Genre: Horror; Clean horror

From the depths of Gäim, there was a wolf, a wolf whose powers could control............
Only one person can make a difference.........

"Was tust du Petra?" Hansel asked her as he caught up to her. His cheeks were red from running so long. Petra was very angry with school, her friend Annie, and her life.
"Sie nicht zu mir sprechen Hansel!" She snapped. She didn't want to deal with her little brother at the moment. She had more important things to deal with than Hansel. By the time they got to their house, Hansel's pale cheeks were red, and his blonde hair was spiked with sweat. Petra smiled in triumph.
"You look like a real German now," she said in English. She grabbed his hat from off his head, and he tried to reach for it, but she was too tall. His blue eyes sparkled with annoyance.
"Come on Paige, give it back..."
Just then their mom opened the door. "Kommen bei Kindern," she said as she pushed them inside. Their mother didn't and will never learn English. They told her that she can have a better job if she could learn English, but no, she wanted it her way, so now she was a stay at home mom while their dad worked as a construction worker; Petra prays that her father is safe.
She prays that the zombies don't get him. As their mom was tucking them into bed, Hansel asked," Will the schlechten Zombies get Vati?"
Mutter sighed and sat at the foot of his bed. "Hansel, you must understand that I'm praying he gets back home safely too." Of course this was in German, but she couldn't help but think about those horrible creatures. There was a curfew at 9:00 for everyone's safety because of the zombies. She dozed off into a sleep and had a strange dream:

Petra was being carried off by a dragon. Her arms were in each claw, and she was dangling 500 ft in the air!
"Hey! Where are taking me?" Petra asked it. It ignored her and kept on flying. She kicked it desperate to get away. It roared and dropped her. She screamed as she fell down and slid down some big leaves. Petra realized that she was in a dark forest; she heard her Vati tell her tales about it.
"The Forsaken forest," She whispered watching her breath float in the air. She saw a creature run into the forest, so she followed it to a ledge. She looked up and saw a pure white wolf glaring at her with its intense, brown eyes. After a moment of staring, the wolf narrows its eyes at her-unfortunately the weather was affected by its emotion. Petra felt uneasy about the situation. She was about to ask it what was wrong until bowed its head slightly away from her, and zombies appeared. They weren't ordinary zombies with easily pullable limbs, green fleshy skin, and pop-out eyes, these zombies had fair skin that made them look as thin as a twig, and white, lifeless eyes. Their split claws came out of their fingers unnaturally and were covered with dark red blood. More and more came at her at a steady pace-tiring out the prey, her Vati called it. She had to move fast or she'll die in this vision, so she ran as fast as she could and ran right into someone. They landed with an Oomph! Petra turned to see who she ran into, and she ran into a very handsome boy-Russian to be exact. His black hair was slick with sweat, and his blue eyes were wide with alarm. He opened his mouth, and his lips formed her name: Petra.
How does he know my name? She asked herself. She forced herself to listen to him.
"Petra." His voice was like a cello playing very smoothly. "Wake up!"

Petra woke up with a gasp. She took deep breaths so that her heart rate could go down. She wiped her head and realized that it was covered in sweat. She walked quickly into the bathroom to freshen up. After that, she walked into the kitchen where her Mutti was cooking breakfast, and her little brother Hansel was staring at her like she was a freak of nature.
"What's wrong with you Hansel? You know it's not polite to stare," Petra said to him in a scolding tone.
"Petra, there's something wrong with Mutti," he said slowly with fear. Petra walked over to her.
"Oh please, there is nothing wrong-" When she turned Mutti around, her eyes were white, her skin was fair but stretched over her bones making her look as thin as a twig, and she was developing overgrown claws!
"Breakfast my dearies?" Mutti asked in a lifeless voice.

Alexi was having a different problem. His father and four older brothers just left, and he was left with his two sisters and his mother.
"You're the man of the house, so you're gonna do all of the manly work," his mother said to him. He groaned he went to cut the logs in half, mow the lawn, fix the shed, and chase the sheep back into the shed with their sheepdog Anastasia. After he was done with all that, he was so tired that he fell asleep in the doghouse with Anastasia.

