CHAPTER FIVE:
I grabbed my phone and took a few pictures when I saw it lying there, about fifteen inches long, wrapped with a cord possibly intended to be a necklace, a closer look at it showed engravings, probably in some long forgotten dialect, if my father saw me holding this right now, he would probably freak out and start going on about century old bacteria, how unhealthy it is and all that but holding it felt weirdly good, I couldn't understand why but I felt oddly attached to it so much that I strung bit around my neck and shoved it inside my denim jacket and held it close to my heart, it felt good having it there like a cherished possession that held immense sentimental value to me and I held it dear, I took a final look around the cave but there was nothing else, the sun was almost at the center of the sky which means that it was almost midday, my parents weren't going to be too happy about my little escapade. Walking back home my mind was full of thoughts, thoughts about my findings, werewolves, vampires, witches, demons and spirits, it was utterly laughable, my life has been built around one principle and that was the fact that everything can be explained by science and logic using the five steps of the scientific method to arrive at a factual, logical realistic explanation and my logical answer towards those drawings was simple, people back then were delusional, there's probably a scientific explanation for everything on those walls but now wasn't the time to think about that, I had a far more pressing issue at the present moment.
The lights were on, almost everyone in our neighborhood knew what it meant, I was out and they were worried, "you're grounded" shouted my dad from the back door, I kept my head down, unable to meet his eyes, "where on earth have you been Lunar?", asked my mom her patience clearly running thin, "I'm sorry I just stepped out for some air, I was feeling a bit off just staying in the house" my lame attempt at what was supposed to be a lie wasn't as convincing as I'd hoped it would be, "you went back there didn't you" she could see right through me almost too easily, "it's just that I found something", I said desperately trying to hold what little glimmer of her attention I had left within my grasp, I pulled out my phone and literally shoved it in her face, the pictures of the cave seemed to catch her eye, she tapped the screen curiously zooming in on the images to get a better look at them, her eyes were a clear countenance of horror as she realized what they were, my father also noticed the change in her countenance, his eyes widened as he met her gaze, she gave a knowing nod signaling him to come over.
I could see the worry and panic on their faces as they studied the pictures but I couldn't make out what triggered those emotions, "was there anything else in that cave?" asked my father firmly, I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew one thing for sure if he found out about the fang later it would only cause a whole lot more trouble "yes but it was just this" I said hurriedly handing it over, there was no point to cause any unnecessary trouble, he took the fang and studied it, he ran his fore finger over the engravings, "are you sure this is all you found there?" he asked in a stern voice, I nodded hurriedly as I could see he was getting impatient, "are you sure you're being completely honest with me Lunar?" I couldn't help but nod, his voice was stern almost so hard that you could cut it with a knife, this wasn't my father and this wasn't the kind hearted and loving person I knew, he seemed off, something was wrong somewhere but what, why had my discovery thrown him off so much and why was he reacting this way?
It wasn't like him but whatever it was I'm sure he had his reasons. Later on that week strange people started showing up in Strucker town, the woods were sealed off, as if there weren't enough coincidences piling up already, the very next week he announced the big move like it was nothing, over the past week they'd grown cold, a lot had changed in a matter of days, somehow I'd expected it, I'd never seen them so afraid, so terrified, I knew that lies and secrets lay there buried deep within, should I unearth them?
From then to now it felt like barely any time had passed at all, the movers started showing up on our door step, their very presence reminding me that I was about to leave the place I loved, the place I called home, deep down I wanted to shout at them, "leave this place, you're not welcome here! Just go away! I hate you! I hate you!" I wanted to grab my bat and chase them away but it wasn't their fault, they took no part in it, it was just that there was something wrong somewhere but there were too many lies, too much deceit, where would I start searching for the truth? Morning came faster than expected, it was already the end of the academic year and our grade sheets were already in, being the daughter of two genius research scientists I was naturally expected to perform outstandingly and I always did my best, looking down sadly at my grade sheet with tears in my eyes, I topped my class again like I always did, I managed to through first period without any disturbance, everyone in my class had already heard that we were moving away and they sympathized with me, I was grateful for it but it only made me feel worse.
A few hours later and it was already moving day, we had to leave early as there was a long drive ahead of us, we packed our remaining luggage in the trunk of our ,battered, ancient, yellow minivan and drove out of Strucker town not stopping to look back. The long and gruesome drive to Shear falls was nothing short of excruciating but my mind got even more anxious as we approached Shear falls I saw the town sign read underneath "home of the lost" and the truth was I felt lost but I could sense a whole wave of mysteries surrounding the town but I felt even more anxious when I saw him.