Dark Moon

Chapter Three

Caitlin balked at him. "Partly Pure?" She repeated quizically. Dune nodded. "I don't understand..." Dune spun around in the chair, halting himself before he shared his piece.

"You smell like a Pure wolf... But you're not. I can tell. You're not nearly the size of a Pure, nor is your scent entirely that of forest."

"You're basing your guesses off of your honker?" She growled, eyes narrowing.

"Yup." He nodded. "This leads into my second and third questions. Two, what else are you, and three, who were your parents? Or should I say what were your parents?" Caitlin stood up, tight-jawed.

"Out." She hissed. "Now." Shoving Dune out the door, he realized he'd struck a chord; she was hiding something. Something important, and it had to do with her parents and lineage. Shifting wolf, he padded away, tail lowered as he trotted, wandering more in his thoughts than physically. Looking skyward, he noted that it was getting close to dark, but he wasn't near ready to sleep yet. Not with a broad moon, not quite full but almost, hanging over his shoulders. As the trees began to disperse, he shifted human again, walking back into town.

Is she a full Pure, and just small? Did I insult her? Dozens of possibilities raced across his mind as he tried to explain to himself what he'd said wrong. Several minutes, hours maybe, passed by, the last rays of sun could be barely seen over the trees. The radiant warmth of the glowing orb began to dim and fade to a humid dusk. He watched it, marveling at its colors when a noise grasped his attention. A slam of a door. The same door, Dune assumed, opened and slammed again. A girl screamed, and Dune found himself walking down an alleyway. It was sketchy; a few lamps lit the street, one of which flickered questionably. The smell of alcohol flooded his nose, nearly making Dune choke. Then he finally spotted what he was looking for. A thin girl with gold hair was pancaked against the wall, opposite her, a fat man wielding a knife, and a very angry expression. The knife rose above the man's head, and Dune bolted to get in between them. As the knife came down, Dune caught the man's arm. The knife was longer than Dune had assumed. It bit into his shoulder, leaving a nasty red line. The girl watched in horror. With a strong of a kick as he could muster, he kicked the heavy man where the sun doesn't shine. The man yowled in pain, his already tomato colored face turned to a crimson shade. He dropped to his knees then passed out from the pain, bald, pudgy face smacking into the concrete. He snorted, and was tempted to kick the man again for cutting his shoulder, but refrained. As he lay out cold, Dune found that he was one of the bartenders, the messy apron that failed to make him look thin spilled out the tips and other revenue from its pockets. Snorting in satisfaction, Dune turned to look at the girl.

He blinked when he saw Caitlin's face. When he blinked again, her features were altered. He tilted his head in confusion. He felt unsteady. The girl took a step towards him, flicking his jaw with her finger. His feet failed him. His knees gave out, and he looked up at the stranger. She gave him a warm smile, her eyes flashed, and her grin turned from one of a smile to one of a malicious grin. "Thanks for saving me. You might just save me again in the future. I was starving." She purred. Dune felt himself rooted to where he was. He could not move a muscle. She traced a finger along his colarbone, and leaned in to where the knife had cut him. She examined the now-blood-stained shirt. Dune's vision blurred a bit in pain as she licked at it. Humming, she stood back, brushed her hair to the side, and tilted his head to the side. She stood over him, and bit down on his neck. He attempted to squirm, but to no avail. Blood trickled down his neck as she drank. His vision blurred completely, and then gave way to darkness.

Dune bolted awake, a nightly chill made his neck hairs stand on end. He looked up at the sky, spotting a full moon. He rubbed his face with his hand. How did I get out here? He wondered, grazing on his surroundings with his eyes. Where am I? He took a deep breath, and stood a slightly dizzy. He propped himself against a tree, recognizing the forest. A loud bark made him jump and fall over.

"Dune!" Rex's gray and white form rushed over to him. "Dune, where have you been?" Dune's adopted brother shifted human, standing over him. "The Praetor Lupus were wondering why you weren't there, you didn't show up for training. Sensei called the school and they said you hadn't shown up for the past three days."

