The Moon Trilogy

[_Veritas_]

This is a trilogy of short stories I wrote awhile ago.

When I have some more time, I will go back and place in all the indentions.

Comments and reviews are welcome.

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The Moon Trilogy

Compilation

of

Three Short Stories

By: Joshua Malone

Freak Job

“I sat quietly in my closet. Waiting,” the girl said. She was around fifteen or sixteen years of age. “I didn’t know what to do. I waited for him to leave. Waited to live….waited to die….”

''Are you certain this was a male?” The detective asked the girl. The girl just stared. She wasn’t.

The detective arose to her feet and passed. They were getting nowhere, and fast. The girl was crashing from sleep deprivation, shock, and horror.

The night ran clearly through the girl’s head.

She had gotten up in the middle of the night, and walked towards the bathroom.. On her way, she had heard a crashing noise come from her parent’s bedroom. She went to investigate, and found a figure looming over the lifeless corpse of her mother. Blood was pouring out of a fresh wound where a knife was placed. On the bed lied her father. His neck had been torn open. By the same knife that was stabbed in her mother’s stomach region, she supposed, when she noticed.

The girl, now shivering from the memory and the cold interrogation room, started to cry. The next thing she remembered was sitting alone in her closet. It seemed like forever till the police came. She must have run into her room after she saw her parents…. Wait…there was something before that. First she ran to her older sister’s room, and found her…. Then she ran to her room.

The detective, who was an older female- probably around her forties or fifties, circled the table a few times. Then she cleared her throat loudly. This brought the girl back from the memory.

“Need an audible answer for the recording,” the detective said, although the girl’s silence was sure to be enough for camera.

“No,” the girl said. “I’m not sure.” With that, the cop left the room.

It seemed like forever. Just like in the closet. She mildly remembered lunging into the small space, and crying, and praying to herself. She remembered it seemed like eternity till help showed. The neighbors must have seen or heard something and called. Had she screamed? She believed that she was more apt to scream at the sight of her sister than her parents. After she saw her sister’s body… drained of all the exuberant life that she had sown all her life… Clare, which was the witness’ name, must have lost it.

“But the closet?” she asked to herself, in the empty, cold room. The closet seemed like the most viable place to hide. Anyone could have thought of it. The killer, who was obviously smart enough to get away in time, must have known she was in there. The closet is like the womb; it’s symbolic of the womb… a safe place….

The detective came back in, and the door hissed shut. She sat, opposite Clare. “Sorry,” she said. “I had to relive a few people. Their shift is up. I’ll have to leave in a bit again to brief the next shift.” She stretched in her seat. She cursed, and then added “What a night. Poor thing…” this comment was aimed at Clare.

Clare sat in silence. She didn’t want to speak anymore, afraid it would all spill out- her emotions. She yawned… it seemed appropriate. It was, in fact, three A.M in the morning….Was that all? It seemed like days, or weeks…or even years have gone by.

“Is there anything else?” the detective added. Clare stared at the older woman, and said nothing. Then, methodically- almost robot like, she shook her head no. “Alright,” the detective said. The she added, “Well, you’re not going home. The…murderer might come back. And we’re not taking that risk.” Sure they could place a unit or two out front, the detective thought to herself… but she was sure that that wouldn’t stop this madman. This was indeed a psychopath.

The two parents had been killed in cold blood. Ones throat had been cut open, and he was then stabbed in the chest region. The mother was basically…gutted. And the older sister… decapitated. The detective cringed. A rash of crimes like this had been coming across the city. It started purely suburban, then started getting closer towards the center. The killer was sure to mess up sometime. Well…they had now. They left a witness. Until now, there had been no survivors that the police knew about. Now there was one. But the cops still had no motive. As far as they could tell…this was just a “freak job,” as they liked to call them. This was being done by someone who gets kicks off of killing for no reason. No motive what-so-ever.

“I’ll walk you to the front doors,” the detective added. “Outside, there will be an escort that will be taking you to your location.” Clare nodded.

