Ch 2: Tell No One

Aaron is sent to his first day of school, the previous night's events still in his mind.

   The return home was just as Aaron knew it would be. His mother immediately ran to him, yelling at him about being out so late, coming home with brambles and rips on his clothes, and even yelled at him for his injury. He was also questioned about where he was, what happened to him, why he didn't come home, and more. This had happened before. Aaron would be somewhere by himself, would come home with injuries, and get interrogated. Every time he would tell her what happened to him, she would call him crazy and to actually tell her the truth. He had told the truth every other time and she never believed him. So this time he did what he felt the need to do. He told her he fell asleep in the woods, got lost, and fell over a pile of stones.

   It's half truthful...I guess, he thought after he had told her. All he got was a hiss before she walked away, allowing Miles to patch him up. He was sent to his room to change, take a shower, and go to bed without another word about it. Really, he was glad to do those things. He needed them. Each of them was peaceful except for the sleeping part.

   Just like in the woods, he had nightmares and flashbacks consisting of last night and of his past. He remembered growling, snarling, the scratches, gray eyes. He wanted to believe that all of it was just fake and that last night wasn't real. But when he woke up in the morning to find that he had bandages around his leg, he knew it wasn't just some crazy hallucination.

   Despite the fact that it was only his second day in town, Emelia was sending him to school. He had gotten dressed quickly and decided not to eat breakfast before he walked out the door, not bothering to say anything to Emelia or Miles.

   Standing on the porch, he glanced across the street at where Mitch's house was. He wasn't sure what time he had to start heading to school, nor did he really know where it was, so he took a seat on the porch steps, waiting for when Mitch would come out of his house.

   While he waited, the events from the night before replayed in his head. He could remember the nightmares that clouded his mind during his nap against the tree. He remembered turning his head to find four pairs of bright yellow, hungry eyes staring him down. He remembered a searing pain go across his leg, which caused his leg in that moment to hurt more than before as he reminisced. He also remembered the larger creature that had came to his rescue. The image of large, dark-furred wolf head remained in his mind ever since the moment it happened. Those dark gray eyes locking with his own and capturing him in a trance that he couldn't escape until the jaws of the beast opened. He could almost feel branches of bushes and trees smacking against his body as they had when the beast carried him to his yard in its mouth.

   In his mind, he wanted to believe that it was all fake. He constantly considered the possibility that after he met Mitch he went inside and fell asleep, dreaming of it all. The only thing that allowed him to confirm it had been real was the white bandages that were wrapped around his leg and the pain that came from under them. He then also remembered another event of the night before, after he got home. He remembered water balling up at the edges of his eyes each time his mother's fingers touched around the three scratches. The pain he felt almost made him think that the claws of one of the beast's had went down to the bone, but he was surprised when his mother told him that it wasn't extremely deep. It was enough that he was definitely bleeding and would get infected if not treated, but it wasn't as bad as he had previously thought.

   Aaron let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head, looking down at the wooden floorboards that made up the porch on the front of the house, a balcony being held up over his head by thin, gray pillars. His navy blue eyes narrowed, watching a small bug crawl in front of his black tennis shoes, its tiny legs stopping and its body turning to twitch its antennae at the leather before turning back and walking again.

   "I have to avoid talking about it. And I have to make sure I don't limp or look like I'm hurt." He then remembered the conversation that he had with Mitch when they first met, a certain question the blond boy had asked coming to his mind. "Would he know what those things were? He asked if I believed in the supernatural. How am I supposed to answer that honestly?" He let out another sigh, closing his eyes.

   He then heard footsteps on the sidewalk in front of him. He lifted his head to see a hooded figure walking down the street, a gray and orange backpack hanging from one of the shoulders. The hood was up over their face, so he couldn't see whether it was a boy or a girl, but judging by the general look, it may have been a girl. In a way he was slightly disappointed; he was hoping to see Mitch instead. He watched curiously as the figure stopped, its head slightly turning but no features showing through. He remained still, for he almost felt like the eyes of the person were staring at him, even though he couldn't see them. He then watched the person kneel down, picking something up off the ground and putting it in their pocket. They then turned and continued on.

   Aaron couldn't help but allow his eyes to follow as the person went down the street, but that caused him to pay no attention to more footsteps quickly coming towards his house. He turned his head to see a head of curly blond hair coming up his steps, almost toppling him over.

   "Good! You're all ready! Come on, lets get going, " he heard Mitch's voice say quickly as he grabbed Aaron's arm and pulled him up from where he sat, nearly making him fall face-first into the pavement. He wanted to protest, but there wasn't much he could do, or want to do, really.

