Red Moon III:

The Fatal Truth Part 1


It was a calm night in the Sierra Nevada hills. The crickets weren’t chirping, as were the owls who weren’t hooting. Everything was silent. Not far from their cabin, Zachery and his father, Mr. Hatchet, were staying the night with the Tak tribe. The Tak’s were a peaceful tribe and thought nothing of violence, but since the unexpected attacks from the so called “werewolf” injured many people, they changed. Now they shared the same hatred Zachery had for Ghor. They decided to join forces and make an ambush for Ghor on the next full moon. “Are you sure there isn’t going to be any full moons during the time of our plans?” Zachery asked the chief. “Of course not!” the chief replied. “We have a calendar that can tell the exact moment of a full moon’s appearance, position, and location. The next full moon wont be out until the day after tomorrow.” “Excellent!” Zachery said. They had been planning a sneak attack for two days now, and so much effort and progress had been made. The plan was to lure Ghor out into the open with the moon shining and trap him with a rope net. If the plan ever did fail, the Tak tribe’s warriors, which consisted of archers and spearmen, would attack Ghor from all around. Everything was going well. However, Zachery still couldn’t let up on the old man. There was something about him that made him suspicious, at least from Zachery’s perspective. Even the Indians knew of his presence, since he would bring them the strange medicine that Zachery had received before. Budak mentioned this, which caught Zachery’s attention. “When was his most recent visit?” he asked Budak. “Oh, not long ago.” Budak replied. “He came two days ago, and gave us more of the medicine.” Zachery thought this was a coincidence, because two days ago he had met Budak in the shaft and was then assaulted by Ghor. Had the old man known of his curious behavior and knew he was going to explore the shaft? “Look!” someone suddenly yelled outside the hut Zachery and Budak were in. They too peeked out of the hut’s entrance. The old man was walking into the village, and was greeting fellow Indians, including the chief. “Welcome back Max!” the chief said. Zachery was surprised. He had never heard the old man mention his name even once during his time here. There were some huntsmen close behind Max. “Any trace of Ghor?” Max asked. “No.” one of the huntsmen replied. “All except for this.” The huntsmen showed Zachery what looked like the disembodied carcass of an elk. Although Ghor’s presence was clear, they were oblivious to how close he was hunting to the camp. The meat on the elk looked fresh, which meant the kill wasn’t that long ago. “Why doesn’t he show himself during the day?” Zachery asked. “Ghor is part lycanthrope,” the chief spoke suddenly. “which means he is very sensitive to sunlight. That’s why we’re careful during the night hours.” Suddenly, a loud screech broke their conversation like glass smashing into pavement. Shortly after, silence filled the village. The bloodcurdling scream came from the forest, and only the sound of the wind was heard brushing against their faces. “What was that?” Zachery asked. “It’s Ghor, of course.” Mr. Hatchet piped in. The chief, frozen in fear, spoke up. “I don’t think so,” he said. “It sounds BIGGER.” Suddenly, a man emerged from the forest, limping. His leg was bleeding, and he seemed panicked. The chief realized that it was one of his own men. “Help him!” he yelled to two huntsmen. The two men immediately rushed to the man’s aid. “STOP!” the man yelled. “PLEASE! STOP!” The men ignored his words while running. Suddenly, a large animal dashed out of the brush and grabbed the man furiously. It latched on to the neck with its mouth, drawing blood. The men stopped running, surprised, and stood still. The man uttered in pain, as the animal glared at the men who stood before it. The creature had ghostly white fur, a muscular torso, and extremely large, sharp canines dangling down it’s mouth. It had to be at least 1700 pounds. Zachery and the others had followed to make sure everything was alright, though it was clear things weren’t. As if reading the animal’s mind, Zachery knew the fate of the man if any one of them took a step closer. The animal snarled a warning toward them. The huntsmen backed off slowly. They knew there was nothing they could do to help the man. It was hopeless. “Uhhhhhhhhhh…” the man said reaching his hand out, as if trying to tell the others to pull him to safety. The creature noticed this, and tightened it’s grip on the man‘s neck. “GGAAAAAAAA!” the man screamed in pain. “Don’t move,” the chief said. “It’s challenging us.” It was like a nightmarish game show. Without warning, the creature’s maw delivered a amazingly quick bite to the neck, and Zachery and the other’s heard a faint crack. The man became limp. Releasing the corpse from it’s mouth, the creature stared at the group for what seemed several minutes before darting back into the woods. Everyone was silent. They all stared at the dead body. Was what they encountered Ghor? And if not, what?