He was running and playing in a magnificent field when he saw a figure slide down some big leaves in the dark forest.
"The Forsaken forest," he whispered as he entered the forest. The trees twisted and turned in weird ways that made acacia trees look like noobs. He sight-seed until he saw zombies approaching him! He panicked and ran for his life. He was then stopped by a huge circle of them; he was surrounded! He grabbed his hair in fear and frustration. Think, think, think! Then he came up with a plan, but he was not going to like it: he was to run right through the zombies. He took a deep breath and charged his way through the swarm of zombies. As he passed them, he felt their sharp overgrown claws poke and prick him, but he managed to get through them. He looked back as he was running to see the zombies were almost out of sight. He managed to smile in triumph before he ran into the figure he saw earlier. He identified the figure as a very beautiful German girl with soft long blonde hair, fair skin, and sapphire blue eyes. He couldn't take his wide eyes off her. Then his mouth said a word: Petra. The girl responded to that name. How did I know her name? He asked himself. Before he realized it, he said, "Petra, wake up!" She went limp and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Alexi grabbed her and held her in his arms.
"No! No! Please... I-I didn't mean..." Then instinctively he pressed his lips against hers. He pressed harder and harder, and he saw underneath his eyelids a blinding white light...

Alexi woke up with a start. He looked around to see that he fell asleep on a doghouse. Anastasia looked at him, whimpered, and licked his face. Alexi chuckled and scratched behind her ear.
"I'm fine girl," he cooed. She barked and ran out of the doghouse to wake up the sheep. Alexi followed.

As Anastasia was going towards the sheep, her head snapped up into the air and she sniffed it. She placed her nose to the ground and smelled towards the scent. When she got there, something grabbed her and she let out a loud yelp. Alexi heard her yelp, and he ran as fast as he could towards her yelp. When he got there, the image horrified him. Anastasia was hanging by her tail upside down while her own blood oozed down her split limp body and dripped from her nose to the ground. Her head was cut open to reveal that something (or someone) took her brain out. Her eyelids were ripped off, and something sharp cut her pupils in half. Alexi failed to fight back tears shed for his beloved dog was gone. Then he heard a groan from behind him that sent chills up his spine. He slowly turned away to see his father two feet behind him holding Anastasia's brain.
"Join us Alexi," he said in a lifeless voice. His four brothers appeared therefore the same thing happened to them! Alexi backed up into a corner but there was nowhere to escape his deadly brothers and father. He closed his eyes excepting his death.

Petra screamed and grabbed Hansel to protect him. She couldn't get over the fact that her mother was now one of them.
"Breakfast dearies," she repeated more sternly.
"Oh no mom, we'll just go to school without any," Petra replied in a shaky voice. Mutti's lips stretched into a cruel, smug, smile.
"Oh no, meine Tochter, you must eat this breakfast I made you or you're not going to school."
"This doesn't count me right?" Hansel's voice surprised them as they've forgotten all about him.
"Oh...this counts you too mein Sohn." She reached out for him, but Petra smacked her hand away.
"Don't touch us!" She hissed. Mutti quickly masked her shock. Then she rose her butcher's knife. "I guess I have to make matters into my own hands."
Before she could chop their brains out, a dragon crashed into the house and burned Mutti into nothing but ash. Hansel buried his face in Petra's shirt. The dragon looked like the one in her dreams.
"Are we gonna get that Russian boy?" Petra asked it. It nodded, and they climbed on its back and rode it to Russia.

Alexi didn't hold the tears back. He felt his father's overgrown claw poke his nose, and it slowly gazed down to his chest.
"This won't hurt a bit Alexi," father sneered.
"You won't feel it," said Georga, the oldest.
"It'll be quick," said Demtri, the second oldest.
"Like the guillotine," Peter, the third oldest, finished. Vladimir, the fourth oldest, just stared at him intensely like a tasty meal. Right as father poked a hole through Alexi's shirt, a mystical dragon appeared with the girl he saw in his dreams and a boy who looked to be her brother riding on its back.
"Wait! I have to get my sister!" Alexi called up to them. Petra's lips were moving, but he couldn't pick up the words. The dragon already squashed his brothers and father. It picked him up in its mouth and carried him to his house. Alexi burst in the door and saw that his mother and older sister, Catherine, were dissected by another stray zombie. The zombie hissed at them with his little sister, Alexis, in its grip. Alexis couldn't stop crying. "Help me Alexi!"
Alexi looked from her to the zombie and was helpless. He stood there silently sobbing about losing his entire family when the dragon bit the zombie and it disintegrated. Alexis ran into his arms and cried as hard as she could; he was doing the same.
"I love you. I would let nothing harm you ever again," he told her softly. She nodded and kept hugging him. The dragon lifted them up into the air and flew far away.