   The two of them had walked for around fourteen minutes before a large building made of brick came into view. It seemed like a pretty simple building; it had many vertical windows lining three floors, an entrance which was covered in a small roof held up by brick pillars, and many other kids around their age going inside. The two walked passed a sign that simply read 'Lindow Highschool', as well as many varieties of people. A lot of people with different hair colors, both natural and dyed, different skin tones, different styles. To be honest, the students that Aaron saw walking into this school seemed to be more diverse than any other school he went to. Though, there was a high chance that it was because of where this school was. Most of his other schools had been in much larger towns that were close to cities, so rules were more strict than they would be in a place like Lindow.

   The first part of his day was honestly really boring. Aaron had gone through so many "first-day-of-school-days" that it was almost instinct for him to introduce himself in each class and take a seat somewhere that was open. He had four classes in total, not including lunch in the middle of the four classes. One thing he did find displeasing was the fact that this school didn't have as much to choose from class wise, though, once again, that was to be expected from a smaller school. He had his four main classes: math, science, history, and English. He also got to choose two other extra classes that were more for personal interests and fill-ins. The list of extra classes was small, but he did see at least one class he was interested in, which was music. It wasn't so much that he liked musical instruments, which he did enjoy playing a few, but it was more so he liked working with computers to make beats, tempos, tunes, and integrating different sounds and voices in with what someone played.

   That was the class he was in at the moment. He sat at a three-seat table, resting on the end with a few notebooks and a textbook from his last class sitting in front of him. To be honest, he had gotten really lucky with this class; Mitch sat next to him in the center seat, swinging his legs beneath him and a smile on his face. Aaron took note of the fact that Mitch had a music book, two notebooks, and one other book that he didn't recognize in front of him. He wanted to ask what they were, but he chose not to.

   As to be expected, Aaron couldn't help but scan the room and examine what other students were in the same class. There were a couple of interesting students, quite a large mix of people with an equal number of girls and boys. For the most part the other kids didn't really catch his attention. There was only one small group that he did notice, but no one would ever blame him. In total there were six tables that all seated three students, three across in each row, and all facing the front of the room where there was a teacher's desk. The group of people that he had noticed was in the corner opposite of him and Mitch.

   There were three girls sitting at the table, talking amongst themselves. One girl, who was facing away from him and towards the other two, was wearing a light blue shirt, above-the-knee-length shorts, and short, light brown hair. Another, on the very far side, seemed to be a very cheerful girl with a big smile, dirty-blond hair, bright hazel eyes, a white and purple shirt, and capris. While he had to admit that those two looked cute, it was the final girl who caught his attention.

   She was sitting in the center of the other two girls, seeming to keep more to herself and remained quiet. Her skin was pale and she was wearing a long-sleeved gray and orange striped shirt with black sweatpants. Her hair was around mid-back length and was midnight black. He actually couldn't see her eye color since they were closed, but she, in a way, captivated him. Whether it was the fact that she was mysterious or that she was just pretty, he wasn't sure. He then heard a mischievous snicker next to him, making him snap back to attention and turn his head. He saw Mitch staring at him with a sideways grin, his eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows raised.

   "Your first day of class and you're already checking out the girls. I didn't think you were that kind of person when I first met you, " he chuckled, elbowing Aaron in the side. He honestly felt his cheeks get slightly hot, shaking his head.

   "No, that's not it! I was looking to see what kind of people were in this class, " he stated. He wasn't lying, though. He really was doing what he said. He just got a bit distracted was all. Mitch just shook his head and chuckled again. But his face turned from amused to somewhat serious quite quickly. He then scooted his chair closer to Aaron, looking around them before leaning in.

   "So, back to my question from yesterday. Do you?"

   Aaron was confused for a moment. "Do I what?"

   "Believe in the supernatural."

   "Why would you ask me that?"

   "Because I know a lot about it and I wanted to see if my new friend shared the same interests. Plus, you seem like the kind of person who would."

   Aaron rolled his eyes, narrowing them back at Mitch. "It's kinda rude to assume something like that, you know. What made you think that, though."

   Mitch just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You're just mysterious. But I guess you're right. Not all people that deal with things like that are depressed or goth. I mean I've dealt with plenty of creatures in my lifetime and-"

   "Are you filling another kid's mind with all of your supernatural shenanigans again? You need to give it a rest."

   Both of the seated boys looked over to see a kid walk into class and approach their table. He was slightly taller than Aaron with dark brown hair, slightly tan skin, dashing brown eyes, and honestly looked like a guy that girls would fawn over. He actually wasn't wrong, for there were a few girls in the class who instantly turned their heads when they heard his voice, but Aaron didn't notice.

