I escape through my window and run into the woods. I find a deer and I sink my fangs into it. I do this every night for a while. I have one of those nights where I don’t remember much. I remember going to Harper’s but that’s it. I wake up and fell really energized. I run around my room. I do jumping jacks. I do sit ups and pushups. I exercise for a while then I sleep some. I float down from my window that night. I run to Harper’s. I knock. No response. “Harper? Are you okay? Can I come in?”

“No! Leave me alone!” She sounds completely and utterly afraid.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you” I open the door and walk in. I close it behind me. She’s pressed against the counter across the room. I step forward. She steps back more. She looks like she’s about to cry. “Ever since I turned eighteen I’ve had two nights where I don’t remember very little of what happens. Last night was one of them. All I remember is knocking on the door. Then waking up in bed. What happened last night? Did I hurt you?!” I step closer and this time she doesn’t step back. She pulls back some hair off her neck.

“This is what happened last night” I see four bite marks in her neck. I speed over to her and stop by grabbing onto the counter. “Sorry still getting the hang of this. I did that to you?” I reach forward and go to touch it. She flinches and tries to pull back. “I promise I had no idea I did this to you. Let me help you clean it up.” I pull away. I walk over to a drawer and open it. I close it and open a different one. I close that one and open a different one till I find a wash cloth. I get it wet with ice cold water. I look at her. I reach forward and gently place it on her neck. I race into to the bathroom. I grab a bandage and ointment. I run back to her na d nearly run into her. So sweet. Such a sweet smell. I need more. I shake my head. I take the cloth off her neck and gently dab it with my jacket sleeve. I place ointment on her juicy looking neck. I feel harper grab onto my jacket and squeeze. “I’m so sorry. Just a bandage then it’s good.” I carefully place the bandage on the four gruesome looking bite marks that I left without knowledge. She squeezes harder. She releases my jacket when I’m done. I walk toward the door. My head spinning because of her delicious smelling blood. I grab the door nobe but I hesitate. I feel Harper grab my wrist. I let go of the door. My thirst for blood increasing dramatically with the single touch. I grab her wrist hard. “I’m just trying to keep you safe. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid of getting hurt by you. You won’t.” I let go of her wrist and swing open the door. I walk out. I start to run and I can her Harper screaming for me to come back. I hear her fall. I immediately smell the sweet perfume of blood. I stop and turn toward her. I start to walk back to her but hesitate. I turn back around and run. I find a large animal and attack. I devour all its blood. A twig snaps and I turn my gaze toward the sound. I see, standing not more than a few inches away, Harper, staring at me, petrified.

“Now you’ve seen the true monster I am. Go! Run! Leave before… before I attack you again. I’m still hungry but I don’t want to hurt you! Go!” she turns and takes off into the dark frigid woods. I sigh. I run to the Madern Home. When I climb through the window to my jail cell the head Mistress, Madern is standing in the door way with the light from the hall making her look regal and mysterious. “Come with me” I walk over to her and expect her to grab me by the hair. But she doesn’t. She just begins to walk away. I follow her and the whole time I just want to dig my sharp fangs into the neck of the women, who for eight years put me through heck. She leads me into the front where it is cold and dark. I can see her walking with a slight limp which I’ve never noticed before. She turns toward me her ice eyes nearly penetrating me. Her shape flickers. She leans over and I see her body change. She stands straight and her shape turns from an old woman to a shadow figure. She stands with a slight hunch. She stares at me with yellow crescent eyes. I relize she has long arms with shadowy wisps hanging down. “You’ve finally come to age. We’ve been waiting so very long.” She says, her voice sound nothing like her own. It’s now a deep obnoxiously raspy sound. “We’ve been discussing a way for quite some time, to figure out how to keep you from escaping. We finally came up with the idea of killing that poor little boy and blaming it on you, for us to have reason to lock you up. You still somehow have been able to get out but lucky for us you got tied down. Now we can finally attack.” She lunges and I just barely move quickly enough to avoid her razor-sharp claws that are nearly hidden by shadows. She growls. “Your quicker than we thought but not quick enough.” She cackles, the sound echoing through the trees. She lunges again and she grazes my arm this time. I cry out and reach for it. I clumsily lung at her while continuing to hold my arm. She moves out of my way quickly. She turns toward me and attacks again. I move out of the way long before she reaches me. I start to learn her attack method and start to avoid her grasp. I finally lung at her and dig my fangs into her. She cries out and throws me off. “If you don’t cooperate we’re going to hurt you precious girl. My friends are there now. One false move and they’ll kill her.” I stop and just stare at her piercing eyes. She hits me and sends me flying into a nearby tree. I grown in pain. “There you go. Now keep cooperating and we won’t hurt your little friend.” I try to sit up but can’t.

