Before Moonrise

2. Human

Humans are meant to be dangerous. Fa says that if any human ever spotted one of us, our lives would be no more, the humans would take us away, kill us. Well, I won't let that happen.

He made it quite clear what would happen to anyone who was associated with humans.

I don't want to be executed.

I shudder. Yes, I remember vowing that I would never, ever have anything to do with them. And here one is, on the most important day of my life.

As a Defender, it's my duty to protect the Tribe with my life.

In the Ceremony, when I was made a Defender, I had to swear that if I should ever come across a human, I would immediately, without hesitation, dispose of this human intruder. In the most painful way possible. How heartless.

Nobody actually expected me to have to fulfill this promise, it was just part of the ancient ritual.

I never thought I would have to either.

But trouble has found me. Yet again.

I'm bound to defend my Tribe. I know that any other member (except Dew) would already have this boy on the ground, writhing in pain.

But I'm Storm, not some sadistic monster.

I slowly, carefully, cautiously lower my bow.

How could I possibly hurt this innocent,  boy?

He has reddish-brownish, slightly curly hair and bright green eyes. He's quite a bit taller than me and looks about the same age.

I thought humans were meant to be ugly? Obviously not all of them.

I wait for the silence to be broken. It seems to last forever, and yet I refuse to be the one to break it. I'm not going to give anything away, and my voice will give him more clues.

So I stay silent. I'm trying not to breathe, because I know that if I do, the scent of human blood will make me lose control. I'll transform, and then I would probably bite him. Which would change him. If he survived.

I don't need to breathe. None of us do, not after our first transformation. That's when your heart stops beating. Never to beat again.

Breathing just sort of becomes a habit. It feels kind of claustrophobic when we don't. But I'll live.

"You're one of them," he mutters, more to himself than to me. "Mum was right. Werewolves do exist! She's not mad. She's right," he continued muttering to himself while I puzzle over the word. Mum? What a weird word.

He seems to be fumbling in his satchel, and for a moment I'm worried that he's going to have weapons.

Don't be stupid, I tell myself. I don't think he's even sane. He's still muttering to himself now.

Then he pulls out an odd sort of pebble that seems to have an eye.

I freeze. It doesn't look like any weapon I've ever seen, but one can never be too careful.

"What's that?" I ask before I can stop myself. I still haven't completely ruled out the idea of it being a weapon. You never know.

He looks up abruptly when I speak. I wince slightly, hating myself. What if I ruin all three of the Tribe's lives? Why did I have to speak?

Female werewolf voices are like songs. They have something odd and soft about them. Male werewolf voices are deep and somehow remind me of stone. Different from a human voice.

"It's for taking pictures," he says, staring at me with narrowed eyes.

His voice seems to stir up some elusive memory. And I can't catch it.

I gulp, trying to find my voice again. Pictures? What for? I'm pretty positive that he didn't come here just to take pictures of the scenery...

He came here to find proof. To discover us.

What about the Legend? Doesn't he know?

"Why did you have come here?" I ask him, my voice low but full of menace.

He suddenly looks so sad, so worried, that I feel an urge to comfort him.

But then I remember what will happen to me when Fa finds out...

He swallows, looking like he's trying to find his voice. I wait patiently. I don't want to scare him out of talking.

This could be my one chance to find out about humans.

Every time I ask Fa, he won't tell me anything. He acts... Strange when I question him.

"I came here... I came here because... Well, I err... I live in a care home," he says, looking embarrassed.

I probably look really confused, because I am. What's a care home?

He eyes my expression, obviously seeing how puzzled I am.

"A care home is where young humans live when they can't live with their own parents, whether they are dead, if they didn't look after their child properly, or they might be... In hospital," he whispers the last part. He sounds bitter when he speaks, angry even.  

I still didn't understand. I didn't even know what half the words meant.

And it didn't explain anything, either.

"Sorry, but I have no idea what hospital means. And that doesn't tell me why you came," I say.

He rakes his hand through his rust- colour hair, looking agitated.

"A hospital is where humans go when they are very ill," he says.

I frown, wondering why he look so scared when he spoke of hospitals.

"Why did you look so afraid when you told me that?" I ask him, sidetracked from my current worry. Now I feel a familiar, burning curiosity.

He looks up, meeting my eyes for the first time. His golden- brown eyes are filled with anxiety and fear.

"Because- Because that's the reason that I'm in care. My mother lives in a hospital. She isn't... Sane. She keeps on going on and on about werewolves. And... Well, everybody kept on teasing me, making fun of my mum, saying that I was insane too. So, I decided to come here. I know that everyone says that werewolves... Anyway, I came here, to prove that my mum isn't insane. I didn't actually believe it myself, I just came because I wanted to end it all," he says. His voice is thick with pain.

I instinctively move towards him without thinking. I don't know what I thought I would do, but I meant to comfort him somehow.

He shrinks back, straight away, but it isn't terror I see in his eyes. I don't know what it is I see.

"Sorry," I mutter, embarrassed. What did I do that for?

Why am I just standing here, anyway? How come I haven't done anything?

I have to keep my promise.