Blood Moon

Luke shot strait up panting and sweating from his sleep, He took in a long breath and closed his eyes, and looked at his surroundings. He was not in his room, nor the woods, but in a small red and yellow tent, were he was tucked into a large black sleeping bag. The inside of the tent was empty except for the pile of rags in the corner next to the entrance, but on further inspection it was his pajamas which were ripped into shreds.

What happened to me, where am I, what’s going on? Luke’s mind started to flood with questions he could not answer himself.

Luke looked over his body, to his surprise his right arm, chest, and head were bare, he started with his arm. Luke’s right arm was fully functional and painless; the only flaw was noticeable scar were his arm was bitten. His chest was clean, and perfect unlike his arm, and he could feel no scratch marks, or bumps on his forehead. How did he completely heal over in a single night, what did happen to him?

Luke crawled out of the bag and walked to the tent’s flap to peep outside, but as soon as he stood up the flap opened and a young girl about his age walked in.

“GAH!” Luke slipped on the sleeping bag and toppled over, he then rolled the bag over his naked body trying to give himself some protection.

“Oh, Sorry!” The girl flushed and spun around on her heels.

Luke laid on the floor looking up at her, She had dark red hair that came past her shoulders, she wore a lose fitting grey shirt with long, baggy, dark brown, cargo shorts with simple white sneakers.

“I, uh…brought you some clothes” She had a calm, sweet voice. She set down a pile of various clothing, and she walked out without a further word.

Luke wondered what was faster his heart beat, or his mind…One moment he is walking in the woods in the middle of the night, he remembered a horrible amount of pain, then he wakes up in a tent were a girl walks in on him nude. When does that EVER happen?

It was like reality had said “Luke Flowers…fuck you”

Luke sat alone for a minute before he pulled of the sleeping bag and swiftly reached for the clothes and hoped no one walked in on him again. Luke started to pick through them, and after a good look he found a navy blue button up shirt that had two breast pockets, and some loose, worn jeans. They did not fit his body exactly, but they will do. He looked at his pajamas wondering what could have happened to them, they looked like a pack of wolf cubs had a field day with them, for his All-stars, they were nowhere to be found, he really liked those All-stars.

Luke stood in the tent, staring down at the tents flap, wondering what could be outside, because he felt pretty good just staying in side of his hovel like shelter.  Luke finally made up his mind and decided to grow some balls. Luke pulled the flap aside and took a blinding glimpse at the wild green yonder.

“What the…” When reality said “Fuck you” It really meant it.

Outside of the tent, Luke saw he was in an unfamiliar part of the woods, the way the trees sat and there look was alien to him. What took him back the most was there were maybe seventeen different tents of all sorts of different shapes and sizes, Smoldering campfire pits that littered the ground like mini creators. Luke counted around thirty people who milled around, some noticing him and giving exotic looks. To the others he probably looks stupid just standing there with a blank expression staring at them.

Luke was looking from left to right, taking in his surrounding as best as he could, soon his eyes met a tall lengthy man who came striding over to him. He was as pale as a ghost, the man had scruffy black hair, with a short black goatee going under his noise around and under his lips, His eyes were had a deep hue of blue, he had a stubby nose with a rounded chin. The man wore thick patchy jeans matching his hair; he had a grimy dress shirt under a long tattered trench coat.

“Ah you must be the new pack member” He said in an enthusiastic tone, His voice sounded similar to Morgan Freeman.

Luke was silent for a minute, as he stood looking up and down at the man pack member…what is going on?!

“What?” Luke said flatly.

“You, are the new pack member, yes or no?” He raised one of his eyebrows.

“I, uh…what?!” Luke stuttered.

“Oh, so you don’t know what happened do’ya?”  The Strange man eyed him.

“N-No I don’t” Luke said quietly

“Boy, you have been given a very special gift” He said patting his shoulder.

Luke looked at the man’s hand “What are you talking about?” The man acted as if he heard not a word he said.

“Oh, my name is Felix, Felix Montgomery what’s yours?”  He smiled warmly at him.

“Luke, Luke F-Flowers, but what’s going on, were am I, how did I get here, what happened to me, wh…” Felix cut him off.

“Whoa, Whoa hold up, one at a time…here walk with me, I will explain are little situation once we have a little peace and quiet” He moved his hand onto Luke’s back and they started to walk past all the commotion that came from the strange camp and walked into the woods.

The pair walked some distance, before Felix looked over to Luke and started to answer his questions.

“So first question…Ah yes, you Luke are, or were in the Black-woods pack camp, we found you out cold from your transformation out maybe a mile east of here” He explained.

“Transformation, what are you talking about, I was just taking a walk in the woods!” Luke was taking deep breaths.

“Oh…you don’t know what happened…I see, son listen close, Luke flowers…you’re a werewolf” Felix face became serious.

It felt like the universe had just smack him in the back of his head with the reality textbook, at the same time, his mind just imploded, exploded, and then imploded.

Luke’s face gave enough explanation to Felix what he was going through, but to Felix surprise, Luke’s face relaxed and a small smirk started to spread across his face.

“Ha…Ha ha, I get it…You can come out now, I feel for it, you can stop now!” Luke turned around and shouted to no one.

“Boy, I don’t know if you hit your head, or something, but talking to the trees isn’t normal, son” Felix looked at him seriously.

