quick stretch to return some of the blood to them. I grabbed my duffle bag out before shutting the door.

"Well I bought it so we can turn it into a lodging place. You know for travellers and people with nowhere to go, that sort of thing. Its also a challenge." Of course. Mum loves challenges and is a charitable woman. She gave quite a large sum of money to charity organisations to support youth. She was a kind-hearted woman who never took time to indulge herself; she was always too busy helping everyone else.

We walked up the porch stairs and to the front door, mum pulled out her keys, unlocked the door. "Ready?" she asks before pushing the door open to reveal our new living quarters. The inside with simple, but I knew with a little decoration, we could make it look lovely. Walking through the entrance, we had a little walk around, getting a feel for the place, while mum maps out in her head what each room will hold. "I think we should get a piano in here, you used to love playing piano." I hear her shout from a couple of rooms away. I walk back towards the foyer just as some of the movers start to bring in bits of furniture and placing them in the rooms appointed by mum. I make my way up one of the curved staircases, and scope out a room for myself. I find one in the back corner of the house. It has plenty of room for my bed, dressing table, and my belongings. It has a small joint bathroom with the essentials with a bit of room to move about. But I believe the best part is the two white French doors that open out onto a small balcony. The balcony is made of a pale stone, blending in with the house and has a small shelf, wide enough to sit on. It has some ivy peaking over the top. Dropping my back inside my room, I bend over he edge of the balcony and pear down and see almost he entire back wall covered. This place is beautiful. I could already tell that this balcony would be used a lot when I'm drawing or reading. A place that I can escape to.

I hear a shout of my name and regrettably walk back inside and close the doors to the little paradise. I walk back down stairs and start to help my mother and the men with moving our furniture upstairs. It continues like that for the remainder of the after noon and into late evening. I am tired by the time I have my bed and mattress up stairs. I collapse on the bed from exhaustion and into the world of nightmares.