Here is the winning story from our
All Things Dark and Dastardly contest. Congrats to Carol Redcay! We look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Full Moon
Andrea Grover tossed and turned in her single-sized bed. Sweat dripped down her forehead to her neck. She sat up, feeling the pounding of her heart in her chest. What was that? She kept hearing that howling noise every time there was a full moon.
What was it? A coyote maybe or a wolf? She shivered, feeling the goosebumps form on her body. She sighed and let out a big yawn. She laid her head back down for a second, when she heard the noise again.
She climbed out of bed, and crept over to the bedroom window. She peeked her head out of it and saw a dark show. What in the world? The shadow was creepy looking and it looked like it was really hairy. Its green eyes stared at her.
She gasped and let out a shriek. Her bedroom door opened and the light flickered on. Andrea turned around and saw her best friend Natalie in the doorway.
“What’s wrong? Why did you scream? Did you have a bad dream or something?”
Andrea’s whole body shook and she felt a chill rush down her spine making the goosebumps form again. “I-I s-saw something c-creepy outside. I-It wasn’t normal.”
Natalie stared at her as if she had two heads. “Maybe it was just a dream.”
Why didn’t she believe her? She knew she saw something. It wasn’t a dream or her imagination she saw something. “It looked at me, Natalie. It was brown and hairy. It was in the tree outside my bedroom window. I don’t know what it was but it was creepy and had green eyes.”
Natalie laughed. “Cole has green eyes maybe it was him in a bear costume.”
Damn, she wasn’t taking her seriously. Andrea shook her head. “I heard howling, too. It woke me up. It wasn’t a bear.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you call Cole and tell him? Otherwise go back to sleep.”
After Natalie left her room, she dialed Cole’s phone number. It went straight to voicemail. Which was weird because he always answered his phone.
She went over to the window to see if the hairy creature was still there but it was gone. She did see a glimpse of a man running back into his house. Weird. It was Cole’s house. He lived next door to her. It’s how they met and got to know each other.
Why was Cole running back into his house at this time of night? He should be sleeping. It didn’t make any sense. She decided to confront him in the morning. She shut the light off and went to bed.
The next morning after having oatmeal and a glass of milk; she headed to Cole’s house. He answered the door after the third knock. He was wearing a dark blue robe and matching slippers. His chocolate-colored hair was out of place.
“Hey, beautiful. What brings you here?”
“I need to talk to you.” She followed him inside of the house and they sat on the couch.
“Are you breaking up with me?”
She shook her head. “I called you last night but you didn’t answer. It went to voicemail. Where were you last night?”
He stared at her carefully. His expression was blank and he didn’t look at her. “I was asleep. I seen that you called but it was two in the morning.”
She took a big deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t lie to me. I saw you running back into your house.”
He stood up and crossed his arms. “Maybe that was earlier when you saw me. Why were you up that late anyway?”
She stood up and glared at him. “I couldn’t sleep. The howling woke me up. I also saw something outside my window.”
Cole looked down at the ground. “What do you mean howling? We don’t have wolves in Louisiana. What did you see?”
Why can’t he look at me? I get the feeling he knows something I don’t. I have to get to the bottom of this. “I don’t know what it was. It looked at me. It had green eyes and brown fur. I think that’s what was howling and I get the feeling you know it, too, Cole.”
“Damn it, Andrea. Can’t you just drop it? It was probably just a nightmare.” Anger flashed in his eyes.
He was hiding something. But what? She had to find out. “Fine, Cole, have it your way. Don’t tell me then, but I’m going to find out either way.”
Then she stomped her way to the front door and left. She went back inside of her house and paced around in a circle in the kitchen.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Natalie asked as she bit into a red apple.
Andrea flipped her coco brown locks and turned to face Natalie. “Cole is hiding something.”
Nathalie finished her apple and threw the core in the trash. “Why do you think that?”
“I just got back from his house and he got pissed off when I asked where he was last night. I looked out my bedroom window last night and I saw him sneaking back into his house. When I asked him he denied it. What would he be doing at two in the morning?”
