“The real world is where the monsters are.” 

                                              - Rick Riordan; The Lightning Thief

Keep running, never stop running!

The voice in his head screamed at him. He didn’t know how long he had been running; all he knew was that he couldn’t stop. Something was chasing him and whatever it was, it was fast. No matter where he ran, it always found him. It didn’t help that he was leaving a blood trail. Whatever had been chasing him caught him a few times and left a large gash on his right side. The young man’s breathing was getting heavier as his body fought to keep moving. He was beyond tired, hungry, and weak from his blood loss. Despite all of that, he kept moving; he knew if he stopped that he would die. The sound of his attacker’s footsteps crushing the leaves behind him motivated him to keep going. The young man continued to run for his life as pushed past the pain shooting through his body like a wave. 

Don’t…stop…running.  He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, he just ran. The voice screamed for him to stop as if they were warning him about something, but it was too late. Before he knew it, the young man was running towards the edge of a cliff. Where the hell did this come from? He tried to stop himself, but his legs kept moving. As he neared the edge of the cliff, the voice screamed louder for him to stop. It was then that he realized that the voice was not his own, but a woman’s voice, a woman he didn’t know. She screamed for him, her voice filled with agony and fear. Stop running…Stop running Ben…BENJAMIN!

“Benjamin Randall Matthews, get your ass up…you’re gonna be late for school!”

The sound of his step-mother’s annoying little screeching voice, saved Benji from his reoccurring nightmare. As much as he didn’t want to fall off of a cliff, waking up with her in his face was a hell of a lot worse.  Candice “Candi” Harrison-Matthews was the most annoying woman Benji had ever met. He was annoyed by her mere existence. It wasn’t because she was the gold digging whore that drove his parents to divorce, but because she tried to boss him around like she was his mother and she was only three years older than him. What made matter worse is that Candice hit on him constantly. Benji growled as he buried his face in his pillow and swatted at Candi’s hands that were trying to lift the sheets off of him.  He wanted to get up, but Benji slept and Candi knew it.

“Go away Candice…I can’t get out of bed if you’re in here.”

“And why is that?”

“You know why, so can you please go!”

            “It’s alright darling, I won’t tell Lou.”

Louis “Lou” Matthews was Benji’s dad. What Lou lacked in book smarts, he made up with strength. Lou Matthews was a muscular man and a very intimidating man as well. It wasn’t that Benji was scared of his father; he just knew that behind that million dollar CEO smile was a ruthless Navy Veteran who didn’t take kindly to infidelity, despite the fact that he was indeed the poster child for cheating husbands all over the land.  Benji and his father had already gotten into a little argument after he was “caught” trying to kiss Candi. It ended up with a black eye from his father and Benji’s “privileges” being banned for two weeks. Lou Matthews had quite a right hook on him.

            “Can you please go Candice; you’re making me late for school!”

Benji pleaded with his step-mother as he lifted his head off of his pillow, bags underneath his beautiful blue eyes. Benji hadn’t had a good night’s rest since Lou and Candi’s wedding, three months earlier.  That’s when the dreams started happening. His father told him, it was probably just his conscious dealing with all that was happening. Benji’s mother didn’t feel that way though; something bad was about to happen, she could feel it. Candi pouted as she crossed her arms over her almost non-existing breast and gave in. She got off of his bed and stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind her.

            “Fucking finally.”

Benji muttered, hopping out of his bed. He scurried around his bedroom for something to wear. Taking a shower was not an option, much to his dismay. He only had fifteen minutes to get to his school that was forty-five minutes away from his home via car, and his car was currently in the shop. Benji spotted a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a black deep V-neck shirt. He hurriedly got dressed, slipping his matching jacket over his arms and slid his feet in his worn out black Chuck Taylor’s. Stuffing his cellphone in his pocket, Benji grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder and ran down the stairs of his home. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the smell of eggs and bacon filled his nostrils. Sitting at the kitchen table was his father and step-mom, enjoying breakfast. Benji waved goodbye at his father who was opening his mouth to tell him to eat.

            “Gotta go, I’m late for school!”

            “Bye son.”

            “Bye Dad…Candi!”

Benji was lucky enough to have an amazing best friend, who was sitting in his truck waiting for him to come outside. Hunter Daniels and Benji had met in first grade and instantly clicked. Hunter was literally only a two months older than Benji and always seemed to be there when he needed him. Benji wasn’t always the popular jock growing up. There were many times when someone would bully him because of how small he was or because of his mother’s strange ways and Hunter would always be there to his rescue.  Benji grinned from ear as he ran to Hunter’s truck, throwing his bag into the back and hopping into the passenger side.

            “You’d be helpless without me.”

            “Oh shut up and get me to school.”

