A dreaded full moon was upon us. I had hoped we were better prepared, but what we lacked in weaponry, I think we made up for it with bravery. The women and children were safely tucked away in a shelter beneath the basement. A hidden bunker if you will. The rest of us took post in the main room and kitchen. Silence, the kind where you could hear a pin drop, the kind that could make any sane man paranoid. In fact, all that could be heard was the popping sound of the wood burning in the fireplace. It was a chill, dark, quiet kind of night but not the calming chill, I assure you. Nothing calming about the feeling of being watched, being surrounded, hunted by an enraged creature that's starving for flesh and thirsty for warm blood. I knew they were out there. It was just a matter of time before they make their presence known.

It must've been hours that we sat in silence. The fire had diminished to a dim glow and some of the men were starting to dose off. Were we wrong? Perhaps a little paranoid? Was the town right in mocking us? Were sure of what we saw? And just like that, as soon as I was about to tell the men to pack it up and get the women and children, I heard it. The blood curdling howl that I've heard once before, but something was different because another howl responded and then another and another. Was it a pack? I thought we were dealing with one or two. We all heard them; unaware of their numbers, we still took our posts in each room. I and the other men readied our rifles, the charge began. Please God be with us!


© M.J. Rhodes