   "Oh, hey! I was wondering when you were going to show up. I knew we had this class together, " Mitch stated, turning so that he was facing the other boy.

   The new boy just shook his head with a smile and looked over at Aaron with a very welcoming look. "Who is this? A new friend of your's?" Mitch nodded and moved back a little so that they could look at one another.

   "Yeah, this is Aaron. He just moved here yesterday, so this is his first day." The other boy nodded and took a seat at the last chair in the table, leaning forward to look passed Mitch.

   "Nice to meet you Aaron. I'm Graham. Graham Haight." Graham turned his head to look at Mitch once again, seeming to return back to what he spoke about before. "Like I was saying, why is it that you always want to start questioning new kids about mythical creatures as soon as you meet them? I get that you have a big fascination with them, but you don't have to force that on others."

   "I wasn't forcing anything! I was just asking if he believed in any. It's always worth a shot. I mean there aren't many kids like us, so it's always fun meeting a new one."

   Aaron titled his head. "'Kids like us'? What's that suppose to mean?"

   Both Mitch and Graham looked over at him. "Me and Graham are two of the few people who have an interest in this stuff. I believe in and have had encounters with mythical creatures, while Graham is more of an 'it's possible' type of person. You still never answered whether you believe in them or not."

   Aaron just looked down at his books, a sting going through his leg at the thought of mythical creatures, five of which he had an encounter with just the night before. He tried to think of a way to answer the question without giving that away, though. "I...I guess you could say I believe in them, " he stated, hoping his answer wasn't too odd. If either of the other boys thought it was odd, they didn't show it, for they both smiled.

   After that the three boys just focused on the class. Occasionally Aaron would lose track of his thoughts and would glance over at the black-haired girl or over at Graham, but he mostly paid attention. Once class was over the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Aaron, Mitch, and Graham gathered up all of their things before leaving the classroom, going to their lockers and walking down to the cafeteria together. 

   All three of them got a plate of food from the counter the lunch ladies were setting all the plates on before heading over to a table. The room itself was quite large and had more than just simple tables to sit at. Some of the tables were like picnic benches, other were like house dining tables, and others were just medium-sized round tables with four chairs around them. The three boys went and sat at one of the round tables, each taking a seat and beginning to eat.

   The entire time, since right before he met Graham, he had been thinking about Mitch constantly saying that he had encounters with supernatural beings. He wanted so badly to ask what he meant, but if he asked a bunch of questions then that could cause suspicion, which he didn't need.

   "So Aaron, where did you move from?" He was lost in thought when Graham asked him this, so he lifted his head and looked over at him, considering how to answer.

   "As bad as this might sound, I actually don't remember what the last town I lived in was. I've lived in so many different towns that at this point I don't remember anymore. Me and my mom have moved around a lot, usually for business." Graham nodded in understanding, taking a bite of his food. The boys were interrupted before they could say anything else.

   One of the girls from earlier, the brown-haired one who had been facing away from Aaron, was now standing next to the table, looking at the three boys with wide brown eyes. "Excuse me, Graham? Would you mind if me and my friends borrowed this extra chair?"

   With a charming smile, Graham turned and looked at her. "Of course. We don't mind." Aaron could almost see the girl swoon over the smile she got from Graham. He watched as the girl giggled excitedly and took the chair, thinking him with a wide smile before going over to one of the round tables that only had two chairs. Aaron looked back over at Graham and noticed Mitch just shake his head.

   "You always have to do that don't you." Graham gave Mitch a questioning yet innocent look. "Don't give me that look. I can guarantee you've made almost every girl in this school skip heartbeats. I get that you're handsome, but if you're gonna do this then you could at least use it to actually get a girlfriend, " Mitch said, more so teasing towards the end. Graham just laughed.

   "Yeah yeah, I know. It's just that I want to find a girl that I actually like, one that doesn't just like me for my looks. I don't want to have a girl who just wants me for my pretty face." Graham dramatically lifted his hand and put the back of it against his forehead, faking a sigh.

   Mitch just rolled his eyes before looking over at Aaron. "I would ask if you've got a girl, but you did say you've moved a lot, so I guess that wouldn't really happen." Aaron playfully punched him in the arm, getting a laugh back. "Anyway, do you believe in werewolves and vampires?"

   Aaron almost choked on the food he was eating, coughing for a moment before looking at him. "Why do you keep asking me all of these questions about supernatural creatures? Why do you want to know so badly?" Aaron didn't mean to sound as frightened as he did, but this time he couldn't hide it. Both Graham and Mitch stared at him with confused looks.

