Caught In Between - Prologue

Mid-Summer                              Past noon                    Elka    Age, 12

Dear diary,

         I'm so excited! Father has made me my very own journal! He had done so because yesterday was my twelfth birthday! Out of all my gifts, this is my favorite!

         My brother has tried to steal it three times already, but mother has scolded him for it! He says he wishes his birthday was closer to mine, how horrible would that be?

         I can't wait to show Elis! She'll be very jealous, she's told me countless times that she wishes she could have her very own journal. I wonder if her father will make her one on her birthday.

         Anyway, Diary, Mother tells me that I should write important things down, things that are happening around the farm, the house; all sorts of things, but I don't think they're very interesting.

Father spends all his time out in the fields with the crops, making sure that everything is growing properly. That reminds me that the corn will be harvested soon, that's always a lot of work.

Mother always works in her garden, relishing over her small herbs and beautiful flowers. She's teaching me how to keep pests away from the plants; there are a lot of tricks.

Erik has been practicing his sword play for the past several days. He is only two years younger than me and tries to act much older, it's very irritating. I've asked him why he's been practicing so furiously lately as he had never taking any kind of liking to fathers work before. He says that he saw a monster in the woods and needs to protect us.

Mother says he needs to 'get his act together.' Father tells him that he shouldn't go wandering in the woods, but his words trouble me. He has never been a child of imagination...

Anyway, mustn't worry about that, about time he gained an imagination I say. I must be going now, sadly, mother has promised to show me how to start sewing as a birthday gift. I will write later, Diary, I promise.

Mid-Summer                    sunrise                    Elka age, 12

Dear Diary,

         Something very frightening has happened. I had woken before dawn this morning with my mother like every morning to start breakfast for the rest of the family when I heard a strange noise. It was the loudest and shrillest noise I had ever heard in my life; it rattled the windows and shook the entire house. Erik had run in crying about the monster he had seen and father had come in with his sword. The noise was growing louder and louder, then the strangest thing of all happened. Just when the sun started through the windows, the shrieking stopped and everything went real quiet. 

Since then, everything has been normal. Mother and father have been looking very worried though, and Erik hasn't come from his room. I tried to talk with him but he keeps crying about the monster. I tried to tell him there is no monster but he doesn't listen.

I'm growing worried Dairy, was that noise? I tell Erik that monsters don't exist, but what if it is a monster?

I've just gone to talk to mother and father; they've been in their room since the strange noise this morning. I can hear them from the door. They're talking about 'Ghouls' and 'Skin-Weavers'. I'm frightened.

Dairy, I've gone to my room. I've read about the creatures mother and father were talking about. From what I can remember these creatures are blood drinkers, human eaters.

I've found fathers' book! Here it says 'from amongst all the creatures in Soren these two are to be the most feared. They appear to be in endless battle, and us humans are caught between it.' And here it says that 'ghouls, though they look like humans, have wings like a demons to fly down from the sky and snatch up the unsuspecting below' while the skin-wearers 'are able to change their human appearance into any kind looking creature to fool those thinking they can trust them.'

They're only in books, Dairy. There's no reason to worry, they don't exist, and even if they did they wouldn't attack a small farm like ours, now would they?

I talked to Erik again, he still hasn't come out of his room. I was able to get him to tell me what his so called 'monster' looked like. He said the monster had red eyes, fangs and wings.

I had to talk to mother about Erik, I'm getting very scared. When I told mother what he had said, she told me to get the same silly ideas out of my head. I showed her my book and told her again. When I did, this time her face went very white and she told me to stay with Erik and not to leave his side.

I can hear mama and papa fighting, they're yelling. Erik is crying again and I can't make him stop. I hope I didn't cause this.

Papa says we're leaving. Dairy, do you think that Mama and Papa are scared of the Skin-Weavers and Ghouls? Do they truly exist?

It's night now Dairy, mama has started to cry. Erik says he doesn't want to go outside, he says it's too dark. Father is yelling he says that we need to leave now. I've pulled Erik into a corner, it's hard to write by candle light, but I'm too scared not do anything else. That's odd, just now I thought I saw a red glow coming outside from the window.

Diary, there was just a scratching sound at the door, now there's banging. It's quiet. Papa has his sword, mother has come to the corner with us. It's really quiet Dairy, like this morning. There's more scratching

I was attacked today. It wasn't the usual random group that takes the time to track me down. This was a Ghoul I found in a farmhouse. I'd heard his shrieks from miles away and came to investigate. By the time I arrived he had already killed the family living there and gorging himself on their remains.

When I had entered the destroyed home, he had rounded on me, snarling like a feral animal. What was most odd was his eyes. The usual red glow in their eyes that only consumes the iris, had taken over the whole eye in a crimson glow. His features where off as well; large fangs protruded from his lips and his limbs were elongated, his form misshapen. It had taken me a while to confirm what he was--his wings gave him away.

When he had attacked me, he showed no value to his own life. He struck at me blindly; his mind was muddled, holding only the thoughts of fresh prey and flesh to carve into. He was easily disposed of.

Because this attack along with the Ghouls' behavior was so strange, I decided to record it. I had searched the house and found this journal in a corner of a room where the family lays dead. It doesn't have too much blood on it and only has a few scribbles near the front. This will come in handy if something like this is to happen again.

It happened again, though this time was even stranger than the last. I'd been doing my rounds on the edge of the Barred Forest when I heard a shrieking similar to before. There were two this time, in a small clearing. Two female Skins attacked each other without holding back; they tore into each other screaming and snarling. It was intriguing; in all my many years I have never seen the Skins attack each other like that. However, it was strange. Though each had the intention of killing the other in their minds; neither went for the spots that would assure death. Like the Ghoul threw himself blindly at me, these two threw themselves blindly at the other.

I didn't interfere with their fight, but watched until the very end. One of the females managed to cut the throat of the other, by luck, deep enough so it couldn't heal fast enough. Though she had lost enough blood already--it wouldn't have mattered either way. The one with the cut throat was dead before she hit the ground. The one that was left alive wasn't so for long. The gouges, cuts and tears on her body showed their worth; she hadn't made it two steps before she collapsed and bled out.

I've come across two strange scenes now. If another is to come up, I will have to contact my father.

I saw it happen today. Whatever is going on with the Skins and Ghouls, they're changing somehow.

I found a Ghoul walking in the Barred Forest, he was acting strangely, staggering and mumbling incoherently. I had approached him to see if I could talk with him. When I touched his shoulder, he lurched from me and snarled, his fangs extending. He said something like, 'death to the scum, hail the Almighty Keir!' and the change came over him.

It was unlike their normal change. This was much darker and stronger. His skin became mottled and his limbs stretched; his hands became long claws along with his feet. His wings stretched out on either side of his body and became larger, gaining thick claws at each end. At the end of his transformation, he had towered over me, his eyes now blazing complete crimson.

His thoughts are what caught me most off guard. Before this transformation, his mind was filled with strange thoughts of old battles and a pain that wracked his body. After the transformation his mind no longer held any logical thought and was filled with an unusually strong blood lust as well as a rage that I have never felt from another being before.

Killing him was just as easy as the first. It's very easy to get close enough to take off their heads.

I've decided that I will take this journal to my father. In the past two weeks I've come across three instances, this is not normal for Soren, even with us in it. Father must know about this as soon as I can get to him.

I have started to head to my father's castle. Leaving the Barred Forest after so long... I wonder if the others have forgotten about me?

I am planning to stop at Yto visit Xamyiz, Abriel and Silva. They might know something about what is happening as well.

Just a moment, I hear the strange shrieking again.