Zoey woke up to her alarm groaned as she only got a couple hours of sleep last night. She tossed and turned all night with the covers of the bed pulled tightly over her head.

It was her day off but it was the only time her friend Amber would be able to call with her busy schedule. She dragged herself out of bed and staggered to the shower.

It had been at least a month since those two had seen each other, and Zoey was missing her. Amber had begged Zoey to join her this year at college, but she reassured Amber that she would be there next year. Hopefully she would be.

Zoey climbed out of the shower and combed her hair, leaving it to air dry. She then went to the closet and changed into a long sleeve and some high-waisted jeans. It was the fall which meant the weather would be cooling down. Her phone started ringing, and I instantly accepted the call. A voice instantly screeched out of the phone.

"Zoey! I missed you so much!" Amber squealed.

"I missed you too! Tell me more about college!" Amber began to tell Zoey about all things she has been doing. She talked about how cute the guys were and all the parties she's been at, not actually talking about classes and her professors.

"Oh! I'm planning on coming home soon"

That instantly brought life back into Zoey's dull life.

"You are? Yes! I've been so bored here without you."

"I'm coming for the full moon festival and I'll be bringing some friends. I bring up the stories all the time and they say they need proof so we'll be coming."

"You're seriously driving here for that," Zoey questioned since that was a long way to come to see the festival.

"Yes and no, it's fall break, and I was planning on coming home anyway, and they just want to come too. The guys are super cute, so I can always hook you up with one of them."

She could practically hear Amber winking. Zoey rolled her eyes, Amber was always doing this.

"You have to come to the festival! You didn't come last year and it would be a shame if you didn't this year either."

Zoey hesitated before answering. She used ti love the festival. It was her favorite time fo the year but now the thought filled her with dread.

"Please, Zoey just this once."

"Fine! But only because I haven't seen you in so long." Amber squealed once again.

They talked for a little bit longer before Amber had to go. Zoey left her room and went to the kitchen since she was too wrapped in talking to think about eating. When she got to the kitchen, She noticed her mom sitting at one of the bar stools.

"Mom? What are you doing home?" Her sapphire eyes snapped up to my honey ones, and she seemed to be startled.

"Oh, Z-Zoey, I thought you were at work. I wasn't feeling well today, so I decided to stay home."

Zoey nodded and grabbed a bowl for her cereal, indulging her cereal addiction.

"Hey, mom, Amber is coming back into town next week. I'm so excited!" Zoey cheered while taking a bite. She nodded but contained no emotion on her face.

"If you need me, I'll be upstairs."

Zoeys' mom spoke quietly while standing to leave. Zoey instantly felt sorrow as she watched her leave. Both Zoeys parents had acted this way ever since her brother, Adam left home. It got worse when she chose to stay here instead of going off to college. She huffed and put her finished bowl in the sink. Zoey thought about what to do for the day but realized there wasn't much, so she decided to go on a hike.

She changed into a sports bra and a pair of black leggings. She slipped on black hiking shoes and headed out the door. Zoey took the same path every time she went. She ran down the street to the start of the woods that surrounds the town and then hiked on a small dirt path that leads right through the forest. She loved taking the trail since it's so beautiful, especially in fall. Once she reached it, the town's sound slowly disappeared and was replaced by the sound of little critters and the wind. She took a deep breath breathing in the crisp air and admired the beautiful orange and red leaves that hung from the trees.

Zoey came here about twice a week for as long as she could remember. She loved being in the woods. It was just so liberating.

She headed further into the woods, and after some time, she stopped to check the time. It was almost three, which meant she had to get home to prepare for dinner. She was surprised by how much time had passed but she happily turned back since it meant Dave, Nancy, and their granddaughter would be coming over for dinner.

Their granddaughter, Lily always comes to dinner with her grandparents whenever they came to Zoeys house since Lily lived next door. She just turned sixteen, and even though she was a few years younger than Zoey, they were pretty close. She was like a younger sister to Zoey.

Zoey suddenly had the feeling someone was watching her wash over her. She fought a rising panic but lost as she had never gotten this feeling while hiking on the trail. She looked frantically all around her for anyone who might be there, but she saw no one. She shook her head and kept moving but kept her guard up.

It's just a deer, it's just a deer—no need to be scared. She chanted, hoping it would make her feel better.

A loud crack echoed through the tree a few feet from her. Zoey whipped around to look at the reason for the sound, but whatever it was disappeared before she could get a better look.

All she could see was something black peeking from one of the trees. The image brought back painful memories. Before she could process her thoughts, she took off sprinting back to town. Her heart hammered out of her chest and she couldn't catch her breath. Zoey finally exited the woods and ran all the way home with all the adrenaline she had. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed as she started to feel the consequences of running that far and fast.

She laid in bed and processed what she had just witnessed. No no no. It wasn't it. I was just seeing things. She thought.

She placed her fingers on the bridge of her nose and tried to push all thoughts. I must be going crazy.

She laid down a bit more but climbed out as she heard the doorbell ring. Zoey quickly went to change back into what she was wearing before. She sprayed perfume on her so she wouldn't smell so sweaty.

Zoey went down the stairs to see her parents greeting Dave and Nancy with Lily standing beside them. She noticed me and came up to me.

"Hey, Zoey," She beamed as she pulled me into a hug. "The craziest thing happened to me yesterday. I'll tell you all about it after dinner." She stated quietly so her grandparents and Zoeys' parents wouldn't hear. Zoey nodded, guessing it was about the boy Lily was always talking about.

"Everyone, come sit!" Zoeys mom graciously shouted as they all began to take their seats. The dinner was delicious and contained chicken Alfredo and garlic bread. One of Zoeys favorites.

Zoeys dad and Dave talked of the old days and about retirement . Her dad was pretty old to have a nineteen-year-old, but honestly, she didn't think they planned on having her. The distance in age between her and her siblings explains it all. Zoeys oldest sibling, her sister Charlotte, is thirty-two and already has three kids. The next person is her brother Charlie being thirty and has two kids. They just recently had another baby three months ago, and lastly, her brother Adam. He's twenty eight and got married three years ago.

Then there was Zoey. Still at home, unmarried and unaccomplished. Not that she wanted to get married anytime soon, but it seemed odd to be the only one to not be. It didn't help that she didn't even have a boyfriend.

Anyway, even though there was a giant age gap, she still loved her siblings. They all were supposed to come on Saturday since it's been a while since they've seen her brothers. Zoeys' sister lives on the other side of town, so they saw her pretty often.

Zoey tuned in on her mom and Nancy's conversation to hear them gossiping about some of the ladies in our town. Her mom was a BIG gossiper and always knew what was going on in the town.

"Did you hear about Cathy's daughter? Apparently, she and a couple of her friends had snuck out and went to go search for the beast a few nights ago." Zoey unconsciously jumped in her seat.

"No way! Kids these days, what is wrong with them! Messing with things they don't understand. Wait but isn't the full moon next week?" Zoeys mom questioned, putting her fork down.

"It is, but Dave told me there's but more sightings of the shadow lately for some reason."

"Did Cathy's daughter find it?" Zoey asked, and they both shot her glares as she was eavesdropping on them.

"Zoey! You know it's rude to eavesdrop!" she inwardly rolled her eyes it was hard not to, as they're literally a seat down from her. They went back to talking but about some other poor soul in the neighborhood.

Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Any more theories on what the beast is?