Blue Moon

Blue Moon, Am I Really Alone?

It took almost four weeks before Kate could have the stitches removed from her shoulder and the flesh still looked red and angry.

When she first showed the nurse in the emergency room her shoulder the older woman had assumed a sympathetic air and asked how it had happened. When she honestly admitted that she didn’t know the nurse had tutted quietly and patted her hand.

"I’m sure you think it’s ok, but it’s not. He’ll hurt you worse, you know. Would you like to speak to someone about it?"

It had taken Kate a few seconds to realise that the nurse thought an overly physical boyfriend had done it. Shocked she had hurried to explain that she literally couldn’t remember and how everything was a blank after she left the party. Frowning, the nurse had then ordered several blood tests and asked Kate if she thought it was possible that she had been date raped. Waiting for the test results had been the longest wait of Kate’s life but thankfully it had all come back negative. For whatever reason she had simply lost several hours of her memory and would probably never get them back.

Meanwhile, four weeks of one of the hottest summers on record had passed with her having to keep her shoulder clean and protected while the stitches made her skin itch like five lines of mozzie bites. She decided to celebrate being free of them by meeting a group of friends for lunch.

"Hey Kate!" Amanda beamed at her and kissed her cheek before looking her up and down critically. "Wow, I think you’ve lost some weight! You’re looking a lot leaner than the last time I saw you."

Kate blushed and looked down at herself. It was true, she’d had a bad reaction to the antibiotics and been quite ill for almost a week.

"Ah, leave the poor girl alone, Mandy, I think she’s looking great!" Michelle piped up.

Amanda glared at Michelle and Kate laughed, thanking Michelle before taking a seat at the table they’d secured. They were sitting in the courtyard of a cute old pub beneath the shade of several large umbrellas and the breeze was warm but pleasant. Looking around the table Kate couldn’t help but be amused by the differences between her friends.

Michelle was tiny with hair that was naturally curly and big, adding at least six inches to her tiny stature. It was a beautiful sun-kissed blonde which complimented her creamy pale skin and giant blue eyes. She looked like a life-size china doll and had a heart of gold to match.

Amanda was dark and exotic by comparison. Her skin was dusky and her eyes were a startling shade of golden brown. Her dark hair was dead straight and so long it reached well past her waist. And despite having a tongue that could cut diamonds she was the life and soul of any party.

The third member of their little party smiled prettily at Kate and asked how her shoulder was. Louise was a dreamy sort of girl with thick strawberry-blonde hair that she wore loose around her heart shaped face and dimples in her full cheeks when she smiled, which was often. The most startling thing about Louise, though, were her eyes which were an unusual pale lilac colour that made you feel like you were staring into a large piece of amethyst.

When they had all ordered their food talk quickly turned to gossip and catching up.

"Did you know Michael crashed his new car the other night?" Amanda rolled her eyes at her brother’s clumsiness. "The big oaf, he’s had it less than a month and it’s completely totalled."

The others made appropriate noises of dismay before Michelle cut in.

"Hey! Guess who’s just been promoted to PA for the big boss after five years of kissing ass?" A hearty cheer rose up as everyone congratulated the petite blonde. "Yeah, now all I have to do is keep Mr. 'I-slept-with-my-last-PA-so-my-wife-made-me-fire-her' happy without keeping him too happy, if you catch my meaning."

Everyone groaned and laughed.

"Did you guys know that it’s a blue moon tomorrow night?" Louise piped up. Everyone turned a confused look her way.

"It’s a what?" Amanda asked rudely.

"Blue moon," Louise repeated happily, not even slightly offended by Amanda’s tone. "The second full moon in a month is called a blue moon. The last one was four weeks ago at the beginning of January, tomorrow night it’ll be full again and the end of the month is a few days later."

Everyone frowned in thought as they tried to remember back. With a jolt Kate realised that Louise was right.

"It was a full moon the night I got injured, that was four weeks ago. If Louise is right about the cycle, then she’s right and the next full moon should be in the next few days."

"Well, we’d better be careful then. Isn’t the full moon when all the loonies are about?" Amanda joked making everyone laugh as she pulled crazy faces and poked out her tongue.

At that moment their lunch arrived and the conversation was abandoned while they ate with relish. It wasn’t until later when she was alone that Kate found herself pondering Amanda’s words. Maybe she had been attacked by some madman. Briefly she considered the idea before dismissing it. After all, it still didn’t explain the amnesia.

*             *             *

Kate watched the sun set from the small balcony of her apartment. She loved the colours, the sky looked like it was on fire as blazes of orange and red streaked the sky and tinged the few puffy clouds a vibrant pink. When the glowing disc had finally slipped below the horizon, throwing up a final aura of orange and pink which quickly faded to pale lilac as the light disappeared, she made her way inside and flopped onto the couch.

She briefly considered making some food but dismissed the idea as her limbs became heavy with fatigue. She flicked the TV on with the remote and switched through the channels before settling on an old black and white horror flick. She smiled sleepily as she watched Bela Lugosi nuzzle some innocent woman’s neck as he supposedly fed from her. This is where monsters and bogey men belong, she thought to herself as her eyes drifted shut, safely in the realm of fantasy and make believe.

*             *             *

Power. Power coursing through my body. I’ve never felt so alive.

I run effortlessly, bounding down the dark streets, my only light the brilliant moon, it’s radiance filling me up until I can feel the energy fizzing through my veins.

I’m running for the sake of running, for the ecstasy of stretching my body and feeling my powerful muscles.

What’s that? A movement. A shadow in the night. I stop, nose quivering as I sweep my heavy head back and forth. Warm flesh. Blood. A low growl rumbles in my chest as I slowly slink towards the creature. My mouth waters as I imagine my teeth sinking into the soft flesh, the tangy sweet taste of the blood firing my hunting instincts.

It turns slowly, a small black thing pressed to its head as it speaks in a high tremulous voice. I can almost taste the fear that is rolling off it, it knows deep down that it isn’t safe to wander alone at night.

I crouch, muscles bunching beneath me as I ready myself to spring. I feel another growl tremble through me and the creature freezes, its fear becoming terror. It turns slowly on the spot and I see the blood draining from its face as it sees me in the shadows. With a wolfish grin I leap on it as it screams, my teeth closing around its delicate throat and I bite down. The tangy blood spurts in my mouth and I rip, a huge chunk of flesh flying from my mouth as I howl my triumph to the bloated moon. Beneath me the creature gasps and chokes before lying still.

I am the hunter.