Hunter and Benji had managed to make it to school only 20 minutes late, thanks to Hunter’s lead foot driving. Luckily for the both of them, Benji’s mother was their first period teacher. Maryanne Fleur was a self-proclaimed rebel in her youth and still had some of her teenage ways. For starters, her students called her by Fleur without the miss added to it. Fleur was an art teacher and had been since Benji was ten. She very understood about Benji’s current situation. As much as she wanted her son to be with her, Lou wouldn’t let him move out with her. He called her “childish” and “immature” because she acted more like a sister to Benji, instead of a mother. There was one instance where she caught Benji and Hunter trying weed behind the school, and instead of yelling, she showed him her “skills”. Benji and Hunter eventually realized that weed was not for them but not before Lou found out

            “Again?”

She asked as the two boys stumbled into her class. She was referring to the dreams he had been having. Benji nodded as he walked over to his mother and kissed her cheek. Fleur smiled as she patted her son’s head and pointed towards his Easel. She motioned for him and Hunter to get started on their art project that they had been working on for the past week. Benji and Hunter had finished their paintings way before the other students, staying after school with Fleur to work on their paintings. The boys walked over to their seats, which were to no surprise right next to each other.  They usually spent the period chatting and listening to music while the other’s struggled to finish their paintings.

Fleur was a huge Alterative Rock/Trip Hop fan, one of the many things she and Benji shared, and so she had a playlist playing in the background. The students were supposed to paint whatever the songs made them feel. Most of the songs had different meanings and she wanted to know what they were thinking. Most of the student’s paintings were the same. They were a wide variety of emotions, but not Benji’s. His stayed the same. It was a dark and gloomy painting. Rain clouds filled the skies on his canvas, and there was a dark crowded forest with a young man running through it. Behind him was a dark unrecognizable figure. It was his dream.

Hunter’s painting wasn’t as gloomy as Benji’s but it provoked intense emotions from Benji when he saw it. Something about it always knocked the wind out of him, as if he had seen it before but in person. It was a dark sky with a bright full moon in the corner. On a cliff there were three wolves. One was grey with specks of white fur, one was pure white, and the last one, which was the largest, was pitch black and almost unnoticeable at first. Sitting in the middle of the wolves was a girl, more like her silhouette. Nothing about her was recognizable. She was looking down the edge of the cliff; the grey wolf had its head in her lap as she petted it, while the other two were guarding her.  Even though her face could not be seen, her body language had shown sadness and devastation, as if she had been crying. Hunter didn’t know who the girl was but he knew that whoever she was, that she was heading to East Arcadia.

East Arcadia, Virginia was a small town near the Allegheny Mountains. It had a population of 5354 people who all knew each other. East Arcadia was a small town that was quite content with its current size. It wasn’t that they feared change; they just didn’t want to lose that small town feel, which was quickly becoming a rarity in America. They had the essentials, but nothing too fancy. Everyone knew everyone and their business. There were a few “rich” families, The Matthews family being one of them that was looked at as if they were gods. Lou was the CEO of a trucking company that was based in Roanoke, which is where he spent most of his time.  Benjamin technically lived by himself, Lou and Candi was just in town to check up on him and was leaving that evening which made Benji very happy.

Everyone who knew Benji thought he was the all American boy next door, which was further from the truth. Yes, he was smart. Yes, he was the star quarterback, but deep down Benji was depressed; always had been since the age of seven. The only people who knew about it were Hunter and Fleur. Benji didn’t have many friends, he didn’t trust people. He only hung out with the football team simply because he needed to stay on their good sides. They protected him on the field and he had seen what they would do to anyone who didn’t get alone with them.  Benji didn’t really date either. Most of the girls in East Arcadia were irritating like Candi, with the exception of a few girls. Still, Benji wasn’t really in a rush for a relationship. He still had issues of his own to deal with.

            “Where is she?”

Merick “Rik” Colt shouted as he stormed into the large home that he shared with his “family”. Gwendolyn, his wife, lazily looked up from her book, and stared blankly as her husband glared at her. Rik was on the hunt of her youngest sister Arwen. Arwen had this habit of running off into the forest that surrounded their home. Winnie blinked at her husband and shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back to 50 Shades of Grey. She knew exactly where Arwen was, she always knew. It was one of the many perks of being the oldest witch out of her sisters; she always knew where they were.  Rik didn’t like for Arwen to wonder off without telling him. She was his sister-in-law/adoptive-niece and if anything happened to her, Winnie and his brother would kill him.

Rik knew she was fully capable of taking care of herself, but she always seemed to get herself in trouble. As if Winnie knew what he was thinking, she closed her book and walked over to her fuming husband, wrapping her arms around his waist. She stood on her tippy toes and planted a kiss on his lips. Smiling up at her, she stroked his cheek to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

            “She has Conin and Rafe with her, she’ll be fine.”

