Chapter One
The moon was shaded by the clouds, the only sources of light in the dreary and narrow street were the streetlamps. The boy walked down the street, his bare feet stepping lightly on the cool concrete road. He could hear a howl in the distance.
“It’s just a dog” the boy reassured himself.
He continued to walk. He couldn’t recognise any of the buildings in the foreground. He didn’t know where he was. Just then, he caught sight of something jumping from one of the house roofs. He didn’t see where it landed. All he knew was that it was big.
There wasn’t any noise, the silence was eerie, and yet he continued to walk on. He got to the next streetlamp and heard a soft growling. He turned to see what it was, but couldn’t see anything in the darkness. He started to walk. He was now in a brisk walk.
The growling started to get closer, the brisk walk turned into a jog. The lights behind him turned off as he passed. He reached a dead-end. The growling sounded like it was right next to him, but he couldn’t see anything in the dark. He turned to face the direction he came from. The streetlamps started to turn back on. Starting from where he started, and one at a time turning on then off. When the lamp, three down from where he was standing turned on, he saw a tail. It was dark, and mangy, like it had been trodden on numerous times. The tail soon disappeared into shadows. The light flickered off then the next came on and finally the light he was under turned on and the next thing he felt was a hot breath in his ear and he passed out.
Tobias woke with a start, his forehead and torso covered with sweet. He sat up in his bed, held his head in his hands. The nightmare was over and it was fading from memory fast, but his head ached. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. Quarter to seven, he got up and put on his favourite black shirt. For a seventeen year old he was quite scruffy. His hair flowed down to his shoulders, at times it got annoying when it got in his eyes. His eyes were hazel, or grey. They changed so often no-one could really tell, but they were hypnotic no matter what colour they were. It felt like those eyes were just staring right into your soul. He went downstairs. His mother was already leaving for work. So he sat on the lounge and watched the television for a bit before getting something to eat. When he sat back down it was already seven thirty. He decided it was time to go to school. He grabbed his bag and left.
Tobias was half-way down the street when he heard a voice yelling out to him.
‘Hey! Wait up will ya?’
Tobias turned around and saw his neighbour Shantelle running up to him. Her hair was the same length as his, but it curled at the tips while his was straight, and while his was black. Hers was blonde and in the sun it looked golden.
‘About time you stopped’ she said as she tried to catch her breath. ‘I was calling out for you for ages’ she tried to look cross as she said it, but she couldn’t help but crack a smirk in the corner of her mouth while she said it.
Tobias just smiled and replied ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you, but at least you got exercise chasing after me.’
She punched him in the arm. She could hit pretty hard when she wanted to. Tobias learned this when he told her that the hat she wore one day looked like a road-kill skunk. She had punched him hard for that and had tried to ignore him the rest of the day but failed.
She gave Tobias a sharp-toothed grin and asked ‘so have you done that English report yet?’
‘Nah’ Tobias turned to her and smiled. ‘I haven’t even started yet. What about you?’
‘Oh’ she dragged the word on. ‘I’m almost done’ she looked side-ways and gave a cheeky smile.
He could tell she hadn’t even started either.
‘It’s due the end of the week ya know’ Tobias yawned.
‘I know when it’s due!’ she snapped. Shantelle quickly changed the subject. ‘Hey, I hear your playing at the school concert next month’
Shantelle was right. Although no-one else apart from the band was suppose to know.
‘Yeah, we are. How’d you find out?’ he questioned.
‘Oh, I have my ways’ she again gave him a cheeky smile.
They got to school just before the bell went for rollcall. They walked to rollcall and after that the school had an assembly that everyone was to attend.
Tobias and Shantelle took their usual seats up the back near the door. An aging man in a grey suit walked up to the podium and cleared his throat.
Shantelle chuckled and whispered to Tobias ‘Hehe, look, Principal Shlieffin is wearing that ugly suit again’.
‘Now, settle down people’ he said it calmly but everyone stopped talking. ‘As you all know there is a special assembly next month. It is to showcase our drama department’s students and their drama pieces. As well as some musical items, and it will not be revealed until the day who will be playing at the assembly.’ He droned on and on with this for a while then changed subject.
Tobias found it hard to stay awake and the next thing he knew he was in the street again. He remembered at once where he was, and what was here. He heard a howl in the distance again. Then the growling sure enough came shortly after. Then something new happened. He heard a voice. It was deep, and rough. It spoke to him like an old friend. Yet there was something odd about this voice, it was familiar but he couldn’t think of where he had heard it before. Tobias tried to hear what the voice was saying but he couldn’t hear it properly. Then he started being pulled back into the sky and he was sitting in the multi-purpose centre. Shantelle woke him up and said ‘hey, wake up. The assembly is over.’
The rest of the morning was very dull. Shantelle and Tobias had English then Math.
At lunch Shantelle went to work on her English report in the library while Tobias went to the music room. The rest of the band was already setting up. Max was setting up his drums.
