PROLOGUE:
All I could hear was the pounding of my heart as I ran through the trees. Bushes were scraping at my arms, and tearing at my clothes, but I hardly seemed to notice. I would be in a lot more pain if I got caught. I dove behind a huge oak tree and crouched down. My breathing had become uneven as I tried to stay calm.
"My name is Cassie.
I'm sixteen.
I have one sister, one brother and a mom who loves me," I whispered to myself.
I suffered from a disease that when i got too stressed my brain forgot certain things temporarily.
Which definitely would make my situation worse.
"My name is Cassie.
I'm sixteen.
I have ... I have ... God damn it," I whisper shouted.
Suddenly I heard a branch snap to my left. I drew in a sharp breathe and waited for another sound to signal where the thing was. Another branch snapped, This time to my right. I pressed myself against the tree, willing myself to blend in. Finally, I heard what sounded like footsteps walking off in the opposite direction. I let out a sigh as the footsteps faded away.
How did I end up in here? Why ... Why me? I leaned back against the tree and found myself looking up at the sky. There was a break in the clouds, giving me a glimpse of a all too familiar moon. The same moon I and everyone else in this town saw for one week a year.
The moon that sends chills down our spines and let's us know that this week is the week that our biggest fears are realised. That's how I ended up here. To go looking for the brother I know is dead. They never come back alive, and after tonight neither will I.
So as I looked up at the glittering red moon, I came to an understanding that I wasn't going to make it out alive. Why did It have to be my little brother? Then I thought of my sister. My little blue eyed five year old sister with little blonde ringlets. I thought of the way that she wouldn't go to sleep at night unless I sang to her. I smiled to myself remembering the way she would go no where without her blue worn out stuffed rabbit with a torn ear.
Tears sprung to my eyes as I thought of how many nights it would take her to finally go to sleep without a lullaby. The worst part is even though I can remember those moments I can't even remember her name. No, I wasn't going to make it out alive, but I sure as hell was going to try for her.
Slowly I got up and backed away from the tree. As I turned to run I ran smack into it. The force of the blow sent me falling to my knees. I didn't want to look into its face. I stared at te ground and let the tears fall down as the thing grabbed my already tangled black hair and pulled me to my feet. I screamed in agony as it forced my to look into its black soulless eyes.
It scraped its nails against my face as I stared into its eyes. I let out another blood curdling scream as its nails sank deep into my chin forcing me to look at the moon. He kept his hand under my chin as he sank the nails in his other hand into my arm. I felt the nails scrape against the bone in the arm. Then i felt my knees give way as the bone cracked in my left arm.
The last thing I saw before the thing plunged his hand into my stomach was the moon.
Not a regular moon you would see in your town.
I saw a blood red moon.
The hunter's Moon.
