The Harvest Moon Creature of Lake Waynoka Part 3

“Yes,” she sobbed. “You’re right above me,” she raised a shaky hand through the branches almost to the surface. She stretched with all her strength.

        Steps before him he saw her weary fingers emerge from the debris.

        “Oh, my gosh, Cassie,” he inched towards her bloodied fingers; black in the orange moonlight. “How in the world did you get down there?” he forced his hand down and grasped her hand.

        She looked up at him through the entanglement of large and thin branches. His face was shiny with beads of sweat. His hair was spiked in random places upon his head but his hand was warm in her loose grip. Cassie had never thought she would be this happy to see her brother. This was definitely an alien and it possessed the ability to control emotions.

        “The Creature…,” her every word was becoming more and more difficult to mutter. “After he took me… I remember falling… only half way though…and I guess I was zonked out…or something…Julian, just get me… out,”

        Tears filled her eyes and her blonde hair, dark orange and shimmering black hung in her eyes. She was unable to move it. Scratches and cuts speckled her face and arms.

        “I will. I promise, Cassie.” Julian vowed. He glanced down and around her. “Can you move?”

        “My arms, barely, but my legs are numb and I think my ribs-,” she wheezed, but was interrupted.

        “Are they broken?” Julian asked.

        “I don’t know,” she answered.

        He tried to see in the dark, her torso; her shirt was ripped to shreds, the same slashes that covered the animals were scraped across her middle. Those horrendous marks were the signature of the Creature.

        Julian cussed. He started ripping the branches away and threw them down the pile with one hand, the other firmly in Cassie’s.

        “Cassie, if I’m gonna get you out, I need both hands, alright?” Julian asked, pausing briefly. She nodded, though reluctant to let him go as a new tear trickled down her cheek.

        Julian resumed and peeled back layer after layer. It seemed like somehow every layer he removed, another appeared below it.

        CRASH! There was a large clatter behind Julian.

        “What was that?” Cassie asked.

        He turned behind him and what he saw wasn’t a complete surprise but it screamed WARNING! Animals were gradually falling onto the burn pile all around him. The legend, no, the history of the animal arose in Julian’s mind. He must burn all of the animals in a bonfire as atonement to his people. Bonfire as atonement to his people? Bonfire as atonement to his people! It finally clicked in Julian’s mind, which would have been helpful if his little friend would have piped up about it sooner. The Creature was almost done collecting the animals. The next step, roasting Julian and Cassie alive. Great!

        “Julian, what was that?!” Cassie asked urgently.

        “Nothing, just be still, I’m getting you out,” Julian said though the fear was rising in his stomach as well as in his voice.

        With every crash around him, the panic escalated in him like a rising wave, threatening to crash down on them.

        Suddenly, Julian felt a gust of cool air, but this time it was way too close. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as if he stepped near a live wire.

        “Julian, behind you!” Cassie shrieked.

        He saw it out of the corner of his eye. Thick branches in both hands, Julian dove into a nearby gap he had cleared to remove some longer, larger limbs. He tumbled into the hole and covered himself with the branches, the ends as sharp as knives.

        He opened his eyes as the creature, in the close distance, wrapped himself in his wings and hurtled towards Julian like an arrow released from a taut bow. It collided with the pile surrounding Julian. The air was forced from Julian’s lungs with the impact. Its tail snapped and coiled like a whip, churning the air behind it. It clawed at the branches between it and Julian. Hissing and shrieking, its drool glided off its jagged stubby teeth, thick with blood, onto Julian’s face. The limbs snapped and broke away but Julian used every morsel of strength he had left to ward off the beast. He felt the strain on his biceps as he upheld the monster. He groaned and shoved at the creature.

        His little friend in his head began to speak again. Oh, how nice of  you to show up! Julian thought, though he listened. He twisted the branch in his right hand so his thumb was to him, not up. With a make shift knife in his hand, he repeatedly stabbed at the Creature’s chest. It nicked large veins that stood out in his pasty skin and splurged out in a pulsing, splattering stream. The Creature screamed out in agony and was taken aback. Julian reached farther, shifting into the line of fire of the crimson liquid squirting from the Creature’s neck. His face was drenched in its blood; it ran down his throat. He gagged on the monstrous taste and growled ferociously at it as he stabbed a final gash into the Creatures shoulder, not quite where he was aiming but it was sufficient. It screeched a spine-tingling shriek in his face and Julian roared back, his teeth stained vermilion red. Julian spat the remaining blood back in its face and it retreated.

