Eyes of the Blood Moon

Plauge

Father Paul watched as Bev walked away after their discussion.

Once she had gone, he sighed as he sat in the church, sinking down in the pew, and rubbing his face.

His head ached. He hated lying to these people but he knew it was for the best.

He stood and walked out the back of the church towards the rectory, where he would need to board up before the storm.

He knew of the storms that plagued Crocket, they never seemed as bad as they really can be.

He wondered how it was doing in the uppards, and what it might do during the storm. He silently prayed it hadn't attacked anyone yet. The last thing he needed was an outburst of panic before he had the chance to explain.

*****

The day began to dim as Ella walked back home alone. She had a nice lunch on the mainland with Erin and Riley, until Erin had to go for her appointment. Riley and Ella had a nice conversation until they realized they'd miss their boat. They mostly spoke about what Ella had been up to, Riley didn't feel like talking.

Ella thought about what Warren had said. He had been right, Riley was acting pretty distant. She couldn't blame him however. Not after what he'd gone though.

She sighed. Riley had...killed someone, in a drunk driving accident. Her best friend. Someone she knew for her whole life. He might not have been acting like himself, but Ella could see it, in his eyes, today, the way he looked at her, he was the same Riley his always was. He had the same boyish grin, and smart ass humor. He could never change, not deep down.

The storm began to kick up, as the last bit of sunlight faded.

The wind was blowing hard, knocking her around. It roared in her ears, her hair whipping her in the face. When she heard a sound that wasn't the wind. It sounded like a large bird flying overhead. She tried to look up but her hair was covering her face, then that's when the rain plummeted. Out of nowhere, buckets or rain began to dump all over the island.

Ella sprinted down the road, barley able to see a foot ahead of her. Lightning struck somewhere close, filling her ears with a loud boom. The wind knocked her off her feet, as lightning flashed around and thunder filled her head.

Fear settled deep in her mind. She couldn't bring herself to stand, the wind was keeping her to her knees.

Please... she begged herself to stand. She had to keep her eyes closed to keep the rain out.

Suddenly a large flash so blinding struck, it knocked her fully to the ground. It had struck somewhere near her. She couldn't tell if she was screaming or not, she couldn't her herself over the storm.

But the last thing she knew was her head hit the ground and all went black.

*****

Ella woke to a warm feeling on her face. Sunlight.

She couldn't open her eyes, suddenly feeling the pounding of her head. Her heart beat in her ears as the pain filled her mind.

She sat up, where ever she was, and winced in through her teeth.

"Woah, easy," a familiar voice said.

She pulled her eyelids open to see Father Paul staring back at her, a worried expression on his face.

"You had quite the fall," he told her, lightly pushing her back down on the bed.