My sisters, Livy and Nora, and I, as a group, opened the Impala's doors and exited the vehicle.
As a trio, our gazes were fixed on the enormous white structure that loomed before our very eyes, a silent challenge in its imposing presence.
As the car doors clicked shut behind us, we passed groups of students who, with cold eyes and whispered words of disdain directed at us, revealed their distaste for our presence to their companions.
Down the illuminated hallway, the gleaming white tiles echoed with our footsteps.
A few clocks, some wooden boards, and uninspired portraits adorned the white walls. Dark blue lockers dominated the lower walls of the school hallways, as small windows scattered across some sections high above the lockers.
A heavy hush fell over us as we approached the thick grey door. Stopping midway into our tracks.
In the corner, with strawberry-red hair and brown eyes, stood Ruby Blackheart, the queen of manipulation. She could transform into a monstrous narcissist, fueled by corruption.
Taylor Midnight, with black wavy hair and dark brown, almost black eyes, stood beside her, radiating confidence. Her relentless torture shattered minds. A student died last year because of Taylor. Taylor blamed the student's weakness.
Emily Hyde, with a cascade of blond wavy hair and striking hazel-green eyes, was just as corrupted as her friends.
Ruby and her friends approached. The air was thick with unsettled anger. They glared, arms folded. Poised, Ruby scowled at me and my sisters.
"Oh, look, girls, it's the ones who like to sleep around." Ruby said, rolling her brown eyes at us.
Livy's movement caught my eye. Her intense, almost palpable anger vibrated through her.
A few students overwhelmed by the situation moved further down the hallway.
"You must be referring to yourself. All the boys must love going between those legs." Livy said.
pointing down at Ruby's legs, with a playful smirk resting on her lips.
I bumped her shoulder while glaring, telling her without words to quit it, but she just returned a smirk in defiance. She cracked her knuckles. Livy frowned at Ruby's blank stare. Then, she dropped her arms to her sides. Ruby edged nearer, her arms still across her chest.
Ruby, without a word, fixed Livy with a questioning glare, her eyes reflecting her confusion at Livy's statement. She played the illusion so well; it was almost tangible. To conceal the truth from prying eyes.
"Must I explain this to you?" Livy asked.
Irritation was plastered on her face as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"No, I can think for myself." Ruby said in a snarky tone.
Livy gazed at her with a smug smile, knowing what to say.
"You can't advance your education by being intimate with every man." Livy said.
Hushed conversations about the ordeal between Ruby's friends and my sisters erupted among the students.
Various emotions played across Ruby's eyes. Livy recognized the hint of discomfort in Ruby's expression.
"It seems I touched a sensitive spot. Did poor little Ruby realize her mistake?" Livy said.
Livy scorned Ruby as her eyes showcased her emotions like a film. Still, only deep animosity remained.
Ruby's hand tightened into a fist. Her veins were invaded by a dark liquid, which turned into a black magic orb. As she revealed her palm, a dark ball levitated above her hand.
Ruby's arm shot forward in a quick, aggressive motion. Dark magic raced down the hallway, striking Livy with the force of a bolder.
Livy was sent across the hall by the powerful impact. She slid to a stop at the base of the lockers.
Nora and I stared at Livy's motionless body.
A laugh escaped all three of the girl's lips. Ruby pulled her hand back to her side.
I faced her, my fists clenched while battling the anger surging through me.
"Ruby! I've about had enough of you!" I said, rage coating my voice.
"Astrid, you are as ignorant as your sisters are." Ruby said as she snickered.
I rolled my eyes. Gasps and whispers filled the student crowd.
Her face was expressionless, a cold and hard stare, her silence was a clear and chilling response to my presence.
Ruby tilted her head, observing something beyond my view. Preoccupied, she passed by me and, without pause, removed the necklace from Livy's motionless form.
With a confident stride and a smile playing on her lips, she walked back to her friends.
Livy's point of view.
The unnerving silence was shattered as Astrid and Nora spoke with voices fueled by anger. They yelled at Ruby about something, their faces red with fury. But I couldn't distinguish their voices, a jumbled cacophony, and tell who was who.
As I sat up, a wave of pain, like a punch to the gut, hit me; I clutched my head, and a low moan escaped my lips.
I tried to stand, but a fresh wave of intense pain slammed into me as I cried out and collapsed.
