"I will do the Zombie check."
"You up for it?" Ajay asks.
"Yeah, sure, I am fine."
"Zare, you are not running off to confront a dangerous vampire this time?" Ajay laughs.
I know he's just trying to lighten the situation. I smile. "Not this time."
"Okay," he returns the smile.
I just want to be free. I want some space tonight. I want to be a wild wolf.
"I'll do the check after I am going to crash in the caves."
Ajay takes a deep breath, and Chetan stops talking to Dev. I wish people would stop being so protective of me.
"Zare, AB is creating an army of monsters. Do you think that's a good idea?" Ajay asks.
"I'm a monster too, and I can handle it."
"That was a bad choice of words," Ajay says, running his hands through his hair.
"Nothing further than the truth."
"I really don't want you going tonight, but if that's what you want to do, I'm not going to stop you," Ajay tells me.
"Okay."
"You're just going to let her leave all night with AB on the loose," Chetan says.
"I guess Zare doesn't like being in a pack," Ajay responds.
I don't respond. Honestly, he was right, and I have nothing more to say. I change into a wolf and run as fast as I can. Lifting my neck, I howl. The birds fly out of the trees.
Reaching the cemetery, it was hushed. I look around and smell, picking up no new scents. Running past the graveyard, I hear feet behind me. I turn around quickly. I am not surprised when I see Chetan.
"Ajay, send you to babysit?"
He laughs, "No, I wanted to be with you. I feel horrible about our argument earlier."
"Don't; you're right about everything."
"Let's just put the past behind us and completely forget about it and start over, so maybe we can be like Forrest and Smoke," he tells me.
"I would love that."
Chetan and I walk past the cemetery. The half-moon shone brightly in the sky. I rub my head against his furry body. He licks me in the face.
Chetan changes into his human form. I changed next. He grabs my hand and holds it.
"Do you really dislike being in the pack?" He asks.
"I guess, I just like being free like a wild animal."
"I think if the forest were different, Ajay wouldn't be so protective," he tells me.
"Me too."
We walk by the cave. I stop walking. Smelling the air, something is strange.
"You're okay?" Chetan asks.
"SHHH."
Looking around, I notice movement in the tall grass. I walk towards it.
"The fields are forbidden." Chetan reminds me.
"So?"
"There's probably a reason why," Chetan says.
"I don't care about Ajay's rules."
"Fine," growls Chetan, putting his head back.
We ran, trying to keep up with whoever was walking through the grass.
"Hey, stop running," I yell.
It feels like the more we walk, the taller the grass gets.
"Zare, we need to turn around," Chetan says after several minutes of walking.
It seems like the grass just stops out of nowhere, and we are standing in an empty pit of dirt. I notice houses made out of sticks, and they had leaves for the roof and mushrooms on the side of them.
"Is this an elf Village?"
Chetan shrugs his shoulders.
"The redcap goblins, you are not welcome here," hisses a medium-sized creature. I would say the size of a two-year-old toddler. They all come out of the houses.
They wear clothes made out of tall grass, but they had a peculiar red cap. They carry weapons made out of sticks and rocks.
"We come in peace."
"Like that other vampire, we are taking no chance," says a male Goblin. He has been here. What kind of havoc did he leave on these tiny creatures?
I changed into a wolf, then back into a vampire. "See, I am a special vampire. I am not like the one you met."
Another Goblin approaches me. He points his weapon at me.
"Why did you come?" He asks.
"I want to meet all the creatures and help them. We are on the same side against the vampires."
I look around. They look like mean, deviant, and malicious little creatures. Some of them sharpen their weapons.
"My name is Leader Rowdy. I will let you leave here in peace," he says in a huff.
"Thanks."
"Now be going," he tells us.
"Don't you think we can work together, werewolves and goblins?"
"Zare, let's not push our luck," Chetan tells me, grabbing my hand.
"I'll be listening to your friend," Rowdy says.
"And what is your relationship with the Vampires?"
The goblins all gasp. I can tell this was a very touchy subject.
"We have an arrangement with the cold ones," Rowdy says. I see the pain in his face.
"An arrangement?"
"We give AB our dead so that he can drink, and He leaves the living alone," Rowdy answers.
I can't imagine knowing my loved ones will be vampire food when they die.
"You guys are okay with that?" I look around.
"To be a part of a pack or clan means you have to make sacrifices," Rowdy says.
"No, we need to stand up against AB."
"Leave girl, or I have no problem gutting you," Rowdy says, stepping closer towards us.
"We are leaving,'' Chetan says, turning to leave.