A shriek tore through the silence of the night. I jolted awake, sitting upright in my bed. We lived in a secluded area with no neighbours. It had to be one of my family members.

Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, I quietly exited the house and went in the direction of the yell. As I rounded the corner of the house, my knees went weak.

I could see my mother fighting off a.. what was that? A bear? My brother was splayed out on the ground behind her, unconscious. I sprinted towards them, brandishing my knife. Hearing the sound of my footfalls, the beast turned and locked its bright red eyes on mine. It was not a bear. It was a creature unlike any I had seen.

I screamed, terrified. The beast came running towards me. Panicking, I threw my knife at it. Misaimed, the knife uselessly bounced off the beast’s hairy body. Unarmed, I ran. The beast sank its claws into my back. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Its yellow fangs were inches from my face. I thrashed wildly, hoping, praying that something would save me.

The beast was suddenly gone. I painfully turned myself around and saw my mother plunge the knife into the beast’s chest, at the same time that the beast sank its teeth into her neck.

My mother pushed the creature off her. Its lifeless body thudded to the ground. She staggered towards my brother who had open wounds on his arms, probably from the claws of the werewolf. Blood was spurting from her neck, landing all over the grass and my brother. She fell to her knees, wheezing in agony.

I stood, rooted to the spot. My mom was bitten by a werewolf. How long more before she became a werewolf too?