Chapters 1. An Awkward Introduction
It all started when she appeared in the parking lot of my apartment building.
I was minding my own business as I walked to my car. I had been scheduled to work all week and I wasn't looking forward to it. It's not that I don't love my job. But you try working around drunks for eight hours every weekday. Imagine working for eight hours on a Monday with a hangover. Your sight is SNAFU'ed beyond belief, your head feels like someone just buried a claw hammer in your cerebellum, everything sounds 10x louder than usual so the worker who says "good morning" sounds like he's screaming it through a megaphone into your goddamned ear, and you can taste baseball stadium hot dogs at the back of your throat but you don't remember going to the Yankees game the day before. I think I might be going way too far into detail about this.
Anyway, I was walking to my car, a 2012 Mercedes-Benz, when I felt a sudden warmth from behind. I didn't think anything of it at first since it was the middle of June and the humidity was supposed to be at 90% that day. But it wasn't supposed to get to that point until after after 12:00 and it was only 10:00. I looked behind me and saw something that nearly made me barrel roll over the hood of my car.
It was a tiny glowing ball of light. Small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I stared at it for what felt like hours before deciding to approach it. As I got closer, however, it began to grow in size until it has the size of my fist, and then the size of my head. It soon grew until it was at the same height as my shoulders. Then there was a loud crack and a flash of light, and what appeared in it's place was...
A pony?
Yup! Definitely a pony. It had a dark blue coat and mane. Except it's mane appeared to contain stars and constellations and also appeared to be flowing in some sort of nonexistent breeze. A closer look revealed that it had some sort of marking on her flank, a crescent moon. It also had what appeared to be a unicorn's horn on it's head (okay how that managed to be the last thing I noticed is beyond me).
We stood there for several minutes. Staring at each other in shock and disbelief. Until it finally spoke.
"H_Hello?"
...
I suddenly heard someone screaming and realized it was me before taking off in the opposite direction fast enough to break the land speed record.
"WAIT! STOP!" I heard from behind me.
As I ran across the parking lot I felt something hit me in the back and send me face-first onto the asphalt, effectively knocking the wind out of me . As I laid sprawled out on the ground, it stood on my back to keep me pinned.
"Please stop running!" it pleaded. At least I could tell it was female.
"Okay I'll stop running now get off of me!" I managed to say somehow with the little bit of oxygen that could reach my lungs.
"My apologies. When you ran away I panicked. Are you injured?" she asked as I picked myself up off the ground.
"Only my pride, thank you." I replied with a hint of irritation in my voice as I dusted myself off. "What the hell are you?" I asked.
"My name is Princess Luna." she answered.
"How much did I fucking drink last night?" I muttered to myself. "Well how in the hell did you get here?" I asked
"I have no idea." she answered. " I was simply walking through the castle garden when I was suddenly engulfed by a blinding light. When I opened my eyes I found myself where I am now." she answered.
"Well...good luck with that." I turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Luna called out.
I turned around and looked at her. "Yes?"
"May I seek refuge with you?" she asked
I hesitated. BIG mistake because before I could answer, she shot me what was possibly the most pitiful look possible. It only took about three seconds for me to cave in.
I sighed before answering. "Fine, you can stay with me." I replied and Luna smiled. I'll admit, she has a pretty smile. "Follow me." I instructed and started walking back towards the complex with Luna following me. When we finally reached my apartment on the third floor I unlocked the door and opened it before inviting her in.
"Welcome. make yourself at home." I motioned for her to enter.
Luna entered and I closed the door behind her. She shifted a little bit before speaking.
"Excuse me, may I use your facilities?" she asked.
"Sure, of course. The bathroom is down the hall to the right." I told her, pointing in the direction of the bathroom. Luna thanked me before trotting off to the bathroom. I walked over to the dark blue couch (What? I like blue.) and prayed that toilets worked the same way in her world. A few minuted later, she came back out and trotted over to me.
"Pardon me human, but I believe I have yet to learn your name." she said.
"Oh, it's Miles." I told her.
"Well I must say I greatly appreciate you're generosity in allowing me to seek refuge within your home."Luna thanked me. smiling.
"Like I said, it's not a prob--"then I noticed something that I couldn't believe I hadn't seen before.
She had wings.
"Uh Princess?"
"Yes Miles?" she answered.
