CHAPTER 4

Sitting patiently on the couch, Andrew waited to hear what the lady before him had to say. Having allowed her in, he had served her a cup of coffee upon her request. Luminous was just sipping continuously from the cup of coffee Andrew had offered her.

"Still waiting." Andrew said, trying his best to maintain his patience. His palms were locked together and his eyes fixed intently on Luminous.

"Be calm." Luminous said and chuckled. She sipped from her coffee once again.

A few more moments of silence reigned between the duo before the silence was broken by the clearing of throat by Luminous.

"So, I'm about to tell you a story." Luminous began. "....a story that'll forever change your view of life in its entirety.."

"Okayyyy..."

"Yeah. It all started with the gruesome murder of my parents at the young age of five......."

[FLASHBACK BEGINS: OCTOBER 16, 1949]

The night sky was filled with lots of stars that complemented the full moon. The woods in central city which was sometimes used as a tourist and gaming site was filled with tall trees that stood high up. Inside a wooden cabin located inside the woods, a family was harboured. This was Luminous' family; her Father, Mother, two siblings and then Luminous herself.

Her Father was seated beside the fire on a rocking chair reading a newspaper, her Mother was sitting on a chair also, her focus on the crochet she was making. At the other end of the room, Luminous was playing toy games with her sisters. The atmosphere was serene and quiet.

Soon enough, the silent night was broken and loud howls filled the ears of the occupants of the cabin. The Werewolves had begun their hunt. This brought chills and pandemonium upon young Luminous and her family.

"Quick, to the shelter room!" Luminous' Father ordered sharply. And without questioning or delay, Luminous' mother had dashed to her children's side, held the younger two by their hands, and the turning sharply to Luminous, she screamed. "Run!"

And so the Mother and her three children found their way out of the living room into another room which they believed to be safe. And so, the Father, arming himself with a dane gun waited patiently for the unfortunate Werewolf that would barge into his home.

Meanwhile, outside the cabin, a horde of ravaging Werewolves surrounded the cabin. Their intent was to relish the flesh of any human that would cross their paths. Howling and snarling monstrously, the Werewolves stormed forward and with brute force, they smashed the door of the cabin and made their way past the threshold. The moment the first Werewolf stepped into the living room of the cabin, a booming sound echoed, the force sending the Werewolf knocking unto the ground, shrieking in pains.

Feeling more enraged, the other Werewolves erupted monstrous shrieks from their mouths and charged at Luminous' Father. And in response, Luminous' Father unleashed his wolfsbane infested bullets upon the Werewolves. But even though, his gun was not enough to stop the beasts. Soon enough, the beasts overwhelmed the man and his gun was knocked out of his hands. In a horrible manner, the man was ripped apart, bit by bit by the Werewolves.

"No!!!....." A voice shrieked from behind a closed door in the cabin. With their attentions drawn, the group of Werewolves numbering up to ten dashed towards the door, and with their superhuman strengths bursted through the door. And once through, they were confronted by young Luminous and the rest of her family. The Werewolves stood belligerently, their loud shrieks sending cold shivers upon the spines of the weak humans before them.

Acting on impulse, Luminous' mother who held a plank in her grip rushed forward and made to strike the closest Werewolf. And just as she brought the plank upon the body of the beast, it smashed into pieces. In retaliation, the Werewolf swung his claws across the Woman's neck, slashing through the skin and instantly sending her falling unto the ground dead.

Now, the full focus of the Werewolves was now turned on the scared kids. The shivering and whimpering Luminous attempted to shield her kid siblings by moving them towards her back. Not that her effort could prevent their imminent deaths anyway. She was just a five year old but her survival instinct had kicked in at that moment.

The closest Werewolf marched towards Luminous, raised his hand and knocked Luminous unto the ground. The impact caused a cut to form on her forehead and a small amount of blood trickled from the cut. Then, in a rush, the Werewolves charged at Luminous' younger siblings.

[LUMINOUS P.O.V]

I was just a little girl who was helpless against these ravaging beasts. From behind the room we hid, we could hear the sound of the gunshots from my Father's gun. With the curiosity of a scared little girl, I peeped through the hole of the door and I watched as my Dad brought down some of the Werewolves. But who could withstand the might of these beasts? Soon enough, my Dad was overpowered and I watched as they ripped my father apart in the most horrible manner ever. The gore and terrifying scene before me overwhelmed me so much I screamed. That scream was what would now lead to the death of my remaining Family.

"Get back!" My Mom yelled and dragged me back from the door, but it was too late. The Werewolves had already been attracted by my tiny scream.

The Werewolves stormed the room where we were hiding and confronted us. My Mother tried striking one of them down, but failed as the plank got shattered the moment it came in contact with the night invulnerable skin of the Werewolf. And then I watched in fright as the Werewolf sliced my Mom's throat. The blood splashed around and some of it found its way to my face. The fright I felt at that particular moment was so overwhelming. All I could do was shield my kid siblings from the Werewolf who was slowly approaching us. In that moment, I waited for my imminent death. But surprisingly, the Werewolf only knocked me unto the ground. The result was me hitting my head on the ground and sustaining a cut.

