Luna Raine

VI. Fxxxing Holy Monsters

"Please, have you seen my daughter?"

Slowly, I look up to see my mom, skinnier than ever. The light inside her eyes was hollow, colorless. She rushes around, handing out papers.

"Mom!" I screamed, but she continued ignoring me.

I rush to the other side of the street, and my legs halt at the sound of a car honk. I turn my head to see a car speeding towards me. My eyes automatically shut to get ready for the impact. But, nothing. I open my eyes to see the car on the other side of the street.

I look down at my trembling hands and exhale a deep breath. What happened? The winds rustle across the trees, but my hair heavily lays on my shoulders. Not a single movement.

One massive step after another, I rush towards the sidewalk. "Mom!" I screamed, reaching out for her. She turns her body, and with a shaky hand, she hands out another piece of paper. Like a robot, she reacts mechanically, giving out a flier to each person passing by without a break. I stood in front of her, screaming: "Mom! Look at me! I'm here!"

She turns her head once more and ignores me.

The wind blew across her oily uncombed hair, revealing puffy red eyes, and the fliers in her hand flew away. It scattered all over the road, drifting into the distance. I tried to capture the breaths that continuously escaped my lungs, but it wouldn't stay. Inhalation. Exhalation. It came in shallowness. I walk over to one of the papers, to see a picture-

Of me.

Have you seen my daughter?

Raine Fall

Age 16

Please contact 854-XXX-XXX if you saw her.

My eyes went back up towards the woman, who rushed around to collect the fliers. She dropped to her knees to gather the papers—a madwoman in a ruthless world. Steadily, the tears drip down her hollow cheeks, past her pale lips. She lifted the papers and held it close to her trembling chest.

A man passes by and grabs one of the papers on the ground. He exhaled and shook his head. "Poor woman, she had been out here passing fliers for the last three weeks trying to find her daughter."

"Such a pity. The daughter looks like a beautiful girl too."

"I heard the truck that got her daughter fell into the ocean."

"Why is she still out here then?"

"They said when they found the truck. The back door broke open, so some of the girls' bodies got lost."

"Then, how do you know her daughter was in there?"

"They found pictures of the girls in the back of the truck inside the glove compartment."

"Ah," the woman nods her head. "How tragic. The world can be a scary place."

The sky roars and drops of rain poured down. Everyone was rushing around trying to find shelter, everyone except my mom. She sat there and with mountains of wet fliers in her arms. Mindlessly, she stared at the single picture in front of her. "Raine. Where are you?"

I kneel in front of her. "Mom, I'm right here."

She reached for the picture and ran her hand across it. It was the last photo we took together, the one before we went on the hike.

"Mom, look at me." Gently, I lift a trembling hand only to pass her red cheek.

"Raine."

"I'm right here."

"Are you eating?"

"Yes."

"Are you well?"

"Yes."

"Are you sleeping well?"

"No. I miss you."

Those are the questions she usually asked me whenever I went back to boarding school.

"Can you tell mom where you are?"

"Mom!" I shriek from the top of my lungs. "I'm right here!" I hit my chest a few times. "I'm in front of you!"

She leans against the pool, "Raine, my baby, where are you?" And then it happened in a motionless state. I watched. I watched my mom's eyes, and then I knew. She's tired. Much too tired to cry. And yet, the tears stream down. She breathes real slowly, but each breath got harder, shorter.

I hate it.

The feeling of hopelessness.

"Mom, I'm right here!"

The thunder cracks.

"Mom! Look at me! Your Raine is right here!"

The rain pours.

"MOM!"

It drowns out the cries.

"MOM!"

The cry of a daughter for her mother.

***

"MOM!" I jolted up from the bed, sweats pouring down my body, soaking my bed as the tears refused to stop rolling.

"Mom." I curl into a ball. A low muffled cry broke out, images of my mom handing out fliers refuse to leave my mind.

Inhaling a sharp breath, I stood up and went to the kitchen for water. Wiping the tears off, I laid on the couch, and turned on the gaming station - my escape from the pain.

I lay the glass down when I saw a familiar name.

Online: IamtheAlphaBtches.

A message pops on the screen: 'Turn on your speaker.'

