Hope Andrea Argent

Fireflies (Part 1)

The full moon looms omnipresent over the eerily quiet woods of Beacon Hills. Far closer to the ground, another glowing object flutters into view.

A firefly.

The tiny luminescent beetle is joined by a second and third, soaring up and through the woods. All three, the unwitting prey of two children, Billy and Breanne, chasing after them with glass jars.

"Got one!" Billy cried out.

Screwing the lid on top of the jar, Billy turns to show his sister.

"What are you doing, dumbass? You're supposed to put holes in the lid. Otherwise you kill them," Breanne snapped.

"Do I have to let him go?"

"Do you want him to die?" Breanne retorts.

Billy holds up the jar, peering in at the firefly to decide its fate. Breanne, however, steps past him as she notices a remarkable sight just ahead...

Hundreds of fireflies, tiny lights blinking off and on in the darkness. Uncapping her own jar, Breanne races forward. The fireflies scatter, soaring up to the safety of higher altitudes.

Billy cautiously follows one into the thick of the woods.

The glowing beetle settles on a low branch, joining another pair just near it. Billy creeps forward, holding out the jar and its lid to catch the first when it flutters away, leaving the other two behind. Coming closer, Billy notices the other two are actually not fireflies.

They're the glowing eyes of a werewolf.

Fangs bared, dirt-smeared and as feral and frightening as a wild animal, Boyd rises from the shadows.

Several yards away, with a jar full of captured fireflies, Breanne spins at the sound of her brother's scream.

"Billy?" She calls out.

Alarmed, she runs toward his voice. But she doesn't need to go far. Billy hurtles out of the darkness right for her.

"Run!" He screams,"Run!"

Terrified, he drags her with him, causing her to drop the jar. She manages a glance back at something crashing through the branches toward them.

Panicked, they run for the only shelter they can find. A lone steel tool shed. They charge inside and Breanne slides the flimsy metal door shut, fumbling with the tiny lock while, behind her, Billy grabs at her shirt.

"He's gonna' get in--he's gonna' get inside--" He gasps.

"Shut up!" She hisses,"Shut up!"

Breathless, she pulls him back and away from the door. They hear footsteps. Low, animal breaths.

Breanne holds her hand over her brother's mouth, trying to keep him quiet while listening to Boyd circle the shed.

Their heads turn at claws ticking against the metal walls. They follow the sounds down to where moonlight spills in through the rusted and bent space between the shed's side and floor.

Claws slip in through the space, feeling about for a hold.

Backing further away, Breanne and Billy watch helplessly as the claws grasp around the wall and begin to pull at it.

Metal tears as Boyd wrenches the wall up, separating the entire exterior of the shed from its floor. With a furious growl, he hurls the collapsing steel frame into the air, exposing the two screaming children.

But just as Boyd takes a step forward to attack, something rolls right in front of his feet.

Breanne's jar.