Chapter 2
"We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine."
-- H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
A Rude Awakening-
The next morning I woke up, it's strange but I feel like I had already eaten. I look into the mirror and see the new change of clothes Aomi's mother gave me was covered with claw marks and bites, what happened while I was asleep? I look out the window and see wolf tracks, but why would a wolf sneak in and mangle my clothes without hurting me? I walk out of my room and downstairs, I see everyone else already awake.
"Good morning!" Shouts the two sisters.
"What happened to your clothes?" Aomi asks.
"I really have no idea, I just woke up like this. I think God doesn't like it when I wake up. Hahaha!" I exclaim.
"Come eat, you must be hungry from yesterday." Aomi said. She held out a plate of vegetables and meat. For some reason this made me think about her dad. He may have known what attacked Aomi!
"I'm not hungry, but please may I speak to your dad?" I ask.
"Yes, I think he's gone out to the mountain front like he does every morning." She tells me. I head out to the mountain front and see a man standing there watching the sun rise. He was a tall man, roughly 6"0 and has brown hair. His body was that of an average man's.
"Excuse me, but are you Aomi's father? If so, can you please explain what had attacked Aomi?" I ask. He just stood there, not saying a word as if I was invisible to him. The sun rose above the horizon, and he turned.
"At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding. These words were written by Norman Maclean." he said.
"Indeed I am Aomi's father. Although before I answer your question may you first answer mine?" he asked me.
"Of course." I said.
"Why did you save my daughter? Was it a mere whim? Or was it because she was pretty?" He asks.
"I did it because I knew it was the right thing to do... If I had just left her there I knew she would die. I wouldn't ever let anyone die unless I absolutely couldn't do anything about it." I answer.
"Well said... I believe I can trust you. That thing I saw that day... It had the shape of a human, but a deathly presence came from this thing. The presence felt as if... it would suck the life out of your body, it was dreadful. I tried my hardest to run and stop it, but I was petrified in fear. I couldn't move at all, until another figure came out and attacked it. Aomi was caught in the crossfire and knocked off of the mountain... Ever since then I searched and searched for her. It was all my fault. If only I was not such a coward!" This man seemed to quiver from his own memory of this monster.
"Thank you for your help." I said. I walk back to the cottage, thinking where I would go now. None of these things seem to toggle my memory but the name Saul... Maybe I was asking about the wrong things? I should ask Aomi about Saul. I went up to Aomi's room and knocked on her door.
"Hello? Aomi?" I opened the door. She was not there. I could see the window opened, it looked as if a man broke into Aomi's room and ran off with her! I have to find her and get her back. She's the only person who I remember! I ran out following the traces of broken tree branches and tracks in the snow. They lead me to a place that seemed like a mansion. The wood it was built from was nearly rotten and it had an eerie feeling around the whole mansion. Who would ever think there would be a mansion in this deserted mountain home to wild animals? I ran straight up to the mansion, the door was locked tight and it seems that nobody is inside. I knock down the rotten door and look around inside, even then I barely saw anything, it was so dark even in broad daylight.
"Hello?" I yell into the darkness. There was no response, I walk up the stairs. Just when I reach the top staircase I hear the door open, a tall dark man walked into the room along with two other women with him. Aomi was not there, but the other two women and that man somehow seem strangely familiar...
"Are the preparations ready for tonight?" Asks the first woman.
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Said the man.
"I smell something... it smells like a wolf's sneaked into our home..." Said the second woman.
"It doesn't matter, the whole place reeks of wolves, it's only natural to think that." Said the first woman. Who were these people? I wouldn't want to approach them and ask... they don't seem like the kind of people you just have an idle chat with. I'd best be on my way if I want to find Aoni. I walk towards the stairs in the back.
"Where do you think you're going?" Said the man. How could he know I was there?! Something tells me these people are not ordinary... Suddenly the man appears in front of me, I couldn't even follow his movements clearly!
"You'll make good company for our other guest." He said before grabbing me and taking me to a basement full of corpses. He throws me into a dark room.
"Enjoy your stay... while you're alive." He said.
"Umm... hello?" Said a voice.
"Hello? Who's there?" I ask.
"My name's Aomi, I was caught and taken here." She tells me.
"Aomi! I was out searching for you! I'm so happy I made it before anything happened to you." I said.
"Oh, it's you! The person who saved me... You went through all the trouble to find me again? Thanks... but now we're both stuck and it's all my fault!" Aomi start to cry.
"Don't worry, it'll work out somehow." I said. I held her close with me. I know this feeling... I've felt it before, like that first time I woke up in the graveyard. This exhilarating feeling. Is it because I'm with Aomi? I don't know but... I know I can bust us out of here now! I feel it, the energy running through my veins, the power surging in my arms... I feel like I could even break through a brick wall!
"Aomi, you may think I'm crazy for saying this... but I think I can bust us through this wall." I tell her.
"What?! Are you crazy? You'll kill yourself doing that!" Aomi exclaims in worry.
"I don't know why, but whenever I'm by your side I feel a strange energy rise in me... I need your full support if I want to try breaking us out before we're killed!" I said.
"...Ok. I trust you, if you believe you can do it, I'll put all my trust in you!" Aomi says to me. I know she trusts me, I know I can do this. I dash at the wall as fast as I can and tackle it!
"ARGH!!!! MY ARM!!! Oh my God! Ow!" I yell.
"Oh my God are you alright?!" Aomi asks me. I got up and checked the place where I tackled the wall. I noticed there was actually a large crack in it!
"Aomi, I think the wall's nearly broken, if we can just open this crack we can get out!" I tell her.
"Ok, but with what? You don't look like you can tackle it again, but I can't do anything either." She says.
"Well... Damn it. Let's look for something..." I said.
"Wait, do you hear that?" I ask her. She shook her head no. The sound got louder, it sounded like scratching... The wall burst open, to see the same pack of wolves that helped me before!
"Get on my back." I tell her. I ran along the wolves, I was running a lot faster than before, and Aomi seemed much lighter!
"Why are they helping us? This seems a bit strange, doesn't it?" She asks.
"They helped me last time, and it looks like they came back to help again." I said. I heard another sound again, it seemed to be getting closer and closer, it was him again! That strange man!
"Aomi, let them take you back to the cottage, I'll stay back here and deal with him." I said. I let Aomi down on one of the wolves.
"That's crazy! You can't stop someone like him!" She yelled. Aomi was carried off on the wolves while the man followed.
"Where do you think you're going?" I said.
"So insignificant." He said. It was dark out, and the moon was barely out. I jump at him, but he appears behind me right before I could touch him.
"You seem to be getting slower than last time." I said. I grabbed hold of his arm before he could attack me through pure instinct.
"Hmm... You may be more troublesome than I thought." he said. He appeared to my right this time, he attacked me with his arm again, but I dodged it and appeared behind him. I thrashed him with my body as hard as I could.
"I know what you are... you're one of them aren't you? I'll withdraw for now, but next time I see you, I won't hold back." He said right before he disappeared into the dark. I hurried back to the cottage.