It was nighttime by the time the dragon flew over France. Hansel was too busy telling jokes to Alexis, so it was just Petra and Alexi.
"I know you know my name, but what is yours?" Petra asked him. It took him a while to comprehend the question.
"My name is Alexi," he responded after minutes of awkward silence.
"Alexi..." Petra made sure that she remembered his name. Alexi...what a handsome boy. His eyes were her favorite shade of blue: blue jay blue. She was very tempted to rest her head on his chest, but she decided not to because they just met. Alexi reached for her hand and grabbed it. Petra held on tight as the steady movement of the dragon made her drowsy. She felt herself tilting towards Alexi, and her head rested on his shoulder. Alexi looked at her with a soft expression. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders for support and comfort. Petra smiled by the added warmth from Alexi. Alexi hesitated before he started to stroke her hair. He buried his nose into her hair which smelled like green apples.
"You're so pretty," he whispered in her ear. She rubbed her head against his shoulder in her sleep. Her steady breathing caused him to fall asleep.

Petra was waken up by the landing of the dragon on the edge of the Forsaken forest. She felt her head move up and down by something; she looked down and saw that she was laying on Alexi. Petra gasped and quickly sat up. She groaned realizing that she just slept with a guy she just met. Alexi slowly stirred next to her. He looked at her with the same expression as she had.
"Did we-"
"Yes we fell asleep cuddling," Petra finished.
"It was nice." Petra rolled her eyes. She didn't want to admit that their cuddling felt great. Alexi sat up next to her. "Look, I know you didn't like that we slept together, but I really think..." He turned away because he couldn't finish his sentence. Petra tuned his head towards her. "You think what?"
"I think you're pretty." Her cheeks flushed with color. She was flattered by the compliment.
"Well I think your very-" She was interrupted by the dragon's huge cry. The dragon was flying towards them with three new recruits. When the dragon landed, they ran over to meet the new recruits. The boy's name was Percy, and he came from France. One of the girls names were Gina from Maowi, and the other was Heidi from Germany. When Gina introduced Heidi to Alexi, Heidi spased out calling him "the most handsome boy she ever laid eyes on". Alexi smiled with his cheeks blushing, but he looked to Petra for help. Petra laughed it off and mouthed "You're on your own."
But she couldn't help the jealousy building in her stomach. Heidi needs to keep her slimy hands off her man. Percy had a sweet personality, but Petra preferred Alexi. After everyone greeted each other, Gina guided them to the camp while explaining the forest.
"The trees are Delikus trees. These trees are very poisonous and can kill you in seconds." She added that last part because Hansel was about to touch one. He gave her an embarrassed smile before they continued on.
"The ash from volcanoes gives the Black River its name..." Petra stopped listening to her and started to listen to Alexi. He explained his side of the dream to her. He told her about the zombies and how he broke through their circle and ran into her. He told her that he was the one who told her to wake up, and he didn't finish the rest.
"Well?! What happened after I woke up?!" Petra demanded. Her loud voice caused everyone to stop and stare. Alexi took a step forward so that he was within kissing range.
"I kissed you," he said smoothly. At the moment Petra really wanted to kiss him.
"Ooooh..." Everyone said. Petra looked away from him so that he wouldn't see her blushing. He softly grabbed her face and gently turned it toward him. "Well, I told you what happened."
Gina cleared her throat. "Come on guys, we'll need to reach the camp before nightfall."
Everyone turned around and followed Gina.

