Running, she did a lot of it. Mostly because she was running from "them." The nocturnal creatures that inhabited the woods at night were far more gruesome than any of the scary stories Luna's mother would tell her of them. They resembled goblins of some sort, but much more terrifying with long sharp teeth and claws. They would roam around like zombies in search of human flesh until dawn..... The crinkling of dry autumn leaves were heard beneath Luna's running feet as she darted through the woods, swerving past the big oak trees that stood in her way. She could hear them coming; their eerie whispers floating in the wind, sending chills down her spine. She knew better than to stay out past dusk and the sun was just about to set. "Mother will be worried about me," she thought as she brushed a strand of long blonde hair out of her face. Behind her, she could hear an owl and he seemed to be warning her of the approaching nightfall causing her to pick up her pace. She was panting heavily when she reached the clearing, and the sky looked like it was on fire. She was distracted momentarily by it's radiant beauty and as the sky got dimmer, she quickly made her way down the hill on the dirt path that led to the little cottage where she lived. The smell of her mother's cooking reminded her of how hungry she was as she ran in through the front door and bolted it closed behind her.
"It's a bit past your curfew," her mother said, glancing over at her with concern on her face.
"I know, I'm sorry," she said catching her breath again, "Daylen and I lost track of time."
"Your head's always in the clouds when you're with that boy, Luna!" Her mother shook her head, "I tell you, he's nothing but a trouble maker!"
"Don't talk about him like that, mother; he's my good friend!" Luna hated how her mother always had something bad to say about Daylen. "Look, I know he's made mistakes in the past, but his intentions are good. He's actually a nice guy, if you would just get to know him."
Her mother had developed a dislike of Daylen ever since he almost set the woods aflame while tampering with fire. Daylen was a curious boy with a daring attitude. He had become aware of the creatures that lurked in the woods at night, and he was trying to find different ways to destroy them; all which involved dangerous methods. Luna's mother quietly returned to her cooking while still shaking her head. Luna went around closing all the curtains and she could already hear them coming before she went up to the last window. The sky casted one last gleam of light as a farewell and then pitch black darkness slowly started to take over everything. Through a gap in the wood from the planks that covered the window, Luna caught a glimpse of a dark shadow with protruding ears and claws. "It looks like we have our first visitor of the night.." She quickly finished closing the curtains and then stepped back while preparing for the terror that was about to ensue. Her and her mother were forced to board up all the windows, after this one time where a hoard of these dreadful creatures had managed to break the glass on one and nearly came inside.Thankfully it was close to sunrise when it happened and they didn't have to fight them back for long. Luna remembered the snaky smiles with pointy fangs and drool dripping from their jaws, she shuddered at the memory of it as she ran to turn on her mother's old record player. They would use it to muffle the gruesome sounds from outside. They did this every night, as they sat down and ate dinner. Then they would head to bed, with the music still playing and try to sleep through it all. Banging on the door and pounding on the windows was heard until dawn; walls rattling and claws scratching against the wood. No matter how loud the music was, the creatures could still be heard....