“Your one of the crescent demons, aren’t you?” I breath out. She laughs and it makes my bones shake.

“Your one smart boy. I guess that’s what you get when you read. Knowledge.” How did she know? Has she known this whole time? She slithers over to me. I get my strength back just in time. When she’s right over me and distracted. I strick. I dig my fangs into her again. I remember I stole a knife from Harper’s. I start to rapidly stab head mistress till she collapses to the ground. I take my fangs out of her and look at her dark, motionless body.I wait for a moment before rushing into the woods towards Harper’s cabin. I throw open the door. Harper is standing there by the stove cooking. Perfectly safe. She stares at me shoked. I ruxh in. I trun off the stove. “We need to go now! Pack some food and supplies. Pack somekind of weapon as well.”

“Whats going on?”

“Their coming for us. The Crescent demons. They are real. Not just a fairy tale and their coming for us. I just killed their leader and they know I care for you so we need to hide before they find us.” She hesitates before starting to grab food. I rush into Harpers room. I find to bags and put some clothes in one. I rush into the bathroom and grab some supplies out of there and put it with the clothes. I go into her parent’s old room and get what’s left of her dad’s cloths and shove it in the bag. I run into the kitchen I put the food Harper got out, into the other bag. I sling them over my shoulders, pick up Harper in my arms, and run. I run and run and don’t stop even when my lungs begin to burn. We come across an abounded cabin. I walk in. I set Harper down on her feet. “We should be safe here for a while. We can eat and get some rest.” I sit down on the cold, dusty floor and Harper joins me a moment later. I open one of the bags and pull out some beans. I open it with my fangs and hand it to Harper. I watch her slowly eat them. I get a can of fruit out and dig my fangs into it. I drink all the juice then I open it and eat the fruit. I let Harper lay down and rest while I keep watch. I start to get fidgety. I pace back and forth. “Need to feed.” I whisper this franticly. I continue to whisper this and pace. I hear Harper sit up.

“Louis?” I look at her. I run to her and sit down in front of her.

“Yes? Do you need something? Do you want me to sing to you?” She holds out her arm to me. “I can’t I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You need to fee. We’re stuck here for a while. I don’t want you to faint. I know you need it. Please, I’m okay with it.” I hesitantly pull her closer. I take her arm in my warm, rough, fingers. I slowly put her arm up to my mouth. I bite down. As I begin to suck I can feel it travel through my whole body and give me more energy than another bood I’ve ever had. I begin to feel bad though. I look up and see her face strunched up in pain. I relese her arm. I pull her closer and I grab the ointment I packed and a bandage. I spreed the oinment gently then place the bandage on. I see a small tear roll down her flushed, pale looking cheeks. I tun her away form me and pull her against my body. “Are you alright?”

“Mhm”

“Are you sure? I know it probably hurt. I feel so ashamed. I shouldn’t have done that even if you did say it was okay. I wish they didn’t know about you so I could keep my distance so you don’t get any more hurt than you already are.”

“I’m okay. I would let you sink your fangs into me a million times if it meant you were never hungry.” She pulls away and turns toward me. She reaches forward and whips her left-over blood off my mouth and onto my jacket. She leans in. My mind starts to go crazy. I stand up quickly. I walk over to the small back window.

“We should get going again.” I turnr toward her and she’s just sitting there, staring at me with needing eyes. I ignore them. I pick the two bags and then I pick up Harper in my arms.

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere. I was thinking of going to my old home and get more supplies from there if my parents will allow it.”

“Okay.” I Speed away.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I put you in danger. It’s killing me. I never should have let you stay with me when I was in the woods. I never should have done any of it. You wouldn’t be in danger if I would have just stayed away from the very beginning. I’m very sorry.” I whisper not expecting a reponse but just wanting to get it out. I feel her grab onto my jacket tighter.