“Maybe it wasn’t him that you saw,” Natalie said.
Andrea frowned. “Then who would it be? He lives alone. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Two weeks later, there was a full moon again. The howling started again. Andrea couldn’t sleep. She dialed Cole’s number but of course he didn’t answer. They weren’t talking to each other much since their fight. She had to see if he was home. She threw on a pair of gray sweatpants and a matching gray sweatshirt. She pulled the hood over her head and slipped on her tennis shoes.
She walked over to Cole’s house and knocked on the door. No answer. Her heart pounded louder and louder in her chest. Where is he? Why isn’t he answering the door? She decided to check on him.
She turned the doorknob and it was unlocked. She crept inside quietly. There was no sign of Cole anywhere. She went in all of the rooms expect his bedroom. She left that one for last.
The door was shut. She reached for the doorknob and turned it. It swung open and she crept inside. He wasn’t there either. This wasn’t like him. Something strange was going on.
She just wasn’t sure what it was yet. Something on the floor caught her eye. She picked it up. It was a steak bone. Why would he have this in his room? There was something else weird about the room.
She noticed fresh and warm drool on his pillow as she reached out and touched it. Gross. She wiped it back on the pillow. There was also a lot of that brown fur she saw two weeks ago on the creature that was outside her window. A loud noise made her jump.
She cried out and felt the goosebumps form on her body. She turned around and was face to face with the creature. OMG, it was a werewolf! It looked just like Cole. Was it really Cole?
She had to know. “C-Cole? Is t-that y-you?” She backed into the corner as he approached closer to her.
The werewolf let out a loud howl. “What are you doing here, Andrea? You shouldn’t be here.”
“H-how d-do you know m-my name? Is that you Cole?”
“Yes, it’s me, Andrea. You’re not safe here.”
Her eyes widen and her body shook. Would he hurt her? She wasn’t sure if he would or not.
The shock was running through her veins. Cole was a werewolf. How was this possible? “How long have you been a werewolf? This is what you have been hiding from me all this time.”
Cole howled again. “I was trying to protect you. I wasn’t born this way. I was bitten by another werewolf. You have to find him and kill him. If you don’t, I’ll be stuck this way forever.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Why should I believe you? I don’t know how to kill a werewolf. What if he kills me first?”
He pulled a small handgun out of his dresser drawer and held it up. “This is how you kill a werewolf with a gun and a silver bullet. Aim for his heart and he’ll burn up in flames. You have to trust me, Andrea. It’s the only way you’ll live. I love you and I don’t want to lose you.”
She took the gun from him. “Was it him or you in my tree two weeks ago?”
“It wasn’t me. He has green eyes, too.” Drool rolled off his lips and fell onto the floor.
Andrea shivered, feeling creeped out by the fact that her boyfriend was a werewolf.
He snarled and glared at her. “Get going before I hurt you. He should be close by.”
Andrea nodded and ran out the door. She didn’t have to go too far to find the werewolf. He was in the tree.
The werewolf slid down the tree and faced Andrea. This werewolf wasn’t a he. It was a she!
She looked just like Natalie. “Natalie? You’re the other werewolf?”
She laughed. “What did you expect? I was born this way. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you yet. Now that you know my secret that is going to change. It was nice knowing you, friend.”
Andrea couldn’t believe it. Natalie was a werewolf. She had to act fast or she would get killed. She pulled out the handgun that was tucked in her sweatpants. She aimed it at Natalie’s heart and fired. The hit her perfectly and she started on fire right away. Natalie was still burning when Cole came running out of his house. He was human again.
“Who was he?”
She shook her head. “The werewolf wasn’t a he. It was a she. It was Natalie.”
They both watched as her bones burned into ashes and blew away. Natalie was gone. There was nothing left of her. Tears streamed down her face as she thought of losing the only best friend she ever had since she was 17. Now she was 24 and friendless. At least she still had Cole.
He was always there for her. “What does this mean? Are you only human now or are you still a werewolf when there is a full moon out?”
He flashed an evil grin. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me on this one.”