Ruby contorted her features into a playful, exaggerated pout.
With each wave sent a jolt through me, vision blurring as my lungs screamed for air, expecting the next to be the last.
I tilted my head back, a cold sweat slicking my skin as the enormity of the darkness swallowed me whole.
Each word from my wolf echoed with a sorrow to be set free from her prison, yet my fear of hurting someone weighed on my heart.
My wolf's growl echoed in my head, a sound that served as an ominous warning that the unfolding events would not align with my expectations.
A wave of blurry vision washed over me again, then receded as my eyes struggled to focus. Droplets of sweat beaded on my forehead, and I could feel the sticky heat on my skin.
Ruby snickered at the sight before her, pleased by her work. By the look on her face, she was not willing to give the necklace even if I lost full control of my beast.
White-hot agony ripped through me, like butter.
My blurry gaze fixed on Emily's triumphant smile and the glint of my necklace hanging from her hand.
That's when I understood why I was experiencing such deep throbbing pain. Ruby and her friends robbed me of the very thing that concealed my inner wolf.
As I lowered myself to all fours, desperate for even a moment's respite from the agonizing pain, any hope for relief was extinguished by the sickening crack of my forearms dislocating.
A high-pitched, piercing scream, involuntary and full of terror, tore itself from my lips. With no relief in sight, the agonizing pain was etched across my entire body.
[Astrids pov]
Nora and I were desperate to get the necklace back. Whenever we tried to grab the necklace, they'd pass it, chuckling. Livy looked up at Emily, seeing her necklace hanging from her hands with a satisfied smile.
I knew she could not fight for it because of the pain her wolf was causing her. I wish I had seen this coming. This situation is of my doing. I should have sensed this sooner, but I was too naïve, and that's my fault.
A sickening crunch of bone and a bloodcurdling scream echoed behind me and Nora, chilling us to the bone.
Our bodies turned, watching Livy's paws form, hair sprout from her skin; I smelled the animalistic musk emanating from her as her screams turned into a guttural growl.
We were all screwed. As Livy reached her breaking point, an unsympathetic laugh escaped Ruby's lips.
A growl, unusual and menacing, issued from Livy's lips, frightening those nearby. At the unexpected sound and intensity, every student recoiled.
With teeth bared, Livy's snapping jaws aimed at the surrounding students, lunging at every scrambling students possible, their screams piercing the air.
She was a whirlwind of motion, a growling sound echoing down the cold, white-tiled hallway, furry paws pressing against the slick tile as she pursued them, sharp teeth snapping at their heels.
The spell left my mouth, and a warm, bright light surrounded Livy, lifting her into the air while magic returned her to Nora and me. I set her down.
"Huh, Livy is a monster underneath that human skin," Taylor spoke.
Livy, in her midnight black wolf form, attacked the three girls positioned behind Nora and myself. The echoing crash of their backs hitting the cold, slick tiled floor reverberated.
Saliva dripped from her razor-sharp teeth as a guttural growl rose from her throat, a sound that promised pain.
Livy, a predator ready for the kill. Aimed at the girls' throats, who were trapped beneath her paws as her muscles coiled with impending power. With a surge of adrenaline, Nora intercepted the blow.
Our sister's teeth sank into Nora's arm. Blood dripped from Nora's wound, splattering onto Ruby, Taylor, and Emily's faces.
I lowered myself to their level, knees bent and arms resting on my thighs.
"You should be happy my sister saved you." I said.
A steady drip, drip, drip of blood fell from the wound. Frozen with a dreadful, icy fear etched onto their faces, they turned, the lingering blood on their bodies a grim reminder of their ordeal, falling in a steady stream of individual drops.
A silent scream, trapped behind a wall of forced composure, was reflected in the sharp stab of pain I saw in Nora's eyes as she met my stoic glare.
The smell of blood and fear filled my nostrils as I faced the three bullies, glaring back at their sneers.
Their noses wrinkled, upper lips curled, a silent rejection hanging in the air. Cold and blank, their faces were my doom; they would embrace death before relinquishing the necklace's hold.
"We are keeping the necklace. This abomination can die!" Ruby said. No emotion clear in her voice.
I rolled my eyes, disliking what she said. Livy wasn't an abomination.
"The only abominations here are you three," My voice sharp and uncontrolled.
I stood, my finger pointing between them.