She wasn’t sure she could sleep now…or ever again. But it would be sure better to stay at a hotel or something, than here. She got up, shivering as she went. Once to the doors, the detective handed Clare a card. “Take this,” she said. “It’s my contact card. Call if you… think of something, or need someone to talk to. You’re a major priority to us. We will catch him…or her…,” then she hugged Clare. Clare shrugged away, and started towards the car. She didn’t want human contact at the moment.

The vehicle was a few yards away. The night was cold, and chilling. Dead leaves crunched under her feat, as she crossed under the awning. The sky was clear, and the full moon was out. It seemed brighter than she’d ever seen it. Something, a random thought clicked on in her head. It was nothing, just something she thought she learned in psych class or somewhere. Crimes are more abundant during full moons.

The building she was leaving was very large. After all, it could have to be in order to take care of the problems Chicago had, right?

Clare felt alone. She was alone. She had nobody else in this world. Her family was dead, and she was instructed not to make any phone calls for this night. She shivered again, fresh tears escaping her eyes.

The attack came suddenly. She smelled something strong on the cloth that was being held to her face… then she slipped into a deep sleep as unconsciousness overwhelmed her.

When Clare awoke, she was in a dark room. She was hanging upside down from a rope that was attached to the ceiling. There was a scraping sound, like metal against concrete. There was a dripping sound, as Clare felt around- still groggy. The walls were wet. She must be in some sort of cellar, or basement. A mumbled sound filled the room, echoing. She wasn’t sure if someone else was here or if it was her own moans.

Then suddenly there was a sharp pain, piercing her stomach region. A warm liquid then fluently rushed from the wound, and ran towards Clare’s face. The blood trickled off her chin. Clare howled in pain, as whatever had stabbed her retracted. Then the pain came again, and again. She screamed…but nobody could hear her. She was alone, except for the being that was her…torturing her….

The knife retracted once more, blood dripping from it. Then Clare felt the same kind of pain, almost all at once on her back. She screamed again, as the knife was pulled out the third time. Blood was now pooling on the ground below her- she could hardly make out the outline of it though. Then she looked around.

Close by she saw the faint shape of a figure, holding a knife. It looked as if it was smiling…but she couldn’t tell. This was the last visual Clare had before blackness consumed her vision.

Back at the police station the woman detective entered the interrogation room again. She had to brief the new shift in a few minutes. Her radio came alive, with static.

“Um…Blare?” a voice on the other end said. The detective plucked her radio from her belt.

“Yeah Dave, what is it?”

“We were sent another unanimous tip tonight a few minutes ago. Jack and I were called to check it out…”

“And,” she said.

“It’s your witness girl- Clare. She’s been…um…murdered. We think it’s him again.”

The detective looked up, and then cursed into the radio for the benefit of acting as she plugged the room’s video camera back into the wall. “Of course it’s him. Get a team down there, and find what you can.” Over the radio someone was puking…

With that the detective clipped the radio back onto her belt. It was only then did she notice she still had a little blood left on her hand. Crap, she thought. Gotta’ get that cleaned off before I go to briefing. And she was already late…the girl took longer to die than I thought…

The Plan

The two men piled out of the front of the truck. They looked back at their younger brother, who was climbing out of the back. He was fourteen years old, and they were twenty and twenty-four. Rick was the oldest, Brian the twenty year old, and Jake was the youngest. The two older brothers smiled at each other.

They brought Jake out to “Snipe hunt.” He’d…well never been, and was very enthused about it. They lived in a small town, in northern Washington. It was full of nothing but woods and such, and the town they lived in was mainly taken up by hunters and the like. Most of the kids in Jake’s class already had their first bucks, or does by now. So when he found out he was going on a secret hunting trip with his older brothers he couldn’t wait to tell everybody… except his parents. As far as they were concerned they were going into town to see the newest vampire movie. Jake had been convincing of that, since he also had wanted to see this movie for awhile as well.

“It was supposed to be one of the bloodiest movies of the year,” he had said once a few days ago.

But nothing could match up to going with his older brothers hunting.

