2.

"They are among us. The demonic creatures are living in our neighborhood, going to the same schools we send our kids, tempting them to join the side of Satan." The little crowd cheered, screaming agreements and hate towards the creatures. But there was a girl who remained quiet. "They are waiting for the moment where nobody believes in them anymore when no one is talking about their wicked plan. When this day arrives, they will kill us all, then change the ones who survive. They will make our world their world. But we won't let 'em." The last sentence was pronounced with greater intensity, people screaming louder at the commotion. "We are going to fight 'em, and take 'em all down." At this point, the girl stopped listening.

Amelia was not like the people in this cult, the ones that meet on 5th street, every Thursday and Saturday. She didn't like the screaming voices, the hate they exhaled, the obscene words they said or the fact that they ignored their own sins and insisted on condemning others for theirs. She didn't want to be a part of that at all. All she wanted was to run away from that madness and never come back. But she couldn't, seeing that the crazy woman, screaming at the top of her lungs saying things about an apocalyptic plan, was her mother.

Not her birth mother, an adoptive one, but the only one she knew. Her biological parents died when she was a baby, and she had been living with Naomi Harvele, the leader of the anti-werewolves cult since then. Not only her but two other kids; orphans like Amelia. As the children of the high priestess of the church, they all needed to attend every cult to set an example, but being in the Church wasn't the worst part for Amelia.

As an active part of the cultism, she and her siblings had to work and gain more followers for their mother. Handing flyers was one of their tasks. While her siblings did the job excitedly, wanting to bring as many people as possible to the Church as a form of competition, Amelia absolutely hated to be seen as a face for that belief. She hated being connected to that and felt like a bad person for spreading a message of hate like that.

Even if her mother did her best to put the idea in Amelia's head that werewolves were dangerous creatures and should be wiped out of the world, she didn't buy it. What could they possibly do that is worse than what humans have already done? Was what she thought every time she heard her mother's lecture. She never said it out loud though, she knew it would be worse than denying God. Her mother despised the humans that didn't abhor werewolves as much as she despised the creatures themselves. But even if she did try her best not to show her discordance with the topic, her mother could see it in the way she didn't involve herself in the cult meetings or lectures like her siblings. Still, she never brought it up.

Amelia was taken from her thoughts by her younger sister, Juliette, pulling her arm. "The meeting is almost over, we need to go to the door." Was all she said before going through the crowd in the direction of the door, being followed by a reluctant Amelia.

"Thank you for coming. We will wait for you next Thursday. Remember to bring your family and friends. Spread the word. God bless you." Amelia murmured - with her voice so low that she almost wasn't heard - to the last one to leave the Church. She sighed, looking at the few flyers left in her hands, knowing she will have to go to the city first thing tomorrow morning to hand them all out until the last one is in a future cultist's hands.

"You need to speak louder and make them feel welcomed." Her mother reprimanded her loudly. "Hearing you talking is like hearing a damn mouse. You are an adult - twenty-two years old. For the love of God, behave as such! These people need to see our strength while we fight evil." It wasn't the first time Amelia heard this, 'she isn't good for business', her mother would say, 'but she got good looks that call out for attention'. Amelia felt dirty hearing this.

While her mother criticized her, a movement caught her attention. Three people were exiting the medical clinic that had always been on the other side of 5th street. Wearing white clothes it was obvious that they worked there, and they were laughing, happy to be together. Amelia was lost in the sight before her. A happy family - something that seemed so distant from her reality.

She watched as the woman got in the passenger's seat while the man went to the back seat. The other man; the tallest of the three, opened the door of the driver's side but before getting in, he stopped and looked around as if someone had called his name.

Almost as if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked at her. Amelia's eyes went wide at the sight of him. Delicate face, his brown curls looking so soft that she wanted to comb her fingers through them. But that wasn't what made her gasp, it was his eyes. They were honey-colored and really bright, just like her own.

His eyes were enough for the world around Amelia to fade until it was a distant and unimportant detail in the background. Without even thinking about the consequences of ignoring her mother, who was still going on about how much of a disappointment she was, she kept staring at the stranger man because, at that moment, trying to understand the mix of recognition and curiosity in his golden orbs was her number one priority.

She felt uneasy at the attention he was giving her, not used to being noticed. But on the other hand, she was happy he was too far away to listen to her mother. It would be the ultimate humiliation if he knew how much of a freak she was.

The intense stare was only broken when the woman called for him in the car. The man blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly, and got in the car. Before he left though, he looked at Amelia again. This time looking almost sad, and then he was gone, leaving Amelia confused about what had happened and with a strange thrill making her heartbeat unsteady.

"Good night, Juliette. Good night, Albert." Amelia said to the two teenagers as they lied in their tiny beds in the same room. It was a small space, where their beds were almost touching each other.

As the oldest of the three, she was responsible for them. Having turned the lights off, she checks if the doors and windows are closed and locked as quietly as she could, to not disturb her mother. She went to the kitchen to wash the plates of food they served at the cult meeting and to put the leftovers in the fridge. Not a second passed when she wasn't thinking about the stranger she saw earlier.

Like every night, she was the last one to go to sleep. When she finally laid on her bed, her siblings were already sleeping. She closed her eyes and prayed that tomorrow would be a better day, as she did every night. She pleaded that her parents were at peace wherever they were. And with thoughts about brilliant honey eyes, she fell asleep.

Amelia awakens with the bright light of the morning sun in her face, already getting up to start her day. Later that morning, when she was about to go to the city to hand flyers her mother stopped her.

"You will take some leftovers for your grandmother. She is unwell." The old woman says harshly. Amelia presumed her grandmother was sick when she didn't make an appearance yesterday. She was just as excited about the cult as her only daughter. "And don't you go one step in the wrong way, young lady. You know there are monsters out there." Even if these words should show concern for a dear one, Amelia understood it for what it was: a threat. If a monster catches you, let it kill you. It is way better than to be turned into one of them.

"It's cold outside. Use my cape." The woman added, making her confused as to why she would ask the girl to use it, since she never let any of them anywhere near the cloth, but she didn't let it show.

"Yes, Ma." Amelia mumbled in her usual low voice, head down in respect, and no eye contact as to show no rudeness. She took the basket her mother handed her and went to the door. Hanging in the closet was the old red velvet hooded cloak that her mother was so attached to. She put it on and opened the door, being welcomed by the cold temperature that still remained from the winter even if it was the first day of spring.

Amelia wasn't sure if she was pleased with the new assignment. On one hand, she hated handing out flyers, but her grandmother wasn't someone she liked to be around either. She lived quite far from the village where Amelia abided. It usually took an hour and a half to arrive there, but it would be faster if she cut her way through the forest.

After twenty minutes of walking, she arrived at the first trees of the forest. There was a road that circulated around the woods; this was the way her mother always instructed her to use, but there was a passage that cuts through the forest. She knew it would go straight to her grandmother's house because she had seen the end of the same passage in her backyard.

She looked at the road, it would take one hour on foot. She looked at the passage; no more than forty minutes until the house, she was sure of it. But the woodland wasn't safe. Her mother always alerted all her followers that there werewolves there, and anyone who entered the forest wouldn't come back.

Amelia brushed it off; she wasn't even sure if werewolves were real, much less believe that they were a threat. She entered the forest using the little way, not caring for what her mother said. She felt free at that moment as if she was rebelling against her mother and her beliefs. She giggled at the thought and kept walking, entering the woods.

Unfortunately, this time her mother was right. There was, indeed, a monster in that forest, and at that moment, unknown to her, he was watching her closely.

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