"Why do you have wings Actually since when do unicorns have wings at all?" I asked.
"Actually I'm an alicorn." she corrected.
"A what?" what the hell was she talking about?.
"In my world, an alicorn is an extremely rare immortal species of pony. It is a combination of the earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn species. Usually the only alicorns are of noble blood. But there if a pony is deemed worthy, than they too can be turned into an alicorn." the dark blue mare explained.
"Deemed worthy by who?" I asked.
"My sister and I." Luna answered.
"You have a sister?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes, Celestia, the Princess of the Sun. She her job is to raise the sun while mine is to raise the moon." she explained.
"Alright, go on."
"The only case, however, where a pony not of noble blood has been deemed worthy of becoming royalty was my sister's student, Twilight Sparkle". Luna explained further.
I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous these names sounded but if Luna could do the things that she said she could, then the last thing I wanted to do was piss her off.
After she finished explaining, it occurred to me that people wouldn't react well to seeing a talking pony walking up and down the streets of Long Island. And I couldn't just have her cooped up in the apartment until she found a way to get home. If she ever did.
Hey Princess Luna? Since you're probably going to be here for a while you're going to need to be able to blend into society. Can't you preform a shape shifting spell or something?" I asked.
"Actually yes. One second." she backed up a few steps and closed her eyes. Her horn started to glow with a dark blue aura. There was a flash of light and standing in front of me was a tall, beautiful woman with deep cerulean eyes and long jet black hair. Perfect.
Except for one thing:
She was completely naked.
I'm pretty sure I looked like a cartoon character with my eyes bugging out of my head and blood about to start spurting out of my nose.
"Umm...Princess?" my voice cracked.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked.
"Y-you're going to need c-clothes." I stuttered.
"Oh, of course, my apologies."
There was another flash of light and she was completely clothed in a dark blue evening gown.
"A little more casual." I told her.
"This isn't casual?" Luna asked me.
"Not around here. Just--" I grabbed a catalog from Kohl's and flipped through it until I found a picture of a woman wearing a simple yellow tank top and blue jeans with white tennis shoes."--try something like this." I showed her the picture and there was yet another flash of light and she was wearing the same thing as the woman in the picture.
I sighed.
"We've got a lot of work to do."
After the little clothing fiasco, I decided it would be best to find something for Luna and I to do to pass the time.
"You wanna watch TV?" I asked her as she sat down next to me.
"What?" she looked at me as if I had just asked her if she knew what cold fusion is.
"You know, TV." I repeated, pointing towards the 52-inch flatscreen mounted on the wall opposite to the sofa.
"I'm sorry but I don't understand. We do not have such a strange device in Equestria." she explained.
Now I would tell you exactly what I said to explain how a TV and the remote works to Luna but considering the fact that it actually took about twenty minutes to explain everything enough for it to make sense, I would rather not. So I'll just skip to the part where I actually turned on the TV. As soon as I hit the power button and the TV turned on, Luna jumped behind the couch like she was in a Rambo movie. Can you blame me for laughing.
"It's alright, just sit down, i'll put on a movie." I chuckled "Wait...do you have movies in Equestria?"
"Yes but only on film reels." she answered as she sat back down on the couch.
I decided to have a little fun with her and ordered a movie from Netflix. I put on the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie (Yes I know, I'm a dick).
Youtube Video
As the movie started I felt Luna grab my forearm. I looked over and she was staring at the TV with curiosity and wonder. When it got to the first death scene, Luna yelped and tightened her grip, digging her nails into my arm. The situation didn't change throughout the movie. Every time the movie got scary, she would yelp and dig her nails into my forearm.
When the movie ended I turned off the TV and turned my head to face Luna.
"Uh you can let go now." I told her and she let go of my arm as her face turned slightly red.
"So what did you think?" I asked her.
She turned to face me before giving me a bemused look.
"Well I didn't appreciate the attempt to scare me--"
"The successful attempt." I added. She used her magic to launch a throw pillow at my face. Can't say that I didn't deserve it.
"Yes well...I'll admit the film was exceptional..." her expression turned serious" But the next time that you try to scare me I will not hesitate to teleport you to the moon." she warned.
"Okay I'm sorry." I chuckled.
I started to trying to think about something else we could do when it occurred to me...
"Oh shit!"