"Three...days?" Dune repeated. He attempted to remember what had happened, but memory failed him. A splitting headache fogged over his past few nights. Rex grabbed Dune's flailing arm to help him up. Once Dune was on his feet, he staggered, crashing into his brother. Rex held him up, looping Dune's arm over his own shoulders. Dune coughed, and Rex reached over with a hand.

"You're running a fever. A high one at that." He muttered, noticing the pale sickly expression Dune wore. "Let's get you to sensei, he'll know what to do." Dune nodded, and the pair staggered over through the forest. Rex howled loudly, asking for help. A wooden shed opened, and a few people clothed in black came out, gripping Dune by the arms, carefully carrying him. The four of them helped Rex throw Dune onto a medical cot. The man known as sensei shoved them out of the way. His face was hardened with age and worry lines, his thin grey hair was whispy, yet any person could feel his physical prowess just by standing in the same room. He inspected Dune's face, frowning harshly.

"Get his shirt off." He commanded. A blade flicked, cutting a section of Dune's shirt. They saw the puffed gash on his shoulder, and winced. "It's infected. Whatever he was cut with was definitely not clean." He growled. The thin masked figure disappeared and came back with two bottles of clear liquid and several towels. Dune could smell the alcohol in one of the glasses. The stench made him want to throw up. "Hold him down." He felt pressure on his biceps and legs. Then he felt the burn of the alcohol.

Dune screamed, struggling against his restraints.

"Give him something to bite." A metal rod was fished out of the room. The sensei patted his cheek, telling him to bite on it. Dune clamped down tightly as they poured more alcohol on his swollen wound. Dune grunted, eyebrows pulling together as he bit harder, wolf fangs bending the metal rod. "Alright, lets get to work." Dune tilted his head back to not watch. He didn't have to see it. He felt it.

It went on for about an hour to clean it up, extract the infected skin, apply anti-infectants, to stitch it, and to wrap it up with bandages. Dune breathed heavily, Rex sat in a chair beside him. "God, Dune...how much can you endure?" He shook his head. "Do you remember anything?" Dune gulped air down before gaining enough to reply.

"No... Its all foggy." Rex nodded, standing to leave. "Go to sleep." Dune gave a puff of air, falling back onto the cot. Sleep seemed so tantalizing. He closed his eyes, drifting off.

Caitlin spoke in a hushed voice to Rex as Dune slept off the pain. "So-"

"Nothing. He's drawing blank slates. He said his memory is fogging." She nodded, looking through the window at him. A praetor walked into the room, inserting an IV into his arm, and pressed an oxygen mask over Dune's mouth and nose before exiting again. Rex saw the worry in her face. "Hey... Do you-" she turned to glare at him. "Nevermind... Go on in. You'll be there for him when he wakes." She nodded, walking into the enclosed room. Caitlin scanned him over, his entire body was paled, as if he'd lost a great amount of blood. She frowned. There was no way a knife wound would close off his memory. She leaned over him, carefully moving his head to the side. There were a set of puncture wounds, red and angry staring back at her. She inhaled sharply, and backed away. She pulled out a chair, sitting down quietly, watching him with wide eyes.

She woke up about two hours later, to see him lay nearly completely still. She stood up, walking over to his bedside. She gently touched his hand, and watched his face. His hand moved, grabbing her fingers in a loose grip. She gave her hand a quick glance, to look at Dune's open eyes. "Hey." He murmured weakly. His voice cracked, making her heart ache.

"You idiot." She shook her head smiling, a tear dripped from her eye. He tilted his head, and closed his eyes again, smiling back. He fell asleep again, and she sat back in the chair, thinking. What vampire would attack someone? Especially Dune, who would be quite a hard target. She closed her eyes and stood, leaving the room as silently as possible. She came up with only two vampires who could have been plausible suspects.

"Did he remember?" Rex asked.

"No. But I have an idea as to who did it."