His hair was tied back today into a long ponytail, a brown so dark you’d think it were black.
Jo was getting the microphone set up. She had taken a different approach with her jet black hair by letting it hang down over her shoulders and covering her neck.
‘Toby!’ shrilled Jo, ‘I’ve told you about sneaking up on me’
Max starting laughing so hard he fell off his chair. ‘Way to go mate, not here five minutes and you already scare the shit out of Jo-jo’ he gave a sarcastic applaud.
‘Shut up Maxi!’ yelled Jo.
Tobias just smiled and set down his backpack, walked over and picked up his guitar.
‘So, what songs are we playing at the assembly?’ asked Tobias
‘Well’ said Max ‘I was thinking maybe we should play Break as well as Circles’ he gave a quick glare to Jo ‘but she thinks we should just play Break.’
Jo quickly jumped in ‘I only said maybe we should just play a cover song instead of doing one of ours for now’
Tobias looked at Jo then back at Max and said ‘We’ll play both’ he glanced at Jo ‘Alright?’
Jo just put her arms up and said ‘Whatever, we’ll play both then.’
They practiced both songs until the bell for the end of lunch went. Tobias went to his last class which was History. Tobias waited in the library for Shantelle to finish her last class. She met him out the front near the gate and they walked down the hill and home talking about their day at school.
Though Tobias had known Shantelle for years, she still surprised him by how beautiful she looked. Especially her eyes, her eyes were a bright blue, and very beautiful. Many had said that his eyes were hypnotic, but in his opinion Shantelle’s were the hardest thing he had to tear his view from. They got to Tobias’ house and he said goodbye to Shantelle and went inside. His mum was still at work and he was feeling particularly tired so he went to his room. Put his bag down. Took his shirt off and lay on his bed. He was quickly asleep.
Again, he found himself in the dark street. The moon wasn’t covered by its usual layer of cloud, and it was now raining. He looked around, he could see things better then he could the times before. The voice came back, he could hear it clearly now.
‘Hello Toby’ the voice said ‘I haven’t talked to you for a while now’
‘Who are you?’ queried Tobias ‘How do you know me?’
‘Oh, I’ve known you since you were born’ the voice seemed to enjoy telling him this ‘I was the one that talked to you while you were in your crib at night’ he couldn’t see the face of the voice but he could tell it was smiling ‘I’ve been with you all your life, and then one day. You just couldn’t hear me anymore. God knows I tried to get you to hear me again but you couldn’t. Until now’
Tobias was put off centre by the voice. It seemed all too happy to be telling him this. It was an unnerving feeling.
‘And now that you can hear me again, I can do what I’ve wanted to do for years’ the voice’s face was still hidden in the shadows, but he could see its eyes, its big, shiny, amber eyes. The eyes widened and the voice spoke ‘Now your body is mine’.
And everything went black for Tobias. The last thing he heard was laughter.
Tobias woke with a start. He jumped up. His face covered with sweet he looked around his room and found it the way he left it when he went to sleep. He put his shirt back on and went downstairs. His mum didn’t have work today and was still at home.
‘Are you going to school like that?’ she said with a tone that startled him.
‘What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?’ Tobias asked inquisitively
‘Well, your jeans are torn from the thighs down’ she said
Tobias looked down and looked at his shredded jeans. They had been in perfect condition when he went to bed last night and now they were destroyed. What had happened to shred his pants? He went back to his room and put another pair of jeans on then picked his bag up and left for school.
He didn’t feel like making Shantelle run after him today so he just waited on his doorstep until she walked past.
When Tobias walked up to her she looked at him and asked ‘are you feeling alright Toby?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine’ he lied
She looked at him, Tobias looked absent. He was just staring into space. She could tell something was off with him today.
Tobias was quiet all day, it was torture for Shantelle, this was the one day that they were in all the same class and she didn’t have anyone to talk to. She tried to get Tobias to talk, but all he did was sit, and stare off into nothingness.
Shantelle knew he had band practice again at lunch so she went up to the music room before he got there. She and Max and Jo weren’t the best of friends. Max and Jo always asked Toby why he hung out with her. But this was something she had to do to make sure Tobias was ok.
She walked up to the music room door and knocked. Jo’s voice came from behind the door. ‘It’s open’
Shantelle opened the door and walked in.
Max was the first to notice who it was. Rudely he said ‘What are you doing here?’ He emphasised on the word “you” as if to make a point. At that point Jo turned to see who it was, her facial expression was worse than the way Max spoke to her. Jo look disgusted that she would even step foot in the music room.
Shantelle cleared her throat and spoke ‘I’m here because of Toby’ she said
‘Don’t tell me he can’t make it today’ complained Jo
‘No, it’s not that.’ She assured them. ‘I’m worried about him. He hasn’t said a word all day. It’s not like him to be so quiet’
‘Why’d you come to us?’ it was Max that spoke up. ‘What makes you think we can help?’
