I lay awake, alone, and alert in my bed. A loud, clam, bang went off. I jumped at the sudden sound. My heart thumped against my chest. It was the grandfather clock below. "Get a hold of yourself Vanessa!" I muttered to myself under my breath. I noticed my voice was shaky with fright. God! I was such a coward. So plain, so boring, so... ..so... so human. Yes, so human. Ever since I was fourteen I started to have the oddest, and the scariest dreams of my life. They never fit together properly. And this dreams weren't your average, wow-that-didnt-make-sense dream, no this was a lot creepy, more intense than I could ever describe. Now, at seventeen I was pretty much a depressing mess. In my dreams I have quick, random little flashes of the strangest things. Sometime I would see the same things, like a bad replay of sitcom you've seen million times, then every once in awhile, like 2-6 months something completely knew would happen. Almost like whatever was causing my dream was making new decisions, changing the course of our, or it's future. This odd reoccurring dreams only happened on full moons though, like, once again, a movie you've seen millions of times. Not very original. Anyways, they were very precise. I think the whole, full moon thing is a link to the reasoning behind it all. Every full moon my heart raced and I dreaded sleep. Only one time, in my three painful years of these dreams have I got a somewhat clear vision in my head. This one, this vision was the one I dreaded most, and still continue to do so. It was calm, silent, yet still scary (kinda like how everything goes silent and normal in a horror movie scene than all of a sudden something jumps up and your chocking and throwing your popcorn everywhere) February nigh, the night I turned 16 (which to my dismay happened to be on a full moon) told me what I didn't want to know, I wanted to be a clueless human going about my normal life...

The dream

My feet carried me against my own free will into a forest. Sounds of the light swaying of the trees surrounded me. The big, bright, jewel like moon hung above me. Twigs crunched beneath my steady feet. I was in a dark meadow, long grass swayed side to side. Fireflies buzzed around peacefully, without a care in the world. Oh, how I remember how envy I was of the stupid things. The February night was crisp yet perfect. The birds were asleep and I found myself missing their reassuring singing. I was meters away from the dark, enchanting, eerily quite trees towering over me when I heard a soft voice fill the air around me. It wasn't loud, just a calm, beautiful, immortal whisper, yet I heard it every where. Every direction I turned it was the same. I strained my ears to listen. My inconvenient rustling around stirred the grass making the beautiful voice hard to hear.

"Vanessa..." it quietly whispered.

The voice was the voice of an angle. one that belonged to a beautiful women, like the nymphs from the Greek legends. It was seductive in its own innocent manner.

"Listen to me Vanessa..." The sound of my name was like tingling bells made by enchanting fairies.

" You have a gift, an ability beyond the power of words. The legends are true. You must not be afraid. Be strong, proud, willing, and hold yourself with grace. You will make the nights good ones, evil will runaway at your command. You are different, you will rule. You will take your stand as Queen, but only if you try with your absolute all might. If you even make the smallest mistake you can start heading towards the path of Despair, pure misery. The only reason you feel as you hold it now is because your aren't surrounded by your true kind. The blood of the great flows threw your veins, hot and ready. Listen to your heart. And listen good. For time is running, and your kind are trembling. Save them, but remember to save your self too, for the nights of this great journey will be full of Love, Betrayal, Blood, and Tears. In thirteen months your journey will start, be prepared my sweet... Take all I say in care... Goodbye my dearest daughter..."

I rolled over to my side so I was facing my window. The mattress beneath me sprung silently. My senses were oddly stronger today. One, single, lonely tear slid from my cheek as I remembered that wonderful, yet awful dream. For a quick second I actually felt for the tear that laid its silent, wet, imprint on my bed sheets. I mean I could understand... Anyways, I told myself trying to remind me I had more important things to think about. Tonight was the night. The voice told me so. But is this good or bad? Will I finally meet my own kind tonight? Who is my own kind anyways? I gazed at the once again full moon. It was even more bright tonight, or maybe I'm just getting paranoid. The bright ornament looked as if it was staring down on me, like it knew all my thoughts, all my secrets. I never told anybody about this, they would laugh. Or they would say they understand, but of course they don't. Nobody does. Thats the way it is.

At 11:10 it felt like I had been up for hours. More that just one hour. My heart had a small amount of its original rhythm back. The more I though about it the more I wasn't afraid. As I was concentrating on my heart beat, smiling at the familiar myth its started to beat harder, harsher. I panicked, I wasn't freaked out before! It was pounding in my chest like somebody banging on a door that just will not open. Like your about to be chased down by a freaky murder and the damn door just will not budge! It banged against my chest like drums in a suspense scene. The bounding filled my ears. My breath was coming in cold, and had cleanness feeling. Then when I exhaled it came hot on my upper lip. It felt like I was about to break out in sweat because of the temperature. A tingling, unfamiliar sensation over grew me. Howling wolves were heard in the distance. A quick, sudden, sharp bang hit me on my spine. It felt like a blade, but it wasn't that bad. It was almost sweet pain. Desirable, but painful. It keeping stabbing right in my back, like a murdered intent on its kill. I curved my back in confusion. My sheets flew off the now springing bed. My forehead was hot and sticky. My upper thighs and ribcage felt like they were being torn apart. Almost like they were exploding, growing larger. I fell on the hard, cold wood of my bedroom. I rustled in the blanket in confusion. I ripped my clothes off with superman strength. I howled, something I have never done before. My arms and legs, my whole body felt light. I could tell something had change, It almost felt like I was high only without the out-of-it feeling. My hair was in clumps from the sweat. Then the pain really started to happen. I pulled and yanked at my hair, taking the unimaginable pain in silence. Hoping not to wake anybody up. When the pain stopped I was even more alert. I heard mice rustling in the attic. Owls flapping their strong, glorious wings outside of my window, yards away. I could hear everything, I could feel everything around me, I could even smell things I had never smelt before. I felt strange, yet familiar. Like a really old friend afters years of being away, just to figure out how much they have changed and how much more you like them now. I jumped up on to my bed. The sound of crunching filled my ears, I knew its was bones and muscles, its was like somebody gave me drugs so I couldn't feel it though I knew it was happening. Heavenly smells of dog filled my nostrils. I let out a long howl. I rolled around on my bed, in complete panic. Like trying to smolder fire only it wasn't working. Then, as quick as snapping my figures I heard a loud crashing and I felt the big gust of air flying by me. I landed surprisingly on all fours. It was about an 15 foot fall, little shards of glass fell around me. I heard the steady breathing of my dad far off in the house, nobody had heard me. Grass reached up to my muzzle like little desperate arms. I stared cross eyed at this unknown muzzle. I must of looked like an idiot. It was furry and long, like the snout of a tamed wolf you saw in Zoos. I tried to stand up, in frustration. I couldn't feel my knees bend. I panicked and tried leaping but It was hopelessly useless. I fell back on the grass. I kept jumping. I jumped twenty times with great effort until I finally realized it wasn't going to work. Then, without thinking I ran. I ran from my home, I ran from everything I knew. I ran like a predator in the night.