It's a sunny Tuesday morning in Hoedspruit, Mpumalanga. Awakened by the cheerful chirps of the birds and the growing buzz of the city itself slowly starting to rise like the sun, Alexa, a twenty five year old freelance writer, wakes from her deep slumber caused by the amount of tequila she took in the previous night. Lying next to her still in a brandy-induced coma, is her husband Shane. Alexa's phone starts to buzz. "Who in their right mind phones someone at this time of the morning! I haven't even had my coffee yet!" Alexa yells. "What?" Alexa answers the phone impatiently. "Geez woman, no need to be rude, I didn't hold a gun to your head when you were shooting the tequila!" Alexa's friend defends herself on the other side of the line. "Riley what do you want this early? I saw you like two hours ago, can't I even get a bit of sleep?" "Oh come on Lex, plus you will be too glad I phoned you this early. I got you guys a place, about three kilometres from our small holding. A bit deserted, needs a lot of TLC but it has a whole lot of potential! I already sent a driver to pick you up from the hotel. Oh and grab your stuff, your wasting money on the hotel, you're staying with us from now, no but's!" Riley practically bullies Alexa into it, leaving Alexa no choice. "Fine, if you insist. Let me wake Shane and get everything ready. This place better be worth it!" Alexa ends the call and wakes Shane up. "Hey sleepyhead, I got some exciting news. Riley found us a place a few kilos away from her. You can finally get your chickens!!" "Wow hun, that's a way to wake a man up. Not just do I get to see your pretty face, but I also get the best news ever! I just love you" Shane smiles and kisses Alexa on the forehead. "Let's go get our little farm!" Shane shouts and jumps out of bed. "Glad to see you don't have the same side effects that I have of last night. I never want to see tequila again. This hangover is the worst!" Alexa moans. "Well babe, you better switch to brandy. I don't feel bad even a bit!" Shane jokes. "The dark circles under your eyes tells me a different story babe. Let's get ready babe" Alexa says and gets up. After about twenty minutes the driver arrives and they get in. Alexa suddenly gets an eerie feeling, the high-pitched ringing in her right ear begins again and she grabs Shane's hand. "What's the matter dear?" Shane asks worried. "Something feels off babe, I can't place it. But maybe it's just excitement. Too much of it!" Shane is worried, because Alexa gets premonitions and visions, and whether it's good or bad, they come true. "Look babe, the moon is full, and so clear, isn't that strange to see the moon this big this time of the day?" Alexa asks. Suddenly, she slams back into the seat, her eyes rolling backwards and she starts to convulse. Shane knew exactly what that meant. Alexa recovers and sleeps all the way to Ceres, the farm where Riley and Juan stays. Riley has been Alexa's best friend since kindergarden, they grew up together. Riley is a bit of a loose cannon, absolutely no filter and a attitude that will make a grown man run.
"Finally, you have one of the fastest cars we own but you take longer than my grandmother doing her errands in town!" Riley cusses out the driver. "Riley give the man a break. Alexa had an episode in the car." Shane snaps at Riley, not admiring the way that she speaks to her workers. "An episode?" Riley asks, the anxiety causing her to almost stutter. Everyone knows what Alexa's visions mean, especially when it leads to a full blown convulsion. ,"Alexa sweetie, let's go get you settled in. I'll make you a cup of cammomile tea and run you a nice hot bath. You stink, like tequila." Riley jokes. The girls go in and Shane and Juan unloads the luggage. "Do you really think this is the place Juan? I've heard one too many stories of the small holdings in this area. You know how easy Alexa gets scared. I don't want to get settled in just to move again in a few weeks." Shane asks Juan. "Dude relax a bit, this area is cool. No "problemos me amigo", don't stress so much! Let me go make us a blunt." Juan assures Shane.
Inside, the girls are chatting over a hot cup of tea and their very own blunt. "Feeling more relaxed my peeps?" Juan asks. "You know this actually just makes my anxiety worse Juan. Luckily only for a while, until I start forgetting. Anyway Alexa dear, tomorrow morning at eight we have to be at your farm. You know, finalise the paper work and all." Riley says. "Paperwork? Riley we haven't even seen the place?" Alexa rants. "Oh relax, you will love it, I know it!! It's perfect for you two lovebirds!" After a few hours of chatting and catching up, everyone goes to sleep. Alexa finally starts to feel at ease. She sees the moon shining through the window, and suddenly she sees something, something very definitely not human, it's yellowish red eyes glowing through her skull. She snaps out of it and tells herself, nowhere in Mpumalanga she should have to worry about seeing something real like that.