Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel (4 page)

I came up to our yard and stopped in front of
the house, surprised that I was not winded. Our house, a large,
white two story colonial, looked quiet and empty. My parents must
have stopped to visit a neighbor.

I decided to lounge on the front porch and
enjoy the weather; the swing creaked under my weight as I sat down.
I watched the wind blow through the trees, noticing that the colors
and textures seemed more vivid than I remembered. I was twenty feet
from the nearest tree, and yet I could make out the veins on the
maple leaves.
I must be losing my mind
. I closed my eyes afraid of what else I would
notice.

A few minutes later, the sound of horses
coming down our lane had me opening my eyes. My parents and sisters
had arrived in our horse and buggy. “Whoa,” my father said,
stopping the horses in front of the house. Mary and Rose jumped
out, disappearing into the backyard, their squeals of laughter
following them.

“Nathaniel, did you get a ride home with
someone?” my mother asked as she stepped out of the buggy, her
yellow dress ballooned around her.

“No Mother, I ran home. I started walking,
but something in the woods spooked me, so I ran the rest of the
way.”

“I could see how the woods might frighten you
after what you’ve been through-- wait. Did you just say you ran
home?” she asked me, looking very confused as she climbed the few
steps up to the porch, taking the seat beside me.

“Yes, why?” I was puzzled by the shock on her
face.

She exchanged a worried glance with my father
who was stepping up onto the porch.

“Nathaniel, how is that possible? We left
right after you did. Are you suggesting you ran faster than the
horses?” he asked with concern, shoving his hands into the pockets
of his good Sunday trousers.

I could see that they didn’t believe me. I
had to admit it was strange. I knew I was running fast, but there
was no way I could outrun a horse.

“Of course not, I took the shortcut,” I lied,
suddenly feeling a sense of dread.

They smiled and nodded as if my explanation
made perfect sense, although we all knew that there was no
shortcut. Even so, they accepted my fib because it was easier than
dealing with the fact that I was lying, or there was something very
wrong with me.

A few days later, I was outside repairing a
hole in the fence. It was a workday so my father was at the general
store, the business we owned in town.

During the week it was my responsibility to
take care of the farm. I had finished school two years before.
Instead of going to College, I stayed at home to help my father.
This saved him money so he didn’t have to hire anyone. He was
putting my earnings away for me to go to school in the fall.

“Mary no!” I heard my middle sister Rose yell
just as I lifted the hammer, about to pound a nail into the wooden
post. I froze; the forgotten nail tumbled to the ground,
disappearing in the long grass. When I looked up, I saw my six year
old sister climbing up the ladder that I had left out. She was just
stepping off the last rung preparing to climb on top of the barn
roof. As Rose yelled, Mary looked down at her, and lost her
footing. She was going to fall.

I dropped the hammer, and rushed over just as
she fell, catching her just in time. Umph! Air whooshed out of me
as her weight dropped onto my arms.

“Am I dead?” she asked, squeezing her eyes
tightly closed. Her tiny fingers gripped my work shirt.

I laughed.
Thank the lord, she was okay.
I hugged her close, extremely
relieved. She smelled of plum pudding and garden soil. “No, you are
not dead, but you should know better then to climb up onto the
roof.”

“Nathaniel!” Rose yelled with a trace of
panic in her voice.

I turned around to see her rushing toward me,
shock clouding her face. Her long wheat colored hair hung in
braids. Her bonnet was falling down off her head onto her shoulders
as she rushed toward us.

“Yes?” I asked, setting Mary down on her
feet, who stared up at Rose waiting for her answer.

“How did you get to her so fast?” She glanced
anxiously from Mary to me, a look of complete bafflement covering
her face. I understood why she was concerned. I didn’t even realize
until then that I had run thirty feet in a few seconds. “Uh…I was
working on the barn door when I heard you yell at her,” I lied,
something that was becoming a habit for me. She accepted my
falsehood, just as my parents had last week, only because not to,
was too strange to comprehend.

