Chapter 1

"Oh God, oh God" I panted heavily while bending from my waist. After my breathing had calmed down, I straightened and looked around me to see if anyone is following me, when I saw no one, I sat down on the floor and rested my back on a tree. I tried not to think of what had made me run in the first place but I couldn't help but think about it.

It had been a bright, lovely morning in our little village Mesacha, we were all enjoying ourselves and chatting happily in our little dining room while we listened to the neighbors greeting each other cheerfully and that alone is enough to warm anyone's heart. Then all of a sudden the cheerful greetings turned to fearful screams. Me, Pa and Ma and my elder brother Kesake all froze at once. But, being the man of the house, stood up to check what was wrong. He went to the kitchen and took a knife before whispering to ma to open the back door in case we needed to escape. Pa turned back to the front door but before he could open it, the door was pushed open and scattered into pieces on the floor.

The person standing in the entrance doesn't look like the kind of person who could break a door, he looked like the kind of person who cannot lift a chair. He looked thin, frail and out of place. He looked like an ordinary man except... except from his long canine teeth that made him look like no ordinary man. He was walking slowly and deliberately towards Pa and Pa raised his knife ready to fight even as he shouted for us to run away. Pa slashed his knife across the man's cheek hoping that would hold him for a while but that only seems to embolden the man. He grabbed Pa by the collar of his cloth and sank his teeth deep into his throat, sucking the blood that oozed out of his throat. We all stood in frozen shock and fear as the man threw Pa away, licking his mouth and laughing. I was too numb to even feel anything as I was not unaware of anyone or anything but Ma's cry of Fury shot awareness through me. Before me and my brother could do anything or stop Ma, the man caught Ma and sank his teeth into her neck. I stared at the man feeling the lump gathering in my throat, the fury rising in my chest, my hands clenching into fists and I felt someone's hand on my arm pulling me and it was then that I realized that I had been moving towards the man. I looked up into the eyes of my brother and he pulled me out of the house towards the back door, he was urging me to keep running with him and I realized there was no time for me to cry.

We were already deep inside the forest when we heard the sound of footsteps. We stopped, the panic rising. Kesake looked around and he turned back to me.

"Kemora, keep running okay? I'll find a way to distract them" he whispered. He turned to go and I grabbed his hands.

" Don't leave me alone, please" I whispered anxiously. He sighed and reached a hand to wipe the tears that I hadn't realized were falling. He kissed my forehead and turned to go while I just stood there staring at his departing back. I could feel my knees buckling but I kept on running even while I was crying.

I knew if I go back to follow my brother I'll only spoil his plans but right now I could only hope he was okay and I will be able to meet him again.