A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (2 page)

George had managed to pick himself up, and he
lumbered towards the stranger. Something must have startled him,
however, as he quickly changed his mind, and began to run in the
opposite direction.

“Hey, wait for me!” shouted Jacob, stumbling
to his feet. “You fucking coward, wait for me!”

With no thoughts of revenge, the stranger
knelt down beside Emily and lifted her head from the pavement.
Looking into her eyes, he said, “You are safe now; those men will
bother you no more.”

“Who are you?” Emily asked, still in shock
and unsure of what she just witnessed.

“My name is Alexander Franson,” said the man.
“But you may call me Xander.”

“T—thank you, Xander,” said Emily, beginning
to lose consciousness. “Did you pick your moves up at a self
defense seminar, too?”

Emily’s eyes rolled back in her head as she
drifted away.

Xander took a moment to look over Emily. She
was a beautiful creature, soft and innocent. She smelled divine,
Xander thought, as he laid Emily down on the pavement. He wished to
sample of her blood, which he knew would be the sweetest touch he
had ever tasted, but he held true and fought the urges that
threatened to wrest control away from him. He could hear some
people coming. He had to get out of there.

The bar’s backdoor exit opened, and Emily’s
friends poured outside, sending the loud music out into the
alleyway.

“Where are you, Emily?” asked Steven,
searching for his sister.

“Are you here?” Julia inquired, walking down
the alleyway. “Oh my god, look over here!”

Julia rushed towards Emily, and kneeled down
beside her.

“What the hell?” Tyler asked. “How could this
have happened?”

Steven grabbed hold of Emily, trying to rock
her back into consciousness. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he
clutched his sister.

“You’re all I have left, you can’t leave me
now,” Steven pleaded. “You just can’t.”

“Uh—Steven?” asked Emily, slowly coming back
to her senses.

“Emily, you’re going to be okay,” said
Steven, overcome with joy. “Thank god, you’re going to be
alright.”

“What happened to you?” questioned Julia,
looking around the alley.

“I was… saved,” whispered Emily, once again
losing consciousness. “Don’t take me to a hospital, please. I… I
don’t know what to say to them… please… no… no hospitals.”

“Damn it, she’s gone again,” muttered Julia,
checking over Emily’s wounds. “Looks like a nasty bruise to the
head, but other than that, I think she’s okay. We should take her
to the hospital, anyway.”

“Not a chance,” replied Steven, “She’s got no
insurance and the tuition fees are kicking her ass hard enough. I
hate it too, but if that’s what she wants… that’s what she gets.
Though, if she’s still in the thick of it by tomorrow, I’ll take
her there kicking and screaming if I have to.”

“I’m going to see if I can find anyone,” said
Tyler, rushing down the alley. “I’ll be back in a minute!”

The attackers would be nowhere to be found,
but far above the streets, another dark silhouette stood on the
rooftops, watching them. However, unlike Emily’s new savior, this
man wasn’t interested in her safety. No, this man had much more
sinister plans in store for Emily.

Chapter Three

Emily sat up from her bed, another nightmare
having stirred her from slumber. She was only eight years old with
pigtails, bright blue pajamas, and a very active imagination. She
would often dream of dragons and griffins, creatures of legend that
would come and rescue her from the dreary and mundane world.
However, on this night her dreams were different, unsettlingly so.
Vicious animals tore at her from the dark, their sharp teeth
cutting deep as she screamed for mercy. Her pleas were to no avail,
and the monster’s would continue to feast on her flesh.

She was dripping with sweat, alone and
afraid. Looking around, she scanned the room for any signs of
danger. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any signs of a monster.
That’s when something caught the corner of her eye.

Rushing out of bed, Emily ran towards the
window. Squinting, she looked to the end of the property, where a
man stood in the field. The man was dark and unknown, and Emily
couldn’t help but feel the man was staring back at her, peering
deeply into her soul as he whispered for her to come to him.

“
Come to me
.”

This sent shivers down Emily’s spine and she
quickly dashed out of the room. Screaming for her mother, Emily
banged on her parents’ bedroom door. No one answered.

