RED EPHEMERAL MOON

Naturally, Man, in common with other carnivores is motivated by an impulse to kill, and has a love of destroying life. This tendency is generally subtle, however this impulse of death and destruction exists in the young and the old, in the savage and the refined, the knowledgeable and the ignorant, in those who have never had the opportunity of gratifying it, and those who gratify it regularly. In spite of morality, religion, or laws, it can only depend on justifiable causes. This taste for blood can also coexist with more civilized feelings but this tendency exists in different degrees.
In some it is simply a manifestation of indifference to suffering, in others it appears as obvious pleasure in seeing killings, and in others again the dominance of an irresistible desire to torture and destroy. Bloody tyrants like Nero and Caligula, Alexander Borgia, Louis the XI of France, and Robespierre, whose highest enjoyment consisted in witnessing the agonies of their fellow-men. They were also full of delicate sensibilities and great refinement of taste and manner.
The cases in which bloodthirstiness and cannibalism are united with insanity are those which properly fall under the category of Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy is a disordered condition of the mind or body that may produce hallucinations in a form of wolf like characteristics depending on the individual and instincts of that individual.

I wish it could be summed up so easily in a neat package of large sophisticated wording and an expert hypothesis but it cannot. This is a story about deep relationships, falling in love, and struggling through life with plenty of blood and hate. I will tell you this story along with the help of many others for if I tried to do it alone I would go insane. My name is Dominic and I know why the red moon glows.
REM
Red Ephemeral Moon


CHAPTER ONE CAUISTRY

“Good night darling, I love you,” A young woman tucks in her child, a small girl with long black hair, bright brown eyes and copper red skin.

“Good night Mommy, I love you too,” her soft voice responds to her mother’s endearment. The mother smiles and kisses her cheek. She closes and locks her bedroom window and draws the curtains closed, then she walks toward the door but is suddenly stopped.

“Mommy?” the little girl whines softly.

“Oh, sorry darling I forgot…” she smiles apologetically as she approaches a night light and flicks the switch turning on a soft white glow that illuminates the room.

“Good Night Adelia,” her mother closes the door, Adelia lies in bed for a moment eyes wide but then they flutter and finally shut, she is fast asleep.

A few hours later after the mother is asleep as well, as footsteps soft and stealthy creep toward the young child’s bed with hard heavy breaths and the brief tackling of claws on hard wooden floors. Adelia stirs and in that very second a huge jaw opens and comes down onto her thin neck breaking it in half as her young blood gushes from the wound onto the jaw line and fur of the savage beast. The beast licks its lips and tears away the sheets so it can continue to consume her flesh.

That is when I awake. The nightmare always ends there, no further no shorter. I was sitting once again at another psych exam with the shrink Dr. Valider she was pretty good, I do admit. I had seen her many times before when I was younger.

After Adelia’s kidnapping, she was the first person I talked to other than Bobby, who is my best friend and also Adelia’s friend when we were all kids. Dr. Valider gave me a blank stare and then leaned forward, her grey blue eyes full of concern and regret.

“This is just like ten years ago, this dream you’re having…it is plenty different, but it has the same pattern Dominic. Just as I did ten years ago, I told you what these types of dreams mean.” Dr. Valider brushed her short wavy blonde hair to the side and stared at me with those scrutinizing framed eyes that held so much wisdom.

“Guilt…I remember…but guilt from what? I was only a boy I could not have done anything to save or protect Adelia…I know that…now.” I kneeled forward my face buried in my hands I must have had a dreadful expression on my face because when I finally lifted my head Dr. Valider gasped softly, then she got up from her seat and stood before me. She cupped my face in her hands and spoke with a motherly loving tone.

“That is exactly why you feel so guilty inside; you believe that even though you were small you should have been able to save her. Rational mind against the irrational, it is the reason why we work against ourselves…fighting a losing battle as they say.” Dr. Valider returned to her seat and I sat in mine contemplating her words.

“Why now?” I asked her “Why after ten years am I having these nightmares all of the sudden, I have thought of Adelia often but it never resulted to this…why now?” I could feel bits of sweat on my forehead.

“It may be because of the given time, her birthday maybe…it is around the corner.” She adjusted her glasses and peered down at her notebook.

“Doubt it; I make a regular appointment of cleaning her grave, taking flowers and incenses to her every year on her birthday as well as her favorite holidays Halloween and 4th of July. It isn’t timing, rather something…..some kind of event I can feel is coming but I have no idea what it is.”
I rub my head because it was actually sore from thinking about this oncoming event, since last week I had this feeling of an ever approaching climax almost like a series that has an amazing plot and you don’t know what to expect at the end and then when the screen goes black it reads, ‘TO BE CONTINUED’, you sigh and voice your disappointment. All of two weeks so far I have felt like that wondering when is it finally going to end when will I know what this is?

That is when I notice Dr. Valider standing at the window wall to the right of her office peering out onto the groomed floral and grass yard that decorated the front of her office building. Dr. Valider is different in that way, most psychiatrists will just sit and listen to you talk while they draw conclusions but not Dr. Valider she would stand if you were silent or in mid sentence then she will say something completely irrelevant, or so most would think, allowing you to ponder what she said while she goes about the rest of the session. So I sat and waited for one of her so called ‘irrelevant speeches,’ phrases, or whatever it would be.

