Ebon Moon

  “We’ll see you then.” Roxie waved her hand. “Bye, Megan.”

  “Good-bye,” Megan called back.

  Jessica stepped outside into the late afternoon sun and noted the sheriff’s patrol car parked once more beside her Camaro.

  “Did you get the job, Mommy?”

  “I did, baby.”

  Behind her, Sheriff Sutton exited the roadhouse.

  “Go get in the car, sugar.” She opened the passenger door and belted her daughter in. “Mommy needs to talk to the policeman.”

  “Okay.”

  Once Megan was inside, she closed the door and crossed her arms. “Are you following me, Sheriff?”

  “Not intentionally, if that’s what you mean.” He took off his uniform cap and ran his hand through his sandy hair. “I came out to Roxie’s to get more information on a fight here last Saturday night.”

  “So it’s just a coincidence I’ve encountered you twice in four hours?”

  “It’s a small town.” He put the hat back on his head and smiled. “Since we seem to run into each other so much, don’t you think we should be on a first-name basis?”

  “Okay, I’m Jess.”

  “Dale.”

  “Well, Dale, I won’t hold up any more of your time. I better get back to my new home.” She opened the driver door and climbed in. “I’ll see you later.”

  He leaned in before she closed the door. His nearness caused all her senses to go on edge. Jessica breathed his scent, and her pulse raced.

  “One of my most enjoyable duties as the town’s law enforcement representative is heading up the Welcome Wagon.”

  “Welcome Wagon?” Her voice sounded nervous and far away.

  “It means I get to officially welcome all new citizens to Hope Springs.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Why don’t you meet me for lunch tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded unsure.

  “You can bring your daughter.”

  “Okay.” She nodded.

  “It’s a date then. Meet me at Dottie’s Diner. It’s in the center of town one block off Main Street. Everyone in Hope Springs knows where it is.”

  She started the Camaro.

  The sheriff stepped back. “I’ll see you tomorrow at twelve.”

  Jessica shut the driver door and pulled out of the parking lot. In the rearview, she spotted Sheriff Sutton standing beside his patrol car watching her leave. She couldn’t believe she agreed so quickly to go on a lunch date with the man. Why the hell did I say yes? I just got rid of one man. The last thing I need is another hanging around. Especially a law man.

  CHAPTER SIX

  After living on nothing but fast food for the last three days, Jessica found Nelda’s home-cooked supper was everything she had promised. Megan, who hadn’t had much of an appetite in months, ate two plates of pot roast, carrots, and potatoes. The warm meal seemed to brighten her spirits as well. She talked more, going on and on about Tig and her new home.

  Nelda’s husband, Sam, joined them at the table. A tall man with a round belly stuffed in a faded pair of blue bib overalls, he sported short gray hair, hazel eyes, and skin tanned to the texture of book leather. Jessica imagined what the Olsons might have looked like when they first married thirty years ago. She guessed the two were the best-looking couple in the county back then.

  During supper, Megan and Sam quickly became good friends.

  “Do you have any horses, sir?” Megan asked.

  “Little girl, I’ll call you Meg if you call me Sam.”

  “Okay, Sam.”

  “Well, Meg, to tell the truth, I’ve got a little foal out in the stable. She’s too young and high-spirited for you to ride, but you could pet and feed her. Maybe you can think of a name for her.” Sam winked at his wife beginning to clear off the dirty dishes from the table. “I haven’t been able to think of a name for the little filly yet, have I, Nel?”

  “No you haven’t, dear.”

  “Tomorrow, after I get my winter wheat planted, you can meet her, Meg. But I can’t introduce her properly if she doesn’t have a name. Maybe you can think of one for her. Would you like that?”

  “Mommy, can I?”

  “I don’t see why not, honey,” Jessica answered, picking up the remaining dirty dishes from the table.

  “Okay!” Megan said back to Sam.