"What, what's wrong?" Luna asked, alarmed.
"I just realized that I never called my boss to tell him I wouldn't be at work today. Hang on a sec." I grabbed the phone next to the couch and called the bar. Luckily I had my boss's number on sped dial. Stan was a pretty cool guy and I knew he wouldn't press too deep to find out what was going on.
The phone rang twice and he picked up.
"Hello?" a raspy voice said from the other end of the call.
"Hey Stan, it's Miles."
"Miles...where the hell are you?" He asked. He sounded pissed.
"I'm sorry boss, something came up last second and--"
"Jesus Miles, calm down I'm not mad. Just call next time you can't make it to work." he interrupted.
"Really?"
"Really!" he reassured.
"Thanks boss." I said, hoping he wouldn't ask any questions.
"No problem. So what happened?"
GODDAMN IT ALL!
"Sorry boss, I really can't say. I'll explain at work tomorrow." Wow I really pulled that one out of my ass (that's what she said).
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
I hung up the phone and turned around to find Luna only millimeters away from my face.
"YEEAARGH!!" I screamed for obvious reasons.
"What is that device?" she asked.
"Well first of all, I appreciate the heart attack." I said with an annoyed tone. "Second of all, you mean you don't have telephones in Equestra?"
"EquesTREE-a." Luna corrected. "And no we don't."
"Well basically, here's how it works." I started. " You dial the phone number of the person you want to talk to and if they pick up their phone when it rings, then you'll be able to talk to them. When your'e done talking to them, you just hit the end call button and put the phone back on the reciever." I explained.
"Hmmmm...interesting." Luna responded.
A few seconds later I could hear both of our stomachs growling and I realzed that neither of us had eaten lunch.
"C'mon I'll make us something to eat." I invited her into the kitchen/dining room.
"What do humans eat normally?" Luna asked.
"We're omnivores so we can eat just about anything. Within reason of course." I answered.
Luna suddenly froze in her tracks.
"Wait...so do humans normally eat...meat?" she asked.
"Um yes, why?" I asked nervously.
Luna suddenly started turning green and ran towards the bathroom. A few moments later I could hear loud retching sounds coming from inside the bathroom. A few minutes later the retching sounds stopped.
"There's mouthwash next to the sink to get the taste out of your mouth. It's the bottle labeled 'Listerine' but don't swallow it. Just spit it back out into the sink." I hollered."And if it makes you feel any better, humans don't eat horses."
Luna staggered back into the dining room. I pulled out a chair so that she could sit down.
"So what animals DO humans eat?" she asked.
"Mainly cows, pigs, and chickens." I answered her."How about a salad?" I asked, not wanting to delve any deeper into the subject. She nodded.
After lunch we both sat back down on the couch and watched a few more movies. Around 5:00 for dinner we had, surprise surprise, more freaking salad. Then it was back to vegetating on the couch for about another six hours with me thanking God that Netflix doesn't charge per movie. Around 11:00 I decided it would be best for us both to turn in. Since Luna was my guest I let her take my bed while I slept on the couch.
I plopped down onto the couch and fell asleep almost instantly, dreaming of the mysterious new woman in my life.
I awoke of my own accord around 8:00. About two hours before I needed to be at work. As I sat up on the couch I could hear the shower running so I decided to make breakfast before Luna was finished in the bathroom. I decided to make eggs since that was most likely the closest thing I would probably get to eating meat while Luna was still here.. By the time that the eggs were done the shower had stopped running and Luna walked into the dining room/kitchen dressed in a white blouse with a black skirt and heels. Probably something out of the Sears catalogue I left lying in my room.
"Mornin', I hope to God ponies eat eggs." I greeted her.
"Good morning Miles. And for future reference, ponies do eat eggs." Luna replied smiling. I made us both a plate and we sat down to eat.
"So what are we doing today?" Luna asked as we ate.
"Well, I have to go to work in about an hour and a half and you should probably go with me." I answered with a mouthful of eggs.
"Sounds like fun." Luna said, it sounded a little forced but I appreciated the lack of complaining.
About an hour and a half later, Luna and I headed out to my car, a dark blue Mercedes-Benz (what can I say, I'm car poor and I like blue). After helping Luna figure out how the seat belt works, we were off.
A couple minutes down the road I decided to turn on the radio. Which of course confused the hell out of Luna.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing towards the radio.