“There’s a lunar eclipse six months from now Dominic and it is one of a kind during this eclipse the moon turns a shade of red that is said to only have happened once in the days of Jesus Christ. The night after he was nailed to the cross the moon began to glow red and some feared the end of the world was approaching but it was never officially documented in the common text. Scientists say it’s just a rumored tale from the bible. Who knows, but I do know it will be a sight to behold,” She spoke in such a nonchalant tone, she stood perfectly still as she spoke it seemed as if her lips were not even moving. One could mistake her for a mannequin or statue.

“Well I guess that’s something I’m going to have to look into then,” I spoke with the same nonchalant tone and this caused her to smile a bit. Then her watch beeped.

“Time’s up my friend, I believe this session no matter how interesting…is through, and we both need to be getting on, you to your halls full of unruly adolescent hormonal humanoids and me to my large lonesome luxury condo with a picky Persian feline.” Dr. Valider picked up her jacket and briefcase while she ushered me toward the door, I walked briskly to the exit in tow. However as she reached out to touch the door handle she turned and looked at me with great concern and seriousness.

“I hope you have a good night Dominic, and I pray that whatever this approaching event is, may you have the strength to confront the situation.” Dr. Valider wasn’t nonchalant this time and all I could do was place a hand on her shoulder and thank her for her consideration and time.

“I appreciate everything you have done for me and I do not remember ever having honestly thanked you. I was so wrapped up in my own world I never took the time to thank the woman who helped me fight off the inner demons. So thank you Dr. Valider and you have a good night as well.” I smiled and as she opened the door I walked out. She went toward the elevator while waving good bye and I waved in return as I walked toward the front door. It would be a long time before I saw Dr. Valider again, however the next time would not be so pleasant.

As I walked to the parking lot I got a funny feeling, people are on the streets, dusk had just begun but someone was watching me I couldn’t see them but the nagging little voice in my head would not stop saying “someone is out to get you” I shook it off and continued to the parking area. A few feet away I saw my bike the 1988 Honda Hawk GT that was my best friend in metal. The shadowed area of the lot next to my bike caused me to pause. Something was in the shadow suddenly not a soul was on the sidewalk not one car drove by and the air was painfully still.

What is happening?

I stared hard into the shadow then I realized…what could be casting a shade in that direction there wasn’t a building roof or electric pole or even a fucking tree. This is a bare lot that had a large triangular shadow in the corner when the sun was only barely set.

Don’t Go Near

That voice it wasn’t mine but I heard it in my head, my skin crawled, I saw something move in the shadow in a split second a pair of eyes came into view, white eyes narrow pale cold eyes, that stared hard at me. I could see them so closely as if they were right in front of me although there were several feet between me and the deadly eyes. The irises in each eye were revoltingly pastel they almost matched the white of the eye and the pupil was a single black spot. Dead…Eyes. Who is that? Was it just a refraction of light off an object jutting out of the shadow? I made up many reasons but not one ‘rational’ explanation made any sense and while I thought about that I could feel myself being pulled toward the silhouette. Then out of my side view I saw a dog, a golden retriever mixed with something else it was a gorgeous animal, sharply pointed ears with a direct snout. Casually it walked toward the shadow stopping right where the black shade began. The dog stared at the black area just standing and staring, almost instantly I felt at ease the pale eyes I had seen within the shadow disappeared. When I looked back at the dog it was looking towards me.

Dominic

That strange voice again whispered to me I turned expecting to see someone behind me but no one was there, I looked back thinking the dog would still be standing there…no…it was gone and so was the shadow, in the corner where the dark silhouette had been was now a street light. The crowds of people returned to the sidewalk, cars and traffic sounds behind me and the evening breeze was sweet and gentle as it whisked past my cheek. I could do nothing…I just stood there staring in shock. Was I just having a bad dream, hallucinating, what did I just see? Were those really crazy eyes in a freaky shadow and then Lassie coming to my rescue? Was that what I really saw? All these questions ran through my head as I stood there in the middle of the sidewalk people giving me curious glances as they passed me. I heard a beeping sound and realized it was my wrist, the watch on my wrist to be exact. The alarm was going off I had ten minutes to get to class and I was half way across town. How long had I been just standing there!? Fifteen minutes or more…Shit!

“SHIT!” I ran toward my bike but slowed to survey my surroundings especially near my bike, feeling nothing odd or insecure I put on my helmet and jumped on starting it as fast as humanly possible then sped off. A gigantic need to get out of that parking lot and to class came over me but more so the need to get out of that lot.

By some odd turn of luck my teacher had not yet started the evening class and the rest of my fellow classmates just conversed while Mr. Lockhart talked to a young woman near his desk, her back was turned to everyone but she had short straight crimson hair she wore tight capri style jeans with high laced combat boots and a semi long sleeve black shirt that showed plenty of midriff. I noticed quite a lot of guys checking her out so I went over to a guy I knew and asked about her.

“Psst Tony, who’s the new girl?” he stood huddled with a couple other guys whispering about her.

“Oh hey Dom, I really don’t know, but she’s been here since this morning, and I’ve seen her around a bit signing up for classes. she’s gorgeous man, wait till she turns around” he was practically drooling and I could see why just from the back I could see that she was built very well her curves weren’t just there they were firm from muscles and tight tendons. Her arms were not flimsy but steady and posed she stood with an almost military-like stance but regardless I was mesmerized by her back it was so beautiful like something you would want to massage for hours. That’s when Mr. Lockhart spoke…

“Pay attention class! I would like to introduce a new student…her name is Adelia Sapuron”
When she turned around I saw her face and my jaw dropped standing there in front of me was the very person I lost ten years ago, the girl who left no trace except a trail of blood. How?

“It can’t be her…she can’t be…” was all I could say.