Her grandmother always warned her not to travel the forests of Roxbury at night. There was a reason the Night Watch existed. Beasts that lurked in the shadows and emerged when the sun sank below the horizon, stealing sleeping children and raiding crates of food. She was not a bright girl, unfortunately. Despite the warnings from many people, and obvious evidence that it was not safe to wander about in the dark, Lily did not heed the blaring red signs of danger.

Her parents had passed away when she was a young thing, barely able to stand. Her lovely grandma who lived just a short walk from Roxbury had taken her in and raised her the best her poor old soul could.

The first time Lily walked alone in the woods, it was simply curiosity. What would she see? To her disappointment, she saw nothing.

As time went on, Lily continued her twilight trips through the dirt path. And each time, she did not see any sort of creature, malicious or not. The bats didn't dare flutter and the squirrels didn't chatter. Even mosquitoes didn't dare bite her. She thought nothing of it. Over time, her strolls at night became a habit.

Tonight was just like the others. Lily had picked a basket of fresh apples from apple trees along the side of the road, and she wanted to bring them to her grandmother. The sun was already out of sight, the sky a dark blue and fading to black. She wore her signature red robes, skipping down the pathway. She stopped when she heard quiet footsteps behind her, barely noticeable yet audible in the unnatural silence.

“Who’s there?” she asked, turning around quickly. Her eyes met with that of a giant wolf. Though, ‘wolf’ wasn’t quite right. They looked like a mix of man and canine, furred and sharp-toothed like a beast yet they stood upright like a man. “Why do you follow me?”