“Mommy!” cried Emily, pounding on the door
desperately.

Still, no one answered.

Emily ran downstairs, hoping to find someone
there. And find them, she did. They were already heading out the
door with the car already started and their bags packed.

“Oh shit,” said her father, looking back at
her daughter. “Honey, you gotta go back to bed for me, okay?”

Her father, Jason, was a good man with a
receding hairline and thick horn-rimmed glasses. He was protective
of his family, often erring on the side of caution. He always put
his children first and tried to shield them from some of the harsh
realities of life.

“W—where are you going?” asked Emily, running
up to her mother. “Can I come, too?”

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” said her mother. “It
isn’t safe where we’re going.”

Her mother, Amanda, was a beautiful woman and
a spitting image of her lovely daughter. She was a warm and loving
person, but had lived a long and hard life. Yet, she never carried
any of that with her. She loved where she was and that was all that
mattered.

“Mommy, I saw someone outside,” said Emily,
reaching for her mother to take hold of her.

“What do you mean, you saw someone?” Amanda
questioned as she placed her bags on the ground as she picked her
daughter up.

“I saw a man,” Emily explained. “He was a
bad
man—.”

“C’mon, Amanda,” Jason interrupted with a
look of concern. “We have to go… right now.”

Jason stopped for a moment and considered the
feelings of the scared little girl he was leaving behind. She meant
the world to him, and he only hoped that his actions tonight would
lead to a bright future for his daughter; a future that he would
not be able to give her currently.

Walking over to his daughter, Jason ran his
hands through her hair, and said, “Your mother and I have to leave
for a little while. I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you earlier. To be
honest, we didn’t even know we
had
to leave until an hour
ago. Your grandma will be here in the morning, and she’s going to
look after your brother and you for a little while. Can you be a
big girl for me?”

“Don’t go, daddy!” shouted Emily, as her
father broke contact and hurried out the door. “Please!”

“It’s going to be all right,” Amanda said
soothingly. “Your brother will look after you… he’s
so
very
fond of you. I want you to know that we love both of you very much;
always and forever.”

Amanda let Emily go, and began to walk out
the door. As she reached the porch steps, she turned around, and
with that tender and caring smile of hers, she said, “Emily, you
are a very special girl. One day you’ll understand just how
important you really are. I love you. It is for love, that we do
the things we do. I want you to remember that. Can you do that for
me?”

Emily nodded as she watched her parents
leave. That would be the last time she ever saw her parents
alive.

Emily dashed upstairs and back to her room.
Rushing to the window, she scanned for signs of her parent’s car.
It was nowhere to be seen, just like the man that had been stalking
her from the fields.

Chapter Four

“She’s waking up,” said Steven, sitting down
beside Emily on the bed. “You gave us quite a scare, you know that
right?”

Steven had always tried to be the strong one,
but ever since the loss of their parents, Emily was all he had
left.

The two of them lived together in the house
they grew up in. It was a beautiful country home with canary yellow
siding, blue accents, and a porch that wrapped around the house.
Sometimes it was hard for them to live in a place that reminded
them so much of their lost parents. On the other hand, that was
also the reason they could never bring themselves to sell it.

“Steven? How long have you been here?” Emily
asked as she looked out the window. “How long have
I
been
here?”

It was the next day, and by the looks of it,
Emily figured it was well past dinner time. Night was almost upon
them. Had she been asleep the whole day?

“Steven’s been here all day,” said Julia,
entering the room. “And he hasn’t left your side since we brought
you back here. Tyler’s sleeping on your couch; I hope you don’t
mind.”

Julia didn’t have many girlfriends. She liked
to think that others just couldn’t handle being around such a
lively woman, but in reality Julia knew that it was because she was
difficult to be around sometimes. She was used to getting her way,
and as such was prone to selfish outbursts. Emily never seemed to
hold it against her, something that Julia always admired about
her.

“N—no, of course I don’t mind,” stuttered
Emily, still a little dizzy from the previous day’s events. “I want
to thank all of you. You’ve been good to me.”

“Emily…what happened to you last night?”
Steven questioned, holding her hand for comfort. “Can you remember
anything?”