“I forgive you.” She whispers. Shortly after I hear her snoring softly. I pull her closer to my body. I start to see the lights of the village where I never belonged. Where I never had friends for more than a day. The village of Eaflafnivian. I slow as I start down the large hill leading into town. When I hit the bottom of the hill I turn left and head into the trees. I start to run when I hit the beginning of the forest. I navigate through the trees till the small cottage I spent my first ten years of my life, comes into view. I immediately get a bad feeling. I can see no lights on, glass littering the snow just outside of it. I see a couple trails of blood that lead from the cottage then abruptly end. I race over to it. I race in and see a small body of a girl lying covered it scratch marks and blood. I walk out.

“Harper wake up!” She groans.

“What’s the matter?” I set her down.

“We’re here. But something isn’t right” She looks around taking in the scene.

“What the happened?” She asks looking at me.

“I don’t know.” She takes my hand as I head back into the cottage. I walk toward the small body. I kneel and pick her up in my arms. “I had a sister. I had a sister!” I move a small strand of her dark, blood covered hair, off her brow. I see a crescent mark on the corner of her temple. I scream. “They are going to pay for what they did! They killed my family! I can’t believe I had a sister and now she’s gone!” I feel Harper put her hand on my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I wish… I wish I could have met her. My sweet little sister. I wish she was alive.” I start to cry. I look around at all the blood and the disaster that the demons caused. I put her back on the ground and walk around searching for my mama and papa. I head toward my old room and laying not far from the door, is my mama and papa, holding hands. “What kind of sick joke is this! Putting them like that!!” I scream again. I run out of the house and into the trees, not knowing where I’m going. I cry as I run. I stop and lean against a tree. I fall to the ground and pull my knees to my chest. I wrap my arms around them and I just cry. I cry for a while. I whip at the tears and stand up. I run back to the cottage. I lean against the door frame. I relize my sister body is gone. “Harper?”

“Louis, you need to get in here quick.” I run in and see Harper sitting with my precious sister, next to her. I gasp. I slowly walk over to the little girl so I don’t startle her. Harper has her arm around her.

“Hello, what’s your name?” I ask as calmly as I can since she’s covered in blood and it’s causing my head to spin.

“Rosy but my mama and papa said I have another one but they said I couldn’t learn it till I was older. Everyone knows me as Rosy though.”

“It’s nice to meet you Rosy.” I sit in front of her. “How old are you?”

“Five and a half.”

“Oh. Well this Harper.” I say pointing toward her. “And my name is Louis.” Her eyes widen.

“Like my lost big brother. Are you my lost big brother?”

“Yeah”

“Oh. Mama and papa said you got lost in the woods one day. They used to call you their little Garrik.” I hear a loud whooshing sound outside. I stand up quickly. Their back. Harper take Rosy and get her somewhere safe.”

“But…” Harper starts.

“Go! Run!” She stands up with Rosy and rushes out of the cottage. I walk outside and moments later I’m surrounded by close to half a dozen black crescent demons. One comes forward and tries to attack. I side step and pull out my knife. I stab it. It stumbles. They all come at me quickly. Step, stab, step, stab. I start to get the hang of things but then one gets me and I fall to the ground in pain. I see blood dripping out of my side. I try to stand up and fight. I see a dark figure coming towards use. I think it’s another demon but I focus and get a better look. It’s Harper! She stabs one of them in the back. It falls to the ground. The demons look at each other confused. I take my chance and start to attack. Harper and I work together to defeat them. When we take down the last one I race over to her and take her in my arms.

“I thought I told you to go.”

“I did. I got Rosy somewhere safe and I came back to help.

“Thank you.” I pull her away. I stare into her eyes. I lean forward and capture her lips.

I pull her in close. She wraps her arms around my neck. I pull away. She smiles sheepishly. I collapse. She gasps. “I’m fine just need… need I don’t know.” She kneels in front of me.

“You need blood.”

“No… I’m fine.” She scoots up right in front of me. She moves some hair off her neck. She moves her head to the side so her neck is more visible.

“You need it.”

“No. I can get other blood. Animal blood.”

“We both know that’s not enough. Especially because you’ve lost a lot of blood already. Please you need it.”

“I can’t.” I say. She sighs heavily.