Nora's arm slipped from Livy's grasp and fell limp. With a determined face that betrayed no fear, Livy charged downwards again, teeth bared as she once again tried to aim for their throats.
I clenched my right fist, the anticipation building, and delivered a powerful punch to her thick, furry head, the impact reverberating. Livy's body was sent mid-air into the lockers, a cacophony of metallic echoes filling the air.
My eyes narrowed in a glare, fixed on Nora's arm. The wound she sustained healed at a rapid speed. Her eyes darted between me and Livy, shock painted her face with a stark white mask.
My gaze fell, heavy with a mixture of anger and self-reproach, as I felt the insidious tendrils of anguish and guilt slither through my veins, much like the venomous spread of a dangerous virus.
My heart cracked inside my chest, a painful sensation. I never wanted to hurt my sister this way, and the sorry look in my eyes gave it away.
But it was a requirement so that Ruby, Taylor and Emily could live. A regrettable decision to make.
Nora placed her hand on my shoulder; her touch was firm and grounding. I looked up at her, and the silent understanding painted itself across her face.
I glanced around, taking in the entire scene. Livy's weight left a deep dent in the lockers. When I glared down to see her wolf form, it was nowhere insight.
Fear thrashed through me like a bullet.
I sprinted further down the hall, hoping she'd gone in that direction, but no such luck. I peeked in every classroom, but no luck. My heart was racing, and I couldn't think straight.
I walked back to Nora with a worried expression on my face. My facial expression communicated Livy's absence to her.
This development, while foreseen, happened quicker than expected. Our eyes burned holes in the floor as we readied our threats, prepared to make the bullies give back the necklace. Yet, their location was vacant. All except the necklace, which lay flat on the ground.
Confused, Nora and I exchanged glances, wondering why they would abandon it. Lowering myself, I picked it up by the string, its texture rough against my fingers. Then, I stood up from my position.
We were about to leave the school when a loud voice interrupted the silent thoughts we shared between looks.
"You two listen right NOW! Your servering detention with me, no questions asked." Mrs. Hazelbrook said, an icy tone leaving her lips.
Not bothering to look their way; I could already feel the weight of Ruby, Taylor, and Emily's smug gazes on us.
Being punished for something that we did not do made the situation even more real. Each time we were subjected to bullying by these girls, the same situation would occur, forcing me to laugh.
"Sorry, but listening to your unintelligent tantrum is less important than what we need to do." I said.
United by a single, aching purpose, Nora and I both strived to save our sister from the encroaching darkness that held her captive.
Taylor, Ruby, and Emily were at it again, trying to frame us for something we were not responsible for.
"What's more important than school?" Mrs. Hazelbrook said, annoyance lacing her voice.
Nora and I shrugged our shoulders and took a long silent breath before everything became silent. There was no need to answer them.
They will never know the hell we went through at home. They never noticed or cared that being a mere tool in my family's sinister plots was terrifying. None of it was relevant in their eyes.
We walked together, synchronized, leaving the building, and hearing a last thing.
"If you leave this school, you're expelled." Our teacher said.
The words vibrated down the hallway.
With a shared shrug of the shoulders, Nora and I exited the school building, our unspoken sentiments mirroring one another in that single, non-verbal expression.
As we walked towards the car, Nora took her place behind the wheel on the driver's side, while I settled into the passenger seat beside her. Settling into the car, Nora threw her hands up in the air, an obvious display of her mounting frustration.
"What's wrong?" I said, confused.
Her eyes burned into mine with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.
"We don't have the keys to Livy's car, so how are we supposed to find her?" She said, frustrated at the situation.
"Sis, we couldn't have predicted this. It's not your fault; it's mine." I said,
With my head lowered in shame, the ache of emotional torture washed over me.
She rested her head, exhaling before facing me.
"One, it is not your fault, and two, why would you even think that, Astrid?" Nora said, questioning why I felt that way.
I gave no answer to her question. Which left her at a standstill.
With another sigh, Nora removed the access panel that concealed the complex wiring within. With a firm grip on the two wires before her, she made deliberate contact between them, and the car's engine responded with a powerful roar. In a quick motion, she reinstalled the paneling, ensuring that the exposed wires were hidden from sight.
