Under A Red Moon

It has been years since the war between the Vampires and Werewolves started and ended. About seven, to be exact. Since then, the human race has been considered scum of the Earth or a food source to the Vampires. The Werewolves don’t have an opinion on us. Since the war began, over three fourths of the human population has been killed. Leaving the rest of us to live in villages instead of towns and cities.

Though, to be quite honest, cities and towns became the epicenter for most of the battles between the rivaling supernatural species. We humans can’t stop the battles, as we aren’t strong enough, so we have to run away, or hide, so the rest of our species can survive. That was the reason that the war ended, they didn’t want to wipe out a species, at least, not yet. It doesn’t really help when the Vampires have to feed though. They will take anyone that they find when they get hungry and just leave their bodies to be found by unsuspecting humans. That all ended when the war became a draw.

Vampires have no care for decency, while Werewolves tend to stay out of the problems of man. Vampires have come to some of the villages to find people that they deem perfect to become something known as blood slaves. Essentially, they are going to make them their living blood bags until they decide that they are no longer of use. Sometimes a Vampire will get so attached to one of their blood bags that they actually keep them as either a sex slave as well or turn them into Vampires. They come once every three months.

Werewolves have come to the villages sometimes, only to make sure that we aren’t being picked off too fast or if their mates are within the villages. They make these checks every five months. They don’t terrorize the villagers like the bloodsuckers do, but we still try and hide away from them. They could kill us with just a smack or punch anywhere on our bodies, much like the Vampires, but they don’t cause as much violence or bloodshed.

Now, you may be wondering why I’m giving out this information. That is because the Vampires have come for their quarterly check of the villages. They have made rules that we can’t hide in our homes or run away, they would just hunt the person, or people, down if they do. Families are to stand together, but those of us that don’t have families are to stand in a completely different part of the village. We would be closer to the front of the village as a way of deterring the Vampires from the families that are fully, or semi, complete. We are always told by the village leader that it is “for the good of the younger villagers”.

As me and some of the other villagers get to the front of the village, I look to the sky. It is a full moon, but not just any full moon. It is a Super Blood Moon, and we have to be extremely careful on this day specifically. Werewolves don’t care if it isn’t their designated five months or not, on the day of a Blood Moon, they will come and do their check. The two checks have never coincided before, so this is something that will be written about in the history books that some of us write for the kids in the village so that they can learn about the world before the Vampire-Werewolf War.

“Isla,” a deep voice calls from beside me. I turn my stare from the sky to the male beside me. “This is not going to be a normal check, is it?” I shake my head no.

“No, Carl, it won’t be,” I sigh. “There will be a fight, I can almost guarantee it. There is no going around it.”

As the only one that loves the moon, I’m the one that writes about the different phenomenona and the phases of the moon in the books for the kids. I have a calendar that I mark with the different phases of the moon that hangs in the village square. I also include the different moon names as well as the Super Moons. Of course, there are times where a phenomenon such as a Super Blood Moon or a Blue Moon happens that I don’t have on the calendar until the next day.

I feel a tug at the bottom of my shirt, leading me to look down. There, covered head to toe in dirt, is Susie, a black-haired nine year old that hasn’t been adopted by any of the families in the village since her parents were taken by Vampires almost three years ago. I crouch down so that I’m eye level with her, curiosity in my eyes.

“What’s wrong, hun?” She looks at me, tears streaming down her face, clearing some of the dirt and grime off of her face.

“Are we going to be taken away, Miss Isla?” she whimpers. I pick her up in my slightly frail arms.

“I don’t know, little one,” I hush, holding her as tight as I can. “What I do know is that I won’t let anything happen to you. That I promise you.”

I have been the only villager that actually takes care of her, but there is only so much I can do when I don’t have a home of my own. The houses are only meant for the families and the village head, who doesn’t have any family members.

A peel of thunder comes from in front of us and behind us, letting us know that we are out of time. The Vampires and Werewolves are almost here, meaning that a fight is going to be upon us. I place Susie down beside me, hiding her behind me partially. While I can’t hide her completely, as that is against the rules of both the Vampires and the Werewolves, I can still make it so that I’m seen before she is.

“Miss Isla,” she grabs my hand in her small ones. “Why are you not worried about the Vampires and Werewolves coming?”

“Now that the little girl mentions it,” a softer male voice pipes up from the other side of Carl. “You are always calm whenever the bloodsuckers and the mutts come through. Why is that?” I breathe a reluctant sigh.

“Looks like the cat is out of the bag,” I murmur to myself. I look at all of the people that have no one in their lives, no one to actually care for them. But, that ends when I see the people coming towards us from the entrance. “You want to know why I’m so calm about these situations? Well, you’re about to find out.”

I look into the crowd of Vampires, trying to find a certain blond male in all of them. A hiss comes from their mouths as a howl comes from behind. I glance over my shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of a gray-furred wolf. I find both of them easily, as they are looking directly at me, a small smile on the pale man’s face and glee shining in the wolf’s eyes.

The two groups stop in front of and behind us, we becoming the barrier between the two opposing supernatural species. The two leaders of the groups come forward, stepping closer to me than I would like. The Vampire in front of me is a tall brunette female, a sneer on her face, while the Werewolf behind me, a large rust-furred female, snarls at the bloodsucker in front of me. I pull Susie closer to me, not knowing what these two differing species leaders will do. I give her a small smile, hoping to keep her from getting more frightened than she already is.