“It was now around seven thirty P.M. The perfect time to catch snipes,” Brian had insisted. It was a cool night, so they were all dressed warmly. The moon was supposed to be out in full bloom, so that was a plus. It would, “help them see the birds better.”

The three started up the hunting path. The plan was for Jake to wait opposite the other two, while Rick and Brian split and take a side each. The two were going to stir up the birds, and make them run towards Jake- who would be well positioned with a plastic bag or two. The two older brothers insisted that Jake would hear where the birds were coming. They make a loud chirping noise and then he’d also hear his brothers yelling after the birds to get them to run. That was the “plan“.

The real plan, Rick and Brian had, was to walk far enough so that Jake could never see them not split up. They’d go back to the truck, and drive off. It was going to be far enough away that Jake couldn’t hear it. They’d come back in an hour or two of course- after seeing the vampire movie. Jake had a cell, so if something went wrong- which it wouldn’t- he could call, and they would come and get him. But they only expected him to call and complain it was taking to long. If he did, they’d tell him to shut the heck up- that he was scaring the snipes away. It was all planned out.

Nothing bad happened in their town. No big crimes had been reported since the Great Depression. A man had gone crazy after loosing everything he had, and killed his family then tried to kill himself. He was sure that The Depression was the end, and didn’t want his family to suffer from the cannibals he was sure the poor people of the United States were sure to become. He killed them, and was unsuccessful at killing himself. He was sent to a local mental institution. He died back in 1980 something.

No, all the big crimes were in Seattle and such places. There had been a report of a murder two days ago in Seattle, but by now the man who had done it had been found. The only crime around here that people had to worry about was kids either skipping school, under age drinking. or shoplifting- which didn’t happen often, oddly. Skipping school was more frequent than shoplifting. And even when some kid did shoplift, it was nothing major. A bag of something, or a drink. Crap like that. Under age was by far the most frequent, but that’s the same with every freaking town in America.

No. Shidesdale was, overall, a nice quite town. A little too wet. It often rained. At the moment, it was not- but it had been all day. It surprised the boys that they could see the moon. The sky had been overcast all day, and it was supposed to be the same tomorrow. But hey, they wouldn’t complain. Anytime it wasn’t raining up here was a great day.

When the three got to a “good spot,” as it was called by Rick- the oldest and most knowledgeable hunter of the three, the group sat and crouched down. Rick crouched, Brian sat, and Jake, often doing the same that Rick does, crouched.

“So the plans still the same, right?” Jake whispered.

“Yeah,” Brian said. “You go over into the forest a few yards, and Rick and I will head that way,” he pointed out. His hand went mildly away from the trail. They didn’t want to go too far from the trail, but didn’t want to tip Jake off either.

“Look Jake,” Rick started. “This takes patience. A great deal. We might be out here while. It’s dark, and that’s used as a defense. You see, snipes are more active at night because it’s a trait the evolved. They know that between their dark colored feathers, and the darkness of the night that they are well hidden. That’s why it’s so good that the moon is out . It’ll help us see them better. Their feathers are smooth, like a humming bird, and they are about the same size so keep a sharp eye.” Brian made a sound that was awfully close to a muffled laugh. Rick shot him a brooding look. His intentions were clear in his gaze- Shut up, or you’ll be left too.

It was Rick’s truck that they had ridden in to get here, and he was the only one with the keys.

“Keep your cell on-” Rick started again, but was interrupted by Brian.

“But only use it if it’s an emergency! These things scare easily.”

“Right,” Rick agreed. He shot Brian another look. Let me handle this.

“Okay,” Jake said innocently. He truly had no clue. Rick was glad none of Jake’ friends had told him about what snipe hunting really was.

“Now, we’re gonna’ get to this,” Rick said. “It’ll be late before we’re done, so we’ll start now.”

With that, Rick slowly…overly slowly arose, and Brian followed the lead presented.

“Wait over there,” Brian said. Then the two started at a half crouch walk into the forest, and left Jake.

