Blood Moon 2 (Haunted)

Where Terror Stalks

    

On a cold night under the soft glow of an ominous October moon, a bloodstained tent lay abandoned. The crackling of the dying fire the only sound in the cold night air. Not even the insects in the vicinity dared make a sound as the wind blew pieces of the shredded tent around its mangled frame.

Hours before, the clearing had been filled with the laughter of teenagers, roasting marsh mellows, drinking warm beer and telling stories around the campfire while being huddled together to fight the cold.

“And so the creature crept up behind them, nobody was prepared for what they were about to see. In its fierce mouth was the torn up leg of its latest victim. It crept closer and closer, when suddenly…” Mitch was cut off in mid sentence as Ryan grabbed Julie and Angela from behind. Their screams echoing through the woods. Both Ryan and Mitch doubled up with laughter, rolling around on the ground and high fiving each other as they celebrated a flawless fright.

With her heart still pounding in her ears, Angela, without a word, got up and stormed off to her tent, zipping it up angrily behind her. Julie, after calming down, joined in the laughter. Her bright blue eyes crinkling up at the corners. The guys loved that Julie was both beautiful and had a sense of humor. Most other girls, like Angela for instance, were stuck up, vain and seriously lacked in the humor department.

With the story-telling ended so abruptly, the teens decided to go for a stroll in the woods, take in some of the nocturnal sights.

“Angie?” Julie agreed that it had been a terrible prank the boys had played, but she couldn’t be mad at them. They hadn’t meant for it to upset Angela the way it had. Boys will be boys.

“Angie? Are you coming to join us?”

“No.” Came the angry reply of her friend. Julie bent down and slowly pulled the zip open, peeking her head through and smiling at Angela. “Come on now, don’t be such a party pooper. It was just a joke, they meant no harm.” Angela, who was lying on her back and staring at the ceiling of the two-man tent let out a sarcastic laugh and rolled over to face the opposite side. Taking that as the “conversation is over”; Julie zipped the tent back up and joined the guys who had already grabbed a couple of flashlights and a few beers.

***

The sound of laughter hurt its ears, it could smell the sweetness of whatever they were roasting over the bright flames, and its mouth watered at the sight of the teenagers. Saliva oozed from behind its massive fangs, a barely audible growl escaping from its mouth as it waited for the right moment to make its move.

It watched as three of the humans trudged off into the woods, their flashlights sending beams of bright light washing over the moss and leaf covered ground. They were oblivious to the nearby presence of a ferocious beast. Unaware of the danger that now stalked them.

It crept ever closer to the campsite, where the human girl was left all alone. By the time it reached the fire it could hardly contain itself at the realization that the hunger plaguing its rumbling belly would soon be over. The smell of the nearby flesh was driving it into a frenzy. It stepped quietly in front of the tent, towering over it, lifted its arms into the air and with a mighty blow, brought its sharp long claws slashing down over the side of it.

Before the girl could even utter a sound, it pounced, pinning her down to rip her throat. Her body went limp beneath its huge body and it could almost hear the last faint beat of her heart at it savored the sweet flesh, not chewing, just tearing off huge chunks and allowing it to slide down its throat.

For a few minutes it allowed its own excited heartbeat to slow down. The hunt had just begun.

***