Waxing Darkness

by Jose Luis Solorzano

  Chapter Eight: Truth

  They run to safety,

  although, nothing seems right. Now,

  they must make a choice.

  Both Luis and Luna sat quietly inside his Ford Escort. The only time either of them spoke to each other during that car ride was for directions to where they were going. All Luis knew about the situation was that they were visiting some kind of friend of Luna’s and she didn’t go any further into the details. Luis wasn’t even sure if he wanted all the details about what was going on anymore. In less than an hour, it seemed like his entire life was going to change. For better or worse, he couldn’t tell.

  She stopped them in front of Chelsea’s apartment, which seemed drastically different in the daylight hours. It looked so much older in her eyes, almost as if it were completely abandoned. Only a few cars were in the parking lot, and Luna was pleased to get a parking spot right next to Chelsea’s room. The car completely stopped and the dead silence filled the air. It was a minute before Luis let out a small cough. Luna opened her door, and Luis followed suit. The last thing he felt like doing was get her upset at him.

  “Is your friend home,” Luis asked, desperate to break the strange silence between the two of them.

  “She should be,” Luna answered in a monotone. She wasn’t quite sure of everything herself. “But if she’s not here, we can just wait around until she comes back.”

  “We’re not going to break in, are we?” Luis couldn’t help but hide how nervous he was. Luna quickly caught wind of what he meant: if they were going to burst open the door the same way she did so in the classroom.

  “No, we’ll just wait inside the car,” Luna reassured him.

  The two of them approached the door slowly, Luna making sure she had a tight grip on Luis’s hand. She was surprised by how afraid she was, even though Luis was the one who was going through the shock-of-the-century right now. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now, and yet, he still trusted her as if nothing had happened. She knocked on the door and waited a few seconds. Luna felt very relieved when she heard rustling on the other side of the door.

  Chelsea answered her door, in a bright red witch’s costume, holding a bowl filled with candy. Chelsea’s smile seemed to widen when she noticed that it was Luna who was at the door. Her eyes did wander to the young man who seemed to be holding on tightly to Luna.

  “It’s a bit early for trick-or-treaters,” Luna told Chelsea, hoping to defuse any tension that may have lingered.

  “Can’t be too over prepared,” Chelsea fired back. “Is this him?”

  “Um, yeah.” Luna wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to act in this situation.

  “So you actually did it?” There was a bit of surprise in Chelsea’s voice. “You actually told him everything?”

  “Not exactly,” Luna said, leading the two of them inside the small apartment. “It’s kind of a long story.”

  Luna wasn’t quite sure of where to begin. She needed to fill Chelsea in on the events that led them to their current mess, but she also didn’t want to leave Luis completely out of the loop of what was going on. They just couldn’t start talking about vampires and werewolves without letting him in slowly. This would have been another moment where she wanted to let out another loud scram, but Luna just didn’t have the energy to.

  To everyone’s surprise, Luis was the one who decided to start the talking.

  “A lot of it seems a bit fuzzy. I couldn’t believe what was going on; I thought I was lost in some kind of a dream. My math teacher…she just started attacking me out of nowhere. I thought that she was just going to kill me. Then Luna…she just broke down the door and the window covers just ripped themselves off. I think Ms. Ramirez, out teacher, jumped off of me, like she was allergic to the sunlight or something. Next thing I knew, I was being dragged out of there by Luna.”

  Chelsea listened very closely to what was going on. She was able to piece everything together all on her own as Luis tried to explain exactly what he saw. In her mind, she pictured Luna saying a simple spell to break through the locks of the door, but her powers were magnified significantly today, causing the door to probably get blown off of its hinges. The thought of Luna using her powers to open up the window covers led Chelsea to conclude that their teacher was a vampire, and that Luna knew the teacher’s identity all along. Chelsea knew that there were vampires who tried to blend into everyday society, but it was obviously very difficult for them to do so. She’d never encountered a vampire during the daylight hours, but she knew how simple it was for a werewolf to spot a vampire. All you had to do was pay attention to all the signs; every vampire shares the same weaknesses after all.

  “So, why did you guys decide to come here,” Chelsea asked, warming up a pot of water for tea. “I mean, I love company, but I’m not quite sure if I’m the safest person to be with if she comes looking for you.”

  “She didn’t come after us,” Luis added quickly. “She hid completely under her desk. I don’t understand why she didn’t come running after us. Shouldn’t we call the cops or something?”