Jake took off into the direction he was pointed in. He pulled out a plastic grocery bag that he was instructed to bring. Apparently, when you catch them, the birds are dumb enough to run right into the bag. You take the bag, and then hit a tree with it. It’s supposed to shatter every bone in the small birds’ body. Jake thought that a little intense, but he didn’t care. He was finally gonna’ hunt!

The bag made a loud crinkle, and Jake stopped. He had to be more quite than this…

The two older brothers were now far enough away to break into a slow jog- aiming to get back to the trail. Soon they would be to the truck, and could laugh their heads off as they drove off into the night.

Once to the truck Brian started laughing right away as he climbed in. Rick did the same. The two roared together, a sound that was quickly dissolved in with the roar of the truck as Rick twisted the key into the ignition. Now off to town to see the “bloodiest movie of the year.”

When the show was done, the two brothers took their time to get back to the truck. It had indeed been pretty bloody, but now they had to wait for the next horror film to come out to compare it.

The movie had no happy ending, although at parts you thought it would. One of the said parts was when a vampire almost attacked a fleeing lady and she was saved by this other guy. That ended in a nice scene of a vampire savagely getting it’s head chopped off with a ax. The movie actually showed the cutting of the spinal cord and everything!

Every vampire attack scene was immensely vivid. Brian had personally liked the one of the close-up of a throat exploding as the jugular was ripped by the teeth of the main vampire of the film. And in the end, the coven had taken over the town that they had invaded- and then it left it open for a sequel, with them possibly taken over the whole country. Rick had rolled his eyes at that.

It seems as though every horror film lately has to be set up for a sequel. And this movie was just fair to begin with. It had okay effects, and was indeed one of the better vampire movies he’d seen in awhile- and by far was the bloodiest, but the acting had been mediocre and blood isn’t everything. Almost all the suspense was spoiled by too MUCH blood. Ho hum- it’s the same with almost every other horror film lately. But over all, it was a decent picture. Too bad Jake missed out. He was fourteen, and this film was rated R. Brian nor Rick had any intention of seeing it on the big screen again, and their parents absolutely despised horror films. Jake would have to wait for the video.

“Okay,” Rick said. “Let’s go get him.” Rick reached in his pocket and grabbed his phone.

There was one missed call. He flipped it open, and called his voicemail.

“Yeah, Rick?” a voice said on the recording. It had indeed been Jake. “It’s getting kind of later than I thought, and I haven’t heard anything from you guys yet…” then his voice broke off. “That must be them now,” Rick heard Jake mumble to himself. Then there was a click, and then nothing.

“Was it the spaz?” Brian asked.

“Yeah,” Rick answered. By now they were in the truck. Rick started the engine up. It roared to life- much like an engine in the movie had done. The same truck in the movie had spikes all over the front of it and it was driven right into a huge group of the nosforatu.

They drove right into the same spot they had before. The two piled out of the truck, and started down the trail. Some sort of animal howled in the distance.

“What was that?” Brian asked.

“A wolf,” Rick said coolly. “Didn’t you see that one in the back yard last night? It howled and howled. It looked pretty neat. It was black with a gray underbelly.”

“I know what a wolf sounds like, man,” Brian butted in. “That was no wolf.”

“Whatever.”

The two kept going in silence.

Rick pulled out his phone, and dialed Jake.

The phone rang.

They heard a ringtone. It was soft, but they could hear it. Rick flipped his phone shut.

“Jake,” Brian called. “We didn’t find any. We’ll have to try again sometime,” he said. He nudged Rick, and the two kept in a laugh.

There had been no answer.

“Jake,” Rick said- when they go to the spot they thought the sound was coming from. This seemed far enough. Surly they didn’t go farther than this…

Rick tried the phone again, but then there was no sound what-so-ever. He flipped it shut.

“Odd,” he said.

The two started walking again. Maybe it had been farther than the thought.

“What the-?” Brian yelped out. He was half in shock, and half angry. He had stepped in something, Rick thought. That was soon confirmed with an, “I stepped in something,” by Brian.

