Ill Met By Moonlight

Mallory hesitantly wrote it down, then waited for me to continue.

"It bit my leg, but I managed to shoot it to get loose. It then bit my arm, and wouldn't let go until I shot it in the head. Then, I shot it about twenty times in total. I'm not sure of the exact number of shots overall, because I was under so much stress." I told Mallory.

Mallory looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.

"What is it?" I asked.

Mallory looked like he was choosing his words carefully before responding. "We didn't find the corpse of an animal. We didn't find a corpse of anything, other than the deceased woman." He responded.

I was in shock, and shook my head. "That's impossible! It was dead, right beside Ellie!" I told him. I knew what I had seen, and I knew it was dead on the ground.

Mallory shook his head. "That's the strange part, there was no body, only a pool of blood and the projectiles you fired. We also had some interesting results come back on the blood test." He told me.

My heart sank in my chest. I was absolutely certain I had killed it, there was no way it could have survived all of those gunshots to its chest, heart and head. I shuddered to think of what kind of creature could walk away from that. "What the hell do you mean it wasn't there? What do you mean, 'interesting results'?" I demanded.

Mallory looked equally as frustrated. "The blood that was recovered was a mixed sample. It contained human blood, as well as canine. The human blood did not match Ellie, and it was male. Are you sure there wasn't anyone else there? Is there any possibility you could have hit someone else?" He asked.

I shook my head. He thought I had shot someone else, another human. "There was no one else there. And if you're implying that I may have shot someone, the answer is no." I replied.

Mallory sighed. "We don't have any other explanation for the human blood. It was fresh, still wet. It was spilled at the same time as the canine blood." He responded.

I grew angry at him. "There was no one else there. I didn't shoot another human on purpose or on accident. I was using a .357 magnum, they wouldn't have walked away from that if I did!" I replied.

Mallory's silence seemed to indicate I was correct. He put away his notepad, and looked at my mom who was still fast asleep, then walked over to the door and shut it, then walked back over to me. "I'm going to be completely off the record and honest with you." Mallory told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Mallory looked at me with a troubled expression. "One problem is that I believe you. Another problem is that the evidence doesn't match up with what you're telling me. There are other inconsistencies at the other animal attack sites as well, things that indicate that the animal was more intelligence than any wolf is capable of." Mallory informed me.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

Mallory didn't reply immediately. "Well, officially there is no explanation I can give you. But, off the record, I can tell you that I think we're dealing with something unnatural. If anything was able to walk away after fifteen point blank shots to the head and chest, then that creature is not normal. I'm not a superstitious person, but I don't have any other explanation than the supernatural." He responded.

"Like a werewolf or something?" I asked.

Mallory looked like he didn't want to answer. "Possibly. Although I've never been one to believe in myths or anything really. But, with the other attacks and the intelligence displayed, as well as the bite and claw marks being too large for an actual wolf, it makes more sense than other theories." He told me.

I shook my head. "This is crazy. There's no such thing as werewolves. There has to be another explanation." I replied.

Mallory nodded. "I know. I'm going to keep digging. Here's my card, call me if you remember anything else. Thank you for your time." He told me, then shook my good hand and left.

I set the card beside the cup of water, and the nurse came back in. She was beautiful, and her friendly demeanor put me at ease after learning about what happened.

"How long will I be in here?" I asked. I was anxious to get out already. I was also starving.

"Well, you are a rather unusual case. Wounds like yours typically take months to heal, and yours have almost closed completely. The doctors are dumbfounded at your recovery time. If you keep healing at this rate then you'll most likely be out of here within a couple of days." The nurse responded.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. It's a shame though, I kind of like the hospitality. It's unfortunate that I don't live in Salem." I replied.

"Well, I'll take good care of you while you're here, how does that sound?" The nurse responded in a slightly flirtatious tone. "Let's get your vitals checked." The nurse told me, then wheeled a machine over to me with several instruments used to test a variety of things.

