I'm in the woods again, kneeling with a young man in my arms. He's wounded, a knife buried deep in his chest. I lift my face to the heavens, rain mingling with my tears. A guttural cry escapes my lips.
I opened my eyes.
My hands were strapped to the wooden arms of the chair I sat on, my head hanging low. My left eye throbbed, and my head ached. A groan slipped past my lips as I tried to move.
"Oh, you're awake," a man said. His voice I'd recognized to be the man from earlier.
The dim light of the small, cluttered room revealed a modest space. A dinner table sat in the corner.
A sizable bed dominated the middle of the room, and near the window was a table holding nothing but plastic flowers and a lit lantern. The man leaned casually against it, watching me.
"Where is this place?" I growled, struggling against the ropes. Jolting in the chair, I screamed, "Let me out of here!"
"There's no need to struggle, dear," he said coolly. "Untie her."
Another man stepped out from behind me and bent over, loosening the ropes. As soon as one hand was free, I swung my fist, landing a punch squarely on his chin.
"Damn it!" he snarled, his fist raised to retaliate.
"Jaden, stand down," the first man ordered.
Jaden glared at me, jaw clenched tight, but he obeyed, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him.
"What'd you do that for?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Well," I started, loosening the second rope. "one of them elbowed me in the face. I would not be the only one feeling pain." I rubbed my sore knuckles.
His laughter filled the room. "He wasn't even the one who knocked you out." He said.
"I don't care," I muttered, shaking out my hand.
"Come with me," he said, pushing himself off the table. "He asked to see you."
"Who?"
He didn't answer, simply walked to the door and held it open.
Outside, the moonlight glowed over the settlement. Lanterns hung on walls, their light flickering against the night. People milled about in clusters of twos and threes, while some stood alone, lost in their thoughts. A group of men laughed boisterously in a corner, their noise dulled the clinking sound of metal cups as they drank.
The woods surrounded the entire place.
We walked through a dark passage that opened into another section of the settlement. Wooden houses lined up, some simple and small, others more elaborate. At the far end, secluded, was a large wooden building. Its windows glowed with warm light, in contrast to the darkness outside.
A strange sense of déjà vu gripped me as I followed the man down the paved path.
He knocked on the door in a deliberate pattern—a code, perhaps. The lock clicked, and the door creaked open to reveal a man of average height with brown hair and a long jaw. He bowed slightly. "Sire," he murmured.
Inside, the corridor stretched long, with two staircases. One leading up, the other down.
The man led me downstairs into a living room, far grander than I'd anticipated. The hearth crackled with a lively fire, and the walls gleamed with polished wood. A marble statue stood near the stairs, and a man dressed in a sharp black suit stood stiffly by a door, his gloved hands clasped in front of him.
He gestured for me to sit on the plush couch, and I sank into it, glancing around in awe. The house felt strangely familiar, though I couldn't place why.
"He'll join us soon," the man said.
Moments later, a figure appeared at the railing above. He smiled, but it didn't reach his cold, calculating eyes. His hair was grey, almost silver, and fell neatly against his face, which was smooth and free of stubble.
Dressed in loose chiffon trousers and a thick blue robe that exposed his muscular chest, he descended the stairs with a casual elegance, a bottle of vodka clasped in his hands. He was as tall as the man sitting in the living room with me, only that he was slightly more brawny.
"Josette… you've grown into a woman," he said.
The man beside me stood and bowed slightly. "Sire."
"Thank you, Avery," the grey-haired man said, settling into a chair across from me.
"Am I supposed to know who you are?" I asked, my tone came sharper than I intended.
"Yes. Sorry, Avery mentioned your memory loss—amnesia, was it?" He clicked his tongue. "What happened, if I may ask?"
"I don't know," I said stiffly. "I woke up all alone in a house, my memories gone, eight years ago. I've been living my life since then."
"Sounds rough." He poured the drink into two glasses and gestured for me to take one before downing his in one go.
I shook my head and demanded. "How do you know me?"
