Under the Glow of the Moonlight

A group of friends have come across a being unlike any they've ever seen... because this being is not from this planet. Worst of all, this being is angry.

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This story was originally published on Medium.

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Slowly, body parts began to materialize in front of everyone’s eyes as if a 3D Printer was hard at work. Only it wasn’t the work of a printer. The being from the spacecraft that landed just beyond the treeline, the being that suddenly vanished, the being that terrorized the group while invisible, that being was slowly coming out of his camouflage.

Showing his true body, his true form, to everyone.

Gary tried to pull himself off the ground but his leg was sore. Pablo grabbed his arm and lifted him up.

The feet materialized, as did the calves, and most of the legs. The skin was black and ropy.

“Shouldn’t we run?” Kristen asked.

“That thing just busted into Ms. Johnson’s house and killed her.” Gary grunted. “We’re staying and taking care of this thing.”

“How do we do that?!” Tim was nearly in tears.

“Yeah, you can hardly walk.” Pablo said to Gary.

Gary quickly stiffened his leg and it made a sickening cracking noise. He stood up straight, grimaced, shuddered a breath, then wiped his brow.

“I can move just fine.” Gary grunted.

The being continued to materialize. A long, thin, athletic-looking torso, sinewy but strong arms. These body parts were seemingly just materializing out of thin air, or the being was allowing his camouflage to wear off and he was becoming visible. No one was entirely certain. But he stood before them, breathing heavily, in an aggressive stance.

“This thing is… tall!” Habiba gasped. She had been quiet most of the time. “It looks powerful.”

“We got it outnumbered.” Gary grunted.

“But it’s so tall.” Habiba insisted.

“You saw what it did to Ms. Johnson.” Kristen reminded Gary, clutching his hand. She held it tighter than she ever had before, searching for reassurance.

“We’re not Ms. Johnson.” Gary stated. “And we’re five of us.”

“Alright, if we’re coming up with a plan, it’s got to be now.” Pablo instructed.

They all looked as the head and the shoulders were coming into full realization underneath the moonlight. The black night sky was somehow light, illuminated by the moon, a big spotlight on this being. His almost human-like stature, six feet nine inches, large forehead, bulbous eyes, four fingers on each hand, two claws sticking out at 45 degree angles from each and every finger.

“I can’t… I can’t…” Tim began to mumble as he backed away.

“Alright, we all just need to charge at it at the same time.” Gary instructed. “Take it down and… and each of us grab a limb!”

“Then what?” Pablo asked frantically.

“Well, we hold it down and… do something!” Gary shouted back.

The being snarled.

No one hesitated, Gary had made a strong enough case. Gary, Pablo, Kristen, and Habiba charged the being. Tim continued backwards, stumbled and fell on his ass.

The other four sprinted at the being. The being extended his arms and swiped at them. His claws slashed across Pablo and Habiba’s faces. They staggered back. The being tried to swipe again but Gary and Kristen tackled him in unison and took him to the ground. Gary laid repeated punches into the being’s face, it’s ropy skin recoiling after each hit.

Kristen pinned the being down but it fought back. Gary tried to help pin it down but it thrust its arms up and flung Gary backwards. Pablo and Habiba dove forward and landed on the being and pinned it down with Kristen. Gary peeled himself off the pavement. The being swiped a claw at Kristen’s face, cutting her eyeball out, and sending her falling backwards.

Gary jumped back onto the being. He, Habiba, and Pablo used all their might to hold the being down. Kristen screamed and writhed in pain on the ground, clutching a bleeding eye socket. Tim’s sobbing quieted and then he roared in anger.

He picked up a rock the size of his hand and stomped towards the being. The being elbowed Pablo and created some wiggle room. His arm flipped out from underneath the pile. Tim advanced towards the being, pulling the rock high above his head. The being’s arm extended out, and his hand fell down onto Kristen’s eyeball that rolled around on the pavement. He gripped the eyeball in his black, ropy fingers.

Tim screamed a battle cry as he dropped down in front of the being, swinging his hand down and slamming the rock right into the being’s head.

A light emanated from inside the fist of the being… where Kristen’s eyeball was. Kristen’s head suddenly glowed with a tremendous light. Tim pulled the rock away from the being to reveal a giant gash in the side of his head. He bled out. He lay motionless. He was still.

Kristen screamed in agony as her head began to glow brighter and brighter until…

…it popped like a cherry tomato too ripe for its own good.

The being’s body slowly began to vanish, bit by bit, like it was dematerializing. Soon, its body was entirely gone. There was no light on the street except for the glow of the moonlight above. Kristen’s headless body laid next to the other four… not still though… it quivered… it shook… it didn’t stop moving.

The light from the moon suddenly vanished, making everything dark, and then it was restored half a second after. Everyone looked up at the moon, bright as ever. A darkness descended over the moon quickly, disappearing it from sight, and then the darkness retreated and it was back. Like an eye blinking.

This went on for the rest of the night… and then it stopped promptly at midnight. No one believed the story the remaining four told, so Gary took the fall, admitting to killing Kristen. No one could make sense of what happened to Kristen’s head. But they accepted Gary’s confession. Tim, Pablo, and Habiba were free. Gary was imprisoned.

Gary got only just a hint of night sky through the dirty window in his cell… but every 30 days, the moon looked the same way it did that first night, and every 30 days the moon blinked a few dozen times, only until midnight, and then it stopped.

Scientists, meteorologists, astronomers, everyone tried to figure out what was happening with the moon. No one had any answers that amounted to anything. Only four people on the whole planet knew… one of them was locked up in prison for killing a friend and a lover who he never killed… but every 30 days… he was reminded of her… and he was filled with hope that maybe somehow, somewhere, on some plane of existence, she was still alive.

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