She checked my temperature, blood pressure and finally checked my breathing. Afterwards she had a troubled look.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your blood pressure is normal, but your heart rate is very low for someone of your fitness level. I measured your heart rate at forty beats per minute, and that is unusually low for anyone. How are you feeling?" The nurse asked. She had a worried look on her face

I studied my body for a minute. I felt fine, I felt as though nothing was wrong with me. "Well aside from feeling extremely hungry, I feel great." I replied.

"Well, that's good to hear. If you're hungry then I'm going to go get you some food." The nurse told me.

"What is your name?" I asked the nurse.

The nurse stopped and turned around. "My name is Sarah." Sarah responded.

"Well Sarah, thanks for taking care of me." I replied.

"You're welcome! You're not totally repulsive so I don't mind." Sarah responded, then winked. She then continued out the door.

I laid back in my bed and relaxed. Suddenly, I heard my mom stirr from her sleep. She looked up at me in surprise.

"Honey, you're awake!" Mom exclaimed, then rushed over to me and held my hand. "I didn't know if you would ever wake up!" She told me.

"Well, I'm awake now." I told her. I felt relieved that she was more concerned than angry for me getting hurt.

"Are you in pain?" My mom asked. Her brow was creased in worry.

I shook my head. "No, I feel fine despite what happened." I told her. It wasn't a lie, for some reason I felt just fine.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I'm going to let your father know you're awake. He's at home." Mom replied. She took her phone out and began texting.

After a few minutes, Sarah came back with a plate of food. She set the plate on the rails of my bed. "Here you go!" The nurse told me in a cheery voice.

"Thank you, I'm starving!" I replied. She had given me a turkey sandwich, cherry jello, some broccoli and water. Not exactly the best tasting meal but I was not complaining.

"You just let me know if there's anything else you need!" Sarah responded in another flirty tone, then winked. She left the room and left me to eat.

"What was that?" My mom asked in a suspicious tone, her right eyebrow raised. A slight smirk appeared on her lips.

"I have no clue but I'm not opposed to it. She's cute." I replied.

"Can you focus on getting better first before you go all romeo on her?" Mom asked. She didn't exactly sound happy about the nurse flirting with me.

I nodded. "Speaking of which, the nurse had some interesting things to say about my recovery time. She told me that I am recovering impossibly fast, and that I'm healing in days what it takes others months to heal." I replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well that's good to know. You were in pretty bad shape when I first saw you after the attack. What happened?" My mom inquired.

"I was walking to the party when I heard screaming in the woods. When I found the source, there was a girl who was mortally injured. She died right in front of me, then the animal attacked me. It mauled me horribly, but I shot it several times then escaped." I replied. I didn't want to spend a bunch of time explaining what happened. It was still fresh in my mind and the memory alone haunted me

"Oh my God, that must have been terrible. I'm so sorry that you went through that." Mom replied.

I shook my head. "I only wish I could have saved her. Even if it meant trading my life for hers." I replied.

"Honey don't say that. Your life is worth living too." Mom told me.

I shook my head. "You didn't see the fear in her eyes as she was dying. You didn't hold her broken body as she was dying, unable to do anything to help. You didn't lie and tell her that she was going to be okay as you watched the life drain from her eyes." I told her angrily.

I ate my sandwich in silence, and my mother said nothing after that.

My mom sat back down, obviously shaken by what I said. She stared at the ground with an expression somewhere between guilt and sorrow.

Once I was finished, I sighed and looked at my mom. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you." I told her.

My mom shook her head. "No, you're right. I don't know what you went through and I couldn't possibly even begin to. I'm sorry you had to experience that." She replied in a sad, soft tone.

"It's still out there." I told her reluctantly.

My mom looked up with frightened eyes. "What do you mean it's still out there?" She asked.

"I meant exactly what I said. I shot the damn thing almost twenty times, and the officers never found it. They found a pool of blood where it had been. It somehow survived that." I replied, my mood turning dark.

My mom's eyes grew wide with fear. "That's impossible. How did it survive?" She asked. I could tell she was shocked at the terrible news.

I once again shook my head. "I don't know. All I know is that it's still out there, and more people are at risk." I told her.

Mom shook her head. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. "Your father is at the hospital, he'll be in the room within a few minutes." She informed me.

