• The Full Moon, pt. I


    It is nighttime. The moon is hidden by clouds. I am running, running in a thick forest. At first, it feels like there is nothing but the wind that is washing over my body as I ran at full speed, making my ebony hair stream behind me and the cuts on my face and shoulder sting from the cold. But then, just after I thought I lost the monster behind me, I feel a pressure at my back and suddenly, I am pinned down against the uneven forest ground on which I was running. I feel moist, warm breath on my neck and I know that the monster is about to kill me.

    But then, the pressure is released, and I can breathe again. What happened to the monster? Barely before that question is formed in my head, I hear a shuffling. I dare to roll over. I see nothing but the velvety black sky above me. I sit up, look around, and yet I see nothing. Suddenly, something springs at me. It is heavy, like the monster who was pursuing me, but yet it seems to be restraining me rather than pinning me down. I shut my eyes and wait for the kill.

    “Don’t move,” it breathes. I can tell that whatever it is, it is male. The rasp of his voice is low. “You’ll only attract it.” He is pinning my chest down with one knee, but very gently.

    “Attract what?” My voice is hoarse from disuse.

    “The werewolf,” he whispers.

    “Werewolf?” Skepticism drips into my voice. “What are you—?”

    “Shh!” he insists. Suddenly, a ravaged growl rips from my left, and the person holding me down flies off me.

    The night is rent with roars and growls, and I don’t dare open my eyes. Finally, when the growls seem to have subsided, I sit up. I hear something breathing heavily, and it is a little boy. His clothes are torn and almost ripped off in some places. I was sure it was not him who was pinning me down earlier, but I wondered where the male that was doing so was now.

    “Hello? Are you all right?” I am scared, scared for this boy and for myself. Just then, a cloud shifts, and a full moon is exposed, placing a silver finger onto the boy. The boy rolls over, and I gasp. His eyes are pure black. I scramble to my feet, turning away as I do so. But I can barely make the first step when the boy—no longer a boy, but a horrid monster—springs at me, sinking fanged teeth into my left arm.

    I scream, and my scream slowly turns into a howl that rings through the night air. A fearsome snarl rips from my throat as I writhe in pain, limbs elongating and nose lengthening into a snout...

    Werewolf, my conscience screams at me.