Chapter 84 : Moonlit Madness

Road Side Rest Stop, Open Highway, Outskirts...

  A final puff on the long thin white cigarette had seen Brick Kenneally tossing it onto the ground and stamping it out with his dark-colored workboot. He had a rather annoyed look that filed across his face as he took in the slightly spicy air that surrounded them. His nostrils flared and his muscles tensed as he took his time surveying the area. It had been a while since he'd really taken in the sights, having been so caught up with the current missing persons case and spending as much time with Layla as possible. A near-death experience had been just the thing to make him further appreciate the life he had as he noted the shifting of the wind that blew around him. 

He took a moment to reflect on his journey thus far and had been glad that he rolled into Temperance when he did, despite it being a pitstop for another package they had intended to intercept. His reluctance to give in to the call of the moon and the notion of love had been childish at best but he'd been pleased that the old timers had been right about him as they had been about his father all those years ago. 

"What's our next move?" asked Rooster, his gruff and aged voice cutting through Brick's thoughts like scissors through paper.

Brick blinked away his memory of Layla and turned his attention back to the business at hand. 

"Goldie said she and the boys are in Tapervile," Gunther piped in as he arrived. 

"How long do we got till sundown?" asked Brick with an arched brow. 

"Bout thirty minutes worth," replied Rooster. "Give or take a few miles we should be able to get there before the worst of it."

"The worst of it," remarked Gunther shaking his head. 

"Alright staddle up boys and let's ride," said Brick making his way over toward his bike as both Gunther and Rooster did the same.

They had a good deal of a ride ahead of them before nightfall and were aiming to make it to Goldie and the boys before their moonlit transformations kicked in. Brick had been used to cutting it a bit close when it came to being on the road and dealing with his moonlight transformations. 

But there was something different about how he handled things now that he'd been with Layla. Despite their relative closeness, he had not disclosed his secret nor the secret of his gang entirely about their ability to transform into werewolves at the sight of a full moon. He had not known how she'd react and quite frankly, he had not wished to scare her away given all that she'd been going through in the wake of her mother's involvement in a decades-old missing persons case. 

No matter how old he had gotten nor how often Brick had been forced to transform, he'd been out of his element no matter the provisions. The roar of the bikes continued to echo down the winding highway as Brick moved into formation and the rest of the crew followed suit. 

He was determined to find a lead for this case and figure out just who had been bold enough to shoot him and Charlie Mack before the old man could point the finger at the true assailant when they spoke. Before the case had been all business as far as Brick Kenneally had been concerned, the shooting made tracking the sly son of a bitch all the more personal. 

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The state line had been way in the distance as Brick and his crew continued their journey to catch up to Goldie and the boys aiming to finish their chase long before the dawning of the full moon but they had arrived at a rest top on the outskirts of the chosen town a fraction of a second too late which resulted in their hasty parking and rushing off into the woods as the howls from the beasts within began to increase and Brick found himself given to the full force of his transformation much as everyone else had been. 

The massive brown werewolf snarled and clawed at the ground desperate to hold back with good sense but powerless under the compulsion of the full moon as Luna's sweet song filled his keen ears and the shifting began all over again. The snapping of mortal bones and the shedding of human flesh had been all around as Brick managed to ditch his cut before his body began to change. He whimpered in annoyance as his spine enlarged and his fangs protruded from his mouth and snout. 

He could feel the agony in the wake of the shift but the song had been so strong, so inviting that he couldn't ignore it not even for all the effort in the world. Brick had not been alone as the series of howls filled the night sky as his crew fell victim to their own transformations the ripping for flesh, the taste of blood, and the agony beyond measure echoed through the night deep in the forest amid the secondary rest stop just outside the town where they had elected to meet Goldie and the boys. 

Brick Kenneally howled amid the backdrop of the full moon and the howls of his crew echoed in return. He had little to no choice as the beast began to overtake his mortal mind and he dashed deeper into the woods in search of prey once again led by the coppery scent of blood on the earth. 

He knew not if it had been animal or man as he took off like a bolt of lightning amid the tall looming trees that provided a good source of cover from possible prying eyes along with the darkness of night, all he knew was that there was blood, a good deal of hit and it made his canine jaws water. 

The crackling of twigs and the crushing of dry leaves echoed as the intoxicating scent got closer and closer. Blood was indeed spilled and it had been fresh according to the keen nose of the wolf that had been Brick Kenneally.