        Julian saw it fly straight into the sky and over the lake. He climbed out from under his shield; his head pounded and spun. Revolting shivers racked his body as he stumbled towards Cassie. He diverted his route and heaved up his dinner over the side of the pile.

        He crawled back to where his sister was still trapped; her voice scraped its way out of her throat, with airy screams of terror.

        “Julian! Are you okay?” Cassie called. “What happened?”

        Julian slid into her view and she gasped at his face.

        “Julian! You are covered in blood!” she began to cry harder now, pushing aside the pain in her lungs.

        “It’s not mine,” Julian mumbled through dead lips, he shook violently. “Shut up, will you, I don’t want it coming back.”

        He began to sluggishly pull branches away, getting closer and closer to Cassie. His head throbbed and felt like someone was dropping a rock on the back of his head over and over again.

        When most of the debris was cleared, Julian found the cause of Cassie’s numb legs. She was pinned under a log that was thicker than Julian and Cassie’s bodies put together. Julian cussed, exhausted, he could feel the hopelessness soak into his pores as did the blood from the monster.

        Julian’s back was to the boat house and to his left he saw a flicker of yellow and scarlet orange light. His eyes grew big as he saw the ribbon of smoke grow. The crackle of wood was the only thing he could hear over his thundering heart, as he stepped down beside Cassie. Her eyes were half closed and slowly drooping.

        “Cassie, stay with me. We’re almost out,” Julian pleaded and smacked her across the face just hard enough to make her alert.

        She moaned and her eyes gained some life. Julian flew into action, trying to lift the log. It was impossibly heavy. He gripped the bottom with his hands and pressed his back against it, trying to lift with his legs. It shifted slightly though it wasn’t enough to free Cassie.

        “Cassie, I need you to work with me,” Julian said so fast that all the words blended together but Cassie understood.

        “When I lift this up I need you to pull yourself out from underneath it. I don’t care how much it hurts, you need to do it, got it?”

        She nodded and propped herself up with her arms behind her, they quivered with lack of energy. Julian tried another way of lifting, but it did nothing. He returned to the other position. He could feel the heat beneath his feet rising. The smoke clogged his blood filled nose and breathing became difficult. The log didn’t budge this time. He slumped down, his body melting to the form of the log as his lungs heaved for air.

        “Cassie, you ready?” he called.

        “Yes, hurry, please, it’s getting hot,”

        He counted down from three in his head. He used a tree as a focus point, but the tree began to morph in shape. Three. It sprouted wings and swooped forward, fanning the smoke into swirls behind it. Two. It continued to morph as it soared through the fog towards Julian; its face formed into it a hideously detailed mask. His heart stopped. Its arms were out spread, talons glistening in the fire light, its body glazed with blood. It flew so close that Julian’s heart imploded and when it shrieked Julian could smell its horrendous breath. One! Julian groaned and thrust the log up and over, falling on the opposite side of Cassie. The Creature’s feathers brushed Julian’s face as he collapsed onto Cassie’s legs. Its claws grazed his chest, splicing his T-shirt into thirds. Julian disappeared from the view of the Creature. It soared over them, disoriented. Cassie cried out in pain as Julian quickly climbed off her.

        “Cassie, give me your hand!” Julian shouted as the flames tickled his toes. She weakly reached for Julian, her hand in his, she tried to stand but that was a hopeless venture. Julian swept her into his arms. He lunged out of the hole and slid down the side of the fiery slope, scorching his backside.

        Julian sprinted from the base, finally on firm ground, to the boathouse. Cassie screamed in anguish. Julian’s vision blurred with the black fuzzes again. He focused on the screen door of the boat house. The larger door was still open. He flung the screen open and slinked inside, being careful not to slam Cassie’s head on the wall or in the door.

        Hastily, but gently he laid Cassie on the couch and locked the door and windows. He turned the deadbolt and slammed himself against the door. He slipped down it, trying to fill his lungs with uncontaminated air. Julian’s head slumped back against the door and he shut his eyes.