Mary giggled, pulling Rose away toward the
garden where she had been playing earlier in the day.

I was glad to see them go. I knew something
was wrong with me, but I wanted to keep it to myself as long as
possible.

The unexplainable behavior did not go away.
Over the next couple of weeks I noticed I had acquired some very
bizarre abilities.

One day, as I was repairing the barn roof, I
lost my balance, and fell to the ground, landing on my feet.
Thankfully no one was around to see. It was getting harder to hide
my new found skills. The dishonesty to my family was beginning to
weigh on me.

I could hear animals rustling in the woods,
miles away. I could also smell them approach, even identify the
species by their scent.

The most disturbing change was my bizarre new
cravings. The food my mother prepared was not satisfying me. I
finally realized what the problem was. She was cooking the meat,
and I craved it raw. One day the craving was so strong I found
myself about to gobble down the uncooked beef my mother had left in
the ice box. I stopped myself just in time. I didn't understand why
all of this was happening to me, and more than ever, I just wanted
to go back to the life I had weeks ago.

Almost a month had passed since Lucy’s death
and I was starting to forget important details about her, the exact
color of her hair, or the sound of her laughter. I hated myself for
this. Since I was to blame for her death, I should remember every
detail about her. Although I was losing memories of her alive, I
couldn't forget her death. I remembered in vivid detail the night
she died. Her lifeless face was seared in my brain. It was there
every night before I went to sleep, and every morning when I
woke.

One Saturday, I was working for my father at
the store. He had gone to Macon City for supplies.

There were a few customers wandering through
the aisles browsing. I was stacking boxes of food on a shelf when I
sensed someone standing at the end of the aisle watching me. This
was another new ability I seemed to be blessed with.

“Hi Nathaniel, how are you doing?” I turned
my head to see Eva, Lucy’s best friend standing beside me.

“I’m doing okay Eva. How are you?” I stepped
down from the ladder I was using.

She took a deep breath to suppress her tears.
“I really miss her, but it’s getting easier with time.”

I nodded in agreement. I understood what she
meant. I just did not want it to get easier for me.

“A few friends are getting together tonight
for a bonfire near the beach. Henry told me to ask you to come. He
would have done it himself, but he’s stuck at the lumber yard.”

The idea of an evening with friends, sitting
around a fire doing nothing but laughing, and joking sounded ideal,
if not strange. It felt like an eternity ago that I had done
anything like it. For the last few weeks, my mind has focused on
death and worries about my new condition. Was I even capable of
still having fun? “Sure Eva, I’ll be there. I’ll meet everyone at
the beach after supper.”

She smiled. “Good, you need some fun in your
life. You have to stop punishing yourself for what happened.”

I gave her a puzzled look.

“My mother and your mother are friends
remember?”

“That’s right, but that is something I do not
wish to discuss.” I glanced over at the register and saw Mrs.
Grayson waiting impatiently.

“Sorry Eva, I have to go. I’ll see you
tonight.”

She said goodbye and left the store without
purchasing anything.

I hurried to the front counter. “Sorry for
the wait Mrs. Grayson,” I said, ringing up her items. She scowled
at me, and except for a few exasperated sighs, made no reply. Mrs.
Grayson wasn’t known for her charming personality. The navy blue
dress she wore was practical and severe, and her hair as always,
was pulled tightly in a bun. She never smiled; her face always
seemed hard and cold. Not an easy woman to talk to.

I handed the packages to her and after she
paid, she left the store without speaking a single word.

The bell over the door signaled a new
customer. I glanced up from the counter I was wiping and stared at
the woman I saw at Lucy’s funeral a month ago.

She was older then my eighteen years, maybe
twenty or so. She carried herself well, with long curly red hair
that was swooped up loosely and hidden under a large white hat. Her
grey eyes pierced through me as she stared, not once looking away.
She was wearing a long pink lace gown and carrying a closed parasol
in her hand.

