Chapter 1

• That strange feeling you get when you know you won't see the place where you grew up again, the courtyard where you once played as a child. My room. I feel a certain nostalgia and sadness. Part of me doesn't want to leave, but another part of me screams that I shouldn't be selfish, my mom has been offered a very good job in the north of the country. I'll have to go to a new school, meet new people, leave ... Will, my ex-boyfriend.
• As soon as I gave him the news, he got very angry and we broke up.
• I think it was for the best.
• I finished putting my suitcases in the car and opened the door, but before that, I gave one last look at my old home, it was a small two-story white house. There was a garden full of yellow flowers that mom had planted in her time, they were still there.
• The day was sunny. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and got in.
• "Ready?" Mom asked, in a whisper.
• No, I'm not. This is too much for me. I don't want to leave.
• "Yes." I lied.
• She smiled and started the car, we had a lot of miles ahead of us. Today was Wednesday, which meant that tomorrow I would have to go to school.
• God, I'm so nervous.
• Mom was my height, we were about 1.69 meters tall, she had nice legs and was also blonde. Sometimes we were mistaken for sisters, it was really funny, but I guess they also do it because mom's way is not serious or anything like that, on the contrary, she is cheerful and fun. I am the complete opposite of her.
• ***
• "Carolina, wipe that face off, we're not going to the lion's den." she tried to cheer me up, sent a shiver down my spine when she said that last part. "Look at this ..." she paused. "As a new adventure, you will meet new friends, maybe a boy." She smiled.
• A boy? I don't want to meet any boy, I just broke up with Will not long ago and it still hurts.
• I didn't respond, I just looked out the window at the forest, there was fog, it was really beautiful. The trees were very tall, we could see inside the forest... There were no animals or anything.
• "We're almost there." She announced, pointing to the sign that indicated the name of this town. Its name was Lewiston.
• I didn't get excited or anything, we had been traveling for eight hours and honestly my butt was numb. The houses started to appear, the people, the bars, the cinema, shops, and I also looked at the school. It was a huge two-story building.
• "Look, that's your new school." She pointed to the huge building in front of us. There were some boys outside, maybe the ones who stay to hang out after school because it's already getting dark.
• Mom kept driving until she took a road where there were no more houses, just trees.
• "Where are we going?" I asked, looking out the window a bit anxious.
• "To our house, didn't I tell you it was the only property available, the previous owners moved out a few months ago and it was left empty." She glanced at me quickly.
• Great, I'll be stuck in this forest all by myself. Mom will be working all the time. I'm feeling a little scared, I don't know what kind of animals are in this forest, or worse, if they are wild.
• "This is a very effective way to socialize." I said sarcastically.
• She laughed and shook her head.
• I'll be alone in the forest.
• "Look." she called." after all, we're not the only ones living around here." She looked in the rearview mirror.
• I turned to see, behind us were three cars, all expensive and black, the windows were dark so you couldn't see through them to see the supposed "neighbors". All that could be heard was the loud music they were playing.
• "Great." I turned my gaze back to the front, forming my lips into a straight line.
• Everything was going well, until we heard a noise coming from the engine. Oh no! This can't be happening.
• "Don't fail me now..." murmured mom, doing her best to keep the poor car running. But it wasn't enough as the car slowly came to a stop until we were completely halted.
• Damn car.
• "Damn it!" Mom exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel hard but quickly rubbed the area with difficulty, grimacing in pain, I laughed in the process.
• The cars behind us started honking desperately.
• "I think we have to walk the rest of the way." She started to open her door. I opened my mouth in astonishment, I didn't want to walk." It's not far. "She reassured me as she got out of the car.
• "It's getting dark..." I murmured.
• "I know, so we better hurry. Help me with the suitcases, will you?" She closed the door and went to the back.
• Reluctantly, I got out of the car too, closing the door behind me. The first thing I did was look at the three cars that were there, honking desperately. I reached mom who was looking for something in one of the bags, but I didn't pay much attention to her as my gaze was fixed on the car in front. Although I couldn't see the person driving, I could feel their gaze on me. It was one of those fancy, expensive closed trucks. It was black and in front it had the word Jeep in silver.
• "Carolina, tell those people to stop honking, they're starting to annoy me." She ordered.
• I frowned and looked at her. We didn't want to talk to them, we didn't know if they were friendly.
• "I'll just get the suitcases." I refused, as I searched for my suitcases and put them on the ground.
• Mom suspected and turned to look at those people.
• "I'm so sorry..." she began to say." But my car died, if you want you can pass by! Thank you!" She finished, turning around and returning to our business.
• The first car quickly started, passing by, while the others followed.
• ***
• "This wouldn't have happened if that car wasn't a piece of junk!" I exclaimed, feeling my legs heavy. My outfit consisted of worn-out jeans, black Converse, and a white t-shirt. Not to mention my black jacket that I always wore.
• We had been walking for over an hour, it was dark and the moon was already out. Only she illuminated us. Mom was ahead, I was falling a little behind, the two suitcases we were carrying were very heavy. The weather was cold, when I spoke, smoke came out of my mouth, I didn't know it was this cold in this town, and I only had short, loose clothes.
• Don't blame me, in my city it was sunny. The only thing keeping me warm was my jacket. I had tied my hair in a loose bun but a few strands had come loose and were in my face.
• "We're almost there!" Mom exclaimed from ahead.
• As we walked, I looked at another path to the right, I suppose the people from the cars followed that path. But that path was dirt, the paved road ended here. I left the suitcases on the ground to rest a bit.
• "God..." I murmured, taking a deep breath.
• Unconsciously, I looked at the forest, the eerie forest that seemed to be calling me. I don't know why, but I felt watched. A new sensation.
• "Carolina, hurry up!" Mom shouted.
• I snapped out of my thoughts, grabbing my suitcases and running a bit to catch up with her.
• "We made it!" She exclaimed, dropping the suitcases to the ground.
• It was a slightly large two-story house, but it wasn't the house that caught my attention, it was the huge lake in front of it. The huge moon illuminated it, it looked so... Beautiful. Something good came out of all this. I walked to the small dock that was there and sat down. I took off my shoes so my feet could touch the water. It was a bit cold.
• I looked at the moon, it looked so big and beautiful.
• "Carolina, help me here!
• I closed my eyes for a second. I can't even take a break. I stood up but something caught my attention. On the other side of the lake there was a house, it was also two stories. I would swear it's the same distance as mine. I guess the guys from the car live there. After all, we do have neighbors.
• I was about to turn back to go back to where mom was, but a howl put me on alert, made my skin shiver, and filled me with fear.
• Wolves? Are there wolves here?!
• No way.