        Cassie whimpered. Julian caught his breath, leashed in his mind and stood to see his sister. She looked a lot better in the pile of wood. Now she was just a bloody mess and so was he. His shreds of clothes clung to his skin with a bizarre stickiness. He smelled of vomit and blood. He tore the shirt off his back with one hand. He held it up and wondered if it was still wearable. The only use he could make of it was that maybe he could make a new scent for cologne or scented candles. Monster Attack! The label would read. No one would buy it.

        He knelt beside her and brushed the grimy hair from her face. “Cassie, how do you feel?”

        She moaned. “How do you think I feel?”

        “Well, you have to be feeling better,” Julian laughed. “If you’re being sarcastic.”

Cassie backhanded him on the side feebly.

“See, I told you you’re feeling better,”

Cassie grimaced and shook her head. She pointed to her slowly lowering and rising rib cage. Long gashes cut from her center to her back; her shirt was torn to rags. Her legs were a dark purple, green and black under her jean shorts.

        “Hold on,” Julian murmured.

        He rose and headed for the bathroom to his right but the gargantuan flames caught his eye to the left. He rushed to the window and gazed at the orange and yellow tongues of fire. They lapped at the starless sky and caught some of the nearby trees overhanging branches. The Creature knelt before the flames and let out yowls into the night. Julian cracked the window open to hear. The chilling songs rang throughout the trees and skies. It haunted Julian and he couldn’t watch its strange movements towards the fire, almost as if it were dancing.

        “Julian,” Cassie said.

        “Yeah,”

        “Where’s Petunia?”

        It struck Julian in the gut like a sledge hammer. He was 110% sure that the dog was burnt to a charred crisp. He thought of the dog in the fire and closed the window before Cassie would hear the Creature screaming, grateful for their pet, Petunia.

        “Uhm,” Julian raced to conjure a lie. “I think she ran off to the one of the neighbor’s house.”

        Julian glanced at Cassie uneasily but she had somehow fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed and her hand lay limply at her side. She had stopped bleeding. Julian went to the bathroom for the first aid kit, though he didn’t want to wake her up. He attended to his cuts and wounds; there was nothing he could do about his head until his parents got home.

        Parents!  What am I gonna tell my parents?!  Julian almost shouted at the thought. He was dead. The yard was littered with what was left behind from the animal remains; the burn pile is just a problem within itself, but most importantly how was he going to explain why he and his sister were bloodied and bruised. He smothered his face in his hands as if it would all be solved when he lifted up his eyes. He decided he was just going to have to do his best to clean things up, which included making excuses because his parents would never believe their story.

He nudged Cassie awake to put her back together.  He tried his best to bandage her minor injuries without her crying out in pain.

        When he had done his best he went back to the window. He leaned on the window sill with a wet rag, wiping the blood from his face as he watched the daunting ceremony continue just outside his window. Julian could feel the heat through the glass. He wished for the icepack in the first aid kit but Cassie was using it on her legs.  Julian heard the sloshing of its contents every time she moved it from bruise to bruise. He held the cold rag to the back of his head, rubbing the bump absently.

The Creature would circle the fire first on foot then in the air, waving his arms fluidly, always ending with an upward stroke towards the moon. Julian gazed into the twirling smoke. A few times he could have sworn he saw faces form in the swirls then vanish with the fleeing smoke. Considering everything else he saw that night, he thought he was probably right.

        Julian woke up to a large thud against the outside wall of the boathouse. He collected himself from off the floor below the window to see the burn pile. No longer was it engulfed with flames but now it was only a hill of ashes, its core smoldered sunset orange, flickering ever so quietly. The sun was just rising in the distance and the sky was a still a navy blue from the escaping night.

        He walked to the bathroom; the Legends of the Ohio River Valley sat on the bottom bunk and a shiver went down Julian’s neck. He shooed it from his thoughts and prepared himself for what he might see in the mirror. A boy, disgustingly filthy and crusted with blood, glared back. This would be the picture on the label of his cologne. He wetted a wash cloth and let his face melt in the almost unbearable warmth. He let the water run scalding hot, a dim mist filtered up between him and the mirror. After the monster had dissolved he wiped down his body the best he could, too weak to stand any longer, let alone take a shower. He ran the rag through his auburn hair, ruffling it into spiky misshapen locks.