Shantelle looked at him and said ‘You are his band mates aren’t you? I would’ve thought you might’ve cared what’s wrong with him. And if you could, let me know if he’s alright’
Jo walked up to her she was almost nose and nose and spoke through her teeth ‘I do care about Toby, don’t assume that I don’t. I’ll see if anything is bothering him or not. And if anything is bothering him, I’ll let you know. Ok?’ Jo spoke with such ferocity that it scared Shantelle.
They were so involved in their argument that neither of them noticed Tobias walk in the door.
Tobias was confused at why Shantelle was in the music room. He knew that she and Jo didn’t get along. Neither did she and Max for that matter. Shantelle looked at him and left quite quickly.
No-one spoke up for a while, they started into their practice and when they heard the half-time bell go. Jo spoke up.
‘Are you alright Toby? Shantelle said you have been awfully quiet today’
He should’ve known that’s why Shantelle was in here. To try and find out why he was so quiet.
He looked at her and smiled. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t get that much sleep last night’
His mind was still on those eyes, and the laughter from his dream, and the way his jeans were shredded that morning.
Tobias looked at Max and told him he wasn’t feeling too well and that he was going home.
On the way home his mind kept drifting back to his dreams and that dark street. Those amber eyes, they seemed to look right through him. Looking into the deepest parts of him, and that laugh. That laugh was something that filled Tobias with dread.
He could still hear that laugh in his head. Just the thought of that creature made him shudder.
When he got home, his mother asked him why he was home so early. Tobias looked at her and said ‘I wasn’t feeling well.’
Tobias went to his room and got changed. He lay on his bed and listened to his iPod. The music in his ears calmed him down, got his mind off the creature in his dreams.
The music was so loud that he didn’t hear Shantelle open his door and come in. He didn’t notice her until she sat at the foot of his bed.
Tobias took off his headphones and looked at Shantelle. For a moment they just started at each other, he couldn’t be bothered to break his gaze away from Shantelle’s eyes.
Shantelle was the first to break the silence. ‘I know something’s wrong Toby. What is it?’
She saw Tobias give her a wolfish grin. It disturbed her a little, she had never seen him give anyone a grin like that.
‘I’m fine’ he said, smiling. ‘Nothing’s wrong, I’m just not feeling well is all’
She didn’t believe him. ‘I know you Toby, you’re never as quiet as you were today. Now what’s wrong?’
‘It’s nothing’ Tobias replied. ‘I just haven’t been sleeping well lately’
He could see that she wouldn’t leave the subject alone unless she was sure he was alright. He was lucky to have a friend like her.
She gave him a quizzical look, and then decided to leave it ‘alright, as long as you’re ok’ she moved from the foot of his bed and sat next to him.
She smiled then gave him a hug.
‘Thanks for caring Shan’ Tobias said in her ear.
She let him go, and said she better get going before her parents start to worry where she is. With that she told him that she’d see him tomorrow, whether he’s at school or not and left.
With Shantelle gone Tobias felt strangely alone. He couldn’t figure out what it was. He felt as if his chest was hollow, but it felt heavy at the same time.
He gave up trying to figure out what the feeling was and put his headphones back on.
Then, the music stopped, everything was dark. He was walking down a street. Not the one from his dreams but the street he lived on. Everything was in shades of grey. He couldn’t see colour. There was this overpowering smell. He followed it to its source. At first he didn’t recognise the house. Then he realised, it was Shantelle’s house. It was one of the only two story houses in the street. He often made fun of her by claiming she must’ve been pretty rich to buy a two story house while nearly everyone else how single stories. He jumped up to the balcony and saw into the window of her room. She was getting back from having a shower. She was still in her towel. Her scent was driving him crazy. He felt hungry. He could hear her heart beating.
Tobias couldn’t believe what he was thinking of. He wanted to kill his best friend. He saw a claw reach to open the window.
Suddenly Tobias screamed ‘NO!’ the claw dropped. Shantelle was finding clothes. She had found some and was about to drop her towel when Tobias forced his body to turn away.
At first, his body didn’t respond to him. He struggled to get his body to move, he forced himself to move and his body stiffly began to move. The body snuck off the balcony. It jumped from the landing and hit the ground without a sound. He blacked out.
The voice spoke out from the dark.
‘I was in the middle of something when you interrupted you know’ it said angrily ‘I don’t like being interrupted when I’m hungry. And trust me, after not eating for sixteen years, you get a bit peckish’
Tobias was furious at this creature he looked around in the darkness and demanded.
‘Show yourself, tell me your name!’
The street-lamp above Tobias lit up and the shadows shrunk back into the darkness. What stood in front of Tobias frightened him. What stood in front of him was a wolf that stood as tall as the tallest man. It stood on its hind legs, no paws attached to the arms, claws instead. Five fingers with dark claw-like nails. The creature’s amber eyes pierced his own.
It smiled and said ‘Well, you can call me Hunter’
@1 month ago with 1 note
