1 The sounds in the forest are never to be followed...
Emilia Levens was your normal, out-of-the-ordinary young adult, who had just celebrated her 19th birthday by herself.
She believed she had a not-so-interesting life with not-so-interesting things to do other than work to afford the apartment she lived in, pay for her collage tuition, and buy other necessities, which made her consider herself a pretty ordinary person.
She was born in a small town, in a very secluded area, so secluded and hidden that not everyone knew its name. Her mother Cassandra Levens gave birth to Emilia on the 16th of September, a day such as today.
In their town, the 16th of September was known as the day of curses, as many people would lose the keys to their favorite cars, or people would discover that their significant other had an affair, and most of the time it would be that common farmers' houses would burn down from house fires that started completely out of nowhere.
And because of these beliefs, you could say that Emilia's parents loathed her existence on this earth.
Emilia was a mistake and a problem child, or so her parents called her. Her parents claimed that poor Emily ruined their image of a perfect family.
Her parents planned on waking up every morning to riches and a fancy house, maids who would serve them wisely, and a butler who would try his best to make their every wish come true.
Instead, they got a run-down house that they could barely afford, a family of mice that found joy in tearing their couches and leaving little presents in hidden unreachable spots, and a daughter whom they considered a disgrace, And they used every chance they got to remind her of what a problem she was.
"Emilia the dishes! Kids like you can't get anything right " her mother would usually yell from the kitchen.
"Oh Cassandra why couldn't you at least have a son,We could nature him rather than raising that cursed girl" Her father, Andrew Levens, would usually from across the room as he lounged away on the couch watching whatever news report was playing on their news.
Her parents made sure to show their resentment towards her so much that she wasn't surprised when she walked home from school, one day after her birthday, and found her parents standing by the door with her luggage beside them
"Since you've turned 18, and have become a responsible adult, it's time you find your own place to stay as you are ready to survive on your own," Her father said to her while faking a sad expression.
Taking this as her big opportunity she grabbed her bags and bolted out of her parent's house with the speed of light and never looked back.
She managed to get herself a small apartment and juggle two jobs a personal assistant during the day and a waitress at night, and she never looked back on her choices even once.
Having to live alone, with no one to feed made her feel lonely, but she liked the fact that she didn't have to worry about more hungry mouths at home that she had to feed.
This was the very reason why she refused to visit the animal shelter as taking care of it might ruin her 'mental health' so she said.
She had just finished her night shift at the restaurant and was making her way home. She took her usual route home from work which had her take a route passed a forest that was as black as night and had a common case of kids going missing.
"What a great way to spend my birthday" she muttered to herself
Humming a tune to herself Emilia made her way passed the forest but stopped in her tracks when she heard the rustling coming from its direction.
Feeling a bit adventurous she took slow steps towards the forest which was surrounded by many trees and was probably the home of dangerous forest creatures that wouldn't hesitate to shred her into pieces.
Steady but wearingly she walked towards the forest. she reached out her hand but quickly retracted because of the rustling that came from the forest, which was much louder than it had been before.
Taking a deep breath Emilia prepared herself both mentally and physically before she took a leap of faith into the forest while tightly shutting her eyes. She opened them a moment after and frantically checked herself to make sure her limbs were intact and released a sigh of relief afterward.
She was about to turn back and continue heading home thinking that it would have been much safer to be sitting at home rather than to be standing here and awaiting her slow and painful death.
However, she was stopped by the sounds of struggling followed by the sound of someone groaning in pain.
Her heart began beating with fear at what animal might be waiting to eat her behind those bushes, how much they would enjoy what her flesh tasted like, or worse, what if they were cannibals who would give her a long and painful death.
But at the same time, her heart filled with anticipation. What if behind those bushes was a rich businessman with a large amount of muscles and a fat bank account. Or behind those bushes lay her potential soulmate who would love and care for her for the rest of eternity.
Letting her curiosity get the better of her and her mind forcing her to believe it was more likely the latter than the former, she took a deep breath and walked towards the figure that was shaking in the bushes.
But the closer she got, the darker her surroundings became, making her stop and take out her phone,turning on her flashlight before walking towards the noise again.
The closer she got, the more the sounds behind her grew more feint, and the more the trees surrounded her making it hard for her to find her way out.
She walked toward the noise as the groaning got louder and louder with each step. As she finally arrived and opened the bushes while hoping she would find a businessman instead of an animal she found someone-better yet something- that shocked her.
In front of her were two bright red orbs, almost like rubies, looking at her with a cold stare but the smirk not leaving his lips as he stared back at her.
"Ahhh~ so what is a human doing here so late at night" he taunted in a playful voice while still keeping his demeanor cold as his red eyes glowed in the darkness...