When he got there, we exchanged a heartfelt hug and I explained to him what happened as well. Meanwhile, even after that meal I had I was still starving.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Let's take a look at your wounds!" Sarah told me in a cheerful tone.

I groaned. It was the third time in a day, and the twelfth overall since I had been awake at the hospital that she had checked and dressed my wounds. I wasn't complaining, she was beautiful and seemed to take a liking to me. I was getting bored of just sitting in bed, but she made me stay.

My mother was no longer at staying in my room frequently as the first day of getting out of the coma. It has taken slightly longer than the nurse had predicted for me to heal, I was on the third day of being bed ridden. During this time, I had x rays that confirmed my fractured leg had been fully healed. I hadn't been aware of it the first day, or when I had been bitten which was why I was in a cast.

I only had a light wrap on both my leg and left arm. Sarah had told me that if everything looked good by the end of the night that the hospital would let me go.

Sarah unwrapped the gauze on my arm, and ran a glove covered finger over it. My wound only looked like a small scratch, and it was unbelievable that it was a gaping wound less than a week ago.

"You have recovered amazingly fast. You'll most likely be released today." Sarah told me. She ran her fingers down my forearm, and I caught her hand in mine before she could pull away. She looked surprised but didn't try to stop me.

"Does that mean I won't be able to see you again?" I asked, in a disappointed voice.

Sarah laughed. "I thought you wanted out of here?" She asked.

"I do want out of here. But I am sure going to miss you." I replied.

Sarah smiled again, her eyes lighting up. "What are you going to miss about me?" She asked in a flirty tone.

"Well for one, I'm going to miss that beautiful smile." I replied.

Sarah looked down at her hand in mine, then back at me. "Well, unfortunately you won't be seeing it here for much longer. Besides, it's protocol that I can't get involved with patients." She told me.

My smile faded. Over the past three days I had grown to like Sarah. "I see." I replied in a disappointed tone.

Sarah squeezed my hand. "Fortunately, you won't be a patient of mine much longer." She told me, then stood up.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. "You probably get flirted with and hit on all the time. Why did you take a liking to me?" I asked.

Sarah smiled, and looked down. "No one else that I've ever cared for ever tried to save someone's life. Besides, you're pretty handsome." She replied.

"I didn't save her life though." I replied.

"True, but I don't know anyone else who would have ran head first into danger with no regard for their own life. Trust me as a nurse, you can't save everyone. What matters is that you do your best, and sometimes your best isn't enough. Don't let the failures haunt you." Sarah told me, then walked out of the room.

I really wanted to text my friend Marcel and let him know that I was okay. I hadn't talked to him or seen him since before that night. My phone was destroyed while trying to fight off the beast. Still, my parents probably told him what happened. I decided to watch TV and browsed the channels aimlessly.

All of the sudden, my door opened. My father stepped through, but not my mother.

"How are you doing?" My dad asked.

"I'm doing good. Sarah said that I'd most likely be released today." I told him.

Dad raised one of his eyebrows. "Who's Sarah?" He asked. A smile formed on his lips.

"The nurse that's been putting up with me." I replied.

"Oh really now? She's pretty good looking." Dad told me.

"I'm aware." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Is she interested in you?" He asked. He seemed to approve of me taking an interest in the nurse.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I retorted.

"You can tell me. I'm your dad and can give you some advice." He replied.

"I'm good, trust me." I told him. I could tell he was trying to squeeze some juicy details out of me. Too bad there weren't any.

"Well then. Your mother asked me to come check on you. She's really worried about you." Dad replied.

"I'm doing good. I can't believe how fast I've recovered. Neither can any of the doctors." I replied. My leg being healed in less than a week dumbfounded me

"I'm relieved to hear that. I have to ask, between you and me. Do you really think it's still out there?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know what to think. I shot it in the head like nine times and in the body nine more times. It should be dead, but the Sheriff said he didn't find a body." I replied. I still didn't believe it myself.

"Is it possible that you missed?" Dad asked. His voice was full of worry.

