Short Stories Of The Mind

Violet Moon

1
When it comes to fear it brings out a different side of a person in scary situations. Situations like right now.
Go, go, go. Run faster.
I forced air into my lungs. As I was running for my life, my mind was going in multiple directions all at once. No matter what, my goal was escaping those who chase me. My chasers are called Lupi, beings that can transform between a human and a wolf.
As I ran through the brush, the sharp branches were scratching my skin. My bare feet would also get scratched and pinched by the sharp rocks and any sticks that were on the ground. The Lupi were hunting me but I was trying everything I could to put distance between me and them.
Run faster. Faster, faster, faster. Must find open ground.
I would be able to stand my ground if there was one Lupi but there were six of them coming after me. The only thing that I had going for myself right now was the fact that I was faster than they were. But the thing was that I wouldn't need to be faster than them when I would find a clearing in the woods.
As the Lupi ran they carried weapons like bows and arrows, swords, and even axes. They didn't need them though after all they have sharp claws, bloodthirsty teeth, and enough strength to pick up a marble statue. The longer I ran the more tired I became and the closer they were getting. As I ran I could hear the Lupi get closer and closer, but I couldn't give up, not now.
That was when I saw in the distance a clearing; I collected what strength I had left and ran towards it with the hope of my escape. But when I got past the tree line, I forced myself to a full stop. For now I had come to a rocky cliff. It was so deep that I couldn't see the bottom, so I had to choose either to jump or to stand fight and get torn apart by Lupi.
Right when the Lupi came bursting through the tree line I decided to jump. I could hear the Lupi roar in anger as I fell into the dark abyss. As I fell I could feel the cold air rushing past me. But all good things must come to an end and my wings grew to catch the air underneath and I began to fly. The impact of air on my wings really hurt, I got the strength I needed and used it to fly straight up into the sky past the furious Lupi.
Some of them threw their spears but most of them tried to shoot arrows at me, but I kept dodging them. That was when I decided to leave and as I flew away I looked back and saw a glint on an arrow head as it flew towards me. I then saw a red spot on my side where the arrow went clean through.

2
When I woke up I instantly went straight into an upright position gasping for air, checking my side to see if my injury was still there. But it was just a nightmare, a nightmare that just wouldn't go away. Each and every night it was the same dream; I hate it and wish that it would go away. Then I looked at my shoulder where I saw a crimson red mark of a wolf head with bat wings behind it. All of us had marks but my siblings marks was a bat head in front of bat wings. The Lupi also had a mark that was a wolf's head in front of what looks like a moon.
I got out of bed and put on clean pair of pants underneath my nightgown. Afterwards I went out to the kitchen to see what the options were for breakfast. But I got distracted when I looked out the window and saw forest on one side and open field on the other. In the back there was a small creek where we could get some drinking water.
It was nice and peaceful some of the loudest noises were the sound of birds chirping in the trees. My name is Merida; I live with my siblings Talon, Isaac, Natalie, the Stranger, and Astrid. None of us are blood siblings, but we take care of each other just as well.
This place was mine and my family's home, free from being locked up within cages like wild beasts. We never go to the city and try to stay out of contact from anyone. The less people that know about us the greater the chance we stay alive. I'm the oldest out of all my siblings so in my mind it is my job to make sure that the others are safe from things like the Lupi.
All of us escaped from a place called the Fortress. That's where we were born and that's where we were also tortured by mad men. Ever since birth and I even think a little before that they did things to us that changed us, made us different from ordinary people. We all had "names" while we were there, mine was LV-23.
My siblings all had names that started with V and all of the Lupi had names that started with an L. I was a special kind of experiment; LV stands for "LUPUS, VAMPIRE". I didn't even try to understand what that name meant, but as far as we all knew we were all born with our new abilities.
Some of the abilities that we all had in common are the ability to fly, more powerful hearing, and ear piercing screams. I sat on a chair looking out of the window thinking about Collin, the old man who allowed us to live here. He was like the father we never had, Collin taught us how to speak, hunt, fish, write, read, and in my opinion the most important skill of all how to fight.
I was also thinking of the day when he went to the city to sell some crops, but he was attacked and killed by Lupi. While I was in a deep train of thought out of nowhere I heard, "Hi Merida."