"This is great!" Willow Addair was in a room and stood in front of a mirror, smiling happily at the dress she was wearing. "Your fashion sense is always better than mine, Kelly."
Kelly Harris - the owner of the dress and the room - laughed. "You're too modest, Willow. The collection of clothes in your closet can't be beat by anyone."
"Can I borrow this dress sometime?"
Kelly nodded. "Sure."
"Lucky you're one size," said Anne, another friend, to which the others agreed.
Willow's cell phone rang in her bag. Willow frowned as if she remembered something. Then she suddenly tapped her forehead. "Oh my God, it must be Grandma. I forgot there's a special dinner today!" She rushed over to her bag and grabbed her cell phone in a panic.
But the voice she heard in her ear was not her grandmother's, but Getrude's. "Willow... Willow..."
"Gertrude? Hello? What's wrong?"
"Willow... don't..." Then, suddenly, the phone was disconnected. Willow looked at her phone in confusion. Did Gertrude's voice sound panicked, or was it just her imagination? Why was the phone disconnected? Willow tried calling her home number, but no one picked up. How strange.
She turned to Kelly and her other friends. "Guys, I think I need to go home soon. I forgot today is my grandparents' wedding anniversary."
"That's okay," Kelly said. "Go home. You can't miss that kind of thing."
Hoping nothing would happen at home, Willow headed home.Willow ran her Audi along the driveway. The garage door opened automatically due to sensors, but she didn't park her car neatly, next to her grandfather's Land Rover as she usually did. She left the car in the driveway. He drove home in a hurry as she realized she was late for the family dinner. Today was her grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. The most special celebration of all.
Willow pulled out the ignition key and pocketed it in her blazer pocket before she opened the door and got out of the car. Before that she reached into her purse and grabbed her cell phone which was lying on the dashboard. After closing the car door with her hip, she hurriedly walked into the house. Hoping that her kind but rather nagging grandmother would forgive her tardiness. Only half an hour, she thought. Then, regretting herself for being persuaded by her friends to stop by the new apartment of Kelly, one of their friends.
"Granny! Grandpa! I'm home!" she called as she entered the house. The closest part of the house to the garage was the kitchen. She expected to see Harriet, the cook, there. However, all she saw were dirty containers and unwashed cooking utensils piled up in the sink. She concluded that the food had already been prepared on the dining table. Perhaps her grandparents were eating now. "Granny? Sorry I'm late."
There was no response. The house was so quiet. She didn't even hear the shrill voice of Gertrude, her grandmother's maid who was also her childhood nanny. There was no way they wouldn't answer because they were busy munching on food, right? With growing astonishment, Willow strode towards the dining room.
Were they teasing her for coming home late? Her grandmother was very disciplined and didn't hesitate to punish her if she broke the house rules. Once when she came home an hour late, her grandmother punished her for washing dishes for two days. However, today she was only half an hour late. What kind of punishment would it be to hide and leave the house as if it were empty?
"Gertrude, I know this is your silly idea to punish me. But really. It's not funny-"
Her words were cut off when she arrived at the dining room.
Her grandmother's dining table that could seat ten guests was adorned with a variety of sumptuous dinner dishes. Willow saw the rye bread that Harriet used to make herself, salad with smoked beef, mushroom soup, steak with roasted potatoes, vegetables and more. There were candles lit among the dishes, and a bottle of wine whose bottle was even still dewy cold. Ready to be poured into glasses. However, no one was sitting there. His grandmother lay stretched out near the foot of the table. Meanwhile, his grandfather sat on the floor with his back against the leg of one of the chairs. Both were covered in blood.
Willow rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing. Is this a hallucination? But I'm not drunk, she thought. I didn't drink anything with alcohol in it all afternoon, except for a can of cola at Kelly's apartment.
She rubbed her eyes repeatedly, but what she saw before her eyes remained the same. Without even having to get close, she knew her grandparents were dead.
***
Horror gripped her like the hands of a huge monster, making Willow choke. She stood in the doorway between the hall and the dining room, her feet glued to the floor. Her eyes drifted back and forth between her grandparents. Their deaths seemed like the worst kind of nightmare. Both of their necks were ripped open, and the blood was still oozing down the front of their clothes.
"No way...." she whimpered. "Granny, Grandpa..." Her hands stretched forward, as if to reach out to the two people she loved the most. But she couldn't get any closer. Her head was spinning, her knees weak. Finally, she leaned against the door frame, clutching her tight chest. Then a realization dawned on him. Where were Gertrude and Harriet?
Willow tried to brace herself and staggered. She had to find those two. They weren't in the kitchen, which Willow should have noticed immediately, as Harriet never left her post during dinner and Gertrude accompanied her.
"Gertrude! Harriet!" Willow dragged her feet into the kitchen again. The kitchen was still as empty as ever. "Gertrude!" She almost cried, because besides her grandparents, Gertrude was the closest person to her. She stepped back inside, something moving her to check the bathroom that the maids used to use. Willow stood in front of the closed bathroom door, she turned the knob and slowly opened it.
