• Finding Home

    Chapter 2





    tab Once the Blaine kids walked through the doors of the high school, all eyes are immediately on them, and for obvious reasons--their looks. Not a soul who knows them would disagree. And it's not just their looks that make them popular all throughout Bayside High School; they each have distinct personality traits that draw people to them even more. For Nick, it's his smarts. He's known to be the smartest kid in Bayside High. This year, he's a junior. For Carla, a sophomore, it's her innocence. She's known as the angel of Bayside. As for Damon, who is a freshman this year, it's his rebellious nature that makes the girls squeal.

    tab While they go through their day in peace, let us draw our attention away from the Blaine children, and focus instead on a sorrowful man in a small town known as Lud, New York, where he is grieving over the loss of his children.

    tab Raising a trembling hand, Lucas LaGuarda wipes away the tears streaming down his face. Thirteen years. It's been exactly thirteen years. Tears continue to pour, his eyes like the faucets of a rusty sink, red from all of the crying. He looks out the window as his memory replays that awful night...

    tab He looked across the table at Eve and smiled warmly. It was their anniversary and they were at some fancy french restaurant. He was just about to make a toast when suddenly, he felt as if something was wrong. Very wrong. It was as if hundreds if sirens were going off all at once in his head, trying to tell him that something was going on, something very bad. It was not the first time he had experienced that feeling, and it was never wrong.
    tab Eve looked at him, alarmed by the stunned expression on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
    tab "I don't know," he replied, his voice quivering, "But we have to leave now!"
    tab She nodded, understanding immediately, and they left the restaurant as quickly as they possibly could.
    tab In the car, Lucas' face was as white as a ghost, his mind clouded by fear. He was scared, knowing that something baad was happening, but not knowing what.
    tab When they finally arrived at their house, his fears were realized. There were police cars parked all around the house. That was when panic sunk in. He quickly ran out of the car, past all the police tape, and into the living room of this house. All he could see was disaster. The babysitter they had hired was lying dead on the floor, and there was blood everywhere. Most of the furniture had been turned over, and there were signs of a struggle. Although he didn't realize, he began to realize what had happened, and the scenes played themselves in his mind. He heard the gunshot. He saw the girl fall dead to the floor. He saw his oldest son attempting to fight back. He saw, but didn't want to see. His legs suddenly felt very weak, and he fell to his knees. The policemen had followed him in by then. They were trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear them. Their voices seemed distant. Eve was crying on his shoulder, but it went unnoticed. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered at that moment except for the fact that they were gone. His children were gone. And he was never going to see them again.

    tab The sound of a door closing brings his mind back to the present. He turns and sees Eve. She sits beside him on the bed and runs a hand through his shaggy black hair.
    tab "I miss them." he says shakily.
    tab "I know," she whispers, "I know. So do I."
    tab He nods and for several minutes they sit in silence. Finally, Eve looks out the window.
    tab "The sun's going down." she says, breaking the silence.
    tab He nods.
    tab "It's a full moon tonight."
    tab He nods again and they lapse back into silence. She gets up and leaves, unable to stand the silence anymore. Lucas hardly notices that she's gone. His mind is too focused on his children. On Nick, Carla, and Damon. He looks up and sees the full moon rising through his window. He looks back down in time to see his body beginning to change: fur slowly growing on the backs of his hands and arms, his hands turning into claws. He raises his head and the sound of a lonely howl echoes through the silence of the night.