“How did my dad put you up to this…Wow he’s good!”  Luke then started to realize something, how did his father, fix him up over the night and he did not notice at all, or how can he explain the excruciating pain from the night before?

The smirk slowly started to fade into a face of revelation.

“Oh…my…god” Luke stuttered.

“Trust me, it’s ok to be a bit shocked, actually you’re taking pretty well…” Felix made his way over to Luke.

Have you ever had a moment were there was something so ridicules that could never be real, even when it was happening right in front of you?  Multiply it by six…and a half.

“You need a minute?” Felix asked Luke.

“A minute? I need a fucking month…” Luke dropped to the forest floor.

“A werewolf…a werewolf…I’m a werewolf, great” Luke slurred to himself.

Luke spent a good long while muttering to himself like a man with insanity would in the asylum.

“What happened to your arm there” Felix said nodding to Luke’s arm with his head.

“Uh, what…oh that, I don’t know something bit me a few weeks back” Luke waved his right arm in the air.

“Yea, and what did this ‘thing’ do to you” Felix air quoted ‘thing’.

“Besides beating me half to death, nothing, it did nothing” Luke angrily mumbled to his lap.

“Listen, I know you just went through one hell of a wake-up call, but cut the attitude” Felix had the best poker face Luke has ever seen.

“S-sorry, it’s just…hard, it’s not every day you learn that you are a werewolf” Luke looked up to Felix who was resting on the side of a tree.

“Yea no shit, but you need to tell my anything and everything about the night the thing bit you, this is very important” Felix knelt down next to Luke.

Luke started of slow explain everything he remembered about the night he and his father went camping, to the noise he hear outside of his tent, then him waking up in the hospital a few days later with bandages over his chest and his arm in a sling.

Felix was silent for a minute before he stood up reaching a hand down and helping Luke to his feet.

“It was a werewolf no doubt, but who was it the question on hand” Felix droned of in his mind.

“So what happens now?” Luke followed Felix as he started to walk off rubbing his goatee.

“You will remain here; it’s much safer to stay away from others in the beginning of your maturing wolf sprit” Felix rubbed his beard.

“What about my parents, my family, I can’t just leave them without saying anything!” Luke protested.

“Yes you can, you’re doing right now” Felix said looking over his shoulder.

“But-But there my parents can’t I go and tell them what happened” Luke protested

“Oh what are going to say ‘Mom dad I’m a werewolf and I’m going to live in the middle of the woods with a group of strangers’ no, I will leave them a note saying you are perfectly safe” He said strictly.

“Then they would just call the cops saying I was kidnapped, or something!” He argued.

Felix gave a hard sigh “Fine, I will take you home…later, I need to think over a few things, and in the mean time you can meet the rest of the clan” Felix walked up to Luke, griped his arm and pulled him to his feet and they made their way back to the camp.

If it was because he was a werewolf, or he was just that good, Felix got the two of them from seemingly no were right into the camp in a very short period of time.

Once we walked into the camp, a hairy, buff man came walking up to them. He looked like a lumber jack; the man wore a red plat shirt with a big pair of jeans, with thick tan boots. He had large brown eyes, and had thick curly ginger hair with a thick, curly beard.

“Ah there’ya  are, I see you were talking with the new pack member” He had the sternest, deepest voice Luke as ever heard.

“Oh, Yes I was, Mark could you show him around…I need a few minutes, I need to think about something” Felix looked up to Mark.

“Sure thing, come on pup, lets meet the clan” Mark placed a meaty hand on his shoulder and pulled him deeper into the camp, and when Luke looked back to Felix He was gone.

“That’s creepy”

“Ah, you’ll get used to it, lad” Mark Smiled under his thick coarse beard. “He is the Alpha, he needs to be quick on a lot of things” He added.

+++(*)+++

As the two of them greeted the people of the camp Luke found three people who stood out the most.

An old man named Eli who wore old, fancy clothes with sliver white hair, Eli was around seventy years old and had an ageing voice that was filled with wisdom.  In the short time they talked Luke could feel the respect the man had just from the way he looked.

The next was a middle aged man named Justin, who was a fairly short man about five in a half feet tall who had a very light hearted, kind, and creative train of thought. He was also a perfectionist, so he was the guy who took on the repair jobs.

The last person was a young woman around twenty named Dina, she was a true Italian, and an amazing cook she could make almost anything taste good if you gave her the right stuff. She was a master and cooking the venison from the deer the others hunted.

“And that should be just about everyone” Mark put his hands on his hips. "But I didn't see Katie, last i saw her she was as red as a fresh cherry"

Luke came chugging up next to him, panting, for such a big man he is fast.

“So that's Her name...[Gasp]...I need to get out more” Luke sighed.

“Well lad, you’re going to be out and about a lot with us” He winked at him.

“What now?” Luke asked.

“Until Felix is ready, nothing, you had a long day though lad, go and have a lie down, it’ll help” He grunted.

“Yea that sounds good” Luke straitened his back.

“And on your way back lad, get something to eat; you look like a twig”

+++(*)+++

Luke was in his sleeping bag chewing on a strip of deer meat freshly made by Dina and was reflecting on the day’s events, it would help if he had is journal.

I’ll grab it when I go back home He thought.

So, I’m a werewolf He added.

Luke still had not a clue how to react to his situation, he could only compare it to being dropped on an island that can float in the air, with no reason how, or why, it’s just happening, you just deal with it, basically.

Luke rolled over in the bag and slowly drifted off to sleep.