Rick flipped open his phone, to see what it was. They had no flashlights. It was something pinkish that looked like a rope, and covered with a red fluid of some sort. It was long, and Rick followed it with the light. The pink strand led to a whole heap of the pink-robe that was tangled together. The red liquid was dripping on it, and off from it- pooling under it. It was an intestine.

“What the-?” Brian repeated, more shock this time.

Rick walked close, and his breathing quickened. Lord, please no…

Then, once he got to the owner of the innards, he let out a long breath. It was a wolf. It looked to be the same wolf that he had seen at the house the night before. Black, with a gray underbelly. The stomach region had been torn completely open. All the innards were sprawled across the whole area. A dark pool of blood laid under the animal. It’s mouth looked as if it had been forced open, and was frozen that way. Then a question popped in his head.

What… or who would have done this?

“Jake,” Rick yelled. “Where are you man?”

The two started forward again. Brian eyed the kill. “Jeeze…” he muttered.

Rick accidentally kicked something, and immediately looked to see what it was. It was a shoe. A boot actually, to be more precise. The same kind and size Jake was wearing….

Rick walked forward, and saw that it was soaked in blood. There was a trail; it seemed like, in the dead leaves. There was blood following the trail- as if something had been dragged….

“JAKE!” Rick yelled. He ran after the trail.

“Wait!” Brian yelled after Rick. He followed.

Brian could barely see Rick in front of him. All he could really see was the light of the phone in his hand. He saw Rick trip over something, and Brian halted- not knowing if he wanted to go further.

“Jake?” he heard Rick mutter as Rick got back to his feet. He saw Rick stand there, over what he had tripped on. What was it? “Jake…” muttered again.

Then there was a flash of movement, and Rick was sent flying backwards as if being pulled.

“RICK!” Brian yelled.

“RUN!” Rick said, as his voice trailed off into the forest. Brian needed nothing further than that,

Brian took off back down the trail, sprinting. Something howled. Something the way Rick had flown….The same something the two brothers had heard before. Was he hearing something behind him? He panted as he ran. He was the fastest person in his class back in high school, all four years… but now he felt as if he wasn’t fast enough….

But suddenly he saw it. He saw the truck. He reached out in front of him, and grabbed the door handle. He opened the door violently. He then flung himself in, and slammed the door shut. He stopped.

Rick had the keys. The only pair of keys.

Brian looked around. There was nothing outside. He saw nothing. He heard nothing.

“Oh God…” he muttered. “Rick…Jake…oh God…” He was playing the scene of Rick flying backwards. What was the movement he saw? Had Rick been pulled backwards….

Brian stopped.

Or tackled?

On that thought a huge creature slammed down on the hood of the truck. Brian sat mouth agape. He tried to scream but couldn’t. The animal, for that’s what it looked like crouched on the hood. If it stood it’d be near eight feet tall. It’s body was covered in fur, but it’s features were very human. The pectorals, and biceps were even apparent. It had hands. Everything was human except for the legs and head. The legs were recognizably triple jointed. …like a dogs. And the head, was very…canine like. The beast howled at the sight of Brian and leapt away. Away.

Brian sighed.

There was a sudden banging sound, as someone/thing jumped into the seat next to him. It was Jake!

“Jake!” Brian yelled. He almost hugged him. But one look at Jake and he sensed it was not a smart thing to do. His arm was bloody, as was his leg. His clothes were completely tattered and torn.

“Lets go!” Jake said.

“Wait. What happened to you?”

“A wolf attacked me,”

“Are you the one who killed it?”

Jake sat in silence. “Maybe…”

“Then what happened?”

“Well… I… couldn’t stop it. And then Rick came to close…”

“Jake you didn’t!”

Jake flashed a look at Brian. “Well you guys deserve it. Make a fool outta’ me will you?” Jake growled, his eye changing again. Now they were a gold surrounded by black.

“Jake, NO!” Brian yelled.

Then there was another loud thud in the back of the truck, followed by a long howl Brian looked out and another werewolf was there. Jake and it growled at the same time. Brian screamed.

Then Jake started breaking out with laughter, as did the animal in the back. Brian watched as the werewolf changed back to it’s human form- Rick. Rick threw himself back, and howled with laughter.

