something wicked this way comes

⛧ III ⛧

We walked deeper into the woods, the path leading seemingly no where. 

I secretly was wondering if this was all an elaborate plan to murder me or something all the way out here so no one would ever find my body. Of course, that didn't happen.

We continued along in silence, everyone looking around anxiously but me. I didn't know what we were looking for or what to really expect to run into. That was until we found something.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Rose pointed out, jogging further up the path. 

We circled around what she'd found- a rabbit head. Decapitated from the body of course, but with missing eyes. 

"Alright, be careful. This is definitely their doing." Scarlet mumbled, walking away. 

I glanced back at the head, silently wondering if that would be me next.

I walked a little faster, catching up with Bryn and matching her pace. "Hey, where are we going exactly?" 

"Into their territory. They don't have a specific 'den' or base or whatever you want to call it in town, so we have to search for clues out here in the forest." She answered, smiling in a friendly way. 

"Oh. So do they have an actual house or are they just.. bush people?" I asked, feeling a little stupid.

"No, they've got a lake house, it's way further up the path though. They hang out here though to hunt or smoke or whatever and so they're closer to town." 

I nodded, biting my lip in concern. "How dangerous are they, exactly? Like, am I gonna end up like that rabbit back there?"

Bryn let out a laugh, shaking her head. "They're only this bad when it's a full moon. Scarlet will protect us anyway if they do anything, which they wouldn't. We're on good terms with them right now."

I gave a stiff nod, furrowing my brow with lingering concern. "Forgive me for asking so many questions, but, what happens if they bite you?"

"You die. Simple as that. You can't be two things at once. They'll usually get sick if they bite a witch, but we just flat out drop dead. It's really unfair if you ask me." 

"Well, that's reassuring." I replied, looking down at the forest floor.

"You'll be fine. If I were you, I'd be way more scared of Scarlet, to be honest." Bryn let out a stiff laugh, shaking her head.

Scarlet stopped dead on the path, Rose bumping into her from the sudden halt. I glimpsed what was on the path- a guy our age. One of his arms was covered in blood, some on his shirt too.

With wide eyes, Scarlet slowly approached, the three of us following behind. 

"Is that what I think it is, Red?" Scarlet asked, her voice edged by anger.

The boy gave a grim nod and Scarlet got close, grabbing his bloody arm to examine it.

We crowded around, all curious as well. It was a bite, teeth had punctured his skin deep.

"Jake was crazy. He just grabbed my arm and bit it. Denali and Wyatt weren't much help either." He said, his voice faltering. He seemed traumatized, probably in shock.

"It's the full moon. They're nothing but adrenaline and anger. You can come back with us, or let them see to you, your choice." Scarlet said, her eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"What's going to happen to me?" He asked, his brown eyes full of helplessness.

Scarlet's cool facade faltered for a moment and she looked like she really cared. "It'll kick in soon. Nothing but pain. You probably won't turn until the moon actually comes out."