Descendants of The Moon

Chapter 1: A Little Apartment in Brooklyn

Ok, here we go again, let's see how this goes, Descendants of the Moon, take #3

And lights, camera, action!!

October 31st, 7:30 P.M. Halloween Night

A car screeches to a stop in front of a small brick, Brooklyn apartment, windows rolled down as heavy metal shook the ground. Inside the house, a voice could be heard yelling. "Ariel! Your friends are here!" A girl around thirteen years old dashed down the carpeted staircase, careful not to trip and take an unplanned flight through the air. "You've got everything? All packed?" Mrs. Conan asked her daughter. The girl nodded distractedly, eyes flitting towards the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. "This is the first time I'm on time--can you believe it?" She grinned excitedly, slinging on her backpack. Mrs. Conan rolled her eyes, starting up her mental stopwatch. "Wait, I'm forgetting something, aren't I? Ah geez, mom!" She ran back up the stairs. Mrs. Conan sighed, putting a hand on the cold metal railing. "A hug, honey! You forgot to hug your mother goodbye!" She yelled up the stairs. The girl came back down, a sheepish grin on her face. Mrs. Conan opened her arms wide as her daughter went towards the door. Ariel returned the hug, then cursed as she stared at the time on her phone. "Sorry, gotta go, love you!" And she ran out the door, waving at the grey car. "Don't forget to call me when you get to Lauren's house!" Mrs. Conan called. The girl turned around, both hands in a thumbs up, and she slid into the empty car seat, slamming the door shut. And that was the last time Mrs. Conan saw her daughter for some time...