I grab the headset and turn on the speaker.

"Why are you awake this late?" I like it. Wolfie's voice. It's soothing.

We start a game, "I can't sleep."

"Is it another nightmare?" he asked, shooting a random player.

"Yeah," I responded. I shot another player and gave myself a high five in progress.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Not really."

"Are you sure? I promise not to make fun of you."

I smile.

"For f**k sake! Why do you two always do this! This is the place to shoot heads off, not flirt!" a random voice shouted.

"Yeah! If you two want to have a romantic midnight talk, get the f**k out of here!" Another voice screamed.

"Oh f**k no, bitches," we said at the same time.

And it was wartime.

Three hours' worth of war.

"We own your ass!" I screamed into the headset. I can hear other player grumblings in complaint or cursing words at us.

"Good job, partner."

I yawn, "I know."

Peeking at the clock, I realized it was 3:45 am. This is a bad habit, and I know it. I tried to go to sleep early because I have work tomorrow, but I guess I can pick up a cup of coffee instead. I scroll the arrow towards the log off button.

"Hey, Little Piglet?"

I stifled another yawn, "What is it?"

There was a long pause on the other side, and I can only hear the low music playing in the background that matches mine. "Want to exchange numbers?" he asked quickly.

My heart halted, the mouth opened, but it didn't respond. "W-W-What?"

"Let's exchange numbers, Little Piglet. I want to talk to you outside of the gaming world. I really like hearing your voice."

Sometimes, Wolfie and I have these personal chats during a game, which isn't so private since we played with a few other familiar online friends. I know it's foolish, but I would tell them about my late night nightmares, which is the reason why I stay up at night, but I didn't tell them about my mom.

It isn't just me; we would often share information, things we can't share with others in real life. We find it easier to share personal details with someone we don't know; perhaps it's because we never saw each other's faces, or maybe not seeing their expression makes things better. It seems that telling a stranger your problems always seems so much easier than sharing it with someone besides you.

Helen and Cory grew on me, but it's hard to open up to them fully. Sometimes, I feel like the more I talk about my other world, the more it becomes annoying to them. I don't want to lose them.

"I don't know," I mumble.

"Do you not trust me?" He sounds dejected.

"I kind of don't know you," I responded honestly.

I can hear him releasing a deep breath, "I understand."

After some awkward silence, I started scratching my head, unable to find a new topic to discuss. "I got to go to sleep. I have to work soon."

It was quiet on the other side; if I didn't see his username still online, I would've thought he logged off. "Little Piglet."

The beating inside my chest was unforgiving, "Y-Yes?"

"Sweet dreams," he whispered sweetly.

I glanced up at the screen to see that he had logged off, and I couldn't help but feel a rush of disappointment sink into my bones. "You could've been a bit more persistent. Maybe, I'll cave and give you my number."

Whenever I talk to Wolfie, it always feels good. He knows exactly what to say to make me laugh even when we aren't talking about the game. We don't know much about each other except we both are gamers. Wolfie says he started gaming a few years back when his father decided to start training him to take over the family business.

Then again, it would be stupid to give my number to a random person I met online. He could be extremely hot. But, he can also be lying about everything he said, and it turns out he is a forty years old man with an enticing voice that's living inside his mom's basement. It happens.

I released a breath and threw my remote as well as headset down. Laying my head on the couch pillow, I shut my eyes, preparing for the day unable to get Wolfie's voice out of my mind.

My eyes burst open, hands lazily reaching for my cell phone when I heard a ringing sound. I checked the number and turned off the alarm. Sitting up, I shook my head to clear my head. Dragging my legs on the ground, I head towards the bathroom to get ready for work.

I took my bike and peddled, feeling the cold morning air hitting my skin. I may get governmental support, but it isn't enough to get me a car. I miss my car.

When I reached the store, I took out the keys and opened it. Switching on the lights, my mind wonders what in the world my boss is thinking, letting a teenager run the stores all by herself.

When I walked towards the counter, like always, everything was prepped.

A year ago, when I was looking for a job, I crossed paths with my boss. He was always around during my first weeks, but after that, he was always away saying how he trusts me, an employee he trained for a week. He told me the donuts will always be ready when I arrive, and the money for the day will be on the counter. When it's time to lock up, I can just put the cash back on the counter and leave. There aren't any other workers besides this other girl and me, but we don't frequently talk since we have different shifts.