“W-What?” Brian managed to mutter.

“Exactly what I said,” Jake said. “You guys thought you could make a fool of me…again. Well, I thought it was someone else’s turn.”

By now Rick had hopped into the driver seat, making Brian scoot over in his shocked state. He was still laughing as he gave Jake a high five. Brian worked up a growl.

“Calm it,” Rick said. It’s all in good sport. He laughed again. Then he sniffed the air. “Guess we’re not done,” he muttered. “You guys hungry?”

“Starving,” Jake said. The two looked at Brian.

He shook his head yes.

Rick smiled. “I smell a few hikers are setting up camp tonight, on the northern ridge…”

The Savior

The woman stepped out onto the bare sidewalk. It was 1:53 A.M, and Bradenville, California and as usual- there was no one around at this time of night.

People usually think of big, crowded cities when they think of Cali. But Bradenville was a small town, of a population of about 13,000. That’s small for the surrounding area. L.A was only an hours drive, traffic permitting. A few famous people lived only minutes away. Angela knew them all too well.

Angela Macaroy was a photojournalist for the local paper. The only big news was famous news. People in this town seldom care about was really going on in the world, which is actually what really intrigued Angie. She wanted to be the one photographing the hard hitting news. It’s what she dreamed of since she was young. She wanted to be one of the photojournalists who were at a president inauguration. Or the one who is at a new crime scene, taking pictures for the paper. But no. She was stuck here at the moment, basically following the famous around and taking their pictures. She was more paparazzi than an actual photojournalist. Paparazzi were punks. Photo journaling is an art form.

Maybe I should move, she though to herself. And maybe she should. She had been hearing about a recent rash of brutal murders in Chicago. The latest was two days ago. And just yesterday there was a pain of hikers killed up in Washington. Those were the kind of things she wanted to take pictures of. The photos of the bodies being taken away on the stretchers, the people mourning in the wake of the deaths. The real news.

She scorned herself for the thought. Those had been truly morbid things to think… but oh so true. She wanted nothing more than t o get out of this town, and get her hands on real things to photograph.

Maybe she should join the service or something. Start taking action/war pictures. That could be interesting. She had heard of people getting paid a lot of money to go out into the field and take good action pictures of people fighting for this country.

The wind blew Angie’s dark hair around her face. She struggled to keep it behind her.

Angie had a car, but she never really felt the need to drive it places. She only lived a few blocks away from her job, so she usually walked. She only ever really drove it to get groceries, or if she went someplace. Speaking of going someplace, she needed to call Ann up. They were going to go see the new werewolf movie coming out next week, and she forgot she had a baby shower she had to go to.

She hated baby showers. They always reminded her of what she didn’t have. Along with a good photo job, she had always wanted a family. She guessed she was only twenty-six years old, so she still had time. Maybe it was time to try some internet dating site or something. Her old friend from college had found her husband on one of them… but they had also gotten a divorce a few months later…

Angie sighed.

As she walked she looked around. There was really nobody around. The streets were bare. The old air that wisped around her made her shiver. The moon was full, but clouds filled the sky. A rain system was heading down, the weather man had said over the television this morning. She didn’t know if that was true or not anymore. You often hear one thing in the morning about weather patters, like a rain could be coming and the next thing you know it’s turned into a tornado, with an aftermath thunderstorm.

A hand reached out from the ally, and pulled Angie alongside a brick wall. The figure was a tall man- six foot at least. He was dressed entirely in black. Black pants, black shirt. Black trench coat…

She stifled a scream, but he cupped his hand over her mouth. She bit him, but he didn’t even flinch from pain. He just let her keep biting, as blood flowed into her mouth. He smiled.

She noticed his teeth. They were extra white, and his fangs…well, he had fangs.

Great, she thought. I moved up here to get away from the so called “vampires.” A lot of cities down in the more southern region of California had special clubs where “blood drinkers” could go and congregate. They weren’t real vampires, there was no such thing. But they sure acted like it. She was finally fed up and moved up here when one of them kept asking if she’d be his blood partner.

