The Evion

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 

Charlie was at the edge of his seat. His grandfather’s voice rose and fell with the suspense and though he and his sister were sitting comfortably in the living room of their grandparent’s house, the two siblings could have sworn they were in the middle of the dark and tangled forest being described to them. Charlie could almost feel the thick air around him and his breath caught in his throat for fear of the unnatural sounds and threatening shapes just barely taking shape in the mist.

            His grandfather’s voice fell to a whisper, and the two children leaned even further in, threatening to slip off their chairs.  The tension was as thick as molasses. Charlie’s grandfather saw the unblinking and wide-eyed stares of his grandchildren fixed upon him, and he couldn’t help but leak a slight smirk of pride. He paused for dramatic effect, rubbing his hands together lightly to mimic the sound of wind brushing eerily by in the night. The children had forgotten to breathe.

            “Then what happened?” Jesse asked. Her grandfather’s pause had been too long for her liking. Charlie jumped at his sister’s interruption. Their grandfather smiled.

            “What do you think happened? Out of the dark mist, one by one, emerged the pack. Ferrion was at the front, crawling on all fours like an animal. His broad shoulders shook as his heavy, clawed arms pounded the ground before him. His bristly fur rippled in the chilled breeze of the moors, and though the moonlight did not filter directly through the thick air and cloud cover, the power of the pack did not dwindle in the shadows. Some of the viscous beasts hung from limbs, claws digging into the trunks of nearby trees. Others gave impatient huffs of foggy breath along the edges of the clearing.

            “Ferrion stepped forward, his nostrils breathing in the sweet scent of his prey. As he approached us, he stood up on his legs, towering above us enough to dwarf even an eight foot man. His snarl of hatred was matched only by the look of disgust on his face as he looked upon the enemies of his master. Cruel and merciless, he wasted no time in idle talk. No threats were made, no final requests to beg for lives, not even a spurn of prideful gloating was uttered. The twisted hybrid of wolf and man simply drew back his arm for a fatal swipe. With his arm raised high, glistening smears of blood flashed in the dim light as the beast struck.

            “AAAARGH!” the grandfather called. The children jumped about a foot in the air.

            “Just as the monster hurled his deadly attack, I dropped to the ground and brought up the first stick I could reach. And what branch did I bring up but…..”

            “The one you tossed to the ground earlier!” Charlie said.

            “The one you sharpened because you were nervous!” Jesse added.

            The old man smiled.

            “It was none other than the very same.” He said. “Ferrion roared in pain and stumbled backwards, wincing even more with every step on his wounded paw. At that same moment, Emma grabbed the small grey pouch of powder and tossed it into the embers of our dying fire. I felt a sharp tug on my side and fell to the ground as the glowing ashes erupted into a blinding flash of light. The sound of the explosion shot a loud ringing in my ears, and I was dazed for a moment, only seeing shifting images before me as I was yanked through the bramble of trees. Emma covered her eyes and tried to knock me on the ground before she set of her distraction, but everything happened so fast, by the time I had gotten to my senses, we were so far from the camp site that we couldn’t even see the trail of smoke rising in the ground.

            “When the ringing in my ears had finally died down, I could hear the angry calls from the disturbed pack hot on our trail. Emma was dragging me as fast as she could, but in the dense fog, we didn’t have enough time to dodge any objects that popped out us, and a large, mangled root caught Emma’s foot. She tumbled to the ground, and though she tried to get back up, her ankle collapsed under her weight and she stumbled back to the ground again. The pack was only getting closer, and we couldn’t outrun them even if there was nothing in our way. That, on top of the fact that we had no idea where we were going, left us with practically no options. I had to try something desperate.