The screams of terror and delight rang through the night air, all the people in costume or just in regular apparel racing on a rollercoaster. Ariel did a 360, taking in the lights of the ferris wheel, the smells of the food stands, and even a small glance at the woods surrounding the fair. Harriman State Park, not such a bad place as she would've thought. Her friends got out of the car, the sounds of the fair blocking out the heavy metal. They stretched, and started murmuring excitedly. "How about we go on that one first?" A guy who she hadn't known for long asked, pointing at this huge rollercoaster with cars jostling around from the speed. Ariel's lunch crept up to her throat, and she managed a small nervous smile. "You know what? You guys go on without me--I'll be at the ladies room." She gave them a mock salute, shouldering her backpack as she turned away. Ok, the part about going to the bathroom was a total lie. She'd gotten distracted by a lonely archery stand by the photo booth. The man behind the table looked bored, drinking from a half-empty bottle of beer. "Can I help you?" He grumbled. Ariel slung off her backwack, clearing her throat. "I want to take a shot." The man raised a bushy eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be playing with weapons, kid?" He grunted. Ariel shrugged. "Give me the bow and we'll see." Ok, playing cocky wouldn't help her much. "You remind me of my daughter, kid. Here." He placed a bow on the table, but it was a little bit too big for Ariel. Ok, Ariel, you wanted the bow, you got the bow, so here goes nothing, and try not to kill anyone. She made a frantic mental note to herself, grunting as she hefted the heavy bow. The man nodded to the quiver full of arrows. "I use them for hunting, as you can see. But I tell you what: you get three arrows, three tries. If you win, I'll find you a smaller bow so you don't traipse over your own two feet. If you lose, you buy me another beer. Deal?" He asked, holding his hand out. A wind blew from behind her, pushing her on. She nodded, shaking on it. She took a deep breath, nocking an arrow. Whoosh! White canvas of the stand. Her palms started sweating. She nocked another arrow. Whoosh! Outer ring. The man finished his beer with a grin. Ariel ignored him, closing her eyes and making her mind go blank. Don't shoot with your eyes closed. A soft voice echoed in her head. Fire! Ariel let go of the string, falling back on her butt. Thump! She hoisted herself up from the table, looking at the board. The man stared with his mouth wide open at the clean shot she had made into the bullseye. He raked a hand through his graying beard. "Well done, kid. I--" The warm wind had returned, but the man froze, his eyes looking over her shoulder, into the woods beyond. "Get out of here, lad." He said, his voice a warning. "What? What's going on?" Ariel turned around, hair whipping in the wind. Her eyes met the amber gaze of a red wolf, and she stumbled back. "Go! Get out of here!" The man roared, hefting up his bow. The wolf's gaze moved from Ariel's, locking its gaze on the man. Its eyes glowed a brighter gold, and the man's eyes rolled up into his head. His bow clattered away onto the grass. Ariel's heart started racing, and she didn't know whether to run away and get help, or just get the bow and fire an arrow in warning. "Look, I don't want to hurt you--" A howl sounded from deeper into the woods, and a dark shape emerged from behind the bushes. A slightly bigger wolf, a grey one, was snarling at them. The red wolf barked, and he shook out his fur. The wind picked up, blowing the clouds away from the moon, washing the forest in a silver haze. The wolves started to retreat, back into the shadows, until Ariel couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. Fear overtook her, and she found her hand reaching for the bow laying aimlessly on the floor, and another arrow from the quiver. She fired with no target, aiming just into the shadows, and a second later she heard a yelp. She came back to, and realization creeped into her. "Oh no, no no no!" She ran a hand through her hair, frantically looking for a first aid kit in the booth. She stopped to check that the man was breathing, and sighed in relief. She slung on her backpack, and the bow and quiver. She ran into the forest blindly, first aid kit in hand. The wind chilled her to the bones, but she kept running. The thick clouds had blocked the moon once again, and she couldn't see at all, stumbling over loose tree roots and mud. She heard a faint whimpering, over the other side of a stream. The red wolf was breathing raggedly, and Ariel made her way forward to check if it was ok. Something pulled at her jacket, and she fell backward. She grunted, eyes shut tight. Her ears rang, and hot breath warmed her cheek. She closed her eyes tighter. The heat receded. She opened one eye, and saw a huge brown wolf walking over to her companions side. Ariel gulped, cleaning her hands on her jeans. "Ok, if you won't kill me just yet, I can save your friend. At least, I think I can." She muttered, glancing at the red wolf and the brown one. The grey one--she could feel his stare from a tree behind her back. There was no way back, no way out. Ariel kneeled down by the red wolf's side, muttering under her breath. The arrow had gone through the wolf's ankle, the arrow point coming out of the flesh. Ariel cursed. "Ok, good thing you're not Achilles, or you would've been dead already." She chuckled nervously. One of the other wolves growled silently behind her. "Alright, alright, just let me concentrate!" She hissed at the brown wolf. Ariel slowly pet the red wolf, trying to calm her down. "Ok, this is going to hurt a little bit, but it'll be over quick, I promise." She murmured. She snapped the arrow, and the wolf howled, the noise piercing the night air. Ariel swayed a little bit, fighting back nausea as she pulled out the arrow by the fletching, and then on the other side, by the arrow tip. "Hard part's over, girl." She patted the matted fur surrounding the wound with a small bit of cloth and alcohol from the kit, and then finally, wrapping it up with gauze. Ariel had no idea how long she'd been in the forest, and she'd completely forgotten about the two other wolves at her back. Funny, she couldn't hear them anymore. A wave of fear washed over hear, heart speeding up as a cold wind blew from behind. She got up on wobbling knees, slinging on her backpack. The red wolf barked a thank you, and thunder shook the sky. Ariel started to run, and the rain came falling down. After five minutes of running, she noticed the ground getting more slippery and wet as the rain continued on. She was drenched from head to toe, and more mud on her jeans than one could imagine. A growl came from behind her, and she made the mistake of looking. Crack! Lightning flashed, lighting up the forest in a blinding glow. Ariel crashed to the ground, blinking the green spots of out of her eyes. A dark shape lumbered forward, and she thought she had hit her head so hard she was starting to hallucinate. The shape moved, snarling softly. Ariel scrambled backwards, putting her back against the tree. She scrambled for the phone in her back pocket, dialing a number with shaking hands. She held the phone to her ear, shivering as the rain continued, and looked up. The wolf was gone--and a scream could be heard. Unfortunately, that was Ariel. She was breathing quickly, grunting as she took off her jacket. Blood bloomed on her left side, and she fumbled with the hem of her shirt. "911, what is your emergency?" A woman's bored voice could be heard over the phone. Ariel put pressure to the wound, eyes flicking to the forest in fear. "Ugh, I-I've been bitten--" growls resonated from behind the tree-- "Miss? Miss, where did you say your location was?" A man's clipped tone asked. I didn't say anything. "Har-Harriman State Park." "We're on our--" beep! And the line went dead. Ariel cursed, fighting to stay awake. Don't you have a first aid kit? The smart part of her head asked. No, I dropped the stupid thing on my way back. Oh no-- something gleamed at the edge of her vision, a set of fangs sharp like knives, and she blacked out, sure the wolves would finish her off...