When they got to the camp, Alexi asked Petra if she would like to see the sunset with him. She answered yes. They sat there under a grove of trees while the sun slowly setted.
"Sunsets are always beautiful," said Petra. Alexi turned to her.
"Then you're a sunset," he said smoothly. She turned to him and realized that she was inches away from his face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You said that sunsets are beautiful, and I said that you're a sunset which means you are beautiful." She placed her forehead against his and looked deep into his eyes.
"Your eyes are beautiful," she murmured. His face was getting closer and closer until she felt his lips on hers. They kissed until Petra glanced over at the sky, and the moon was high in the sky. She forced herself to pull away. "It's late; I better get going."
"But, we can cuddle under the stars; just me and you," he protested as he grabbed her arm. His eyes were shining a blue shade of sapphire in the moonlight. She got lost in them and kissed him again. She pushed him away.
"I have to go Alexi."
"Wait! I love you Petra! Can't you just rest your head on my shoulder again?" His declaration of love shocked Petra. He quickly stood up and pulled her into an embrace. "It was love at first sight when I saw you in my dream. You-you-you..." He sighed in defeat. "What I'm tryna say is I'm in love with you Petra, no one else."
"Not even Heidi," she growled. She did not like that girl. Alexi chuckled.
"Not even Heidi; you're in my heart. I would kill for you Petra." They heard Gina's voice looking for them. Petra turned to him. "I guess this is goodbye...Auf Wiedersehen."
"I guess then...goodbye." Petra frowned because he said this in Russian. Before they went their separate ways, she pushed a lock of black hair away from his face and kissed him good night. They faced away from each other and headed back to their cabins.

Hansel watched Petra and Alexi cuddle and kiss each other. His pale blue eyes were wide with wonder. Petra was only 15, and he was two years younger than her, so he wondered if he could kiss someone too. He decided to test his theory with Alexis. Man that girl was pretty.
She had beautiful, straight, soft red hair, and blue eyes as blue as Alexi's. She was sitting on the poach talking to frogs.
"I know you heard me Mr. Jumpington, but I need you to be a good dad to those tadpoles," she told the frog. It just stared at her, blinked, and hoped away. The other frogs did the same thing. "Awww...." Alexis turned around and noticed Hansel standing there. Alexis felt her heart rate escalate. Every time Hansel's around, she just gets so nervous around him. He's so handsome. His eyes were a beautiful shade of icy blue, and his blonde hair flowed in the wind. When he smiled at her, she tried very hard not to show her interest in him.
"Wanna take a walk with me?" Hansel asked her.
"Yeah! But won't it be night soon?"
Hansel pulled her into his arms. "That's why I'm here, to protect you from those terrible zombies."
She looked up at him and smiled. He was so dreamy up close. Hansel grabbed her hand and led her down an unfamiliar trail.
"Will you know your way back?" Alexis asked. Hansel snorted with disbelief.
"This is why you have me right," Hansel said in a laughing tone. He glanced over at Alexis and intermediately felt bad for saying that. He gave her body a squeeze. "I'm sorry."
She gave him a small smile. "It's alright Hansel."
His icy blue eyes shined like the ice at night when it snowed back home in Russia. She was tempted to kiss him right now, but she just rested her head on his shoulder. As they were walking on the trail, the moon was almost up, and the sun was almost down. Alexis started to get worried.
"Maybe we should turn back. What if we get killed by zombies?" Alexis said on the verge of panic and tears. Hansel turned her toward him with his face inches away from hers.
"I'll protect you even if it kills me," he whispered to her. His icy blues eyes made her uneasy, and she found something else to look at. He lifted her head up slightly so that they were at eye level. His face was getting closer and closer. Their lips brushed together when they heard the sound of a zombie groan. Their heads whipped towards the direction of the groan, but the groans where everywhere! Alexis looked desperately at him.
"Oh Hansel! We're dead! We're so dead! We're gonna die!" She hyperventilated, tore out of his grip, and ran straight for the zombies!
"NO!" He screamed running after her. He grabbed at stick and whacked a zombie on the head. Its mouth oozed with milk white saliva, and its head exploded with black blood that got all over his shirt. Its eyeballs squirmed slowly down its body and crawled towards him. He screamed and kicked at them before they squirmed into another zombie. It entered through its nose and replaced the other eyeballs. Hansel leaned over and blew chunks. What he saw was so gross! By the time he stopped, the zombies were upon them. He quickly looked for a opening but found none. He was about to give up when a zombie found interest in a squirrel and chased it around. Hansel smiled in triumph. Now he and Alexis were going to live. He grabbed her hand and ran through the opening as fast as he could even ignoring the pokes of their sharp, overgrown claws. They stopped a foot away from the camp to catch their breath. Alexis threw her arms around his neck and shouted, "Oh! My hero!"
Hansel shrugged. "Oh it was-" He was cut off by her lips on his. He felt heat rise to his cheeks, and his eyes instinctively closed. He slowly wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place. When they pulled away, Alexis said, "You're more than what I hoped for."
"I guess that means we're dating?"
"It could mean that, but it means that you're better than I expected."
"Is that a compliment?"
Alexis smiled and kissed him. "Yes." She backed away and found her clothes covered lightly with black blood. She looked at Hansel. "Is that your blood?!"
"This?" He down at and found his shirt covered with blood. "Oh, it's zombie blood. Everyone's asleep, so I can walk around without one on." Before she could protest, he took his shirt off revealing his muscular figure. She forced herself to look away. He smiled at the response he got.
"I work out," was his answer. They entered the house and went upstairs. Before they departed they kissed each other and went into their rooms for bed.