But that obviously didn’t help- the move that is. Apparently you have those crazies up here as well. Not only that, but raping freaks as well.

The man growled, and bared his teeth. She tried to free herself from his grasp…but he was too strong. But it was odd, it was as if he wasn’t even trying to keep her in place. His hand came around, and smacked her. It was the hardest smack against her fact she’d ever felt. His hand was like a block of ice. No… worse. Like a brick that had frozen over.

Angie felt dizzy. There was a sudden sharp pain across her forehead, and she felt a warm liquid of some sort start to run down the left side of her face. The man leaned forward, and licked the blood from her face. Disgusting, she thought. Why doesn’t he just get on with it?…

She was coming round again, from her dizzy spell she had from his hit. She stifled another scream, and got it half out before his hand cupped over her mouth again.

Where had his bite marks gone? She was sure this was the same hand. She bit down again, and he withdrew it. Not out of pain, but of anger, and he slapped her again as he hissed. It was a guttural sound. It was eerie, and somewhat demonic. He popped his neck, and opened his mouth wide. His sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight. The man was not at all ugly. No. In fact he was rather good looking… except for the fact he was trying to rape me, and bite me, Angie added in her head.

She kicked him, but it didn’t phase him in the least- like her attempts were futile, and weak. Like he couldn’t feel them. She glanced at his hand. Still…no bite marks. Who was this guy?

Then, as she closed her eyes as dizziness struck her again (either from the gash in her head which blood was now fluently spilling from, or from being hit again) the weight of the man pressing against her faded quickly. She slumped to the ground, as a smacking sound rang through the ally. Then there was a mumbled yell, that she couldn’t make out- the dizziness had overwhelmed her.

“Ar-… ou ….ay?” a voice said. She tried to open her eyes. Her vision was blurred, but she could make the faint outline of a man. She could even tell that this was not the same man. “Are you okay,” he asked again, calmly.

“I…I think so,” she stammered.

“You have a nasty cut on your forehead,” he said. She could now see him fully, although she was still mildly dizzy.

He was a handsome man, and defiantly not someone she’d seen before. He had a dark brown hair that was down to his shoulders and a faint outline of a beard. He looked like…

“Jesus?” Angie asked. The man howled with laugher.

“Not quite,” he answered softly. “But I get that a lot.”

“You saved me,” she said. It was more of a question than a statement. He nodded. She looked over him. He was crouched.

Against a wall, sat the man whom had attacked her, he was slumped over, cradling his arm. The shoulder was resting at an odd angle. It looked dislocated. See you fix that quickly, Angie thought sourly. How had he healed so quickly?- unless it was her mind playing tricks with her.

Before she could take another glance at the fallen man, this new savior man pulled her face towards his gently. His dark eyes penetrated through her.

“It’s gonna’ be okay,” he said. His voice was like singing.

She leaned forward quickly, and hugged the new man- sobbing a thank you.

“It’s all right,” he said. He stroked her back. He pulled away, and looked up at her head. “Hm… that’s horrible.”

“I don’t feel it. I’ll just go get it bandaged up,” Angie said. She must look like a mess…

“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, it’s horrible. Such a waste.” He glanced over at the fallen man, the attacker- who was not fallen anymore. He was now up, and in a half crouch as if waiting. “And if you didn’t go behind my back, and kept to the pecking order there would be no ‘waste.” The man added sourly.

What did he mean?

“You are beautiful,” the savior man said to Angie. “That’s partly why you seem so irresistible. But you also have a strong scent… that we…love.”

Oh God…

“To bad the rest of the coven isn’t here,” the savior man said. He smiled. She noticed he had sharp fangs….

Then with that, his head raced forward around Angie’s neck, and bit hard. His fangs penetrated deep within the throat. Fresh, warm blood gushed into his mouth from the severed jugular vein. Angie made frantic gurgling sounds, as her heart pumped fresh blood continually through the open gash in her neck until she died….

THE END

[Dinah]

Those are pretty neat.