Zachery was concerned about the mysterious animal that had brutally murdered the member of the Tak tribe. “What was that?” he asked the chief. The chief stared at him. “I’ve never seen that monster before in my life,” he said, “We as a tribe have never laid eyes on it.” Things were getting very suspicious. Zachery had only one question for “Max”. As he approached the old man, he could see in one of the huts the body of the man being burned. Zachery had learned that if an important member in the tribe died from natural causes, he would be buried, but if he were to be murdered or killed, his body was on a direct path to heaven in the form of flames and ash. It is said that that being’s soul was contained in a single spark from the fire. Zachery was right in front of the old man now, and took a deep breath. “Excuse me,” he said, “but was there ANOTHER creature besides Ghor that exited the shaft when you saw it?” The old man stopped what he was doing and stared at Zachery. “Why would you think that?” he said nervously. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! There was a loud sound coming from the bell tower. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! This meant danger. All the villagers were evacuating the village while the hunters and warriors were staying behind and running toward the field. Zachery snuck behind a hut to avoid being forced to leave, and he could barely peek to see what was going on. And sure enough, there was a good reason to be afraid. Ghor was standing in the field, eyeing it’s potential victims. The men spread themselves around the entrance of the village, acting as a barrier to prevent Ghor from entering. He stood his ground, studying weaknesses in the barrier. Suddenly, he sprang from the ground and landed in front of a bowmen. He grabbed the man and threw him into the field, then rushed into the village. What was it after? Unfortunately, Zachery was going to know…….the hard way.


Ghor quickly picked up Zachery’s scent and sneaked around the camp to find him. Zachery had hid in one of the safely guarded huts, and crouched in the corner. What was left of the Tak’s defensive forces were bombarding Ghor with arrows and spears, but the behemoth ignored this threat. Ghor knew Zachery was there. And he wouldn’t leave until he found him and killed him. Zachery felt Ghor’s footsteps approaching, but for some odd reason, he thought the monster was farther away then closer. “Why is it after me?!?” he asked himself. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of Ghor’s footsteps reaching to a halt. Zachery peered under the hut’s door to see what was going on. To his right, he spotted another pair of feet facing directly at Ghor. Then, amongst his nervous breathing, he heard two beasts snarling and roaring at each other. Suddenly, dust was hurled into the hut as he heard more snapping and biting. He managed to peek out the hut’s only window. He gasped. Standing before him were two mighty beasts battling each other. One of them was Ghor. The other was the creature they had seen before, now nicknamed “The Big One”. They seemed to be having a territorial battle, and The Big One was gaining the upper hand in combat. Still, Ghor refused to give in it’s territory, and tackled the other creature to the ground. Zachery saw this as a moment to make a hasty escape. Without hesitating, he rushed out of their battlefield and safely met up with his father and the other Tak members. Mr. Hatchet raised his rifle in the air and fired three shots, which made Zachery and the others jump. The two creatures, spooked by the noise, postponed their fight and took off in different directions. Mr. Hatchet again raised his rifle, this time aiming for a fleeing Ghor. “Go to h*ll!” he yelled as he was about to pull the trigger. The old man suddenly sprang up in front of him. “No!” he said. “Stop! Don’t do it! He’s my brother!!”






To be Continued….