  Both girls did their best to hold back their laughs. It was reflex that they shared; the thought of actually calling the cops about a vampire attack. Of course, neither of them wanted Luis to be the odd man out. It wasn’t his fault that he was the only human in the room.

  “Well,” Chelsea began carefully, “I think there’s a very good reason why she didn’t come running after the two of you.” She spied Luna, who was flashing a very stern look. “Oh, come on, Luna, he’s going to have to find out anyway!”

  “I know, but,” Luna began to say before Luis interrupted her with “Find out what?!”

  “That your teacher is obviously a vampire who wanted to feed off of your blood.” Chelsea said bluntly.

  There it was, out in the open. Your teacher is obviously a vampire. No, it didn’t seem obvious to Luis, not one bit. He felt like he was being set up for some kind of joke, a very elaborate and convincing joke at that. He looked over at Luna, hoping for a sign that told him that this all wasn’t real. His hopes were shattered when he noticed that there was no change in Luna’s expression. Luis had never seen her so serious before.

  “Well, how would you know that Ms. Ramirez is a vampire,” Luis asked them. “I mean, that’s a bit of a bold statement to say of somebody, isn’t it?”

  The two girls looked at each other, trying to figure out the next best move to take.

  “Let me do it,” Luna told Chelsea, who simply nodded as her response. She then shifted her body back to Luis. “The reason we can say this is because…well, we’re werewolves.”

  “Liar,” was Luis’s only response.

  Neither of the girls seemed to flinch at what Luis had said. Other than what happened in the portable, they really had nothing to show him about the existence of the supernatural. For Luna, at least, this was a good thing. It was much calmer than she had original imagined this scenario, especially after her little episode with Karin.

  “We’re not lying,” Chelsea protested. “We are werewolves, and get ready for this kid, but Luna and I am also part witch.”

  That statement had obviously sounded much better inside her head, but there was no way around it. She was tired of Luna’s beating around the bush and treating Luis as if he were a toddler. There was no reason for him to not know about anything now, and this would make it easier for him to choose to become one of them. Chelsea thought that was what Luna had wanted in the first place. Of course, there was only one way that they could convince him that they were telling the truth.

  “I’ll prove it to you then,” Luna said, her voice very stern. “But, this is the only change of clothes I have, so I don’t want them to rip.”

  Luna picked up the blanket from Chelsea’s bed and wrapped it around her body. She then carried it into the bathroom with her as she changed out of her costume. During that time, Chelsea did her best trying to explain to Luis about how a werewolf tr
ansform, mainly that their clothing does not change with their body. She wasn’t sure if Luis was paying any attention to what she was saying, but she felt that it was worth noting to him, so he wouldn’t be lost in what was going on.

  Luna stepped out of the bathroom slowly, holding the blanket tightly around her body. She took in a few deep breaths and concentrated. She didn’t understand why she was so nervous about transforming; she had probably done it hundreds of times in the past. Was it really because she was doing it in front of somebody, and not just anybody, but the person she seemed to care about more than anything in the world?

  Luis was amazed and startled by what he was watching. Slowly, Luna was changing shape right in front of him. First, it was the hair. It seemed like the color of her hair magically changed color and began to wrap around her entire body. During that time, her face muscles began to transform as well. Her nose grew, changing into a snout, and her jaw began to extend as well. Luna dropped the blanket, her entire body covered in fur. She then fell on all fours, causing all of her limbs to change. The whole process took less than a second, but it seemed to be happening in front of Luis in slow motion.

  A werewolf was standing right in front of Luis and Chelsea. It seemed to be standing completely still, its tail wagging and her tongue panting. Luis tried to look deeply into its eyes, the only aspect of Luna that didn’t seem to change. The wolf whimpered as it slowly approached Luis. Part of Luis wished to run away as fast as he could, but a dominate part of him told him to stay completely still. The wolf didn’t seem to wish to attack him, but to simply be near him. As the wolf reached for his hand, she softly licked it, hoping to prove that she was completely harmless.

  “Luna,” Luis softly said to the wolf, “are you really in there?”

  He placed his hand at the top of the wolf’s head and began to scratch its dark ears. The tail seemed wag faster as it was panting with glee. The wolf rubbed up against Luis’s leg in an affectionate way, and Luis was no longer completely frightened. He knelt down to get a closer look at Luna’s eyes. He could clearly see her inside of the wolf’s body, wishing for his acceptance. They stared at each other for a few moments, having a conversation of the minds. He then hugged the wolf tightly, still amazed by what was going on around him.