The force I hit the ground with was too much for my feeble body to contain and so I just lie down on the floor, watching the most gory sight I ever seen. My little siblings who knew not their left from their right were ripped apart effortlessly by the Werewolves, their blood splashing on all corners of the room.

All I could remember after that was a strange presence engulfing the room, the rest was nothing but an ocean of darkness as I fell into the depths of unconsciousness.

[P.O.V ENDS/ END OF FLASHBACK]

Each words that came out of Luminous' mouth were taken and assimilated raptly by Andrew who was sitting on the couch directly opposite Luminous. All of what she had narrated were replaying in Andrew's head. He imagined the scenerio as if he were present at each of the happenings. When Luminous finished her narration, she paused and took a long sip from her coffee. She waited patiently for Andrew to process what he had heard. After a long minute, Andrew finally spoke up.

"All of this compounds to the need to eradicate all Werewolves." Andrew said, gritting his teeth.

Luminous chuckled before replying. "My story hasn't ended yet."

"There's more?"

"Yeah, there's more." Luminous nodded. "And maybe when I'm done, you'll have a change of heart concerning the Werewolves."

"Whatever your story ends with, the fact remains the same. Werewolves have been and will always be a threat to humanity."

"True tho." Luminous nodded. "But there's a greater evil at play here. And you and I have been the pawns all these while."

"What do you mean?" Andrew was visibly confused.

"The Witches Three are not who they seem to be." Luminous revealed.

"How do you mean?"

"They are the real villains. Not the Werewolves." Luminous continued, her face wearing a serious expression. "Andrew, we're not just weapons to eradicate the Werewolves. We are the key to unlocking a greater evil."

Feeling further confused, Andrew decided to ask. "What evil greater than the Werewolves is out there?"

"The Witches Tree are the daughters of the Evil Dmitri. Ever heard of him?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Andrew nodded. "I've heard rumours of the Lord of the undead realm. How are the witches Three his children? Never heard of their connection before now."

Sighing, Luminous said. "The memories of their connection was wiped off most of the ancient history books during the great exiling." Luminous paused to take a sip from her coffee before continuing. "Originally, it was the Witches Three that created the spell that turned the first Lycans."

Andrew's eyes shone in shock. His head was trying to process the information he was hearing. Chuckling lightly, Luminous stretched her coffee mug to her lips and took another sip from it. Then, she rested her back squarely on the couch she was sitting. She felt comfortable.

"Well, you may find it difficult to believe what I'm revealing to you but with patience, and by the time I'm done with my story, you'll be awe struck at how much ignorant you've been all these while." Luminous further said. "So, The Witches Three were seeking for a way to solidify their rule on the world. And to achieve that, they created a spell using ancient magic. This spell turned humans into shape-shifters that possessed insane strength, speed and stamina. But there was a side effect. The uncontrollable and violent rage that led to the massacre of hundreds of humans. Only the Alphas and a few betas were able to control this rage. However, the Alphas refused to help others control their rage, they gave each Werewolf the freedom to feed on any humans they chose. This turned the World upside down, much to the excitement of the Witches Three."

Luminous paused her story once again. She stood up, walked across the room and peeped through the windows. Her eyes lingered on the speeding vehicles and moving pedestrians. Then, she heaved a sigh and then walked back to her couch and sat down.

All this while, Andrew was just seated focusing his gaze on Luminous, his expression showed visible signs of confusion and curiosity. Deep down, he had known The Witches Three had something in mind the moment they decided to grant him the powers he possessed.

"So, what happened next?" He asked Luminous the moment she sat back down on the couch.

"Well, chaos happened next." Luminous replied. "The Alphas, sensing the Witches Three were going to turn against them, they created an Alpha pack and led a revolt against the Witches Three."

"How could they revolt against their own creators?"

"Well, they got help from darker- powers. They created potions that made them invulnerable to sorcery, and so the Witches Three stood no chance. They had to flee from the hands of their creations."

"And then...?" Andrew was feeling too impatient.

"And then we were created."

"For what purpose actually?"

"For a darker purpose. But I want us to find exactly how dark the purpose is."

"So you do not know too?" Andrew inquired.

"I do not know yet." Luminous replied Andrew. "But together, we could find out. We need to draw the witches out of their lair and check out what they have been planning."

Andrew drew a long sigh, and then said. "That would be very difficult."

"Yeah, but not impossible." Luminous smirked. "I've got a plan, but I'd need you to draw out the Witches in such a way they'd not suspect anything."

"I've got an idea." Andrew replied, a dark smile playing on his lips. He knew the exact way to make Luminous' plan work. The perfect way.