With a firm grip on the steering wheel, she pressed down on the gas pedal, accelerating the vehicle forward. As I lowered the car window, Livy's animalistic scent filled my senses while I guided Nora, giving her precise instructions about the upcoming turn and how much further she needed to travel to reach Livy. In that instant, comprehension hit me like a rock. I knew where Livy was going.
"She's going to the dark forest." I said, rolling my window up and looking at Nora.
She sped us up with strong pedal pushes. It did not take long before we pulled the car into an open space, overgrown with grass and weeds, which scattered across the clearing. Trees half-circled us, their dark aura sending goosebumps down my body.
Nora parked the car. We both stepped out and closed the Impala's doors in unison. An icy breeze nipped at our skin.
The forest, dark and imposing, stood tall, its trees appearing shadowy and ominous, radiating an eerie chill that permeated the surrounding air. A thick fog lingered beneath the ancient, sprawling branches of the trees. High above the trees, a large flock of ravens filled the air with their harsh screeches, echoing through the branches.
A sudden chill ran down my spine. I didn't feel safe here, and I wondered why she would go here of all places.
My body aligned with Nora's, I gazed at her figure, her red curly hair dancing in the wind. I gave her the necklace, accompanied by a silent understanding. She gave a nod. She took off at a speed that seemed inhuman.
None of us were monsters, despite the accusations and fearful whispers. We weren't originally that way.
Livy's wolf manifested during a sexual assault by a student. He disseminated a video throughout the school showing him and his friends assaulting her, leading every kid to believe she consented, though she was screaming for help.
That day, her wolf turned feral. The darkness from her wolf overwhelmed her, and many nights she tried to kill. I bought a wolf-howl pendant that I came across in a witch shop. I didn't conceal her wolf; the concealing spell only hid the darkness within her wolf.
She still could transform and communicate with her wolf. I didn't want her to feel a sense of loss, aware that she carried a part of herself within.
A familiar scream cut through the dark forest, echoing like a wave. My legs moved beneath me, muscles burning with each step. An icy dread washed over me, my feet moving, directionless in the oppressive unknown.
I ran in a zigzag motion, dodging trees, until my eyes landed on Livy's wolf form, a low growl rumbling in her chest as she pinned Nora to the ground, her face inches away from the damp earth. A menacing growl tore from her throat.
Nora struggled, her muscles burning, trying to wrench her pinned arm free from the weight holding it down. Through determined effort, she freed her arm, Livy's necklace still held within her grasp.
Summoning an unnatural strength, she pushed herself up to her hands and knees before rolling onto her back, which then struck the damp ground. Just as she was about to place the pendant on Livy's wolf form, Livy moved and ran to a tree.
Nora rose and rushed in her direction. I mirrored her movements, each gesture a perfect reflection. However, Livy had other plans and continued to run from us, her footsteps echoing in the distance, despite our speed.
I and Nora paused on either side of Livy, our eyes locking in a knowing glance. I ran and jumped onto her thick wolf form, my hands sinking into her soft, dense fur as I gripped around her stomach. She bounced wildly, like a creaky old seesaw, making it impossible to hang on.
"Nora, now would be a good time." I said. My voice bounced at every jump Livy made.
Nora reached out to Livy's wiggling form, finding it difficult to place the necklace properly on her chest, as she bounced around in rage. The moment Livy paused, Nora held the necklace against her.
Livy growled, then let out a yelp of pain. Livy fell to the hard ground with me, and as I stood up, Nora wore a confused expression.
The necklace glimmered as she stared at it, catching my attention. The Necklace glowed a deep crimson red, pulsating with light. It shouldn't have done that. It was supposed to be orange, so I'd know if someone tampered with it.
"So you guys figured it out."
An oddly familiar voice, laced with a strange echo, cut through the stillness of the fog.
Nora and I looked up, trying to find the voice. Ruby, Taylor and Emily confidently walked into view.
"It's funny to think that you guys of all people would fall for that trap." Taylor said, mocking us with a smile.
Emily snapped her fingers, the sharp sound cutting through the silence. The necklace, cool against Nora's skin, vanished from her hand.
"What did you do?" I said, question and anger lacing my voice.
Ruby waved her index finger back and forth with a dismissive flick.
"No, it's what you guys did to her?" Ruby said as she pointed her finger at Livy.
We followed her finger with our eyes, tracing its path, and then our eyes met hers once more. The anger I knew so well slowly seeped back into my soul.