Emily tried to concentrate, but the harder
she thought, the more her head started to thump. She had felt this
pain before; the night before at the bar, to be exact. Emily
wondered, could the events have been related?

“Oh my god, are you alright?” asked Julia,
reaching for a tissue. “Your nose is bleeding.”

“It’s… look at that,” said Emily, looking
down at the blood-stained tissue. “That hasn’t happened since I was
a child.”

“As for what happened last night,” continued
Emily, reapplying the tissue to her nose. “Much of the attack is
still cloudy. I remember two men ambushing me. I also remember a
mysterious stranger coming to my rescue; only I can’t for the life
of me remember his name.”

“If he saved you, then why were you alone?”
Steven asked.

“He was probably busy chasing the attackers
off,” suggested Julia, handing Emily another tissue. “Seriously,
Steven, you’re such a fusspot. She’s okay and that’s all that
matters.”

“I guess you’re right, Jules,” Steven said.
“I’m going to wake up Tyler. I’ll be waiting downstairs. I’m glad
to see your okay, sis.”

“Thanks, Steven,” said Emily as Steven walked
out the room.

Julia’s turned back to Emily, and said,
“Okay, now we can talk. What really happened?”

“I don’t really remember, and what I
do
remember doesn’t make any sense,” said Emily, sliding out
of the bed.

“Hey, someone’s at the door, Emily!” Tyler
shouted from downstairs. “He says his name is Alexander!”

Emily couldn’t believe it, as the memories
from last night began to rush into her head. Her redeemer from last
night had found her.

“What do you want?” questioned Tyler,
standing at the door. Tyler always considered himself an Alpha Male
and the thought of a mysterious stranger showing up the night after
Emily’s attack had set him on edge.

“I’m here to see Miss Johansson,” Xander
said. “Is that all right with you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tyler said. “Come on
in.”

Tyler motioned for Xander to enter the house,
but he stood his ground, refusing entry into the home.

“Are you deaf?” asked Tyler, becoming
increasingly agitated. “I said you can come in.”

“No, I’m simply old fashioned,” Xander
replied. “I would prefer Miss Johansson to welcome me in—.”

“Of course you can come in,” interrupted
Emily as she gently pushed Tyler out of the way. “Don’t mind him;
he’s just worried about me.”

“I understand completely,” said Xander,
slowing placing one foot inside the house and hesitantly walking
inside. “You’re lucky to have friends that care about you so
much.”

Unknown to the gathering inside, Xander
wasn’t the only visitor there that night. In the forest surrounding
the home, another man was waiting patiently for his time to strike.
It was the same dark figure that watched over them the night
before.

The man was well-built, with short blonde
hair and matching trimmed beard. His face displayed confidence and
experience, both things that he had acquired over his long life. He
had been watching over Emily for a few days now, and was ready to
make his move. This most recent
development
only served as a
slight delay in his grand design.

“Should we attack now, Master Simeon?” asked
Jacob, skulking up towards his dark master.

“The two of you failed me once already,” said
Simeon, staring down Jacob; piercing through the junkie’s blood red
eyes. “I will accompany you this time.”

“This time,” Simeon continued. “We’ll truly
finish off their legacy.”

Chapter Five

“You guys can leave now, I’ll be fine,”
explained Emily, giving her friends a hug as they all huddled
around the front door.

“With him?” asked Steven, pointing towards
Xander. “You barely even know him.”

It was true, Emily thought. She had just met
him last night, and even then, they had barely spoken more than a
dozen words between them. Still, she had to know what happened last
night, and didn’t want her friends around to hear.

Her friends left the house, giving the two of
them the space they desired. Emily barely knew the handsome man in
her living room, but felt a mysterious connection with him, one
that shook her to the very core.

Emily paced around the living room, trying to
figure out where to start. She caught a quick glimpse of Xander;
careful not to stare, she averted her eyes before he caught her
leering. He was gorgeous, she thought. Everything about him
screamed out to her, demanding that she come closer. Emily had
never experienced a pull like this before; and it startled her,
perhaps even more than last night’s attack.