Moonlit Shadows

Sounds of Grief

Silence filled the cabin. Jaci was wide awake and feeling anxious. Sunny and Taehyung had come out of the bedroom, and after asking where Jungkook was, they reluctantly decided to follow behind.

But not after making Jaci promise to stay in the cabin. But that had been a few hours ago now. The walls seemed to be closing in on Jaci as she sat curled up on Jungkook's old bed.

Nothing in this cabin screamed warmth and coziness. It was cold and stark, just like the beings that lived in it. She had often wondered if vampires were truly as cold as folklore made them out to be. Apparently, they were.

Jaci scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching her arms high over her head. The wound on her neck throbbed and stung, but the pain had become bearable. She shifted her sore shoulder around and chose to ignore the nagging pain.

She meandered around the main room of the cabin, mulling over the old books on the shelves. She began to yawn just as her eyes fell onto the Kims' bedroom door. Her fingers twitched with curiosity. Part of her wanted to creep into the bedroom and see what was kept in there.

She stepped over to the door, and her hand reached out to grasp the knob. Adrenaline began flowing freely through her system at the thought of the Kims returning and catching her snooping.

But today was not Detective Jaci's day to snoop. Just as she grasped the knob, a thundering knock came from the front door. Jaci screeched and slapped her hands across her mouth.

Whoever was at the door was most likely not a family friend. If it were Jungkook or the Kims, they would have walked right in. Jaci felt a cold sense of dread wash over her, and she slowly slid down to the floor.

The pounding knock came again, this time accompanied by a voice.

"Jaci, are you in there? It's me, Professor Fenton."

Jaci's eyes grew wide, and she scrambled to her feet. Despite a voice inside of her screaming for her to not answer the door, Jaci flung it open at the voice of her beloved professor.

"Professor Fenton!" she said with tearful relief. Out of habit, she flung her arms around him, so glad to see someone familiar to her.

Derrick was caught off guard but smiled as he held Jaci for a moment. "It's so good to see you," he breathed.

Jaci nodded and pulled back. "You too! But, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, well, my phone broke. Couldn't receive your messages. So I got worried."

"I thought you might have received the message I sent you earlier."

Derrick shrugged. "Nope. Are you okay?"

He stood back and looked Jaci over carefully. He frowned when he saw a bandage on her neck. "What's that?"

Jaci wasn't sure how to reply. Now that Derrick was standing there in front of her, and the thrill of seeing a familiar face was gone, all the things she had heard about him from Sunny, Taehyung, and Jungkook creeping back into her mind. Not to mention a tiny voice in her head screaming something about danger to her. She had been foolish, and she realized it now. She still had time to do some damage control, however.

"Ah, well, when I was hiking up the mountain, I ran into some low limbs." She smiled confidently and stepped back into the cabin. "Want to come in for a bit?"

"Are you sure you should be inviting me into someone else's home? Look, I'm not here to have tea and crumpets with you. I'm here to take you home."

Jaci frowned. "Why?"

Derrick sighed and looked anxiously behind him. Seeing no one, he turned back around. "I can't explain right now. You're in danger, though. I need to get you home. Grab your stuff."