Chapter 28 Barrier
Morning came quickly. Lucas was already up, sitting by the desk, reading his grandfather's notes on hunting.
The brief joy that he had before going to sleep had disappeared; today there will be a full moon.
That indicates possible bad outcomes, and Lucas has a feeling that the thing watching him will act tonight. This is the reason these past few days he read a lot of his grandfather's books.
Lucas read the diary intently, hoping that something he read will coincide with the possible shapeshifter in the dark.
He went through the pages one by one, memorizing the shapeshifters, and the details of them.
"What could it possibly be?" he muttered, thinking of the countless possibilities.
"What reason could a shapeshifter have to hunt me?" Lucas asked himself this question, thinking of reasons why he would be a target.
He briefly thought of the werewolf he killed.
"Could it be his pack?"
Though there was a possibility, why would that werewolf be in such a sorry state if he had a pack?
There were no witnesses that night, although he couldn't deny this theory, because maybe the smell could lead to him.
Lucas then tried to think of more plausible explanations, then as if he thought of something, he looked at his grandfather's diary in his hand. "Could it be…"
His face tensed. If his guess is right, this could be more dangerous than he imagined.
He took a deep breath, then closed the diary.
He got up and went to look out of the window. The workers had already started working. Lucas then looked in the distance, as if looking at the thing after him.
"We will see who's the hunter, and who is the prey." Lucas' eyes briefly turned golden before he turned and walked downstairs.
The inside work was already finished; only the outside remained to be done.
Lucas then walked outside. He approached some flowers by his house; underneath those flowers was where the mountain ash was placed.
The mountain ash was placed underground in a pipe, and cement was poured on it. This was all around his house.
Lucas did leave an opening that could be lifted in case he wanted to have some visitors.
The reason he made it so secure is because, being in open air, it could be broken by any human, though he did get weird looks from the workers when he told them what he wanted.
Lucas then went in the house. He grabbed from the basement all the weapons he prepared a day ago and went to his room.
Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and started meditating; only this could alleviate his emotions a little.
As for school, he didn't have any thoughts of going today. He would not waste time knowing that he could die at any moment.
A couple of hours passed by as he meditated. Lucas opened his eyes, then stretched, feeling stiff from standing still.
He then noticed that the noise from the construction was gone. He went downstairs, and through the window Lucas saw the workers packing their stuff.
Lucas went outside. He looked at the outer layer of the house, now all brand new and finished.
He talked for a few minutes with the project manager.
After finishing explaining all the details, the manager said goodbye and left.
Finally alone, Lucas went to his backyard. There was a small place that connected the mountain ash circle around his house.
It was a locked panel in the ground. Lucas opened it, then saw black ash from both sides with a little empty space between them.
To activate the barrier, he must be the one to lay down the last bit of ash, and at the moment the gap closes, he must imagine a barrier forming.
Lucas took a breath, praying this would work, and began.
First, he threw some mountain ash, connecting the two ends together. Then Lucas closed his eyes, focusing his mind on imagining a barrier forming.
His mental focus was all on it, firmly believing that it would work.
Then a spark sounded, the mountain ash thrown by him perfectly aligning with the rest of the circle.
Lucas blinked, looking at this scene. From what he knew, this meant that the barrier was activated.
But he had one more important thing to verify, or else this would be for nothing.
Lucas slowly raised his right hand; his index finger was almost touching it.
Then the moment he touched a little more ahead, a bright blue light appeared. His heart sank; all the joy and hope that he had died.