"It's a radio. You just turn this knob right here and it tunes in to a different station." I answered.
"How many stations are there?" Luna asked.
"Too many to count. You can only get certain stations in certain regions. But I'm guessing that there are at least a few thousand just in this country." I replied.
I nodded and her mouth hung agape for a few seconds. She then turned her head to face the window before looking back at me.
"So this is the type of music humans listen to?" she asked.
For the first time since I turned it on I actually listened to the song on the radio, which happened to be some stupid Miley Cyrus twerking bullshit.
"Thank God not all of us. This is more or less...what's the word I'm looking for..."
"Caterwauling?" Luna suggested.
"Yeah that's it." I chuckled. "Let's try something else shall we?" I turned off the radio and started looking through my CD's until I found what I was looking for.
"Who's Black Sabbath?" Luna asked, looking at he CD in my hand.
"Just an old band from about forty years ago." I answered her. The CD I held I my hand was their first album: Black Sabbath.
"Are they any good?" she asked. It occurred to me that they probably don't have heavy metal where she's from.
"I think so. Let's give it a try." I inserted the disc and pushed PLAY. A few seconds later...
Youtube Video
At that point, Luna turned completely white as if she had seen a ghost. I couldn't help but laugh by that point. She turned towards me and spoke.
"So this is the music you like to listen to...interesting."
As we reached our destination at the end of my hour-long commute, I turned off the radio and we stepped out of the car. I noticed that Luna was staring at the sign above the door. I felt the instinct to face-palm at the irony. The sign read "The Full Moon" in big white fancy lettering.
"I should have mentioned the name." I muttered to myself. "C'mon!" I motioned for Luna to follow me.
We walked through the double doors and were met by a blast of cool air. I've always said that if there's one thing in life I'm grateful for, it's the luxury of an air-conditioner in the middle of the summer. Since the Full Moon is one of the more high-end bars in Queens, the only people that were in there were a few office workers on their lunch break. As soon as Luna walked in behind me, all eyes were immediately on her. One guy sitting at a table with who I assume was a girlfriend nearly choked to death on his bruschetta when he saw her.
"Miles, why is everyone staring at me?" Luna asked, blushing slightly'
"Don't mind them, just follow me." I reassured her. We made our way behind the bar and into the back where we ran into my boss, Stan.
"Mornin' boss, sorry about yesterday." I apologized.
Stan was a man in his early sixties with short gray hair that he kept combed back to look professional. Along with the white dress shirt and black pants he always wore. He had a slight build to him which didn't surprise me on account of the fact that he was drafted into the army when he was nineteen and shipped off to Vietnam. Regardless, Stan was probably the best boss I had ever worked for. All he expected was for me to show up for work and do my job. And if you weren't going to show up that day, all you had to do was call ahead of time and he wouldn't press further into the matter.
"Miles, I--" he noticed Luna standing behind me and smiled. "So Miles...aren't you going to introduce your lady friend?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Stan this is Luna my err...roommate. Luna this is my boss Stanley Meade." I introduced them both while simultaneously praying to God in my mind to end the awkwardness quickly.
"Well it's very nice to meet you Mr. Meade." Luna smiled, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Please, call me Stan." He replied as he reciprocated the gesture."Would you excuse Miles and I for a second?" he asked. Luna looked at me and I nodded and she walked back out o the bar. Once she was out of earshot, he turned to me. "She the reason you called out yesterday?" he asked, grinning.
"Stan I can explain--"
"Don't bother, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. Hell, if I was thirty years younger..." Stan chuckled.
"Wait, what?"
"I'm just gonna ask that you keep it in your pants while you're working. I'd rather no one find you two fucking in the bathroom."
I could feel my face turning blood-red with embarrassment and Stan laughed before slapping me on the back and going about his business. I walked back out to the bar to find Luna talking to my friend and co-worker, Viktor.
"Vic how the hell are ya?" I greeted how usually do.
"It's good to see you my friend." he replied. Over the last two years I've worked at the Full Moon it sure has gotten a hell of a lot easier to understand his accent. "I was just talking to your lady friend here." he turned to Luna "Luna right?" he asked. Luna responded with a nod.
