CHAPER ONE
The cold, damp air of the cave weighed heavy on Dalton's shoulders as he sat by the dying fire. The light in their cave is a dark and dreary place where the only sound that can be heard is the drip, drip, drip of water from the stalactites. The air is thick with humidity, and it's difficult to breathe even with its large opening. The darkness is so thick that it's impossible to see more than a few feet in front of you. It is found on one of the hillsides. The smell is humid and moldy. When they came there, the place had luminous lichen that gave the walls an eerie glow with bats or bat droppings and huge amounts of tires, animal bones, and carcasses. They have been living there for many years and flickered eerily across the rough, stone walls, casting a faint glow over his family's huddled forms.
Dalton's sons, strong and young hunters, now crouched in the shadows, their eyes downcast and defeated that evening as they were all waiting for their mother and sister to make food after the long day going to hunt with their father for meat and returned home empty.
Dalton's wife, Haper, a gentle woman with a face lined with worry, stirred the pot over the fire, her gaze distant and haunted.
As the food was taking time the boys went to meet their sister to tell them a new story about the market
Jonathan: "What's the market like today, Ava?
Do they have lots of food?
How did it go?"
Ava: "Oh, yes.
The market is full of all kinds of things.
Breads, fruits, meats, even trinkets from faraway places.
It went well
I sold all the baskets and brought back some extra food"
Hava: "And the people?
Are they kind to you and Mother today?"
Ava: "Some of them are.
Some of them just want to sell things.
Some still don't want to associate with us.
But they all have stories."
Jonathan " Ava, please tell us any story as we wait for the food"
Ava: "Go to mum she will"
Hava: "Our mum doesn't like being disturbed as she is cooking"
Ava: "Ok, I made a new friend today at the marketplace"
Hava: "Really? What is she like?"
Ava: "Not really she but he"
Jonathan: "Sis, you have never told us about meeting any man before"
Hava: " I wonder what prompted this?" The two looked at each other with smiles all over them.
Ava: "Can I not meet men again?"
Jonathan: "That is not what we are saying all you have been telling us is all about the girls so we were just surprised you mentioned a man this time"
Hava: "Let's leave her to finish her story"
Ava: "No, you two should forget about it I don't want to talk about it again"
Hava: " Ava, are you angry already ?"
Hava: "Come on, Ava.
You can not just leave us hanging like that"
Jonathan: "Yeah tell us
Is he cute?
Is he a human or a werewolf?
Ava: " I said is was nothing, okay
You are both making a big deal out of this."
Hava: "But it must be something if you are being so secretive
Just tell us what happened."
Jonathan: "Yeah, come on Ava.
You are our only connection to the outside world.
We need to know what is happening "
Jonathan: "We just worried, Ava."
Ava: "Ok, I will continue telling you guys about the man
I saw a human boy at the market "
He is not just a normal customer that came to buy meat from us
At first, I thought he wanted to buy meat the first time he came to our shop but he always comes, and today he got a rose flowers for me and also told me to go to a night show with him next week"
Hava: "Today was not the first time you met him?" he interrupted.
Ava: "Yes, he has been coming to buy meat from us for a while now"
Jonathan: "Wait Hava is that the put you get from this story? A man invited you for a show hope you don't plan on going?"
Ava: " I never wanted to tell the two of you about this but I just had to but hope you will keep it secret from Mom and Daddy"
Hava: "Are you out of your mind? Why will you want to take such a risk just because of a man"
Ava: " I have made plans with most of my female friends and they plan on helping me out to be able to go for the show without anyone finding out"
Jonathan: " Ava, you are a full grown-up lady you can decide what you want to do without anyone disturbing you. But hope the man knows who you are? Hope you have told him what our family is like and who is our father?"