In the Dark

Chapter Seven: The Full Moon

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE FULL MOON

It was dark when Sam and I exited the restaurant. The moon shone light on the road through the centre of town and a cool breeze nipped at my ears. The street was almost silent and the bang of the door shutting made me jump.

“That food was seriously good,” I licked my lips appreciatively, savouring the hint of flavours that still lingered there. He nodded, an almost smug smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

“What did I tell you?”

Earlier he’d insisted that as a new girl, I had yet to see everything this little village had to offer. He’d then proceeded to ask me out to what he considered to be the best restaurant in town.

After several moments of blushing, stuttered attempts at a reply and mentally convincing myself that it was not a date, I’d accepted. Now, I was thoroughly grateful I hadn’t backed out. That had to be one of the best meals I’d ever had.

As we reached the centre of town, the silence was broken by hushed mumbling and I noticed a small crowd gathered in a semi-circle on the other side of the road.

“What’s going on there?” Sam followed my gaze and his eyes widened in panic as he glanced up at the sky.

I’m sure it’s nothing. Let’s just go.” He insisted, wrapping his fingers loosely around my wrist and I shook my head, pulling away from his grasp and jogging over to the small gathering of people.

“Willow, I really don’t think-“ Sam jogged after me, but I tuned his voice out midway through the sentence when I discovered what the crowd had been looking at.

The body lay still, legs splayed out over the sidewalk and its torn clothes barely covering the bloody skin beneath. The head lolled to one side, eyes and mouth both frozen in a fearful expression.

I could feel bile rising in my throat and turned away, my movements robotic as I backed away. Sam wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulder as tears spilled from my eyes.

“Appears to be some sort of animal attack.” I could hear a small clutter of busybodies discussing.

“It’ll be those bloody wolves again. Every full moon! Ought to get them shot I’d say.” One particularly snobby nosed woman said haughtily and I stiffened.

Surely Macy couldn’t have been right… I looked up at the sky, there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the moon shone proudly in the centre of the sky. I whimpered in horror and Sam instinctively pulled me closer.

More and more people were beginning to join the circle beside us and although I wanted nothing more than to go home and try to forget this, I couldn't bring myself to leave when I knew someone was lying there dead.

"Willow," Sam hissed loudly in frustration, giving me the impression he'd already tried to get my attention several times before that.

"You need to go home, come on." I said nothing, simply nodded and pulled away from his grip, wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand.

We walked in silence, but unlike earlier, it was a silence filled with tension and unspoken words. All I could think about was the sight of the body, broken and lifeless.

"Your bag's vibrating," Sam alerted me and I smiled gratefully, pulling out my phone. No sooner had I pressed 'answer' than Mum began to speak, her voice frantic and worried.

"Oh Honey, a neighbour called me about the attack. Are you okay? Was it anyone you knew? Have you seen it? Isn't it just te-"

"Mum." I cut her off immediately, knowing from experience that if I'd let her go much further, she would have kept me on the phone all night. My voice was soft and the words felt almost foreign. My brain still appeared to be struggling to process.

"I'm absolutely fine. I didn't know them but I saw it and yes it's terrible."

"Willow," Sam's rushed warning was a moment too late and as I kicked into a large tree root, I struggled to balance before tumbling forward uncontrollably, the phone falling from my hand and landing face-down in the mud.

Sam's hands wrapped around my upper arms, giving me time to pull my feet forward and place them firmly on the ground. Ignoring the look of amusement on his face, I smiled gratefully and picked my phone up from the floor, quickly swiping the screen before lifting it back to my ear.

"Willow, Willow!" Mum repeated and I sighed. I could just picture her on the other end of the line, eyes widened in worry, her hands running uncontrollably through her hair and making her look dishevelled.

"She'll be fine, she just needs to watch where she's going." Sam raised his voice slightly so Mum could hear him and I winced at the silence from her end. 

"Who was that?" She finally asked, the curiosity in her voice momentarily overpowering the hint of amusement I could sense.

"A friend." I replied reluctantly, knowing she had a knack for reading far too much into things. Sam shot me an apologetic look and I narrowed my eyes to let him know he wasn't forgiven that easily.

"I see, now where exactly are you and your friend?" She asked suggestively and I winced, blood rising in my cheeks.

"He's walking me home. The attack kind of freaked me out and he was kind enough to offer." I replied carefully, knowing I was treading thin ice now.

"Well I'm on the road now, I should be back in a couple of hours." It was difficult not to notice the underlying suggestion in her voice. It sounded somewhat like a threat, for Sam and I not to do anything untoward.

"Will your friend be coming inside?" I shrugged, although she couldn't see me and turned to Sam questioningly as we reached the front door.

"I'm game for a movie if you are." He replied with a shrug and I opened the door, allowing him to enter before me.

"Yes, he will." I confirmed, greeted by a heavy sigh from Mum.

"Well behave then." Mum warned and I rolled my eyes at her protectiveness.

"Don't I always?" I asked innocently, laughing along with her.

"Use protection." She whispered jokingly, causing my cheeks to flush furiously.

"Love you Mum." I said simply, not bothering to acknowledge her comment.

I hung up the phone with a small sigh and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. A few steps ahead, Sam's shoulders shook slightly with laughter. It was almost as if he'd heard her Mother's whispered warning.

But that, of course, was impossible.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hope you enjoy this. I would have liked to get more description of the body in, but never having seen a dead body, this was the best I could do.

I'm not sure whether I'm getting the mysterious element across in this book so far, or if it's just coming across as confusing. Hopefully, it's not too terrible. If you did notice any mistakes let me know and I will be truly grateful. Other than that, enjoy the chapter.

- Lena