IN THE FULL MOON

chapter 2

"Speaking of full moons," Nash said, hopping

to his feet. "It's my turn to tell a scary story, and

this one is real."

Nash, handsome with his boyishly beautiful

features and muscular build, took center stage

behind the fire as if the small flames were

footlights. He began telling a story of a werewolf

in Legend's Run in the early 1900s.

I scooted next to Ivy, who linked her bony

arm with mine as if it were a designer purse.

"Many years ago, as the full moon shown

bright," Nash said with an eerie tone, "the

inhabitants of Legend's Run heard a horrible

howling. The cry of the beast wailed throughout

the town. As the howling grew closer, children

woke up from their sleep, travelers had to control

their horses, and homeowners locked their doors.

The few brave souls who did venture out to

investigate say they witnessed a creature never

seen before - a monster standing on two legs,

thin as a man, hairy as a dog, with the fangs of a

wolf and the eyes of a beast."

"Ooh!" Ivy whimpered, hugging my arm.

Tall tales of werewolves ran rampant for

generations in Legend's Run. It might have been

because occasionally a wolf was spotted in the

outlying wooded areas and in the early days there

wasn't much else to do but create outlandish

stories of their origin. I was a skeptic on rumors;

I had the mind-set that I'd have to see it to

believe it. To me, there was a big line between

fact and fantasy. However, hanging out here in

the darkness, anything seemed possible.

"The creature appeared tormented," he

continued. "It was ready to attack at any

moment." Nash raised his hands as if he were the

monster.

Now I clutched Ivy.

"This monstrous creature could rip a giant

into tiny pieces. His bite was deadly and he could

kill without warning. The townspeople tried in vain

to capture and kill the monster, but he returned,

full moon after full moon. The creature couldn't

be taken down with a gunshot or the threat of fire

but instead vanished into the woods."

Nash paused. "The townspeople often awoke

to find their cattle missing, or in some cases