He burped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Avery found you fourteen years ago," he began. "You were crouching behind a rock in the forest, totally drained. Couldn't speak. It took a week before you even said your name. You didn't tell us where you were from. Then, four years later, you disappeared—vanished into the woods. We searched for days but found nothing. Until now…which, of course, is all thanks to Compass, he found you."
My brows furrowed. "Who's Compass?"
The door which the man with gloved hands stood next to opened, and a man stepped into the room. My heart sank.
Marcel.
My wide eyes shifted to the grey-haired man. "You're the predator?"
"The one and only," he said with a smirk. "But you can call me Zach."
I swallowed, a lump forming in my throat. "I need to rest," I said abruptly, standing.
"Of course," he said smoothly. "Todd?"
The man by the door stepped forward. "Sire."
"Show her to her old room," Zach ordered, then turned to me. "It's just as you left it. They've cleaned it every month since you left."
"I'd prefer somewhere else. Privacy," I said.
"Thought you might say that. Avery will arrange it."
I nodded and followed Avery out into the fresh night air.
He led me to a modest house on a secluded part of the settlement. "Someone will come by to help you settle in," he said before walking off.
I hung around the corridor, outside; the night was alive with the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls. I couldn't stop thinking about Zach's story. How did I end up in the woods that day? Who was I running from?
I was probably seven or eight, yet my life was in jeopardy.
From the darkness, a voice whispered my name.
"Who's there?" I asked, peering out into the darkness.
"It's me," the voice came again, barely audible. "Marcel."
I rolled my eyes and turned to go inside, but he rushed forward, stopping me in my tracks.
"Can we talk inside?" he asked, glancing around nervously.
"Why would I want to talk to you?" I crossed my arms.
We heard approaching footsteps, and he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, shutting the door behind us.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
Marcel paced the room. Though it was dark, I could see him rubbing his palms against each other. "These people are very dangerous, Josette."
"Oh, you realized that and still sold me out? How the hell did I fall for those lies you told? Those men were never even after you."
"Everything I told you was the truth! I didn't exactly have a choice. It was to lead them to you or die."
"By whose hands, Zach? He doesn't seem like someone who could hurt a fly."
"Well, for starters, he's not human. Most of them here aren't."
"What are they, then? Stop it already, Marcel."
His voice lowered, shaking. "He's going to kill me now. That's what he does when someone outlives their usefulness. I only survived because I was the one who could find you."
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Marcel looked at me. In his frightened eyes, I could still see the innocence in them. "I'm leaving tonight. Will you come with me?"
I laughed bitterly. "Like you've given me a reason to trust you."
"I knew you, Josette, even before I found you. I know you're broken, alone. Every full moon, you're possessed by a curse that makes you do horrible things—some you can't even remember. And sometimes, you wake up to dead bodies, don't you?"
My chest tightened. "How do you know that? Nobody knows about the curse."
"You're looking for answers, Josette. I'll help you find them."
"You don't get it, do you?" I whispered, running my hands through my ginger hair. "I'm a ticking bomb. If you're too close when I go off, you'll be incinerated. I'm not angry because you brought them to me. I'm angry at myself—my life, my whole existence. I've lived a sad, lonely life for almost a decade. And when I finally start getting to know someone again, I know I'll just be the reason they end up six feet under."
"Josette—" Marcel started, but I turned my back to him.
"You should leave now if you want to sneak out unnoticed. Avery is sending someone to help me settle in. They'll be here any minute."
Silence hung thick in the atmosphere.
I heard Marcel's hesitant footsteps approach. He stopped behind me for a moment before moving on, leaving the room and disappearing into the darkness.
Tears threatened my eyes as I sat on the wooden chair.
What's wrong with you, Josette? You don't even know him that well. Attachment wasn't supposed to work this way. But the tears fell freely, as unstoppable as the rain. Why was I crying so much over losing a stranger?
If he's lucky enough to get away tonight, I found myself hoping our paths would cross again.
I couldn't stop wondering how he knew so much about me.