It happened one night

chapter 25

Cathy (pov)

I was running. It was dark around me. And it was very cold. But I didnt feel the cold, I just knew it was cold. I kept glancing behind me as if I was being chased.

Suddenly, I heard a faint noise and in my haste I tripped over some brambles. I didnt stop to look back anymore, I quickened my pace and ran as fast as my legs could carry. I noticed I was wearing my pjs and an odd shirt. I had never seen this shirt before. It was not mine.

But there was no time to wonder about the shirt. It was pitch dark yet I could almost instictively feel the trees around me, and the small animals scurrying away from my vicinity, as I hurried through the forest.

I was running through a forest?
I didnt understand why I was in a forest.

A screeching noise started erupting in my head, deafening me, increasing in intensity with every passing seconds.

Smash..

I woke with a start, panting.

But the dream felt so real. I looked at my phone still screeching the alarm. I stopped it.

I got out of bed and stood near the window. It had been ages since I had dreamt something. I usually was so tired these days.

Something pricked in my pjs. I bent down and saw my knee was bruised.

Bruised?! How?

I couldnt recall getting hurt during soccer practise. Then how was it bruised?

There were some gashes which looked raw, not yet dried. I looked at my bed to see if there was anything sharp to have caused those wounds. Except for some blood stains on my pjs, I found nothing extraordinary.

Maybe I did get hurt last night while practise and hadnt realised it.

I freshened up and dressed my wound. And then I started reading the library books.

They were amazing! Full of local legends and stories about the moon and native myths about old ruins. It gave me the chills while reading them as I visualised the ruins and imagined the villa as one of those ruins.

I was so excited with my new theories. I felt the need to visit the villa and decided to go there afterwards.

As I was turning through the pages of History of Mcleen: Folk Tales, an old piece of folded paper fell out of the book. I took the paper and opened it slowly, spreading it on my bed evenly. It was yellowed with age and had some parts torn away but I could make out the heading. It was an article from an old newspaper.

My curiosity started burning inside me. I loved such things. I ran to get my camera and took some pictures of the paper. It was so old it looked like a relic.

The news read:

East Mcleen
4th November, 1906

For almost more than five years the town has been haunted by a strange urban legend that refuses to go away.
The legend tells there is a mysterious creature that runs in the dark, savagely attacking young victims and drinking their blood. Rumours about someone who stalks the streets sinking her teeth into passers-by have been rampant. Though officials have tried to investigate matters, no evidence have been found to prove the authenticity of such rumours.
Several vicious attacks have taken place at the village side of Daregn. But authorities declared it as aggressive fox bites.
Residents are living in fear and they do not allow their children out to play after dark. Locals say the predator steps out of the shadows and takes chunks out of the victim's flesh. They believe it is the vampires.

Merlin, a worker in the forest rangers said, "You dont know what to believe anymore, its like anything can happen anywhere. There could be a coven of vampires hiding in the forest for all we know."

On asking the credibility of these rumours and speculations, many other locals have expressed their confirmation. According to them, vampires can exist. In support to their beliefs they have also pointed out that most victims of late night attacks have been suspiciously found with slashed neck injuries and no blood in their system.

I folded the page and put it back into the book. Then I tried to make sense of the new information.

My head was paining after reading the article.

Vampires?

Such bullshit. I shook my head and started laughing crazily. Seriously? A newspaper article regarding vampires?

The world must have been crazy back in 1906 to publish reports regarding stupid rumours about vampire attacks!

But this was something that gave me immense pleasure. Now I could pretend the villa as one of the ruins from those myths and research about these rumours. I always loved solving mysteries and especially if they had an essence of past, oblivious forgotten past in them.

And I knew this would be a lot of fun to me. I thought about how Bess would have reacted to this news.

I immediately got ready, packed the two books into my bagpack and some other necessary research materials along with my camera and set out for the villa.

In the other book there was information about symbols. Symbols and their significance with relation to particular myths. It had pictures of myriads of signs, totems and carvings. While I had been flipping through this book in the library, a particular picture of symbolic carving had reminded me instantly of the wooden carvings on the door of the villa.

This was what I was now determined to find out. Whether the door carvings matched with those in the book and if they did what it symbolised. The adrenaline rush was so great I found it difficult to stay patient as I walked towards the Aelus Villa.

I didnt have much time to spend in the villa because I had soccer practise in the afternoon.

But as soon as I reached the iron gates, I found myself struggling to move. It was as if the anticipation of decoding the designs on the door had suddenly lost its charm and I felt apprehensive about the whole research thing.

Suddenly, I didnt feel like discovering the meaning of those symbols.

Ofcourse that was silly of me. I often get carried away by my own fancies so much that I start believing what I imagine. I smiled at my own foolishness and pushed myself through the gap in the gates.

As if it would matter if those designs did match with the symbols given in the book. At the most it would increase the mysterious aura about the villa, nothing else.

I stood infront of the massive wooden doors. Quietly studying its texture with my fingers. Then I took out the book and searched that page which had the picture of the symbols.

Symbols that to me had apparently appeared to be similar to the ones carved on these wooden doors.

Dark black lines curling and twisting into intricate patterns. It was so beautiful and enchanting that once you begin to follow the patterns you wouldnt feel like looking away from them. The effect was almost hypnotic.

I tore away my glance from the door and looked at the now opened page of the book.

The designs were facsimile. I studied them once more, checking each turns of the dark line in the book with that in the door. It was exactly the same.

I blinked in surprise. Or was it horror?