Now I should probably explain something. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that Vic is a dead ringer for the Russian guy from Rocky IV. The guy's built halfway between a brick shithouse and Mt. Vesuvius. When I first met him, I was fucking terrified. But I ended up having a few drinks with him and finding out that he's really more of a gentle giant than he looks. Turns out his great-grandfather helped take over the Reichstag during the siege of Berlin in World War II. His grandfather was KGB and worked for Brezhnev in the sixties. And his father worked as an adviser to Gorbachev for a short time when he first came about in '85 but resigned about a year later. Apparently, when his old man found out his mother was pregnant, he started worrying about raising Vic in Russia. Especially while the Cold War was getting dangerously close to erupting into nuclear war during the late eighties. Their breaking point was the invasion of Afghanistan, and they moved to New York two months later where he was born seven months later. He told me that whenever he asked his dad why they moved after his dad would say that he didn't want him to have to grow up afraid that World War III was going to start tomorrow.Anyway,after that Viktor and I became pretty good friends. Even with me cracking Rocky IV jokes every now and then. Hell, we made a pact that if he ever had to throw someone out of there, I would give him fifty dollars if he said "I must break you." But now I'm getting the feeling that I'm rambling like crazy. Let's move on.
After talking to Vic, I clocked in and took my position at the bar. I looked at my watch to see that it was only 11:00, So I still had a few more hours to go before business would start to pick up. I spent most of that time talking to Luna and showing her how to mix different drinks. At one point I had her try a Bloody Mary but I made it really hot without her knowing. But when she took a sip of it, what happened? Absolutely nothing. So I took a sip. The end result being that I might as well have ingested battery acid. After a short coughing fit I asked Luna how she could possibly stand something with that much heat. Turns out she'd accumulated quite the tolerance for hotness.
Sometime around 4:00 the bar started getting busier. Luna hung back at the far end of the bar counter, drinking the occasional martini. Usually spacing them apart with a glass of water, wanting to keep her head clear. Most of the time she would just pretend not to notice when guys were staring at her, and then laughing when some of them got grilled for being so obvious about it in front of their girlfriends. Which I have to admit was pretty hilarious. I turned around to check if we were running low on Captain Morgan. When I turned around, I nearly burst an artery.
Motherfucker!
Luna was still sitting near the far end of the bar. Which would have been fine with me if it weren't for the asshole sitting next to her, most likely trying to hit on her. I approached them both.
"Frank!"
The guy turned to face me.
"Miles. How's it hangin'?" he greeted with a shit-eating grin. I always hated it when he talked to me like one of his stupid deadbeat friends. Fucking hated it!
Frank was a twenty-year-old poor excuse for a man. He always wore this damn suit, as if he actually worked a day in his miserable life, and had long hair usually tied back giving him a Jesse Ventura look. Only I never wanted to clock Jesse Ventura with a bottle of Guinness Drought. I could deal with all of that other BS if it wasn't for his arrogance. Why? Because his dad was a cardiologist or some shit so he never had to work. He just lived off of his trust funds. He would act all high and mighty when really, he wasn't worth shit. He was nothing but a spoiled rich kid. Almost every night for the last eight months he would come in and start harassing female customers and employees alike. Stan has had five female workers quit because of him. Including my last girlfriend, Ashley.
"I thought I told you to fuck off!" I growled leaning onto the bar.
"I thought I told you I don't give a shit." he replied.
"I would appreciate it if you left Luna alone." I scowled. Why the hell did I give him her name?
"Oh, so you two know each other?" he asked, looking at Luna, then back at me.
"Get the fuck out!" I snarled, leaning closer.
"Now is that anyway to talk to a paying customer?" he grinned. That fucking grin! He put a five-dollar-billl on the bar. "Now how about you go and get me a shot of whiskey." he said once again with that shit-eating grin. I turned to Luna and she gave me a weak smile, basically telling me that she'd be alright.
I walked away to grab a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. I couldn't wait for Vic to get back from his break. When I turned around, he was trying to get his hand up Luna's skirt. I felt my blood pressure skyrocket and my vision blur and cloud with red as I approached them with a bottle of Crown Royal, fully prepared to stuff it down Frank's throat. But as I got close with the bottle in hand, a loud crack cut though the cloud of red. When I came to my senses, Frank was clutching his face with blood pouring out of his shattered nose. Luna looked pissed.
