Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2

by Bella Roccaforte

  Silas sprang into action heading for the exit. “I’m heading over there. Ayry’s there with Maynard and Abel’s out of town.”

  “I’m going with you. The boy must be protected.” Phaedra was close on Silas’ heels.

  They were both relieved to find that everyone at the ranch was safe.

  Chapter Two

  Silas patrolled the forest retracing the creature’s kill pattern. The creature’s eyes were still fresh in his memory from their exchange the day before. There was something in them he couldn’t describe.

  “Anything?” Samira’s voice sounding in his head drug him out of the trance he was in.

  “No.” He responded stopping for a moment in a clearing by an old cabin. “I’m up at the old fire camp.”

  “This is way outside the kill zone.” Samira said as they both shifted into human form.

  Silas studied the area carefully with human eyes to possibly see anything differently.

  He started for the door and carefully took the three steps up to the dilapidated porch one by one. Samira followed behind mimicking his foot falls.

  The wood floors of the old cabin creaked and moaned protesting his weight. The door, barely hanging onto its hinges, whined when he pushed it open. Cobwebs lined the rafters of the open cabin and the remnants of the previous tenants’ belongings were strewn about the cabin as though they left in a hurry.

  “Who used to live here?” Samira asked running one finger along the mantle of the fireplace.

  “I don’t know, I’m honestly surprised it’s still standing.” He remarked, going deeper into the cabin.

  Particles of dust danced in the light streaming through the hole in the roof. The eerie feeling inside the cabin had them both on high alert.

  “Do you smell that?” Silas stopped for a moment and sniffed at the air. It was faint, but he recognized it. “I just smell musty wet wood and ...” She answered inhaling a deep breath. “Burnt flesh.”

  “It was here, but it’s been at least a day.” He sniffed again and fixed his gaze on one of the bedrooms.

  Samira’s nose wrinkled at the thought. “Another killing?”

  “I don’t think so but only one way to find out.” Silas took another step forward and the floor gave way under him. His left leg broke through the wood.

  Birds flapped frantically from the rafters flying out of the house. Samira came to Silas’ side, “Are you okay?”

  Silas pulled his leg out of the hole examining the cuts from the wood. They both watched while they quickly healed. “Yeah, I’m fine. But be careful.”

  They both moved slowly toward the room and pushed the door open. The room belonged to a child, there was a weathered, ruffled quilt on the bed that looked as though it had just been made. A rag doll was perfectly placed leaning against the metal headboard.

  Silas stopped in the doorway and took in the whole scene before proceeding. There wasn’t much there. A few toys on the floor with some books.

  He entered and picked up a book that was open, face down on the floor.

  He huffed a laugh flipping through the pages before looking at the cover. A sweet hooded girl skipping through the forest. He turned the cover for Samira to see. “Little Red Riding Hood.”

  “Nice.” She looked around for any other clues but found none. “I’d say there’s nothing in here. No kill, we should check the other bedroom.”

  Silas nodded in agreement and dropped the book on the bed and stopped short. “What is this?”

  He closed the door revealing a circular burn mark on the wall. It was about five feet in circumference.

  “This explains the burning smell, but when did it happen?” Samira ran her fingers along one of the burn striations in the wood.

  Silas looked up at the ceiling and the rest of the walls. This was the only spot in the room where there were any burns. He gripped the door, opened it and walked into the hallway to look at the other side of the wall. “Nothing.”

  There were no burn marks or any indication of a fire at all.

  “Do you think it’s related?” Samira asked.

  “Not sure, but I think we need to talk to Phaedra again, this screams magic, not nature.” He continued into the next bedroom. It was completely empty, nothing on the walls, no furniture left behind.

  “Let’s head back down to the ranger station. I want to see if anyone has heard anything.” Silas’ tone was heavy with the thoughts that ran through his mind.

  “You think it was here don’t you?” Samira asked.

  “I know it was here, I can smell it. The question is will it come back?” He was relieved to take in fresh air when they stepped outside.

  “You should check in with Levi. Let’s also get some more visibility up here. I’m betting it’s going to come back.”

  “You got it. I’ll let them know.” Samira shifted into wolf form and ran into the tree line.

  Silas stood outside the cabin for another moment looking for any trace of the creature other than his gut feeling. He searched for tracks or markings on the trees. There was nothing, it was as though it had been decades since anything had been here.

  He walked around the outside of the cabin taking in the lingering scent trying to figure out what it was. After finding nothing at all he shifted into wolf form and ran down the mountain to the ranger station.

  Jeramiah was inside wearing a worried expression.

  “Was there another killing?” Silas asked putting on a pair of sweats.

  “No, but we’re not going to be able to contain this.” He rested his elbows on the desk. “Do you think maybe we’re getting all worked up over nothing?”

  Silas stopped for a moment and sat in the chair pondering all that was going on. “I’m honestly not sure.”

