Prologue: A Bad Moon On The Rise

Open Road, Unknown City, Unknown State.....

Swollen clouds of the deepest gray darkened the afternoon sky and an eerie chill set in. The rumbling of thunder followed as a flicker of lightening moved across the sky. The thick scent of the on coming rain filled the air as a lone black motorcycle made its way down a winding highway. The smoke from the exhaust left an interesting trail behind it as the rider navigated the twists and turns of the road with ease. The Rider, a man looking to be no more than thirty-five years of age, seemed to be in something of a hurry and intent on getting to whatever his destination had been quickly. He wore no helmet despite the obviously dangerous speed he'd been traveling as his bike rounded another winding corner. His thick black boots seemed ideal for the ride along with his dark denim jeans. Traces of a plain white t-shirt could be seen beneath the black leather jacket that covered his chest.

The Rider was given to ruggedly handsome looks, a full black beard covered his face that seemed to be fixed into a grim expression of pure concentration, and his eyes were shielded from the view of the elements and bugs via a pair of thick black sunglasses. From what could be viewed of his complexion, he had an olive oil tan and medium length black hair that waved in the breeze as a result of his riding without a helmet.

Rain began to fall in rapid cold droplets as he continued his ride rounding the last corner with the sound of his motorcycle echoing in the distance. The Rider pulled up to a roadside barhouse looking for a place to get out of the rain as it continued to cascade in rapid shower form soaking everything in its path.

He shut the bike off after parking it in front of the establishment and pocketed the keys before climbing off. Taking off his shades and folding them to rest against his chest via one of the end pieces, he moved toward the entrance of the roadside barhouse.

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Roadside Barhouse, Unknown City, Unknown State.....

Once inside the barhouse, The Rider found himself swarmed with the thick clouds of cigar and cigarette smoke alike that filled the place as well as the semi-darkness of the lights and the flicker of neon from various signs that filled the place and lined the walls. There was quite a few people here and it seemed a cozy enough establishment to The Rider whom had simply wished to get out of the rain for a few moments. He approached the bar and was stopped via a beautiful blonde waitress with high volume curls and baby blue eyes. She was the kind of woman that smelled of cheap perfume and wore too much makeup. He took note of her absurd white triangle earrings and the white halter top with white leather pants and heels she wore with a silver necklace. She had a couple silver rings on her fingers and it was easy to notice her red nail polish further complimenting her overall appearance with subtle cues as to her willingness to address any man whom had the potential of taking her home.

"Hey there handsome, haven't seen you around these parts before." she said batting her unnecessarily long eyelashes at The Rider. "This your first time?"

The Rider wasn't much for words, but she was instant upon getting his attention and quite forward in her attempts. He managed to get to the bar and ordered himself a bottle of beer. She followed not at all put off by his lack of interest in her aside from a glance or two before drinking down his beer. She invited herself to sit beside him on the barstool as he took a moment to make note of the bartender.

It was a bald man with his fair share of menacing tattoos and a thick brown mustache that lined his front lip. He was on the pale side and moving about the bar wiping away spilled drink and tending to the rest of his seemingly thirsty customers. He had some weight on him but wasn't portly in the least, it was clear that he could have been some washed up wrestler that didn't make the cut or a bounce at a club that chose a different career path. He wore a short sleeve black t-shirt that brought attention to the size of his arms as well as the tattoos that lined them.

The Rider ordered another drink for himself after finishing off his beer and instructing the bartender to pour a drink for the lady that sat beside him. She smiled taking it to mean that she had finally worn him down or rather the alcohol did as she continued to make small talk and he continued to drink.

"I'm Joan." she said in the midst of her constant rambling.

The time seemed to pass on it's own as before long they were sharing a dance on the dancefloor and then getting hot and heavy with making out before eventually leaving the bar at nightfall.

"You know my place is just around the corner." she had said hoping to convey what she could about her desire for overnight company.

The Rider agreed to take her home and before he knew it, she was on the back of his bike as he sped down the highway.

A haze of moments passed and the two of them arrived at her place. More drinking gave way to more making out and before either one of them knew it, they were in bed together.

Another haze of memories passed and then there was silence followed by The Rider having a blackout. He could vaguely recall screams of terror as Joan seemed to have been pleading for her life and there were traces of blood being splattered all over her living room floor. The screams were drowned out via a song playing via her stereo with the expressed lyrics being something about a Bad Moon Rising as more of the screams seemed to fade into the distance of loss of consciousness.

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The Next Morning....

The Rider awoke to find himself in a strange area surrounded by trees and his head spinning. It was still raining, but the overcast clouds didn't seem to both him any. What had bothered him was the fact that he'd been completely naked and in the middle of nowhere covered in what appeared to be blood in the form of bright crimson despite not having any visible injuries. Panic filled him as he attempted to make sense of what possibly occurred the previous night and fumbled his way back to the direction of the strange woman Joan's place.

He noticed the small white trailer tucked neatly in the nearby woods and the tell tale signs of a person having lived there for quite some time. There was also a clearly visible trail of blood in the form of footprints but they seemed to have been much too large for a mere human to make even if it had been male and given to claw marks as if whatever it was that prowled here had claws.

Further panicked by the sight of the blood, The Rider raced into the trailer unsure of what he'd find as the continued playing of the stereo once more bellowed out lyrics about a Bad Moon Rising. The place had been a wreck with toppled furniture and blood everywhere as the trail seemed to be coming from there. Anxious and still very much naked, The rider made his way inside taking note of his clothes tossed about in a pile along side what Joan wore to the bar. There were empty beer bottles on the floor and a pack of what appeared to have been condoms opened and discarded onto the floor near the toppled sofa.

More blood and broken glass from a window and a few choice decorations littered the floor as well causing the now shaken driver to be cautious with his steps as he ventured further into the house where he found Joan at last her throat ripped apart and a bloodied bed sheet pulled up to her semi exposed body. One of her breasts were draped over the sheet, possibly the result of her having fallen when she attempted to run holding it to cover herself from her attacker and the other hidden beneath it.

She looked to have been dead for quite a while as her lifeless eyes remained opened as well as her mouth indicating that she'd been gasping for breath til the last as a result of her injury. The Rider quickly scooped up his attire and got dressed stuffing what he could into his pockets pertaining to evidence of his having been there and rushed out the door hopping onto the motorcycle he'd parked outside the trailer and speeding off onto the open highway.

Apparently, there really had been a bad moon on the rise and the rain had very little effect on it.