Blue Moon

Prologue

Kate rubbed her eyes blearily and sat up, wincing as a million hurts screamed at her. Clumsily gaining her feet she stumbled through to her small ensuite bathroom and shrieked at the vision that met her sea-grey eyes.

The girl in the mirror looked as if she had been severely beaten by a cactus. Her clothes were bloody, torn and caked with dirt. Every inch of exposed skin bore cuts and scratches, some deep enough to still be oozing a little blood. Surrounding these wounds, just visible under the grime, was a background patchwork of blue-black, yellow and purple bruises.

While Kate’s wide eyes were slowly roaming up her reflected body and assessing the damage her mind was whirling, questions without answers chasing themselves until her head spun and dots danced before her eyes. As her neck and face came into view she gasped, barely recognising the terrified creature that peered back at her. Blood tinged mud had been smeared across her face, streaks marking her high forehead and stubborn chin while a large amount had crusted around her dainty nose. She looked as though she had fallen face first into a mud puddle and then tried to wipe her nose with a filth encrusted hand. Her wide eyes were glittering with shock and fear, tears pooling and threatening to spill as she continued to wrack her brain for answers. Her usually sleekly curled dark auburn hair was a tangled mess, curling wildly in all directions as if possessing a life of its own.

Slowly, hissing in pain as several cuts were reopened, she peeled her filthy clothes from her body and dropped them unceremoniously in a heap on the cool white tiles of the bathroom floor. Even her underwear hadn’t been spared she noticed, with rips and tears basically shredding the flimsy fabric of her panties into rags and her bra being held together by a handful of stitches.

She struggled with the stiff taps in the shower, finally managing to adjust the steamy spray to the perfect temperature before stepping in and biting her lip against a pain filled cry as the hot water pelted her aching body. As she slowly scrubbed the dirt and blood from her body, the water that swirled down the drain a murky brown, she desperately tried to remember what had happened to her but the earliest memory she could find was of leaving her friend’s party and she certainly hadn’t been in this state when she bid Amanda goodbye. Could she have been mugged? Then why didn’t she remember getting home?

Carefully she applied shampoo and conditioner to her matted hair, gently separating the knots and tangles and trying to ignore the burning pain as the suds dribbled into the cuts on her neck and shoulders. After what seemed like hours the water finally ran clear and she twisted the slippery tap off before stepping out of the steamy shower stall, turning to face the foggy mirror as she reached for one of her mint green towels. A line of red in the mirror caught her eye and she stopped, slowly turning until her shoulder was clearly visible and let out a shriek.

Five claw marks stood out vividly against her pale skin biting deep into her flesh, glistening wetly and oozing a clear fluid. As she met her own horror filled eyes in the mirror three questions crystalised in her mind.

What happened to me? Where was I last night? Why can’t I remember?