"You bitch, you broke my nose!" he screamed. As he started to approach Luna, a large hand tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around I couldn't help but smile. It was Vic.
"I must break you." he said. Fifty bucks well spent. He grabbed Frank and lifted him so that he was carrying him like a battering ram. He carried him outside and threw him about ten feet onto the curb. Stan, having seen everything, walked over to the battered little shit.
"If I ever see you in my bar again you little pissant, I'll have my big Russian friend over there rip your ears off. Got it?" he warned before turning to face Luna, Viktor and I. "Miles, why don't you take a few weeks off? Think of it as my apology for you having to deal with this mess. Besides, you should probably get Luna home anyway." he told me.
On the car ride home, I could tell Luna was upset. All she did was keep staring out the window.
"I can't believe you broke his nose." I chuckled and she gave me that beautiful smile. "You might be a badass." I joked and she laughed.
All I know is that I jst wanted to make her smile again and again.
After the Frank incident neither of us really talked about it and I could tell that she didn't want to. So we both agreed to leave it alone. What kept bothering me was why I got so angry. Sure I hate Frank but I'm not so violent that I would seriously contemplate trying to beat the hell out of someone. Had Luna not punched him, I probably would've ended up in jail for assault. I didn't know why I got so protective over Luna. Hell I had just met the woman. I decided it would be best for me to not think about it to much.
One day, about a week later, I decided it would be fun to take Luna to the comic book shop a couple miles from my apartment building. I'd usually drop by every couple of weeks to pick up a new graphic novel and browse through their collection of old record albums. My old college roommate, Joe, owned the place. Besides, Luna and I had been cooped up in the apartment for the last week and it wouldn't of killed either of us to get some fresh air.
The next day, I woke Luna up at 10:00 and we headed over to the comic book store about an hour later. The sign above the door read "Nerdvana" (I'm not even kidding). When Luna and I walked through the front door, it only took about half a second for everyone to start staring at her. Causing Luna to start blushing madly. I would have laughed, but after the episode at the bar I didn't even want to think about what she would do to me if I pissed her off.
"Hey Miles" I heard Joe's voice call out from the far end of the store.
I led Luna over to he counter where Joe was standing at the register. Joe and I had first met each other back when we first started at the Kubert School in New Jersey (a school that teaches graphic design and cartooning). We were both trying to make a career for ourselves drawing comic books. After college, neither of us had any luck in that department. After that, Joe opened his shop and I got my job at the Full Moon. We both still managed to earn some money by submitting some of out designs into a few competitions.
"Hey Joe. How's it going' man?" I asked.
"Nothing much I--whoa." he stopped mid-sentence when he saw Luna standing behind me.
"Oh, Luna this my friend Joe, Joe this is Luna, my roommate." I introduced them both to each other. They both shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before Luna spoke up.
"Pardon me but I was wondering if I may use the facilities?" she asked.
"Sure, it's in the back by the rare items." Joe pointed towards the back room of the store. After she left, Joe turned to me.
"Dude!"
God!
"How do...how did...what the hell?"
"What?"
"How the hell did you manage to meet HER?"
"So what? She's kind of pretty."
"Kind of? She puts Sara Jean Underwood to shame."
"Well..."
Aw fuck it! Might as well enjoy the envy while it lasts.
"She does doesn't she."
I could feel a smug grin stretch across my face. But it disappeared with the next question.
"So how many times have you two--"
"Don't even finish that sentence Joe." I interrupted. "There's nothing between us. She's only staying with me for a little while."
"Yeah, sure there isn't." Joe said sarcastically. I wanted to reply but just then, Luna came back from the bathroom. I picked up a couple of random Batman graphic novels and paid for them before leaving quickly. As I left Joe winked at me and I flipped him the bird. On the car ride home, Luna started giggling.
"What's so funny?" I asked her.
"The look on those poor peoples faces when they first saw me. I haven't seen anyone look that terrified around me since I first returned after my thousand-year banishment." she answered.
" A thousand years?" I asked.
"Long story."
"I've got time."
She flashed me that beautiful smile again.
"Okay then. Maybe I should start from the beginning."
Two weeks passed and I started to realize how close Luna and I were becoming. I had to admit that I really enjoyed her company. I enjoyed hearing stories about her home, her friends and family. I enjoyed how everywhere we went people would stare at her as if in awe, and then she would start blushing madly. I had only known her for about a month but she'd become possibly the closest friend I've ever had.