        CRASH! The sound of shattering glass splintered his nerves. He burst out of the bathroom, letting a flurry of steam into the room. His sister still lay ever so silently on the couch, Julian had to look twice to see if she was still breathing. Her chest rose just enough for visibility.

        Julian sighed in relief then he noticed the glass. It glittered eerily on the floor by the door. Only a few large shards remained in the window. The screen hung and wavered in the breeze outside. He took a step towards it, the achy, crushing fear settled in his stomach and the conclusion tingled up his spine shrilly and branched out into his skull. The heaviness grew with each step towards the glass.

        He could see his reflection, now, sliced into slivers and only familiar to him. His toe landed on the nearest shard. He froze. The blood pounded in his head like the wind beating him. His heart only took in the blood and didn’t release it pulsing back, but held it and it grew like a balloon. His hearing ceased and only thumping in his head was there to fill the ghastly silence. He knew it was coming…

        More glass shattered behind him. He did not hear it, but he sensed it. A cool breeze rushed in from the back window, the window above the couch. The yellow curtains flapped violently. The gust collided with Julian but he stood tall and steady, though stricken with terror. Just because he had defeated the Creature once doesn’t mean he could do it again. He felt the floorboards shift under his feet though he hadn’t moved.

        Cassie! Julian turned. There it crouched, half on the couch, half off, and with Cassie in its arm, ready to pounce.  It cocked its head to the side and its spine slithered and snaked forward, taking a step.

        Don’t move a muscle, thought Julian; it was as if he couldn’t see him without any sign of motion. Julian was sure of it and he was determined not to move. He stood confident and strong before the beast, though his mind screamed and thrashed around maliciously in panic, screeching until his lungs burst for his sister.

        Absolutely still, not a thing made a sound, except the repetitive pounding on the inside of his brain. His little friend didn’t decide to comment either; he was on his toes, too frightened to say anything.

        Julian stared into the Creatures maniacal eyes and the white marbles stared back blankly. Finally, it broke away from Julian’s stone cold, murderous gaze and glanced down at Cassie. Unconscious, she lay there, spine arched back, thrown over the Creature’s arm like a rag doll. Julian prayed she was still alive and if so, she would stay silent for his sake and hers.

        The Creature lifted its free hand and touched Cassie’s shirt. It pulled something that looked like a ball of hair or fur, off her shirt. The Creature brought it to his sliced nose and sniffed it, crinkling its entire face. It snorted the fur away and it landed at Julian’s feet. Julian glanced down at it and realized that it was Petunia’s fur. The shade of tan was exact and he had no doubt that’s why the Creature had returned. One of his little animals had escaped. The truth pressed down on him like never before and he knew there was no stopping this, though he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

        Julian lifted his eyes, a fiery white rage burned savagely in them and the reckless choice was made. The passionate malevolence thrummed on the inside of his skull. The book sat on the bed by the wall farthest from him; he glanced at the Creature who stared back. With the speed of light Julian leapt for the book and thrust it at the Creature’s face. The book hit the target squarely as Julian collapsed onto the bed. The Creature shrieked and curled Cassie into its grasps tighter, her spine cracking in half. It lounged at Julian, its face clear and horrifying in the gleaming morning sun as it leapt towards Julian’s.

        Julian let a scream of true terror -the kind of terror that leaves one’s body convulsing just before death- as the Creature swooped towards him and everything went black.

        No one truly knows what happened to Julian and Cassie Novak. They were never found nor was there any reason to believe they were still alive. When their parents returned, the burn pile was filled with the burnt remains, which the test results were fortunately negative for the sibling’s remains, but were the bones of animals. They had discovered blood in the boathouse and a strange scattering of razor, jet black feathers. They could be not be classified as belonging to any species of animal. They also found the book, Legends of the Ohio River Valley, though no attention was brought to it. Julian Novak and Cassie Novak were presumed dead.

        But if you ever happen to encounter a harvest moon while visiting the haunted lake, be sure not to disturb the Harvest Moon Creature of Lake Waynoka.