  “Good, we’ll do that tomorrow afternoon,” Sam stated with a broad smile.

  Jessica placed the dirty dishes on the counter by the sink and grabbed up a towel to help dry.

  “Sam and I never had children,” Nelda stated while washing a plate.

  “Never?”

  Nelda shook her head no. “When I was seventeen I had a car accident. It ruined my baby-maker. Sam knew I could never give birth when he married me. It’s just been us two all these years.” She glanced over to Sam and Megan talking. “Sometimes, I think he wishes he was a father.”

  “He gets along with my daughter just fine.”

  “He’s a good man,” Nelda said, rinsing off a dish and handing it over.

  “Believe me, Nel, good men are a rare treasure these days.” Jessica dried the plate and asked, “What can you tell me about Sheriff Sutton?”

  “Dale?” Nelda’s brow raised in surprise. “Why do you ask?”

  “He invited me to lunch with him tomorrow.”

  “I’m impressed, Jess. He’s a very handsome man. You’ll be the envy of all the girls in the county.”

  “It may not exactly be a date, but he seemed interested in spending some time with me. Maybe I should’ve turned him down, but I just couldn’t get the will up to do so.”

  “No surprise. Any woman would be hard-pressed to say no to him. He’s a hunk.”

  * * * *

  After supper, the group retired to the front porch to watch the sunset and drink a pitcher of sweet tea. Settled into a wicker chair, Jessica felt a peace and calm she hadn’t known in years of turbulent marriage to Blake. The feeling seemed alien, like meeting an old friend who was now nothing more than an awkward stranger over the passage of time. Life with Blake was a constant walk along a razor’s edge, never knowing from where the next verbal or physical abuse would strike. In this quaint farmhouse in rural Oklahoma, she discovered another side of life: simple joys of sharing a pitcher of tea and conversing with people void of drug abuse and domestic violence.

  Jessica deeply inhaled the warm evening air, letting the painful existence she had in Chicago slip away, like the sun on the horizon.

  “What is that, Mommy?” Megan asked, excited. Her daughter pointed out onto the front lawn. Little blips of glowing light danced in and out of the trees.

  “Lightning bugs,” Sam answered. “You never saw a lightning bug, Meg?”

  “No.”

  Sam eased out of the wicker chair to his full height. “Come on, little girl, let’s go catch us one.”

  He took Megan by the hand, and the two rushed out onto the front lawn in the growing twilight.

  “Wow!” Megan said, watching the glowing bugs fly around her.

  Jessica couldn’t remember her daughter saying wow to anything.

  “Your daughter’s lovely,” Nelda said in a low voice. “How could any man hurt such a beautiful child?”

  “He wasn’t a man.” The statement shocked Jessica with its truth. A real man was Sam taking time to show a little girl the wonder of lightning bugs in the front yard. The last semblance of any emotion she felt for Blake evaporated. Now, she saw him for what he really was: a violent, hateful coke fiend who made her strip in clubs while leaving Megan home alone. He abused her in front of their daughter. A sudden shame passed through her.

  “God forgive me,” she spoke softly. “No man will ever do that to me again.”

  “What was that, dear?” Nelda asked.

  “Nothing.” Jessica put down the empty glass of tea. “I was just talking to myself.”

  “Mommy!” Megan came running up to the porch with a glow
ing light cupped in her hand. “I caught one.”

  “Let me see it, baby.”

  She opened her hand to show the glowing bug in her palm. Her blue eyes flashed with wonder. “Isn’t it great?”

  “Yes.” Jessica felt tears misting her eyes. She looked up at Sam standing on the porch of the steps. “Thank you.”

  He wiped his sweating brow on the sleeve of his flannel shirt. “I forgot how much work it is chasing lightning bugs.”

  * * * *

  The gathering dusk deepened as stars appeared in the Oklahoma night sky. Jessica walked with Megan along the grassy trail leading back to the trailer. The silver Camaro looked out of place parked in front. Earlier, she had taken the pistol inside and stuffed it between the mattress and box spring of her new bed.