There Gertrude and Harriet were. On the floor of the bathroom, covered in blood flowing from the wounds on their necks. Willow couldn't even scream because she was too shocked. She trembled and staggered back. Then, she ran back to the dining room.
This wasn't a dream. This was real. Very real. Her family members were dead, and someone had definitely done it. Killed them all. As the thought came to her mind, she realized the fact that her own life might be in danger. Whoever killed them might still be in the house. Waiting to kill her too.
Oh my God! I have to get out of here, Willow thought. The police station was only a block from her house. She could run there as fast as she could, since she wasn't sure she could tell them what she'd seen over the phone conversation. Yes, run to the police station. They would help her.
Willow scrambled backwards, but her back hit something that felt solid. Not a wall, as she was only three steps back from the doorway. Slowly turning around, Willow found herself staring at a big, tall man, so big she had never imagined.
The man looked down at her with strange amber eyes. His gaze was like that of a wild animal. Then his mouth grinned, revealing sharp teeth like those of a carnivorous beast. His teeth were stained with blood. His hair was thick brown and straight up.
"Where are you going?" the man asked hoarsely, extending one of his large, rough hands to Willow's face.
Large and rough to Willow's face. His dirty nails were long and sharp. "I've been waiting for you to arrive. Is coming home late a bad habit of yours?"
Willow was too scared to move. Even as her nails traced a line down her cheek. She had no idea what this man might do if she tried to run.
"Leave her alone, Boris," another voice spoke from behind Willow.
She looked back and saw a young man dressed in a white shirt and a formal pants entering the dining room from the living room. His hair was brown with stubble on his chin and cheeks. Just like the big man, whom Willow now knew as Boris, this newcomer's eyes were amber and had a ferocious glint. It was as if they were looking at him as prey.
"Who... are you?" asked Willow trembling.
"Me?" The young man grinned. "Good question. Just shit down, I'll explain it to you."
Willow was too scared to move. She just stood there trembling and teary-eyed.
"Come on. You're so scared like a puppy. It's better to talk sitting down, right?" He poured wine into a glass on the table while laughing amusedly as if something funny had just been said.
"No, I'm not. I don't want to sit down. Who are you?
The man drained the entire glass of wine in one gulp before licking his lips and placing the glass back on the table. "Alright, whatever you want. My name is Lowell. I'm your father's best friend."
"Wha..what? My father?" Willow flinched at the mention of her father. Until now when she was 19 years old, she had never known her father. She thought of him sometimes, but to her he was an irresponsible man who left her mother shortly after Willow was born.
"Yes. Your father sent me and Boris to get you. We looked everywhere for you and finally managed to find you now."
"Why? What for?"
"He was worried about you."
Willow was confused. After all this time, why was her father looking for her? And who killed her family? "You killed my family members. ....." In the back of her mind, how could her father be that cruel, telling someone else to kill her family.
"I didn't kill them," Lowell said. "Right, Boris?"
Boris grinned and nodded. His sharp teeth were horrifying to Willow's eyes.
"Not us, Willow," he said hoarsely. His eyes narrowed like an animal about to pounce. Willow shuddered.
"I... I don't believe it."
"Oh, but you have to believe." Lowell smiled coldly. "We're not as evil as you think. We came in peace to take you to see your father. After all, your grandparents were old. So are your two servants. Death for them is just a matter of time. "
"You... you're so mean." Willow felt offended and hurt. "Why would you say that? They're the people I love more than anything. You have no feelings."
"Oh, our feelings aren't the same as human feelings, Willow." Lowell blinked one eye in an attempt to be witty but failed because of the predator-like color of his eyes. "Anyway, we didn't kill them. Period."
"Who then?" squealed Willow. Tears were now falling from her eyes. She didn't. She couldn't stay here talking to these crazy freaks. She had to get out of the house and go to the police station.
However, her hopes were dashed when Lowell moved closer, his eyes fixed on her. His movements were fluid and calculating, reminding Willow of the predators in the wildlife documentaries she had watched. Lowell stopped a meter in front of her. "I don't know. I don't care either. Let's talk about something more important, Willow."
Willow narrowed her eyes. "How exactly did you know my name? I don't believe your nonsense about my father."
"You're being stubborn. I'm a friend of your father's. We're as close as brothers."
"Very true," Boris commented with a chuckle.
"What do you want from me?"
Lowell didn't answer him. His eyes scanned the food on the table. "Don't you want to eat first? The food is delicious, you know. You must be hungry. Don't let all this food go to waste."
"Don't change the subject," Willow snapped between her tears. "Tell me quickly, what do you want from me?"
Lowell laughed. "Ah, impatient girl, yes. Not bad either. But you should learn to be patient. Wait a moment." Lowell snatched some bacon from the dish on the table and stuffed it into her mouth. "Wow, that's delicious. You're lucky to be able to eat this good every day." Lowell chewed enthusiastically. "Well, all right. I must first tell you something of the utmost importance in this matter. Right, Boris?"
"Just say it straight away," Willow said.
"Okay. Just get ready." Lowell grinned, his eyes flashing. "It's about your father. He's a werewolf."
***