One day I got a call from Viktor saying that he wanted to meet up for drinks at a bar about fifteen minutes from my apartment. When I told Luna, she insisted that I go.
"Luna--" I protested.
"Don't even attempt to get out of this." she said as she pushed me out the door and into the hallway. "You've been worrying yourself to death over me for the past month. You need to do something besides foalsit me every day." Her serious expression turned into a smile. "Have a nice time." she said before closing the door. I sighed before beginning my descent down the stairwell.
Normally I wouldn't hesitate to go have drinks with a friend. But for some reason I'd had this feeling all day, like something bad was going to happen. I had that feeling the entire twenty minute drive to the bar. Viktor met me in the parking lot and we headed inside.
A couple of drinks later, Vic and I were laughing it up. I wasn't doing much drinking since I was never a fan of getting piss-ass drunk. Vic however, had drank 5 shots of vodka and was still sober somehow. At one point that feeling struck me again, worse than ever.
Something's wrong!
Something's wrong!
Something's wrong!
"I've gotta go!"
Vic looked at me with confusion. What are you talking about?"
"Something's wrong with Luna. I can feel it. I gotta get home."
I raced out of the bar and was speeding down the road a few minutes later. I felt like I was having a panic attack. It didn't take long for me to reach the complex. But when I did, I saw something that confirmed my worst nightmare.
Frank's car.
Nonononononono!
I took the stairs two at a time. When I reached my front door I could see the door was ajar. I entered and could hear muffled screaming coming from the bedroom. When I entered the bedroom, Frank had one hand over Luna's mouth while the other was fumbling with the zipper to his pants.
My vision went red.
I grabbed the baseball bat I kept behind the door.
I raised it above my head, and swung downwards.
THWACK!
The bat made contact with his head.
THWACK!
THWACK!
THWACK!
With each blow I could hear bones cracking inside of Frank's body. When my vision finally cleared, Frank was a bloody broken mess. Luna was still on the bed, crying. I dropped the bat and hugged her as tight as I could.
About five minutes later the cops arrived and handcuffed me (lucky me) and threw me in the back of a squad car. While they were asking Luna a shitload of questions, I had some time to think. First, I thought about how much they really needed to hose down the back seat because it smelled like vomit and cognac. Then I started thinking about what had just happened. What if I had gotten there a few minutes later? That bastard would've probably already had his way with Luna and I wouldn't have been able to stop it.
"You alright son?"
I looked up to see that a police officer had been sitting in the drivers seat, looking back at me through the rear view mirror. He had black hair that was turning the slightest bit of gray, and a mustache that made him look a little bit like Nicholas Cage.
"I'm fine." I mumbled.
"Look kid, if your pissed about being handcuffed may I remind you that you're the one covered in blood, and I'm willing to bet that it doesn't belong to you."
I looked down to see that I had failed to notice the droplets of blood that had stained my jacket, shirt, and jeans, as well as the drops that covered the back of my hands.
"Oh God!" I leaned forward as a sudden wave of nausea hit me. It occurred to me how close I had come to killing another human being.
"I'd rather you didn't throw up back there."
"I had no choice." I said after regaining my composure. "He was gonna rape her. What was I supposed to do? Just watch?"
The cop blinked at me in the rear view mirror.
"Look son, I can't say that I blame you for what you did. A man will go to great lengths to protect what he loves."
Love
"I don't love her. She's just a friend who needed some help." I replied.
He chuckled.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that son. But just remember, I've got an eye for that sort of thing.
After Luna told them what had happened and they let me go, an ambulance arrived and carted Frank off to Bellevue. I would later learn that I had broken six of his ribs, his femur, his tibia, his humerus, and his clavicle, as well as cracked his C4 vertebral disc, gave him a severe concussion, and cracked his skull open. "But he would live" they told me. I honestly was a little relieved,. Frank was a goddamn monster and he needed to go away. But I wasn't going to be the one finish him off. I always told myself that I would never take another human being's life.
That night, I slept in my own bed for the first time in month. I planned to sleep on the couch as usual, but Luna insisted that I slept with her. As I closed my eyes, I felt Luna's arms wrap around my midsection.
"I'll always be there for you Luna." I whispered as sleep finally took me.