  “There you are, Tig.” Megan charged forward and caught the cat sleeping under the bottom step of the redwood deck. The feline remained limp in her arms. She picked up the tabby and hugged him tight. “Can he sleep with me tonight, Mommy?”

  “You heard what Nelda said, honey. Tig is an outdoor farm cat. He would just cry all night wanting out.”

  “Okay.” She put the cat down on the porch. “You stay out here tonight, Tig. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “That’s a good girl.” Jessica patted her daughter on the shoulder and opened the front trailer door with the key. “Now wash up and get ready for bed.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Megan ran toward the bathroom to wash her face. While her daughter disappeared down the hall to the back of the home, Jessica locked the front door and bolted the chain. She went around the trailer checking every window. Convinced the trailer was secure and locked, she went to join her daughter.

  “All done, Mommy,” Megan said, rubbing the washcloth over her face.

  “Brush your teeth?” Jessica asked with a smile.

  “I did.”

  “Good girl.” Jessica kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Now off to bed with you. You’ll have to sleep in your clothes tonight. Mommy left your pajamas in our old home.”

  “That’s okay.” She bounded into her small bedroom and leaped on the bed. Jessica sat next to her on the mattress and tucked Megan under the covers.

  “Let me see your arm,” Jessica said.

  Her daughter pulled the injured left arm from under the covers. In the light of the overhead bulb, Jessica studied the bruises.

  “Does it still hurt?” Jessica asked.

  “A little.”

  “I’m so sorry that your father hurt you. I should have taken you away sooner. When you get older, I hope you understand.”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  Jessica brushed a strand of blonde hair from her daughter’s brow. “Do you like it here in Oklahoma?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Very much.”

  “I’m glad, because I do, too.”

  “Do you think Tig will be all right sleeping outside in the dark?”

  “He’ll be fine. Now go to sleep, you silly girl.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead. “I’m going to leave the light on and the door open. I’ll be sleeping across the hall. Okay?”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  She stood and crossed to the door of the bedroom and turned toward Megan, who smiled back at her.

  “I love you, Mommy.”

  “I love you, too, sweetie.”

  A dark frown crossed her daughter’s face.

  “I don’t love Daddy anymore,” Megan said in a quiet voice.

  “Neither, do I,” Jessica replied.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  He stripped nude, letting the cool night air flow against his bare skin. Hiding in the line of trees bordering the partly plowed field, he watched the trailer until the lights went out, leaving one lone window lit in the back.

  Mother and daughter had gone to bed.

  He glanced up through the trees. The Ebon Moon was still five nights away, which meant he could control the animal inside and keep some form of his human self. An old hunger had returned tenfold upon seeing the little girl named Megan earlier in the day. He needed to quiet the raging beast in some fashion, if only to run through the countryside at night.

  He thought of it as walking his inner dog.

  Every fiber of his being tingled with anticipation of the thing he was about to become. He loved/hated the animal inside. On one hand, lycanthropy gave him incredible strength, agility, and superhuman senses, but on the other, there was the hunger.

  Always the hunger.

  Tonight, he could not be seen. Exposure risked revealing the Pack to the humans. They had taken great care to hide their kills without the locals becoming aware of the wolf in their presence. The foray was dangerous, but he couldn’t fight the overpowering urge twisting both his human and animal mind.

  The pain of the transformation spread like wildfire through his body. He fell to all fours with muscles twitching in spasms. Thick hair erupted from his pores covering his bare flesh as his bones elongated and shifted, causing him to gasp in agony. Sharp claws extended from the ends of his fingers and toes. The most painful part of the morphing followed; his facial bones separated to allow the wolf’s face and maw to emerge. He wanted to howl but kept his torment silent. The pain receded. The transformation was complete.

