- - - - - The Krystle Ones

The wind howled in the dark night like a pack of wolves. There wasn’t a trace of the moon in the night sky, so the only thing that provided us warmth and light was the small campfire that was now dying.

“BOO!”

Joseph screamed from somewhere in the dark and immediately all the girls screamed for their lives, some actually falling off the log we were sitting on. I blankly stared back without interest as Joseph grinned in accomplishment. I never understood why each of the girls freaked out so much when they knew that Joseph was going to pull the same prank every year. I mean honestly, I was scared the first camping trip we had. But now, this being the fourth one, I was on his side and enjoyed watching the expression on these girls’ faces.

Joseph walked over to the guys’ side where he was greeted with cheering and hooting. Our teacher, Mrs. Jang, frowned at the group of boys and quickly turned to the group of girls who were still catching their breaths on the floor.

“Raven, why don’t you start the next story while I go and calm down some of these girls?” Mrs. Carthy asked as she grabbed water bottles from the icebox and handed it to the girls.

“Okay.” Raven muttered next to me in monotone. “The legend of the Hanin Indians states the existence of the Krystle Ones.” As she spoke, the campfire light suddenly dimmed, even more, hushing all the background voices.

Jennifer, who was sitting on my other side quietly whispered. “Who are the Krystle Ones?”

A slow smile appeared on Raven’s face as she continued the story. “Beautiful, fragile, but incredibly strong, the Hanin Indians referred to them as the Krystle Ones. Written evidence proves that they existed and roamed the Earth millions of years ago. My grandmother, who is the spirit lady of the Hanin Indians, told me that they are back.”

Suddenly, a laugh came from the guys’ side. “And what else, your grandmother told you that money fell from the sky too?” The other laughs joined in.

Raven gave them a strong glare which quickly hushed the boys. “The Krystal Ones live off of other human’s pain and agony. They would torture you until the brink of death and eventually feed off of you.”

“Feed as in… blood?” Jessica asked and Raven shook her head.

“There was a woman who lived in the Southern Hanin Village. Unlike other women in the village, she loved a man outside the village. Every night, she would sneak out and meet this man. Until one day, the villagers found her brutally murdered. Her body was pale white without a trace of blood or warmth. Warriors of the town searched for this murder and they couldn’t find anything, except for a scream of agony which awoke the villagers at 12 am which was the time she was suspected of being killed.”

"So whoever it was... must have drank her blood." Jessica muttered traumatized.

Raven rolled her eyes at Jessica. "I don't know what vampire thing you are into, but these Ones didn't feed off peoples' blood. They ate souls." 

“Who was it?” Jessica anxiously asked.

Ignoring the question, Raven continued. “One night, a figure appeared in town. He had the beauty of an angel that immediately attracted all the women.  However, he wanted to meet the chief of the village and after a short meeting he left a ring which belonged to the murdered woman and a letter.”

“What was in the letter?” Another girl asked and Raven went on.

“The letter described the existence of the Krystle Ones and their rules.”

“Rules?” I asked, already too encompassed in her story. She nodded.

“Rule one. Do not betray your family. Rule two. Do not reveal the true identity. Rule three...” She paused for a second.

“Never fall in love with your prey.”

Then there was silence as we all realized what had happened to the murdered woman. She fell in love with a Krystle One.

“Okay guys, let’s get ready to sleep!” Mrs. Carthy interrupted. Everyone stood up and started to disperse into their tents. I sat still thinking about these Krystle Ones.

“Rin-ah, aren’t you going in?” She asked and my train of thought was cut off.

“Uh yea. I am.” I said as I stood up walked over to my tent.

❖ ❖ ❖

From my pants, I took out my cell phone and turned it on to check the time. We weren’t allowed to bring electronic devices, but everyone did anyway. The dim digital clock on the corner of my phone screen read 1 am. Unable to sleep, I got up from my sleeping bag and walked outside the stuffy tent. The cool night air greeted me as I looked around the vacant space. Being my fourth year here, I knew my place around the forest pretty well so I decided to go for a quiet walk.

Not far from walking, I heard a rustle of leaves behind me, raising the hairs behind my neck. Trying to ignore the sound, I continued to walk and soon enough I heard a low murmur.

“I smell a prey.”

The voice chimed in a mocking tone and there was a quiet chuckle. I immediately stopped in place and turned around in panic. The rustling sound now came from somewhere above me. I swear if this was Joseph again... When I looked up, the only thing I saw were scattered