Deep within the forest, Arwen Faye was sitting the back of an abnormally large grey wolf, laughing and grinning with joy as it sped through the forests, darting through the trees, a white wolf behind it. She looked behind her, and made a face at the white wolf, teasing him and earning a low growl. That only caused her to laugh harder, as she turned her head back to the front only to see the edge of the forest coming in view. They were close to home and she knew that as soon as she walked into the door, Rik would be waiting. As they neared the edge of the forest, the wolves slowed down to a walking pace.  When the white wolf caught up to them, he growled at the other one causing Arwen to gasp in shock.

            “Rik is going to kill you if he knew you spoke like around me, you know that Rafe.”

Rafe growled in response, earning a howl from Conin, the grey wolf, which sounded more like a laugh than a howl. Arwen smiled and shook her head. She patted Conin on the side, signifying that she wanted him to run the rest of the way home. Conin took off with Rafe right behind.

            “Aw c’mon Rafe, I know you’re faster than that.”

When they arrived at the house, they were greeted by Conin and Rafe’s older brother Ryder.  Ryder was larger than the other two, and was covered in very black fur. His blue eyes were fixed on his siblings. As they neared, he let out a loud howl. Arwen felt Conin flinch underneath her and patted his head gently. He turned his head towards the front door, ordering her to go inside. Arwen knew better than to argue with Ryder. Arwen hopped off of Conin’s back, effortlessly landing on her feet. She looked toward Conin and Rafe apologetically and kissed them both on the top of their heads, standing on her toes. They were much larger than the average wolf. The wolves whined softly and nudged her, as if they were telling her to go inside before she got in even more trouble. Arwen nodded and took off towards the front door, Ryder behind her, with Conin and Rafe behind him.

As Arwen entered the house, she was greeted by Rik. He was sitting on a burgundy love seat, his feet resting on the black coffee table. Sitting next to him was Winnie, who looked as irritated as Rik. Arwen knew it wasn’t because of her disappearance, but because she had been trying to read the same book for a month and hadn’t succeeded because of Rik’s constant worrying.  

            “Thank you Ryder.”

Ryder bowed his head and turned his attention to his siblings. He growled at them, causing Conin to whimper and Rafe to growl back. Arwen frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. She was getting annoyed with Rik’s constant nagging. Conin and Rafe were fully capable of protecting her. They were almost seven feet tall for fuck’s sake. No one was going to mess with her with too large wolves protecting her. Ryder growled at the two young wolves again. Arwen turned her attention to him.

            “We did tell someone where we were going, I told Winnie.”

Rik’s attention turned to his wife, who was biting her nails, uninterested. Rik nudged her in the shoulder, trying to get her to look at him. When she refused to look his way, he closed his eyes and muttered a few words. All of a sudden, Winnie’s book lifted into the air and made its way towards the fire that he had light a few moments before. Winnie looked up when she saw her book in midair. Rik knew how much she loved that book and knew it was the only way to get her attention.

            “Alright, alright, I knew where she was…put the book down…she’s an eighteen year old WITCH for fuck’s sake.”

50 shades made its way back to its original spot as Rik slowly opened his eyes. When it was close enough, Winnie reached up and swiped it, hugging it to her chest and glaring at her husband. Rik looked towards Arwen and let out a long sigh. He only wanted to keep her safe like he and his brother promised her parents. Rik didn’t like being the bad guy all the time; he just didn’t want to see her hurt. Rik stood up, and made his way over to Arwen, his arms agape. He engulfed her in a tight, warm hug as he kissed the top of her head. The three wolves had walked out of the house and were discussing something in the front yard.

            “I just want to keep you safe.”

            “I know and I’m sorry, is Conin and Rafe still in trouble Ryder?”

Arwen was released from her hug and turned her attention to the front door. In walked a tall man wearing a pair of sweats, with two men following behind him wearing tattered cargo shorts.   Arwen smiled as the two in the back made their ways over to her. The tallest man, opened his mouth to speak as he stopped in front of her.

            “You’re home in one piece, so I guess they’re off the hook.”

            “Yay!”

Arwen squealed as she wrapped her arms around Ryder’ neck. She placed a big sloppy kiss on his cheek, despite his attempt to keep her away from his face. He wiped his face, feigning disgust and gently pushed her away.

            “I’m glad all the hostility has been lifted but dinner will be ready in ten minutes and the three of you smell like outdoors,”

Wren, the second oldest and the most mature of the Faye sisters shouted from the kitchen. She had been listening to entire time and like Winnie, knew exactly where Arwen was. Even though she disagreed with her constantly wondering without Rik or herself, she also knew that Arwen was still a teenager and needed to have fun once and a while. She was a loner outside the house and Conin and Rafe were her only friends, mainly because they were all close in age; Conin and Rafe were turning nineteen in a few months.

            “Go freshen up and be down here in 8 minutes or you three will be in serious trouble when Eli gets home.”