Prologue

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNT

Through eroding lanes and whispering trees, a young man ran…

He appeared to be just as young as he supposedly was. From his silhouette, one can tell he was only a teenager, but that was it. There wasn't any other notable feature about him. In the demeaning darkness of the night, he was just a shadow, running through the woods.

He paused and crouched, falling to his knees; he growled. From the shape of him, one could see he had an arm to his left side. From the way he clutched at it, it was obvious he was wounded. His wound was slowing him…

And they were right behind!

Panting and gasping for air in labored breaths, he made extra effort to get to his feet again but he could feel his body give.

"Argh!" His cry of pain echoed through the night, carried by the wind. They could hear him…

He was – as a matter of fact – drawing them closer. He could hear them now. Behind him, figures swooped through the trees but they were too fast to make a head or tail of. He had to keep going.

Biting down on his lips, he stood and continued hobbling through the woods, down a hilly path. He sniffed. He could perceive something in the clear. Perhaps, ahead lay the road. A surge of hope rushed through him and he found himself surging forward with newfound strength. He was closer to the road now, enough to hear the hum of a vehicle coming from far away. It's not that the vehicle was close – he could just hear it. He could sense it…

From all calculations, he was never going to wait long enough on the road for the vehicle without getting caught. He knew the vehicle wasn't going to help. He appeared on the road now. It was empty, but the headlights of the approaching car were appearing gradually like tiny beads.

Could he wait??

There was no way – he was going to get caught. He could hear them from behind, covering in the distance, tracking his smell… his blood.

He sped past the road; the moonlight showing a little of his face. He was tall from his shape alone, tender-looking with full curls. There wasn't enough time to make a total face – he disappeared into the woods in the next second.

Ahead, the minivan pulled closer to the spot where the wounded runner had been. The woman appeared to be a young English lady, probably in her late twenties. She looked mean, and stern; determined to face whatever lay ahead, but she didn't act anything as such. She seemed panicky, her eyes moving from the windshield to her baby wrapped comfortably beside her. She didn't seem comfortable with the fact that she was driving with her toddler at this time of the night and one could tell it made her fidgety as she said nice things to calm the agitated baby. 

She pulled closer…

"Mummy's gonna buy you a mockingbird…" She sang as she whipped strands of blonde hair off her face and stole a glance at the child. The glance was enough to take her attention off the road for a second. She missed the swift silhouette of a figure crossing the road. By the time her eyes were on the road again, it was clear…

"And if the birds don't sing…" She stole another glance and another motion went by the road. By the time she looked up again, she opened her mouth wide and let out a scream, kicking at the brakes instantly. She looked up, panting. Whatever stood in the way was just as surprised at the presence of her vehicle as she was.

The lady gasped.

Her eyes ran back and forth, trying to get a good picture of what she was looking at – was this a man? A beast?

She blinked and nothing. What she had been staring at for the past two seconds was gone in a split second. Looking left, right, and around, with hands shaky with fear, she grabbed the wheels and hit the accelerator as her life depended on it.

In the wild of the forest, the chase continued. As the young man stumbled through the woods, fading in strength with every move, he stumbled down a hill, groaning. He fell with his face to the sky and all he could see as his vision faded were stars, and then a man with his index finger crossed his lips.

Hush…

He couldn't tell who the man was but he could swear he looked familiar. It was too late to begin discerning faces. He was already…

As he fell into a state of unconsciousness, the man picked him up and placed him on his shoulders, sneaking through the four others that hunted him with hopes of getting him somewhere safe…