Thirty One Days

Dinner

"My name is Jack Harris and I'm from a long line of Pure Blooded Werewolves." The stranger had joined us at the dining table and was enjoying a piece of chicken and bread, Istvan was at full attention now while Madam Luna seemed to be enchanted. "I over heard Madam Luna talking to a bookstore owner that happened to be my cousin, inquiring about a specific book."
"The Professors Journal?" I asked trying to place the accent that the man, Jack, had. Madam Luna had called him the America Werewolf and, from looking at his sun warmed skin and black hair, I could only imagine she meant Native American.
Jack nodded with a smile, "Yes," As he took a sip of water I noticed how long his fingers were, then how long his arms were and a odd feeling of familiarity washed over me.
I jumped slightly as Madam Luna touched my hand, I unknowingly had been clenching my fork tightly.
"Tell them about your people." Madam Luna said as she began clearing the dishes from the table, not letting Istvan or I help when we tried to. "You both need to sit and learn."
Jack, who had golden eyes, watched us for a moment before clearing his throat. "My grandfather, many years ago, lived in a town east of London. He worked for the towns Lord who distrusted anyone that didn't look like him, as was common in that time. However, the Lord liked my grandfather."
"Are you talking about the, like, 1300's?" Istvan asked, he had been listening intensely since the man had arrived. His hair a mess as he kept running his fingers through it.
"Roughly, yes, a short period after the Black Plague." Jack answered patiently, "My grandfather was the first person the Lord told about his plan. His plan to purge their town of sin."
"You mean," My voice drifted off as I found what I was thinking too hard to say, a lump growing inside of my throat. I pulled at the collar of my sweater and vaguely wondered if anyone else was how.
Jack's eyes locked into mine for a moment and I felt something wild stir inside of me. He broke away, "Yes. Anyways, my grandfather did what anyone else would and alarmed the town. The Lord, who was backed by the Kings men, didn't hesitate to execute anyone how disagreed."
"Your grandfather disagreed," Istvan pointed out with confusion, "How did he-"
"Survive?" Jack finished the sentence for him, "The Lord believe he had the right intentions in his heart but the devil took a hold of his mind. He was locked up for twenty days until,"
"Until what?" I asked.
"Until a full moon." Istvan answered, our eyes meet for a moment and I felt myself swim in the flowing green of his eyes before pulling myself out and back to Jack.
Jack was silent for a moment, watching us, his long, pointed fingers spread out across the table as Madam Luna joined us once again. She laughed before clearing her throat.
"Where were you Mr. Harris?"
He smirked, "Yes, a new moon rose on the twenty first day and, back in the day, there was no controlling the power the surged. In short, he busted out of jail and ended up running in the path of the Lord. Who, undoubtably, saw him and attempted to kill him." Jack paused and sipped some water, "Needless to say, my grandfather beheaded the man, in hopes of ending the Slaying, then vanished to the new lands."
"North America?" I asked for clarification which he nodded to in response.
"But the Slaying didn't stop," Istvan mumbles, "did it?" We all already knew the answer but somehow hearing it aloud would make it all seem real.
"No." Jack's voice grew heavy and dark as he continued. "The Slaying spread like a wild fire and soon every Beast or Person of the Night were being hanged, executed, or torn apart in every town center."
"What about Professor Thorne?" I wondered out loud as I hoped he had some piece of information about him. Instead he just shrugged.
"Many people helped our ancestors escape from the wrongful prosecution, and the ones that were caught, received the same fate as us." We all sat a moment in silence and I realized that we were all connected in some way, somewhere down our blood lines our ancestors had meet, maybe traveled together, escaped together. Our past were connected and now our futures were as well.
"And the Slaying still goes on today," Jack's voice broke the silence, I couldn't look at him though. Knowing that someone out there in the world is trying to hunt me down, to do what? Kill me? Study me? The thought of this made me nausea and my head spin.

Istvan was sitting outside on Madam Luna's cars hood, pulling leaves apart and watching them float down to the ground. A small pile had accumulated. As I approached he looked up at me and attempted to smile, but his usual vibrancy was missing.
Sitting next to him on the car hood I wrapped my arm around his and leaned on him. "It's a cold night."
"I don't feel it," He said as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, "Do you want my jacket?"
I shook my head, "Thank you though,"
We sat in silence for a moment or two more, listening to the sound of birds and the wind rustle through the greenery around us. The sun had gone down hours ago but the woods around us still felt alive. Almost calming. It was a welcoming feeling after the informational dinner we had. And the stress of the past week, disappointment of the doctors response, and nightmare ridden sleep.
"To think you use to just be my friends sister," Istvan whispered, I glanced up at him and failed to hide my smile. His green eyes have finally lightened up again.
"To think I used to get so annoyed when you and Dylan hung out all the time,"
"You don't now?" He teased with a smirk as he pulled his hair out of his face and moved closer to me.
I bit my lip to hold back my smile, "Not so much," I admitted. Istvan pulled my lip out from my teeth, his fingers lingering on my chin as my cheeks grew warm.
A twig snapped and we both turned around simultaneously, I half way excepted to see the Cloaked Skelton. However, something, or rather someone, was standing in the bushes. It was almost impossible to tell much about the figure other than they were shorter with a slender built, and seemed to be brave. They stared back as us, with yellow eyes, not moving forward or backwards.
Tension in the air grew so thick it could have been cut with a knife. An owl cooed in the distance making the person flinched very slightly, enough to make me second guess myself.
Then, before we knew it, the person had sprinted off into the woods. Istvan immediately grabbed onto my hand and began pulling me back towards Madam Luna's house. looking back every few steps. I couldn't take my eyes off the person though, as the ran away from us, I couldn't help but wonder who or what they were. What they wanted.
The familiar feeling of panic began to settle in the pit of my stomach again.
As we enters the house Jack, who was standing in the living room door way nailing something for Madam Luna, looked over at us.
"What is it?" He said as he began sniffing The air and placed the hammer down on the kitchen table. Istvan shut the door behind us. "Someone was out there?"
Istvan and I were a loss of words, we spit out broken sentences as our pale faces turned scarlet. Jack stared down at us in confusion before turning around swiftly to Madam Luna. Who had very quietly managed to walk into the kitchen and scare us with eyes pure white, face pale, and body trembling.
"It's a Slayer,"