Petra and the others woke up, and the sound of dying zombies didn't make their morning any better. Alexi was the second up after Petra. He walked in and kissed her.
"Good morning," he said in Russian.
"Guten Morgen meine liebe," she responded kissing him.
"How did you sleep?"
"Mmm...not so good. I wish you were there to comfort me."
"You could've just asked; Gina was asleep."
"I know, but I didn't want Gina to find us sleeping together."
"But we're up before her."
"Did you guys really?" They turned around and saw Gina standing right in front of them. "I knew you both were in love, and I kind of like Percy, so you're not the only one."
Just then the rest of them came down. Percy grabbed Gina's hands and kissed them. Gina's face was completely red with flattery. Percy smiled sweetly and winked at her. Petra couldn't help but smile. Love was a sweet thing. She went over to check up on Hansel. Hansel was giving Alexis a dreamy look. Petra laughed. "Am I missing something?"
He sighed heavily. "I kissed her yesterday."
"What?! But you're not old enough."
Hansel's face flushed a little. "Yes I am! I'm thirteen!"
"Oh. Sorry." Petra looked away from him. She just remembered that he was only thirteen. Hansel went over to Alexis and gave her a soft kiss. "I love you," he told her. She rested her nose on his and smiled. Petra felt emotional when she saw this. If only her parents could see this. Gina put a platter of eggs, French toast, sausage, bacon, orange juice, and coffee for the ones who want it.
"Alright guys, eat up cuz it's gonna be a long trip from here."

They walked for about two hours before Hansel had to take a bathroom break. Then they continued their journey to see Gäim.
"Is it evil?" Heidi asked while staring at Alexi. Petra blocked her view of him.
"Gäim is a "she" and yes, she is evil, but only one person can stop her..." She was looking right at Petra. Petra was just minding her own business while holding Alexi's hand. Alexi was looking at her with a very passionate expression on his face. Petra at him for a while until they ran right into Percy and Gina.
"We're here!" Gina announced.
They all looked up at the ledge in front of them. Petra and Alexi were the most bewildered.
"The ledge from the dream," they both said in unison. It was the same ledge that they were standing in front of. Alexi gave Petra a worried look.
"This where you die Petra," he whispered. She gave him a sad expression.
"Which means I'm never gonna see you again," she said.
"Oh Petra, I-I-I..." He grabbed her and kissed her like he was never going to see her again. He buried his nose into her hair smelling every scent, feeling every part of her because he was not going to get the chance to when she died. When they pulled away, Alexi's eyes were filled with tears, and so were Petra's.
"I love you so much Alexi," she whispered in his ear. He closed his eyes trying to remember her heartbeat, and her breathing rate.
"I love you so much Petra," he answered back.
Gina gently grabbed Petra's arm, and slowly pulled her away from Alexi. "Come on Petra, it's time to defeat Gäim."