  “She was afraid that you wouldn’t accept her,” Chelsea added. “She thought that you would go completely crazy and kill her.”

  Kill Luna, Luis thought in horror. He had to be fair; learning something like this about your girlfriend wasn’t something that happened to every single guy. A bit of fear still lingered inside of Luis, but he was able to look past it when he looked deeply to find Luna within those eyes. He released the wolf and grabbed the blanket from the floor.

  “This is all a lot to take in for just one day,” Luis said, slightly apprehensive. He then placed the blanket on top of the wolf. “I’m sorry, but can I have my Luna back, please?”

  The wolf nodded. She placed her entire body under the blanket and stayed completely still. The outline of the transformation could be seen from the movements of the blanket. Luis imagined it as a complete reversal of transforming into the wolf. In a second, there was a beautiful, young woman where a wolf had once stood. She wasn’t facing Luis; she couldn’t do it when she was in this kind of state. She wished that she could see her blushing, and be able to see the smile that she had planted right onto her face. Luna knew that it wasn’t a complete acceptance of what she was, but it was a start. Luna hurried into the bathroom to change back into her clothes.

  An hour passed, the three of them simply talking about their lives. Luis learned that Luna and Chelsea were half-sisters, but lived a life that was much deeper and more powerful than that. Although the werewolf thing was something he was still getting used to, the fact that they were both half-witches seemed to intrigue him so much more. Luna demonstrated her power by using the blanket that they were sitting on and had it levitate them an entire foot above the mattress. Mostly due to the power surge running through her body today, Luna was able to lift all three of them on the blanket for a fair amount of time.

  Suddenly, Luna’s phone began to ring. She picked it up without looking at the caller ID, which was probably not the smartest idea.

  “Where are you,” Victor yelled out at his daughter.

  “I’m, er, at Chelsea’s,” Luna answered. She figured that it was better to simply tell the truth now, hoping that it would help her escape a lot of the trouble she had ensured for herself today.

  “What are you doing there,” Victor exclaimed loud enough that Luis and Chelsea were able to clearly hear. “It doesn’t matter; just get back home now!”

  “I’ll go only if Luis is allowed to come with me.” Luna’s voice had become firm.

  “Out of the question! I told you to dump him and that’s final.” It was very clear at this point that Victor was beyond angry.

  “Well, I’m not dumping him. I told him everything about us! Vampires, witches, werewolves, everything. In fact, I want him to become one of us.” Luna wasn’t quite sure where all of this was coming from. Maybe she was just sick of not being heard by her father. “He was attacked today by Erica, your friend who works at the school. He needs to come with us, so he’s safe.”

  It was obvious that her father was a loss for words. In a mere day, he had completely lost control of his daughter. She had disobeyed him and had done something that he absolutely couldn’t believe.

  “Get over here, now,” Victor ordered his daughter. “If you must bring him, then fine.”

  “And Chelsea, too.” She added. Even she couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth now.

  Victor was now beyond angry, but he was absolutely tired with fighting. “Just get your ass over here. I don’t care who you’re with, do as I say, Luna.”

  The phone line quickly went dead. Luna imagined her father slamming his phone on some sort of table. She knew that she was going to get it once she got home. I’m tired of being controlled by him, Luna thought in anger. This is my life, and I can be with whoever I wish to be with.

  Luis and Chelsea both stared at Luna.

  “What was all that about,” Luis asked her.

  “My dad wants me to get home,” She answered, looking at the two of them. “Both of you are coming with me. It’s much too dangerous if we’re apart.”

  “Luna, I c-can’t go,” Chelsea stuttered desperately. “We both know that I’m not welcomed in that house, or anywhere your family is.”

  “You’re my friend, and I say that you are more than welcome inside our house,” Luna shot back as she grabbed Luis’s hand. “Plus, you know more about this transformation stuff than I do.”

  “Transformation,” Luis questioned.

  Luis and Chelsea knew that they were absolutely powerless under Luna’s whim. If she decided on something, there was no reason for arguing. Chelsea did her best to hide her smile while Luis was still confused by the entire situation. They had to hurry back to the other side of town. Sunset would be approaching, and their cornered math teacher would soon be set free. Where she would decide to go, no one could possibly guess.