Эллен Шрайбер: Once in a Full Moon

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 dismembered.”

“Gross!” Ivy exclaimed.

Abby let out an audible gasp. “Tell us more!”

“It was only a matter of time, they feared, before the monster would be coming for them.

“The residents spent the nights of the full moon living in terror,” he continued, “wondering what — or who — would be the beast’s next victim.”

“I can’t take any more,” Ivy said, covering her ears.

The darkness played with our imaginations. I spotted Dylan and Jake eyeing the woods as if every tree hid a stalking werewolf.

“Some dismissed the witnesses’ accounts as drunken tall tales,” Nash said. “Still others swore there was only one explanation…”

We waited in trembling awe.

“A citizen of Legend’s Run had become a werewolf,” he concluded in a serious tone.

His words left us silent.

Then he said with a deliberate voice, “But which of their neighbors had been overtaken by the glow of the full moon was never discovered.”

“No—” Abby said.

“Still, generations later, underneath a full moon, the werewolf can be seen but has never been captured,” Nash instructed. “By day he is an ordinary man, descended from that unlucky citizen of Legend’s Run. But by night and under the curse of the moon, his eyes turn red, his muscles bulge, his teeth grow sharp, and he is covered with fur. A half man, half wolf who is tortured by his condition and threatening to anyone in his path.”

Then he looked at each one of us. “Could the werewolf of Legend’s Run have been one of your ancestors?” he wondered out loud.

The firelight cast ominous shadows against Nash’s face, distorting his normally perfect features. His nose seemed as long as a warlock’s, his ears pointy, his hair savagely spiky. His hazel eyes appeared fiery red.

He glared at us again. “Which one of us could be the Legend’s Run werewolf’s descendant?”

“Not me!” Abby blurted out.

Just then a gruesome howl was heard off in the distance.

Startled, I squeezed Ivy’s hand. She let out a scream.

“Nash! You’re scaring us!” Ivy charged.

“He’s just fooling around,” Jake assured.

Even Nash appeared startled. His eyes darted away from us. We heard the wailing again.

“I guess that could be your mom?” Dylan joked.

But Nash wasn’t laughing.

Wolves weren’t prone to approaching people or populated campsites, but it was dark, we had food, and we were closer to their homes than ours. I didn’t want us to be the ones who proved the naturalists wrong.

“Don’t worry, the fire will keep them away,” Jake said.

“But our food won’t,” Abby said.

She was right. We had half-eaten s’mores, potato chips, and popcorn. It wasn’t a good idea to possess food when hungry animals were in the vicinity.

“Toss everything into the fire,” Jake commanded.

We quickly threw our remaining snacks into the flames, hoping to throw off the scent.

Ivy, Abby, and I glanced around us. All we could see was darkness and the formidable, looming trees.

When we turned back, Nash was gone.

“Nash?” I called.

There was no answer.

“Quit kidding!” Abby said.

“He’s trying to prank us,” Jake said. “I told you.”

“Nash?” Ivy called.

The howling grew louder.

“This isn’t funny, Nash!” Ivy said, her voice quivering.

“We’d better get to the cars,” Abby said.

“And leave him here?” I asked.

“We don’t even know where he is,” Ivy said.

“What if something happened to him?” I wondered. “We can’t leave.”

“We are better off getting our cars and going for help,” Dylan said.

How could we abandon Nash? What if he was hurt? What if he was lost?

Dylan and Jake extinguished the fire with the surrounding dirt. We stood in total darkness. Just then we heard a howl again.

“Celeste, we have to go,” Jake said.

“You said it yourself,” I began. “It could be a prank.”

“Then where is his video camera?” Abby said.

Dylan turned his flashlight on and pointed the beam around the area. We couldn’t see anything but trees.

Jake pulled out his cell phone and called Nash. We waited for the sound of ringing, but all we heard was another howl.

“It went to voice mail,” Jake finally said.

We hurried through the forest path, our flashlights illuminating the way.

The farther away from our campfire we were, the more nervous I became. I was upset to leave Nash behind.

“What if it’s true?” Abby said. “What if a werewolf got him and now he’s coming for us?”

We ran as fast as we could over dirt, roots, and fallen leaves. We finally reached the entrance to the woods where our cars were parked.

A figure was sitting inside Nash’s car. We paused. We crept toward the car, Dylan and Jake leading the way.

The door opened and out popped Nash. I had to admit I was relieved, until he displayed a cheesy smirk.

The group laughed at his joke, now comforted that we’d found our friend. Jake high-fived him. But I wasn’t so proud. I noticed beads of sweat dotting his brow. He appeared shaky.

Dylan wasn’t as quick to give Nash props, either. “Hey, you left two guys alone in the woods with three girls. I think the joke’s on you .”

“Not so fast…” Nash took my hand, protecting his turf. “It was just a prank.”

But I knew better.

We all hugged good-bye, and each couple got into their separate vehicles.

As Nash turned on the ignition of his car, his hands were still shaking. Nash had frightened himself — by his own story and by the timely howling animal. I slunk into the passenger seat and put on a brave face to mask my disappointment in my boyfriend’s cowardice.

“You really had them fooled,” I said flatly. “More so than you think.”

I’d lived my seventeen years in Legend’s Run in an average American four-bedroom house with my “still married” parents and snotty older sister, Juliette. I had a decent upbringing in Legend’s Run and didn’t have too many complaints about the town except that it was full of social tension from being divided into two parts — the affluent suburbs on the east side and the blue-collar, rural town on the west. The Eastside was built up with new developments and rolling estates, while the Westside, or Riverside, was more agricultural. The Eastsiders felt their new homes were superior to the country homes, and the Riversiders resented that cornfields and silos were giving way to concrete driveways and street lamps. Each community had its own elementary schools, but all the students were combined at middle school. In high school, each side was reluctant to mix with the other out of pride, ignorance, or habit. The two sides were labeled by opposing student groups as either “snobs” or “hicks,” though the truth was that neither label was entirely accurate. I smiled at everyone because it was the right thing to do. In addition, I always believed it took more energy for the two sides to stay apart than it would for them to finally come together.