"What are the chances of that many headshots missing in a row at point blank range? The Sheriff said he found a pool of blood and all the bullets just lying on the ground. You do the math." I replied.

Dad was silent, and shook his head. "It just doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. I'm just thankful that you're alive." He replied softly.

"I am too. Though by all accounts I shouldn't be." I told him.

Dad said nothing.

Suddenly, the door opened and Sarah walked in with both a tray of food and some flowers. "I've come bearing gifts. Quite literally." She informed me.

She set the flowers on the table to my left, and set the tray on the rails on my bed.

"Who are the flowers from?" I asked.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "They didn't say, only said they were a friend. They told me to make sure that you read the card." She told me.

I reached over to the flowers and examined them. I was never an expert on flowers, so I didn't recognize what some of them were. I did notice a rose in the middle. I took the card out, and gave the flowers to Sarah.

"I'm not a big flower person, so I'd like you to have them." I told her.

"Well thank you! I can't do anything with them right now, so I'll set them beside your bed for now." Sarah responded, then set them down.

I smiled at her, then opened the card expecting a message from Marcel. What I saw instead made my blood run cold and my mouth opened involuntarily in horror.

'The moonlight beckons you. Soon, you will be tearing them limb from limb just like me. PS, you're a good shot. You got me good.' the note read.

"What is it?" My dad asked, seeing the panic on my face.

I quickly regained my composure and faked a smile. "It's nothing. Marcel just told me that he thought I almost died and not to risk my life again." I lied.

"Oh okay." My dad replied. He leered at me, and could tell that I was lying.

I would have to destroy the note, or keep it under lock and key. My attacker, and Ellie's murderer was still out there. Worse yet, he was able to write, which meant that the Sheriff's theory was probably correct.

A werewolf was terrorizing our county. I was in disbelief. That meant that legends about terrifying creatures of the night were real. I shuddered to think of what other kinds of legends were real as well. But what did the letter mean about the moonlight beckoning me? Or when he said I would be tearing people limb from limb? I didn't think I wanted to know the answer.

I put the note on my tray, and started to eat the food on my plate. "You gave me pudding this time!" I told Sarah.

"Well, you are going to be released today so I figured I would give you something special." Sarah told me.

Once I was finished eating, Sarah took my plate and left.

"Blake, I know when you're lying. Tell me what's going on." Dad told me.

I sighed in contempt. "Dad, I know you want to know but please forget about it. If I tell you what it was about, you'll be in danger. You wouldn't even believe me if I told you." I told him.

"Try me." Dad replied.

"Dad, let it go! Forget about the note. I mean it!" I told him angrily.

Dad looked like he wanted to argue, but dropped it. He sighed, the muscles in his face relaxing. "I forgot to tell you, that was a smooth move with the nurse. I can tell she really likes you." He told me.

"Thanks." I replied. I was still flustered from the note.

Suddenly, the door opened and I expected Sarah to walk through. Instead, it was an older male doctor with papers in his hands.

"Good afternoon! My name is Dr. Madison. I am here to give you a final evaluation and hopefully get you out of here!" Dr. Madison told me.

I was relieved to hear that. "Well, that's good to know." I told him.

"You should know the drill by now. Assume the position." Dr. Madison instructed me.

I held my arm out, and let him take my vitals and check my breathing.

When Dr. Madison was done he started writing on the papers he had. He frowned, then looked up at me. "Mostly everything looks good, all of your bones and lacerations have healed. There is only one problem, but I'm having trouble justifying it since you seem fine." He told me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, your heart rate is abnormally low for someone of your fitness level. Your heart rate is forty beats per minute, and normally only well trained athletes can achieve a heart rate that low. But, you seem perfectly fine to me and all the tests we've done on you. I am going to go ahead and release you." Dr. Madison informed me.

"That's both interesting and a relief." I replied.

"Just be sure that you call the hospital if you notice anything abnormal with your heart." Dr. Madison told me in a serious voice.

I nodded. "I will." I replied.

"Great! Here are your release papers, make sure you check out at the reception desk." Dr. Madison told me, and handed me papers. They had information on my leg fracture, as well as lacerations on my arms.