The second day, Shadow, Raza, and I mostly hung around my house. Raza gave Shadow a carving of a crescent moon. I showed her my carving of a wolf that I’d gotten for the first Christmas at WSoM, and Raza showcased his collection of wooden carvings, taking his squirrel off the shelf and pocketing it. The third day, Shadow, Raza, and I were chasing each other outside in the forest separating her house from ours. Raza played nice, not going his full possible speed, but pretty close. At one point, Raza chased me farther than we were used to into the woods. I skidded to a stop, out of breath, and Raza tackled me. I just managed to avoid hitting my head on a tree trunk as Shadow ran up behind us. I heard a crackling sound, and that quickly snapped me out of my laughter. Raza noticed my pause and looked around. “What is it?” “You hear that crackling noise?” I asked. Shadow and Raza nodded. “Sounds like fire.” Raza got off of me, and we both stood up. We walked in the direction of the sound, and arrived in a small clearing. Through the trees, I could just make out a path to Mr. Smith’s shop. There was a small tent on the ground, with a platform of storage above. There was a person in the clearing. She sat cross-legged on the ground, an active fire held in her hands. I saw her and immediately was reminded of Dusk. She had the same skin tone, maybe a little darker, and the same color-tipped blond hair, but her hair was tipped with scarlet instead of blue. She looked up at our entrance. “Hello. Haven’t seen you before. Names?” She asked, standing up. She extinguished the flame in her hand and walked in our direction a few steps. “Acwulf Hamilton,” I said. “This is Raza Hamilton,” I continued, ruffling his hair. “Don’t ruffle my hair, Wolf-” Raza snapped, ducking away from my hand. “And this is Shadow Sanchez,” I finished, gesturing to my right. The girl in front of us nodded. “Pleasure. Ember Brightwood.” She stuck out her hand to shake. My hand shook before my brain could process her words. “Brightwood?” I asked after a moment. Ember tilted her head. “Yeah. Why?” Shadow and I exchanged a glance. “We know a person with the last name of Brightwood,” I answered. Was it just my imagination, or did Ember’s face pale a bit. “Um, sure. Who?” “Dusk Brightwood.” Definitely not my imagination. “No,” Ember said, backing up a few steps. “No, no no no, they’re gone-” Raza reached out and grabbed Ember’s arm. “Hey, it’s okay. They’re alive. Are you siblings?” She nodded, clearly unable to form a coherent sentence. “Why did you think they were dead?” Ember swallowed a few times, then answered, “Our house was destroyed. I saw our parents’ bodies, but I couldn’t find Dusk, so I just assumed…” “How was it destroyed?” “I-” Ember paused, some of the fiery panic dying down in her eyes. “I don’t know. It wasn’t fire, I could tell that much. It just… imploded.” Raza nodded. I was impressed at how calm he was. Most people wouldn’t have immediately reached out to comfort someone with a touch, let alone a Flamer. “We know Dusk. They’re alive. Would you want to see them again?” Ember nodded. “Yeah.” They shrugged off Raza’s grip and he stepped back. “Okay, so how are they?” I paused, unsure how to answer. “They’re living in the woods by our school-” “WSoM?” “Yeah, that. They go to the power club to help with their ice powers, but their living accommodations aren’t the best.” Ember nodded. “Okay. Where exactly are they?” “If you teleport to the mouth of the woods, follow the path, and turn right, you can’t miss them.” Ember nodded again. “Thank you.” I grinned. “No problem.” “Shadow! Acwulf! Raza!” Julia Sanchez, Shadow’s mother, called from the distance. Shadow looked behind her and yelled, “Coming!” “We’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you,” I said to Ember. She nodded and raised a hand in farewell. “Thanks.” The three of us ran back down the path towards our home, leaving the newly discovered Flamer behind us.
Notes/Credits: If you're reading this, you probably know I wrote The Wolf Boy. Well, here's the sequel: The Monster's Curse. This is Chapter 33. Previous Chapter(s): Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652476202/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652950608/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177024/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177565/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655621072/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/656955201/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657580423/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657583863/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657586191/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657668860/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658404211/ Chapter 12: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659115920/ Chapter 13: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659116659/ Chapter 14: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659117186/ Chapter 15: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/659420154/ Chapter 16: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/661425573/ Chapter 17: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/661428771/ Chapter 18: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/661974554/ Chapter 19: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/662108449/ Chpt 20 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/663144219/ Chpt 20 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/663156194/ Chapter 21: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/663760516/ Chpt 22 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/674644356/ Chpt 22 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/674648505/ Chpt 22 Pt 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/674658226/ Chpt 23 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/683757147/ Chpt 23 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/683765009/ Chpt 24 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/685766546/ Chpt 24 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/686198230/ Chapter 25: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/700792854/ Chpt 26 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/700796432/ Chpt 26 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/700878172/ Chapter 27: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/708908365/ Chapter 28: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/708908899/ Chapter 28.5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/708910102 Chapter 29: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/715701804 Chapter 30: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/722542292/ Chpt 31 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/728333697/ Chpt 31 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/728334516/ Chpt 32 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/730396954/ Chpt 32 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/730397968/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTC: New character! Who's your favorite character so far?
