A Full Moon's Night

The yelling got more and more inhumane.

I looked at the man, trying to figure out what was happening.

He looked like he was in severe pain. His body was contorting in all directions.

Then something strange happened.

His body started to grow and there was something starting to cover his skin. It looked like fur.

I closed my eyes, convincing myself that I was hallucinating. There were goosebumps on my skin. I knew that alcohol didn't cause hallucinations, but there was no way this was happening.

I opened my eyes and saw that the man was no longer there.

In his place was a beast. It looked like a wolf but it was so much bigger, and unlike a wolf it was walking on it's hind legs. It was still looking at the sky, the yelling turned into growls and howling.

I was terrified for my life. I didn't know what I witnessed, but it was unnatural. I couldn't scream or move as I was frozen on the spot.

The beast stopped howling and was looking around. I realised that I had to hide, or I was as good as dead. But my feet wouldn't move.

The beast sniffed the air, and slowly turned its head towards me. My eyes widened in fear. It's yellow eyes reflected the Moon's light as it examined me.

There was no way I could survive this.

This beast is going to rip me apart into pieces.

It started walking towards me, gradually increasing it's speed. It all became too much for me. The last thing I remember is it's sharp canines as the beast lunged towards me.

♡

I opened my eyes, but couldn't see anything. It was pitch black. I was laying on something hard, but it didn't feel like I was still in the woods.

I must have passed out from all the drinking and imagined the whole thing.

Relief washed over me. Seeing a man transform into an unnatural beast is not something you want to experience.

I laid in the dark for a couple of minutes. I didn't feel hungover despite the ocean of alcohol I drank yesterday.

Maybe I should stop drinking. It's really messing with my dreams.

The light inside the room was switched on. I was blinded by the sudden splurge of light.

"Hey, easy", I said as I shielded my eyes. My eyes were starting to adjust.

I looked around and saw that I wasn't in Shiloh's house. I was in a dingy room with a leaky ceiling. There was a single light bulb in the room. I was laying on something that looked like a large wooden suitcase that was covered with a bed sheet. I prayed to God that it wasn't a coffin.

My eyes darted towards the door. I saw Dr. Richard Peters standing there with his hand on the light switch.

It's okay, I'm still dreaming.

It's probably one of those dreams like in the movie Inception.

That's it. I'm never drinking again.

"You're awake", he said. He didn't sound happy.

Did Peter set this whole thing up because he was mad that I kissed Carlos?

He wouldn't do anything this harsh. Peter was anything but evil.

Dr. Peters looked at me as if he was waiting for me to speak. He then cleared his throat.

"Do you remember what you saw?" He asked, but he wasn't making any eye contact.

I was puzzled. I didn't understand what he meant. I didn't even remember when I passed out.

"Saw what?" I asked him.

He looked at me like I was stupid. I was so used to this look that it took me all my energy to stop myself from rolling my eyes. He thinks I'm a mind reader.

He cleared his throat again.

"What did you see by the lake?" He asked again.

The insinuation became apparent. So what happened was real, it wasn't a hallucination or a dream.

"Wait, that actually happened?" I was trembling. But I still couldn't believe it.

"You need to tell me what you saw, Andrea." His voice was soft, and he was looking at me with desperation in his eyes.

I was in awe. My mind was still processing what happened. I just witnessed something completely unnatural and possibly evil happen. Something I only read about in books or saw in movies. It wasn't a dream, it actually happened.

Dr. Peters was still looking at me. He looked sorry for me.

"I-I saw a man standing by the lake, and he was making all these sounds", I said, wincing as I remembered the pain the yelling contained. "Then he started.... transforming."

A part of me wished he would look at me like I was insane. It would prove to me that I had imagined the whole thing. But he didn't.

He looked at me, prompting me to continue.

"It looked terrifying, like an unnatural combination of a bear, wolf and man," I said, shivering at the thought.

"The last thing I remember is it coming towards me."

That's when a question arose in my mind: how did I end up here?

"Wait, did you see it too? Did you bring me here?" I asked.

He suddenly turned away from me. I realised that he was breathing heavily. What he saw must have scared really scared him.

"Andrea, did you see the face of the man?" He asked.

I tried to recall the man's face. I could tell that he was tall and well built, but I couldn't remember anything about his face.

"I really don't recall", I said, genuinely confused.

Dr. Peters looked like he wanted to throw up. I felt bad for him. He must have been really shaken up from what he saw. The fact that he was so disturbed made me feel relieved.

He paced around the small room. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. At last, he turned around and looked me in the eye.

"Andrea, the man you saw was me."