Lunar Enchantment

Whispers of the Night

"We can't leave!" Aiden shouted. "Mom! My mom!"

"I'm already working on it," Grams said, pulling out a cell phone. "Gregory? Yeah, get to the Blackwood's house. Jake is one of them. He just attacked us and I think he might have hurt Sophie. No, I have Aiden. Get to their house and get Sophie and look for Sarah. She left with them."

Grams hung up the phone and turned to look at Aiden with a sympathetic smile. 

"Thank you," he said, wiping at his eyes.

As the car sped towards the mountains, tension filled the air. Gram's grip tightened on the wheel as she navigated the winding roads, her knuckles turning white. She stared ahead with a determined expression.

Amber lay in the backseat, her breaths shallow and labored, the makeshift bandage barely stemming the flow of blood from her throat. I hovered over her, trying to keep pressure on the wound while stealing glances at her pallid face, willing her to hold on.

"Amber's not looking so good back here," I said, trying to find the right amount of pressure to apply without choking her to death.

The darkness outside seemed to mirror the uncertainty of our situation. Once familiar landmarks blurred past, now ominous shadows in the night. The only sound was the hum of the engine, a constant reminder of our urgency.

"We're almost there," Grams finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence. Her voice was steady, but I could detect the underlying strain.

As we approached the safe house, hidden amidst the looming trees of the forest, a sense of relief washed over me. Despite the chaos and danger lurking outside, this place represented a glimmer of hope—a sanctuary where we could regroup and strategize our next move.

Grams expertly maneuvered the car to a stop outside the secluded cabin, and we quickly unloaded Amber, carrying her limp form inside. The interior was dimly lit, but warm and welcoming compared to the cold uncertainty of the outside world.

"Help! We need help!" Lauren shouted running to the door, pounding on it.

"Who is it?"

"Us. Uh, Lauren, Rory, Aiden, Maggie, and Amber!"

The door cracked and a man walked out.

"Maggie?"

"Get out here, Stan and get Rufus. We have an injured girl who needs medical treatment now!"

The man shouted into the house and ran to the car, grabbing Amber he rushed back inside with us following close behind. 

"What is going on?" the man I assumed was Rufus asked.

"Jake Blackwood is a Lunae. He attacked us."

"Gregory just ran out of the house. He shouted something about Sophie?"

"Jake attacked her. I don't know if she's alright."

"My mom," Aiden cried.

"Is Lizzy or Danny here yet?"

Rufus shook his head, his tousled black hair bouncing around his eyes. "We sent word for them to come here though and not into town."

"Is Jake the Lunae leader?" Stan asked as he worked on Amber.

"I doubt it. There is no way he had time to organize something like this."

"Who then?"

"I still don't know," Grams said, passing towels to the man. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know yet. The wound is bad, but it's not super deep."

"Um, is there somewhere I can get washed up?" I asked, staring at my blood covered hands.

"Come with me, honey," a young woman said, coming from a room across the house.

She wiped her hands on her apron and put her arms around my shoulders. She led me to a small washroom tucked away in the corner of the cabin.  

Once inside, she gestured for me to wash up, offering a sympathetic smile as I scrubbed the blood from my hands and arms. The warm water felt soothing against my skin, washing away the physical remnants of what we had just gone through.

"Thank you," I murmured softly, casting a glance towards the door where muffled voices echoed from the main room.

"You're welcome. I am so sorry for everything you've gone through. I hope your friend will be okay."

As I dried my hands I sighed heavily. 

Mom and dad really should have just taken me on their dig this time.

Stepping back into the main room, I found the others gathered anxiously around Amber's side, their faces etched with worry. 

"Well, I've done all I can do for her. Now we just have to wait to see if it was enough to save her."

Her chest rose and fell slowly. She was at least breathing.

"Open up!" a voice shouted from the other side of the front door.

We all froze for a moment as whoever it was started pounding on the door. "It's Gregory! Open the door."

Grams ran across the living room and opened the door as Gregory ran in carrying a bloodied woman with black hair. 

"Sophie!" Grams shouted as he laid her on the floor. 

Sarah staggered in behind him, holding her stomach. 

"I found them at the Blackwood house. Sarah's got a stomach wound and Sophie...she's tore up real bad."

"Mom?" Aiden ran to her side, sinking to his knees. "Mom?"

"Is she...."

"No. Not yet at least."

"Alright, Stan, take care of Sarah since she's still conscious. Maggie, do you mind assisting with Sophie?"

"Of course I don't mind. Where do we want her?"

"Over here. Next to Amber. Mindy, help me set up this table?"

The young woman with the apron came from the room that I figured out was the kitchen and helped Rufus set up a table identical to the one Amber was on. She ran back to the kitchen and brought out even more towels and a tray of various tools and medications.

Rufus cut Sophies shirt so he could get a better look at the wounds.

"Alright, let get this bleeding stopped and see the extent of the damage."

"Amber? Is she alright? Where is Amber?" Sarah cried.

"She's next to Sophie. Jake hurt her pretty bad," Lauren told her. "But she's alive."

Sarah nodded her head as Stand lifted her shirt a bit to see the wound. 

"Okay, so this is going to need to be cleaned and stitched up. It's not bleeding that bad so hopefully that's a good sign."

"Once everyone is patched up, we have to move on," Gregory said, peering out the windows. "Lunae have taken over the town. It won't take them long to track us here. We have to get to Mooncrest."

"Mooncrest?" I asked.

"It's the first town we ever settled as a species," Grams said. "It was all but abandoned when we started to live across the country. It's protected by the power of the Lunari."

"Okay. Then we go. After mom and dad get here."

"We can't wait," Grams said.

"Grams...we're not leaving without mom and dad. They'll be walking right into an ambush. We have to wait."

"We will have to go as soon as we're finished with Sophie and Sarah."

"Grams!"

"Rory! Don't argue."

"Fine. I'm calling them and I'm staying behind."

"No, you absolutely are not staying behind."

I pulled out my cellphone and called mom's phone, but it went straight to voice mail.

Mom.