  In the shadow of the trees, the beast stood to its new height of eight feet. He had managed to keep his human identity, but the bestial side fought against him like an enraged animal pounding the door to its cage.

  Do I dare approach the trailer?

  The beast answered for him. It wanted to get closer … much closer.

  Only halfway, the human side replied.

  Nose and ears twitched as his enhanced senses searched the farm. Quiet. Even the crickets were silent in awe of the supernatural creature. On canine legs, he ran out from the cover of the trees and crossed the plowed field in a loping gait under the dim moonlight. Reaching the tractor parked in the center of the field, he ducked in its shadow and paused again to sense the night air. No lights came on in the trailer or the farmhouse. No headlights on the blacktop road in front of the farm. He hadn’t been seen or heard. He returned his attention to the lone light shining through a bedroom curtain of the trailer like a beacon.

  Closer, the animal inside demanded.

  In a leap that would have broken all Olympic records for a human, he cleared the tractor and landed on all fours in the freshly plowed dirt. Keeping low, he bounded forward and stopped in a crouch beneath the trailer window. Again no sound or activity came from within. The two occupants slept unaware of the danger outside. He pressed an ear to the trailer wall under the lit window and focused his acute hearing. The gentle breathing of a sleeping child rose and fell on the other side.

  The bestial mind raged. The only thing protecting the child was a thin wall of sheet metal and insulation. It would be so easy to tear through the structure and snatch up the little girl.

  No! The human side fought back the urge. To do such an act would send the local citizens in a relentless hunt for the abductors of the offspring. The Pack would be in great danger of discovery.

  I must look at her! Peer through the window.

  No!

  The beast attempted to play a trick on his mind. If he saw the sleeping child, the primal hunger would be impossible to control, leaving the animal inside free to act without constraint. Instead, he contented himself to listening through the wall of the trailer. Slaver dripped in streams from the lust to feed upon the child; to taste her blood, and to rend her tender flesh.

  Feed me now!

  We wait until the moon darkens in five nights.

  I must eat now!!

  His ears sensed something hiding under the redwood deck. A fat tabby cat with hair standing up on its back hissed at him. He spun and snatched the animal up in one clawed hand and squeezed off its growl. The cat’s green eyes stared for one last moment at the ravenous maw of the beast. In the next second, he bit down on the animal and felt the cat’s bones crunch. One
more bite and he swallowed the creature whole.

  The beast inside grew still. It had tasted blood and death and could be quelled for now. Such would not be the case during the Ebon Moon. Only the flesh of a child would satisfy the animal then. He pressed an ear once more against the wall of the trailer and listened to her slow breathing.

  When the moon is in shadow, you may devour her.

  The beast understood and loped away from the trailer house to run free into the countryside once again.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jessica awoke gasping in shock. She didn’t recognize the bedroom. Panic took over for a brief second before she remembered the new trailer home. She settled back in the strange bed and listened.

  Something had awoken her.

  Megan?

  She turned to the light coming in from her daughter’s room.

  “Mommy!”

  Jessica sprung from the bed and rushed across the hall. She found Megan curled into a fetal position under the blanket.

  “Mommy!” her daughter cried once more.

  “I’m here, baby.” Jessica pulled back the blanket. “What’s wrong, dear?”

  “I had a very bad dream.”

  Jessica sighed with relief. She brushed back the blonde hair from Megan’s face, wet with tears. “It’s just a dream, baby. Do you want to tell Mommy about it?”

  “Daddy was here.”

  The words sent icy fear through her body. The thought of Blake in the trailer caused her stomach to knot. A frightening image of her husband standing in the bedroom doorway flashed in her mind. For a second, she imagined him loading the pistol with one bullet and spinning the chamber.

  “Do you feel lucky, Jess?”

  Pushing the terrible image away, she hugged her daughter. “Daddy’s not here, baby. He doesn’t know where we are.”

  Megan’s only reply was to continue crying. Her tears soaked a spot in Jessica’s T-shirt.