She approached me slowly, stopping on the
other side of the counter. I could smell an odd scent coming from
her. It wafted powerfully through my nostrils and all the hairs on
my body stood on end. There was something about her that brought
the chill I felt at the funeral back. The sudden urge to run was
overwhelming.

“Nathaniel Riley?” she asked in an accent I
wasn’t familiar with.

“Yes,” I replied, uneasiness began to spread
through me.

“My name is Charlotte Burns. I am staying at
the boarding house. I’ve been here visiting some friends and I'm
leaving tomorrow. I thought I would come and introduce myself to
you.” Her smile was all teeth, predatory, was what came to mind

There was something about this beautiful
woman that I did not trust. I just didn’t understand why I felt
this way. “Why would you introduce yourself to me?”

“Well, you and I have a special bond after
all,” she said, placing her parasol on the counter.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.”

“I did create you after all. So we are bonded
forever.”

A sudden dread thudded in the pit of my
stomach. Even though I didn’t know what she meant, a part of me,
deep inside, was afraid to ask the next question. “What do you
mean?” I whispered.

Charlotte glanced around the store and seeing
that it was empty, sauntered over to the door, turning the open
sign to closed.

She walked back, and once again stood in
front of me, placing her gloved hands on the wooden counter. “You
are a very handsome young man. I could not have chosen better even
if I had planned it. You see, it was a mistake.” There was a cool
glint in her eye, along with a coy grin. She was playing with me, I
just couldn't comprehend why.

“What was a mistake?” I asked
reluctantly.

“Creating you of course,” she said with a
soft chuckle. She looked around the store and wandered over to a
shelf where our figurines were laid out. She picked up a carved
wooden wolf glancing carelessly at it before setting it back onto
the shelf. “So tell me, are you feeling different lately? Any new
abilities you can’t explain?”

Since I had not told anyone what was
happening to me, --not even my family-- I was suddenly very wary of
the conversation and didn’t want to continue. I chose not to answer
her afraid of what she would say.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said with a
smirk. “Don’t you want me to tell you how I know about your
changes?” She continued to wander around the store picking items up
and glancing at them, then returning them to their proper place. “I
am sorry about your girlfriend though. I was so hungry, and humans
are such easy prey.” She turned around to face me grinning
widely.

“Wh… What did you just say?” I asked
terrified now, looking around for a weapon.

“I said I’m sorry about your girl. I will say
one thing about her, she tasted so good.” She stalked slowly toward
me again, her movements almost animalistic. “Although not as good
as you, and all I had was one little bite before you ran off,” she
pouted.

As I stared at her, frozen with fear, she
gazed into my eyes. Her piercing grey ones held mine, and I watched
as they turned color, from grey, to yellow. The eyes of a wolf.

I was startled, falling back into the shelf
behind me; boxes fell to the floor with a clatter. I ran to the
door, but she got there first, blocking my path. “Don’t worry I’m
not going to hurt you.” Her voice was sticky sweet. “I just came to
explain those changes you have been going through, and the big one
that will happen tonight. It’s going to be a full moon you
know.”

“What are you saying?” I whispered, afraid of
the answer.

“Oh you poor thing, I’m sure you already know
what I mean. But I guess I have to spell it out for you." She gave
an exasperated sigh, and then grinned. "It was not a wolf that
attacked you that night. It was me. I am a werewolf. You can smell
my scent, can’t you? You know that I am different from humans. I
bit your leg. My saliva entered your bloodstream and triggered the
change. So now, you are a werewolf too, and once a month when the
full moon's glow touches your skin, you will change into a wolf.
And guess how long it’s been since your friend died?”

I stayed silent, unable to utter a word.

“Oh, you don’t want to guess. Fine, you’re no
fun,” she pouted. “It’s been one month. Tonight you will change for
the first time.”

“No,” I said with my teeth clenched. “I don’t
want to be like you. I don’t want to be a killer.” I closed my
hands tightly into fists at my sides. For the first time in my
life, I had the urge to hit a woman.