Sitting down on the train and starting the ride towards Welsburry School of Magic felt like taking the first breath of fresh air after months. Don’t get me wrong, I loved summer break and having the free time to spend with family and hang around Welsburry, but this summer had been quiet. /Too/ quiet. Ever since June, the air had been supercharged with tension, tension that screamed /Something’s going to happen/. But nothing did happen. This summer had been calm and quiet - something that I wasn’t used to. The tension was still there when I got on the train, but at Welsburry I could /do/ something. At home, I was powerless. My little brother Raza Hamilton had claimed the window seat next to me, and Shadow Sanchez, one of my best friends, was in the seat behind us. I was in the seat facing the aisle for a change, and it felt odd. When Naomi Peterson boarded the train, my heart did a small cartwheel. Naomi and I were in that weird zone where we were too close to be considered “just friends” and too far apart to be considered “dating”. She flashed me a smile and slid into the seat behind us next to Shadow. Ever since we had a big argument last winter we hadn’t been as close as I would’ve liked, but I respected her boundaries and gave her space. The twins got on the train next when we stopped at Maybell. Harlow Anderson smiled at us, though I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me, Naomi, or Shadow - or maybe all of us. Brazen Anderson waited for his sister to sit at the window seat and then slid into the aisle seat across from me. We exchanged our new secret handshake we’d perfected at the end of last school year. “How was your summer, Wolf?” Brazen asked me. I figured we had about five minutes to actually have a conversation before the train started demanding jokes and one-liners from Brazen. Being the class clown took its toll. Just in case you think you misread, you didn’t. My name /is/ Wolf. Acwulf Hamilton, if you’re a villain or sticking to formalities. I’m sixteen years old, almost seventeen, and have been living as a werewolf for about fourteen years now. I shrugged in response to Brazen’s question. “Eh. It was good, but it was eerily quiet. How was yours?” He laughed, though this one was more awkward than humorous. “Yeah, mine was quiet too. I hated it.” By this point, the kids who wanted entertainment were calling Brazen’s name, so he obliged and provided it. A few stops later, Woodville rolled around and Calli Vitalson, the last friend of ours who took the train to school, got on. Calli managed to find the last open seat near us and took it. She was rather shy, but as a Vitania, she could heal or harm you with a touch, so don’t cross her. She joined us right as Brazen told one of his better jokes, and her laugh mixed with everyone else’s. Brazen shot her a crooked grin and a wink. Once the train rolled into WSoM, the seven of us grabbed our luggage and raced up to the school. We broke off into our separate dorms, and spent a few minutes making our dorms feel like home again. I was just shelving a few of my books - the last thing I needed to do - when Raza threw open my door and poked his head inside. “Can we go see Maya now?” My ten year old brother had a little /obsession/ with the nine year old Darkedge sibling. I laughed. “Sure, we can go see your girlfriend.” Raza dissolved into a stuttering mess as I cracked up, shelving the last book and walking over to him. “Relax, I’m kidding. We can go pay Dusk and Ember and Chaiyn a visit.” Raza’s cheeks were about as red as a tomato as he followed me down the stairs and outside the school. “Race you!” he yelled at the top of his tiny lungs. I was prepared this time, and sprinted after the little Speeder. A word of advice: you will never, ever beat a Speeder in a race unless they let you. As usual, Raza sprinted far ahead of me without even breaking a sweat.
Notes/Credits: Hi! Welcome to The Dark Prison - the third book in The Wolf Stories. If you haven't read The Wolf Boy or The Monster's Curse, I highly suggest you do so! This is Chapter 1, Part 1, enjoy! Okay, so The Monster's Curse ends around October of The Dark Prison's school year, and The Dark Prison starts at the beginning. So the Epilogue of TMC hasn't happened yet in TDP. Previous Chapter(s): None yet! Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, Rick Riordan, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTW: Are you ready for this story?
