Chapter 1 - Shadows Of The Past (1/2)
In the space of a few seconds, a person's life can change forever. New life is given, and it is taken away.
-------------------
Her bare feet squelched into the muddy earth; her hands spread out, feeling the long wiry grass. Her silky white nightgown clung to her body, drenched from the rain that washed away the blood flowing down her arms, dripping to the earth, and trailing behind her. The strong winds bellowed against her, a warning not to take another step as the storm above her raged on. She wanted to scream and curse at the sky with it, but something inside of her had snapped; her body was numb to feeling anything, including the small voice in her head urging her not to do it.
The girl stopped at the edge of the cliff and closed her eyes. She welcomed the shiver down her spine and the water spraying against her skin. The dark strands of her hair clung to her face, covering her ears, drowning out the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks below.
For something that would hurt for only a minute would put her out of a lifetime of unrelenting fear and agony. All it would take to end it all.. was one step, and she would be free. She opened her eyes and watched ahead of her as she took that step and plummeted towards death's embrace.
Esme gasped and jolted awake, licking her lips subconsciously as though she could still taste the salty seawater. But the tell-tale signs of her dream melted away as she became more aware of her surroundings the longer she stared up at the darkened ceiling. Her body was alert and ready to bolt at any second; her heart pounded against her chest in anticipation, with strands of her dark hair clinging to her clammy face. She glanced at her tattered curtained windows and then to the back and front doors, inhaling deeply to calm her racing heart.
She stilled, pausing the slow rise and fall of her chest and listened carefully to her surroundings. But there were no sounds. There was nothing but silence. That silence engulfed her as it always did, but she welcomed it with open arms. Silence meant she was safe; silence meant there was no 'boogeyman' waiting to snatch her up.
Esme released her breath from where she held it and sat upright from the mattress left on the cold wooden floor. ”I think it's time,” she muttered as calmly to herself as possible while raking her fingers through her thick hair, pulling the strands away from her face. The she-wolf glanced down at her sweat coated pyjama top and sighed.
”I was starting to like this place,” Isana, her wolf, added tiredly, her voice echoing in her mind. Isana was also unnerved by the memory Esme dreamt and added to the rising anxiety tying knots in her stomach and tightening her chest.
Some would find it odd to have a voice in the back of their head, but this was the norm to werewolves. Esme's wolf came through when she was sixteen, meaning her transition into a werewolf was complete. Her senses were heightened, strength and speed increased immensely, she could heal herself though not as rapidly as the vampires, and she could shift into a wolf from that day onwards. Esme and Isana could feel each other's emotions, hear their thoughts, and speak to one another.
They had been through a lot together; the past was painful not only to Esme but her wolf too. If it wasn't for her wolf, Esme was unsure if she could have coped as well as she has.
”We were never staying,” Esme muttered and reached for the elastic band on her wrist, pulling it back and letting it ping back into place. And like a spell that was suddenly broken, she snapped out of her daze and darkening thoughts. She drew the thin blanket away from herself and jumped up from the ground.
Isana didn't respond, letting the silence speak louder than any words she would give. Esme ignored the sadness swelling inside them and set herself into action. She walked towards her wardrobe, swinging the door open that snapped off the hinges, forgetting that one door should never be used and the other she was usually very gentle with lest it comes off too.
Ignoring the fallen door, Esme reached for her backpack and dropped it on the mattress before stripping and changing into black cargo trousers, trainers and a long-sleeved blacktop. She then pulled her charger out from her phone and away from the plug socket next to the mattress. She flipped open the old phone and checked the time before stashing the phone in her pocket and the charger in the bag.
Esme's gaze darted across the tiny studio apartment, taking note of the tenth place she had lived in. It was nothing special, just as shitty as the last place. Esme returned to her backpack, checking the contents of her whole life, all neatly folded together. Everything was in its place, including the photo of a young girl with dark almond-shaped eyes, dark brown hair and caramel skin holding onto a young lady with the same features, her smile dazzling to the eyes. Esme and her mother when she was six years old.
Esme's eyes swept past it quickly before her mind spiralled into those dark memories. She reached further into her bag until she grabbed onto the strap at the bottom and pulled back a hidden section revealing a few rows of rolled-up money, kept together neatly using elastic bands.
Esme pulled a few notes out before zipping up the bag and throwing it over her shoulder, leaving the key and an envelope of money on the small kitchenette counter as she opened and closed the door to place number ten. Her gaze swept across the concrete hallway and balcony overlooking the parking lot; the dull lights along the walls flickered, barely staying on. But Esme's gaze lingered on the alleyway to her left, escape route number two.
A flash of movement caught her attention, and she became increasingly aware of what time of the night it was.
”Was that my imagination?” Esme whispered to the wolf inside her mind as she started to rush across the floor, her eyes flicking back to the same area. Her dream was making her paranoid; she knew it, she must have seen shadows from the street light-
”No, someone was there,” Her wolf growled in response. At her words, Esme fled down the stairs, and before she made it to the electric gates, she threw a small letter into the landlord's metal letterbox in the side building before pressing the button to escape the caged metal gate. She decided on escape route three, through the front of the apartment complex. She threw her backpack on her back and braced herself.