Petra held her head high and accepted her faith resulting in death. The closer they got, the more emotional she got. A stray tear rolled down as slowly as her death. They waited for what felt like hours, but the more they waited the more hope surged through Petra. Maybe there wasn't a Gäim, maybe she will have a future, maybe she will marry Alexi and have kids. She thoughts were shattered when the wolf appeared and then a very familiar man arrived behind the wolf. That familiar man was none other than her and Hansel's Vater! His dark blue eyes looked at every one of them with a hateful stare even at his own children. Hansel made a run for him, but Petra held him back. Hansel gave her a deranged look.
"Are you crazy?! That is Vati! Petra! Let me go!" He twisted and turned and pulled and pushed, but it was no use, he couldn't escape his sister's grip.
"Hansel! Listen to me, that is not our same father, that is a possessed Vati!" She told him. She finally let go of him, and he looked at Vati with disappointment, sadness, betrayal, and anger all mixed in one expression and went over to Alexis, and she gave him a comforting hug. Vati scowled at him. "Hansel, what are you doing with a Russian? Anyone but-"
"Shut up you monster!" He screamed at him. He frowned at him.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that!"
"You're not my Vati anymore..." He voice was barely a whisper at the end. Hansel buried his face into Alexis's shoulder.
"I am here to turn all mankind into zombies! I'm the one who turned your parents into zombies, your ignorant siblings into cannibals, and your neighbors into killers. I. Am. The. Controller. Of. This. Wolf... I. Am. GÄIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The wolf yowled in agreement. Petra gave her Vati a digested look. "But I'm here to destroy you."
"Let's see if you can..." He turned his head towards the wolf, and Gäim turned her head away. Zombies popped up from the ground, and a few locked their overgrown claws other colleges' legs. Percy growled and clawed on them as hard as he could, but he couldn't get off. Gina climbed up a tree offering no help, and Hansel and Alexis were using big sticks to whack their heads off. Petra turned her attention to Gäim. The wolf growled and lunged for her, but she was too quick on her feet and easily dodged her assault. Gäim tried again but failed, so she tried to leap on her back and triumphed. Petra and Gäim wrestled on the ground until Gäim was on top of Petra trying to bite her throat.
"Gäim, I know there's some if not all good in you, but please don't kill me, you're a good girl." Gäim stopped when she heard, "you're a good girl". Gäim pressed her nose against hers, and a blinding white light came between them. Petra instantly felt her soul leaving her body, and her life slipping away.
Finish it, she heard Gäim thought. Then the zombies were gone, and Petra finally finished her destiny and died.

"Net! Net! Petra!" Alexi ran over to her and held her in his arms. Tears blurred his vision as he cried, "Why?! Why you?! WHY!!!!!!" He buried his face into her shirt and cried his heart out. Gäim walked slowly up to them. Everyone around him bowed their heads. Gäim nuzzled Alexi softly on the shoulder. He looked up at her all teary-eyed. "What is it girl?" Gäim pressed her nose on Petra's, and she was starting to lift off from the ground. Everyone saw in astonishment as Petra spun around in white light that got brighter and brighter until the blinding light flashed and slowly dissipated. Petra slowly floated down until she was laying on the ground. Gäim wobbled and fell to the ground. Gina ran towards her and cried, "The great Gäim is dead!" Right as she said it, Petra gasped back to life. Hansel ran towards her and hugged her in tears. Then Alexi scooped her into a bear hug and kissed her in the process.
"My Petra..." She grabbed him into a soft embrace.
"Mein Alexi." He laughed and grabbed her hand.
"Come on, let's go home."
"But...where is home..." Gina smiled sweetly holding Percy's hand. "We can all stay at the camp," she offered.
"That sounds about great," Alexi smiled. Everyone gathered about Petra and walked together back to camp.

"College here we come!" Percy exclaimed three years later. Petra and Alexi fretted over their younger siblings being left here by themselves.
"Don't worry, I have Alexis," Hansel said rubbing his nose against hers.
"And I have Hansel," Alexis responded giving him a kiss. Petra hugged her brother, and Alexi hugged his sister, and they left with Gina and Percy. The dragon lifted them onto its back and flew off in the direction of America.
"Hmmm...Clemson University or Penn state?" Percy asked.
"Penn State!" Everyone answered. The dragon roared and flew into the sunset.