Under the Moonshine

Two | The Laboratory

Darkness started to fill the surrounding, the moon making its way up the sky. Thick clouds started to form, September's rain squeezing in.

Emily gazed at her father's grave, her blank stares told the height of her grief. She stood there quietly as her friends whispered their condolences. Honestly speaking, she felt alone in that sea of people who attended her father's burial. Her godmother patted her back as everyone bid their goodbye.

Max barked, trying to console his master. After a moment, a woman approached them, her big black hat seemed to cover her small face. The dog barked once again, revealing his fangs at the stranger.

"Emily," she called out.

At the sound of that voice, she turned and saw her mother. Her chest tightened as an uninvited anger lurked beneath her heart. "What are you doing here?"

Olivia, her mother, raised her chin and looked down the grave. Her posture speaks volume, sophisticated and malicious. "Am I not allowed here?"

Emily mirrored her mother's posture. "No, you're not. You are not welcome anymore," she replied bitterly.

Olivia took a deep breath and raised her eyebrow. "I am still your mother. No matter what you do, you're still my daughter. So you better stop acting like a spoiled brat. Now that your father's gone, it's time for you to come with me."

Emily blinked, denying the tears in her eyes. She gripped Max's leash tightly and stepped back. "No matter what you do," she glared at her, "you can't play the role of a mother. Because you don't know how and you will never know how."

She tugged at Max, silently ordering him to follow her, leaving Olivia all alone. She sobbed again, the pain too much to bear, grief once again making its way inside her.

- - - - -

Emily just turned twenty last week, too young to bury her own father. Memories flashed before her as she started to reminisce, still trying to convince herself about what had happened. She was slumped into the bathroom's floor, feeling out of place into the huge mansion.

If Peter's right and her father didn't just die because of heart attack, then there's someone behind it all, she thought to herself. She took a quick shower and headed outside, locking the mansion down with the security controlled by computers.

- - - - -

Sebastian used to bring his little girl in his laboratory at Yotta Technology Corp., giving her exclusive tours for fun. He was an engineer and a scientist, dedicating his life to discover new things and develop technology. That was the reason why Emily knew all about the secret passages in and out of the Yotta, especially the trail that would lead her directly to her father's laboratory.

There was a police line at the area but no authorities surrounded the place. Maybe they're done with the investigation... or didn't investigate at all.

She slid past the glass door and made her way inside. The lights were off and so were the machines. Emily wandered around, using her cell phone as her light. The laptop on the long table seemed to be waiting for her attention, a blinking light at the side told her it was in the sleep mode or something.

She pulled it open and guessed a few possible passwords, some random shit she thought would fit. On her sixth attempt, she nonchalantly typed the birth date of her dog, Max, starting with year, followed by month and date.

Yadda! She got it right.

A paused video clip greeted her and with curiosity, she hit the play button and muted the speaker. Before she could even understand what she was watching, a faint sound startled her, giving her goose bumps.

But no one's there. She was certain. Or maybe she was wrong.

Suddenly, a low defined growl erupted, sending chills down her spine as she felt someone behind her. Her heart pounded wildly, as if it wanted to fail.

Turning at her back, she came face to face with a guy towering over her. Fear crawled up her gut the moment she met his piercing eyes, warm brown, but it did nothing to warm her frazzled nerves. Emily just stood there silently, frozen in place.

None of them spoke. None of them blinked.

The guy closed their distance as he sensed her fear. Instinctively, he sniffed her neck as a different kind of hunger haunted his mind. He looked down on her again as the erratic pounding of her heartbeat reached his ears, telling him she was frightened. Too frightened, to be honest.

He then brought up his hand to touch her but before he could feel her skin, she fainted.

- - - - -

Emily was awakened from sleep by the angry barks coming from Max. He sounded angry, at the same time, scared shitless.

Her heavy eyelids weigh her eyes down but she forced herself to open it. "Max?" she called out.

But he didn't stop barking.

Emily stared at the ceiling, her room greeting her like the usual. Something's wrong, though. "Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" she called out again and sat up.

Cold chills washed over her at the sight of an unfamiliar guy sitting on the floor, wearing nothing but boxer shorts. His hard chest was exposed, little hair trailing on it. He was seated in a way like he was there to watch for her, guarding like a dog.

While on the opposite side stood Max, barking to wake her up.

"Shit," Emily blurted out, her pulse started to race.

The same warm brown eyes gazed at her, giving her the looks like she was a damn star in the night sky.

Her eyes instantly found the telephone beside her queen sized bed. She thought for a second, debating whether to snatched it and dial the local police for help or just aimed it at the burglar and run.

"Don't be afraid," he uttered, voice deep and husky. He angled his head slightly on the right, his strong jaw line was covered with a three-day worth of stubble. Thick long eyebrows were lined above his mesmerizing eyes, face looked innocent yet dangerous.

"Get out, or I'm going to call the police," she replied, still frozen in place.

Suddenly, the guy crossed the space between them with care, imitating the walk of a dog. Emily pressed her back against the bed frame, her nerves getting out of control. She felt like crying, the only problem was she got no more tears left.

The moment Max sensed the guy's motion, he helplessly bark, couldn't even fight for his master. He was usually brave, ready to bite a leg if needed. But he was scared too much for the moment, and Emily didn't know why.

"Stop!" she made it sound like an order and grabbed the remote control lying on her bed, ready to use it as her weapon.

The guy halted momentarily before he closed their distance once again. "I don't bite."

Emily blinked, still gripping the remote control.

"But I will if you want to," then he smiled, making him looked boyish.

"Don't hurt me," she whispered with heavy breathing, looking at him warily.

He shook his head. "I won't."

She briefly noted his topless body. Then the dog chain that hung around his neck caught her attention.

"Are you in the military or something?" she asked.

He glanced at his dog chain and touched it, as if remembering its history. "No. Your father gave it to me."

At the mention of her father's name, Emily dropped the remote control. "My dad?"

He nodded. Suddenly, he pulled out the dog chain from his neck and handed it to her. She hesitated for a moment but thought better to take a look.

Engraved into it were some numbers and a name.

His name, to be exact.

Taren.