I glance behind me as I hear bones cracking only to see that the Werewolf has shifted to her human form. Her dark brown eyes and long, ginger hair looking wild as she stares down the female embodiment of a leech in front of me. She walks closer to me, which Susie seems to notice as she clutches onto me even more. I place a hand on the back of her head, pushing it into my side. With these two leaders, I don’t know what is going to happen.

“Svetlana,” the Werewolf snaps. “What a lovely surprise!”

“Anastasia,” the Vampire’s voice comes, sounding like wind chimes on a stormy day. “You knew that today was our day, not yours.” The giant wolves behind us start huffing, seemingly laughing at the female bloodsucker before us.

I keep an eye on both of them, not wanting to be the person in the middle of them when a fight breaks out. A whimper comes from below me, catching the attention of the two raging female leaders and myself. I look down and see that one of the younger Vampires, a boy that looks about four, has broken formation, and has bitten the little girl beside me on the arm.

“Stefan,” the female bloodsucker tuts. “We do not attack people randomly when we are hungry anymore. Leave the poor girl alone.” The boy doesn’t let go of her, instead he pulls her away from me.

“Miss Isla!” Susie screams, tears streaming down her face. I reach out for her as the blond male Vampire detaches Stefan’s fangs from her limb, allowing me to pull her into me once again. She sobs into my tattered skirt, her throat becoming rough as she tries to breathe through her panic. I pick her up, placing her head in the crook of my neck. The two females come even closer to me, causing me to pull her even closer, wanting no harm to come to the nine year old again.

“I won’t hurt her,” Svetlana says, her voice ringing like a bell. “I just want to make sure that there is no venom coursing through her veins.” I nod at her, allowing her to come a little closer as I look over at Anastasia, not sure what she wants.

“I too wanted to see if she had venom,” the female Child of the Moon responds. “If she did, we would have no choice but to start a fight here, as we do not condone the turning of a human in the villages.” I hum at her answer, cuddling the small girl to me as Svetlana backs away, allowing Anastasia to come closer to us.

“She seems to be venom free,” the female embodiment of a leech announces, letting everyone know that Susie is safe and not to be harmed. Anastasia nods, giving the same acknowledgment that she found the same thing. “Now, let us get on with the reasons we are here.”

At that, everyone disperses. Though, only two beings stay near me, the blond male Vampire and the gray-furred Werewolf. I look away as the fur-covered male shifts into his human form. A cough lets me know that I can look again, to see both of them in front of me. I grin at them, before looking down at Susie, only to see that she cried herself to sleep. I coo at her, pulling her hair away from her face. Carl and Daniel look at us, confusion seeming to swirl in their blue orbs.

“Um,” Daniel starts, looking at the two males before us. “Why are you two still here? Why are you not searching like the rest of your species?” I grin, walking over to them.

“Miles, Brady,” I call to the two of them. They pull me into a group hug, being careful of the little girl in my arms. We pull away from each other, smiles on both of their faces. I turn to Carl and Daniel, their faces completely showing their confusion now. “Carl, Daniel, meet my two best friends from before the Vampire-Werewolf War. Miles, Brady, these are the only two single men in the village.”

“Hello,” the blond Vampire speaks. “I’m Miles, Svetlana’s grandson.”

“Hey,” the brunette Werewolf says. “I’m Brady, Anastasia’s Beta’s son.”

“Wait,” Carl interrupts before I can say anything. “You all knew each other before the war, including what the other was and didn’t fight?”

“Yup,” Miles and Brady unison, laughing at their likeness to the other.

“You see,” I begin, “when we were children, it was a simpler time. Now, granted that it has been seven years, and seven years ago I was fourteen-fifteen years old, we had the best times together as a trio.”

“Hold on,” Daniel pipes up. “Did neither of you date? Wouldn’t that have changed your dynamic?” I giggle at his questions, knowing that Brady is blushing and Miles is trying to hold back a smirk, while looking at Brady.

“Now that is actually the funny thing,” I tell him. “See, it wasn’t me that they dated, but each other.”

“She’s right,” Miles chimes in, pulling Brady into his side. “We dated, and still secretly are. We found out before the war that we were soulmates, so it was hard not seeing him all the time, but we made do with what we got.”

“He’s right,” Brady sighs, wrapping an arm around Miles’ waist. “The only people that know about us are Isla, my parents, his parents, Svetlana, Anastasia, and, now, you two.”

“That means that you cannot tell anyone,” I inform them. “If others find out, who knows what will happen to them. They may end up using the other against them. Heck, if they found out about me I would be used against them too.”

“Alright,” the two human males breathe out. “We won’t say anything.”

It isn’t long until we hear the thundering of paws and feet coming back towards us. We get back into a group hug, knowing that I won’t see them, together, for a while. I see them separately a lot, but having the both of them together is a blessing I will always wish for.

“We will see each other again,” Miles says quietly for the three of us. “That is a promise.”

“Yeah,” Brady whispers, hugging us closer to him. “We may not be able to see each other all the time, but we always get some time together during the searches.”

“That is true,” I murmur, tears welling in my eyes. “But it isn’t the same when I only see one of you and not the other.”

“We know,” the two males mumble, their voices weak.

“But there is always a time that we can see each other, and that is a time we can treasure,” I start to pull away, knowing that we don’t have any more time. They give me sad smiles as we all separate, going to our designated spots.

“The only time that we can see each other,” Miles starts, a tear coming down.

“The only day that it isn’t frowned upon,” Brady continues, a tear coming down as well. He begins to undress so he can shift.

“That is the only day that we can actually act like friends,” I continue, tears streaming down harder. “Until we meet again-”

“Under a Red Moon.” We unison as Brady shifts and the two species come back, leaving only a second later.