Hunters

Awakening

Gabrielle waited across the front of their house waiting for her mother's car to pull out from their driveway, she sighed hugging her books closer to her chest, hoping to calm her nervous heart, she chuckled a bit, wondering why she is still affected by the move when they have been doing this all her life, her mom giving her the same reason to each and every time they relocated, that her company made the transfer and there is no way around it, she just agreed for she knows the real reason of the move, she is different, and that the whispers and uncomfortable glances are beginning once again, making the move necessary for them, to be in a new place where no one knows who they are, this time her mom selected a house far from the town, hidden away from prying eyes and nosy neighbors, the house itself stands alone at the center of a cull de sac, surrounded by trees that seemed to embrace the house as well, making it look nostalgic and creepy at the same time, but somehow, after months of relocating, this is the first time that Gabrielle safe and at ease, she felt that this is the place where she can stay forever, her thoughts were cut short when she heard someone whispered her name.

"Gabrielle..." The voice called softly, as if the wind carried the voice towards her direction, it was so soft that the gender of the voice unrecognizable,

"Gabrielle..." The voice whispered once again, this time, louder and much more demanding, as if the voice wanted to be found, Gabrielle began to scan her surroundings, squinting at the woods nearby but never moving from her spot,

"Gabrielle..." The voice whispered softly once again, as if it is enticing a lover or a friend to find it, Gabrielle suddenly felt a cold tingle ran down her spine as it dawned on her that there is no way that she can hear a whisper that loud and clear, plus they have just moved, so no one knows who they are nor their names, despite her fear, she continued looking for the source of the voice, she gasped in shock as she saw something moved from behind the woods, just a few feet away from their house, she blinked and the shadow was gone, she almost jumped out of her skin as the loud sound of their car's horn jolted her back to reality.

"Everything alright dear? You seemed a little pale? "her mom asked as she settled down on the passenger seat and fasten her seatbelt.

"Yeah, everything is just peachy, just the first day jitters, I think" she answered as she smiled, She immediately sense the strain and the stress bubbling inside her mother.

"I am sorry if we needed to move again, I just wish that this would be the last time that we would do this, you are losing out on your social life because of me... " her mom said as she gave her a small smile as began to drive off,

"It is alright mom, we always keep in touch, all of us." She lied easily, she wasn't able to make friends at all considering that they never last a year at any of the places that they stayed and not to mention that she is not comfortable being with them, a few brave souls did try to get close to her but she is frightened that somehow her difference would show and certainly drive them away, but she does not want her mom to worry about mundane things like these, she feels grateful and heartbroken at the same time that her mom is taking all the hit and blaming herself when she is the one at fault, the reason why they are always on the move.

"That's good then baby doll... I promise you that we would try to stay and make this our permanent home alright?" Her mother sincerely said as she reached out her hand and tap her leg, she smiled at her mom and nodded, she felt that this time her mom's words rang true, that this would be their permanent place, she sighed as she looked outside the window, the memory of the whisper and the shadow slowly drifting away from her mind...

The shadow watched with a frown on its face as it watched the car drive away, it felt that something was odd, "she is not the one who should hear...." it whispered softly in confusion as it slowly began to fade away.