I pulled up a stool and placed the money in the cashier. Sitting there, I grab a book and read about the hypothesis regarding other dimensions. I realized there are many books regarding the possibility of other worlds here, so I would always pick one out from the library, hoping it can give me some hint of going back home.

Leaning forward, I sat there, listening to the clock tick. One thing I love about working here is that there are hardly any customers so I can do whatever I want during my free time.

The bell rang, and I looked up to see a familiar pair.

"What do you guys want?" I ask, "I'm working."

Helen leaned against the counter, "Is that how you're supposed to talk to your customers?"

"Oh. Are you guys finally going to buy something?"

Cory set his stuff at one of the empty tables, "Last time I check, we don't have to buy anything to be here."

"That's what I thought." I flip to the next page.

Helen leaned towards me, "Reading about other dimensions again?"

I exhale and nod, "Yeah."

Cory walks around the counter and looks past me. "How is it going?"

"Better if you two aren't here."

"And here I assumed we are friends."

I smirk, "Don't assume because when you assume. You make an ass out of-"

"You-" Helene said.

"And me," Cory finishes.

I wish Helen and Cory existed in my world. The three of us would've been great friends.

We all chuckle briefly before I return to my book. I noticed Helen elbow Cory who shook his head. I close the book, "What's wrong?"

Cory licks his lips before he scratches his head. "I got a call."

"About?"

He sat on the stool beside me, "You remember Selection Day?"

I nod, "Yeah. How they choose five humans and hunters to go to the wolf academy."

"Well, the phone call was for me, and they said, I'm one of the humans who are chosen."

My brows crunch and I turn my whole body towards him. "You applied?"

Cory closed his eyes, "It was supposed to be a joke that the guys and I did. We all applied, but I didn't think they would choose me."

"But we didn't have a ceremony."

"Remember the day you left early for work?" Helen question.

"Yeah." The other co-worker called me and asked me if I can cover part of her shift because her mother got sick. So, I requested for an early leave from school. When you're an orphan, it's not that hard to leave school. Because no one really cares. Cory's parents are my guardians, but they only come up if I get killed or hospitalized.

"That was Selection Day."

My mouth gap opens, "I miss everything."

"It seems to be your thing," Helen comments.

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to reject it?" After all, he did it as a joke, so why would he go to a school full of wolves.

"No, I'm going to accept it," Cory responds.

"Why?" I ask.

"Well, two reasons." He exhales, "One, my parents are proud that I am going to be one of the representatives of the human community youth. It's kind of a big thing to be accepted, and I don't want to disappoint them by telling them that everything is a joke."

"What's the second reason?"

"I heard Full Moon has a large selection of books about other worlds. We might find something that can help you go home, Raine."

"Not only that but spells too," Helen includes. "There are restrictive books at Full Moon that even the Witch community doesn't have. If Cory goes there, then he may find a spell that can potentially take you home."

There was a kindness in their smiles, a soothing, gentle feature. It was a smile that expressed their support towards what others would find insane.

"You guys-" I exhale, "I appreciate this, but you don't have to do this." I look at Cory, "I don't want you to get hurt." I heard stories and witnessed werewolves a few times. They're incredibly hot-headed creatures, and when things don't go their ways, a fight seems to be the only way to work things out. I don't want Cory to lay his life down for me.

"Don't worry," Cory slapped my hand on top of mine. "The council informed us that we would be safe. Nothing will happen to us. If something happens, they will immediately pull us out of Full Moon's territory."

"Cory-"

"Please-" he said, "Let us help you. We want you to be happy."

"Why?" I whisper, "Why would you do this for me?"

They smile, "Because you're our friend and friends help each other out."

I didn't look at them. I couldn't look at them. This is it. The kindness that many lacks. My head could only drop, and the stream of hair on my face waves down, not a lot but enough to cover the flow of water.

"Silly," Helen whispered before she held me. Steadily, from the other side, I felt another surge of warmth.

I cover my face, embarrassed that they witness this pathetic state of mine, and at that tender moment, I could only say: "Thank you."