   Great. Way to go me. Now they are gonna know something is up, Aaron thought, looking back down at his food quickly. He could feel the eyes of both of his friends locked onto him. He knew he had no choice now. He glanced up at the two of them, their eyes still on him.

   "Look. if I tell you guys something I need you to keep it a secret okay? And I mean it. You can't tell anyone got it?" Both of the boys nodded and Aaron let out a sigh, moving closer to the two of them. I...I have had many...many encounters with supernatural creatures. I'm not going to go into detail, but they are real. And...I...I had an encounter with some...just last night."

   Almost immediately Mitch jumped forward wrapping his arm around Aaron and moving his face close to his. Graham also moved forward and leaned over the table, listening in with a serious face.

   "What were they? Ghosts? Vampires? Zombies? What? You have to tell us everything. What happened to you? What did they do? Could you tell what they were? Did they-"

   "Would you be quiet for one minute and actually let him talk, " Graham snapped, making Mitch stop talking. They both looked back at him with questioning in their eyes once again.

   "I honestly don't know what they were. I've never had an experience with them before, whatever they were. There were four of them and they were big, or at least there were four at first. Then there was a fifth one that showed up and it saved me from the other four. But my one leg has scratches across it from one of them."

   Before Aaron could even continue, Mitch asked one question. "Aaron...where were you when this happened?"

   Aaron looked up to find that both Mitch and Graham were staring him down, that question in particular being one they wanted the answer of the most. "The woods behind my house. It was like a big meadow. Why?"

   Both of their faces turned serious as soon as he mentioned the woods and the meadow. He was honestly surprised at the look that they gave him, but he didn't know what to do or say.

  After a few long moments of silence, Mitch finally spoke in a low voice. "You said you have never encountered them before, right? That you didn't know what they were?" Aaron nodded, unsure of where this was going, but he didn't like it. He watched Mitch look him straight in the eye, eyes narrowed. "Those were the Lindow Hounds, or at least that's what this town calls them. But they are werewolves."

   Aaron's eyes went wide. He had been in situations with many creatures. Vampires, ghosts, spirits, trolls, sirens. Way more than he cared to count. Werewolves were the one creatures he had never met before, which for him was a surprise. He had only ever seen drawings and digital versions of them, so he was unsure whether Mitch was right or not. "But...I thought that werewolves stood on two legs and were all vicious? Four of the ones I met were ferocious, but the fifth one wasn't. It actually saved me. So how could they be-"

   "There is a legend in this town. It's Mitch that knows all the details, but I know that there is a pack of wolves, 'were' or not, that lives in the woods around us. It's believed that every single one of them is feral and hostile except for one, but only one, " Graham stated, Mitch taking over from there.

   "The story is that this entire town was once one giant forest that all of the werewolves called home. But large amounts of people with big machines moved in and tore down this whole center of the forest so they could build this town. The werewolves were stubborn and didn't want to leave, so they made the entire area that surrounds Lindow their territory. Unfortunately for you, that meadow behind your house is one of many places that the wolves are very protective over. Once you cross their border, there is a high chance you won't get back out."

   "If I remember correctly, there was only one wolf in the whole pack that was generally okay with humans and instead tried to prevent any human deaths in the forest so that the rest of us humans wouldn't hunt them down."

   "There is only one other person who ever came face-to-face with the pack and was saved by that wolf. I guess you got really really lucky, " Mitch said, finally moving away from Aaron.

   He tried to process everything he had just been told. His first thought had been that, once again, he came to a town that had some sort of creature that wanted to kill him. He wasn't lucky at all like Mitch said. He also thought about the wolves themselves. He reimagined the four hostile creatures in his mind. When he thought about it, he could see how they might be werewolves. They just looked like oversized wolves, but it made sense. As for the "friendly" werewolf, he tried to understand what that meant. Did they mean that wolf had only ever saved one person from the rest of them? Why would one wolf go against the rest of its pack? How was he suppose to believe any of this? He knew that all of it was supernatural. At this point he had no reasons that it wouldn't be. He shook his head, holding his head in his hands.

   Off to his left he heard familiar giggling. He glanced over out of the corner of his eye at the table that the brown-haired girl from earlier was sitting at. Her and the dirty blond were sitting across from each other, laughing about something. But that black-haired girl was there too.

   When he looked over, he found that she had been staring at his table, or at him specifically, though he was unsure which. That was when the two of them locked eyes, which was also when his eyes went wide in both awe and shock. His dark, navy blue eyes locked onto her's, now seeing what color her eyes were, which threw him off entirely. Bright silver.