  “I’m not thrilled that we lost two grizzlies, but have you stopped to think this could just be another grizzly or other animal doing what animals do? Surviving.” Jeramiah looked hard into Silas’ eyes. “Do you remember when you were a boy and we went fishing? There were some dead fish in the lake. The first one caught your attention and put you on alert, the second one had you steering the boat in another direction and the third sent you into a full-blown panic. You didn’t want to eat the fish we caught because you were convinced there was something wrong.”

  Silas could feel his heart beating in his chest and realized it had been racing for two days. He had been so pumped up on adrenaline and getting caught up with the hunters’ sense of alarm that he hadn’t considered a mundane explanation.

  Jeramiah sat back in his chair as a signal for Silas to take his time to work it all out in head. Careful, mindful and sensible was how he’d run things and how he raised his son.

  After giving his response consideration, “I remember.”

  “You wanted to raise all the flags, find out what was happening.” Jeramiah smiled at the memory.

  Color rose to Silas’ cheeks, “And it was just some tourists that had kept the fish in the cooler too long and dumped them in the lake.”

  “Yep. It happened all the time. I was proud of how you wanted to protect this land and all of its inhabitants.”

  Silas stood from the chair and studied the map on the wall. “Dad this isn’t some fish. This is…” he wanted to find the perfect words to convince his father that there was a threat and they needed to find it. “Grizzlies.”

  “I know.”

  “Healthy grizzlies. Taken out like nothing.” Silas fixed his gaze on his father. “I’d be hard pressed to take down a grizzly on my own, supernatural strength and all.”

  “I wouldn’t want to go toe-to-toe either, but I could survive it.” Jeramiah nodded.

  “But you couldn’t eviscerate it the way these were.”

  “No.” He admitted.

  Silas had to make his case, or his father was going to shut down the investigation and let the pack hunters take care of the rest. Something drove him to be part of this, something was calling to him. What words could he use to convince his f
ather that this was a problem?

  First, he had to figure out why he was so invested and “because” wasn’t going to be good enough. It hit him. “It’s the first time there’s something in the forest that’s bigger and more deadly than we are.”

  Jeramiah smiled and gave one nod of approval. “Exactly, which means you’re making your decisions based on fear.”

  “I’m not afraid for me.” Silas protested.

  “Doesn’t matter. When you make your decisions based on fear, everyone suffers.” Jeramiah joined him in front of the map. “Rationalize. Analyze. Be vigilant and we’ll find it. But you have to a get hold of yourself, get some rest and always have a purpose as to why you’re doing things.”

  “I’m protecting our community.” He argued.

  “You can’t do that if you’re not thinking straight. When was the last time you slept?” Jeramiah asked.

  “Dad, I don’t need as much sleep as you do.” He laughed.

  “Jeramiah.” Levi’s voice broke into the room over the radio.

  Silas immediately tensed watching his father go to the radio. “Hey, did you find something?”

  “Another kill site.” Levi’s voice was tight. “Up by the falls.”

  “Tell him I’m on the way.” Silas prepared to shift.

  “Hold up.” Jeramiah said in a gruff tone holding his hand up. He pressed his thumb on the radio button. “Thanks for letting us know. We’ll put a mark on the map.” Jeramiah put the radio down on the desk.

  “Dad, I have to go up there.” Silas was ready to shift and run.

  “You can go. But I want to be clear with you, the pack hunters are leading this, not us.” Jeramiah warned.

  "I know, but this is our forest."

  "And we work together as a pack to protect it.” Jeramiah reminded him. “Then I want you home in bed. At least five hours of rest.”

  “Got it.” Silas understood and considered his father’s words while he ran to the falls. Fear wasn’t what he was feeling, there was something more. He was determined to figure it out.

  Silas drew closer to the falls and the metallic scent of blood from a bull elk flooded his senses.

  Samira and Levi stood in human form by a copse of trees.

  Silas shifted. “Bull elk?”

  “Yeah.” Levi confirmed. “Whatever it is, it’s hungry.”

  Silas considered the statement before speaking, “That’s a good point.”

  “Come again?” Levi wrinkled his brow.

  “It’s hungry. It’s eating nearly every part of the animals it’s killing, certainly more than most animals would.” Silas said bending to study the lack of tracks and struggle in the dirt. He glanced up at Levi, “If we understand its motive, we’ll be closer to catching it.”

  Silas’ clarity was returning. He studied the scene again. No sign of a fight or a struggle. It was as though whatever it was walked up to the elk and killed it. It didn’t make sense, but he was going to figure it out.

  This kill site put the creature closer to the ranch, closer to a very special five year old boy, Maynard.

  Chapter Three

  It had been two days. No sign of the monster and there were no more kill sites in the forest.

  Samira tapped lightly on the door getting Silas’ attention. “Can I come in?”

  Silas went for the door and joined her on the porch. “Maynard is down for a nap.”

  “Have you found anything?”

  “Not a thing.” She shrugged her shoulders, “Whatever it was probably moved on.”

  “Has Barnett heard anything about any similar incidents in neighboring areas?”

  “No, nothing. It’s like it disappeared.” Samira was relieved.

  Silas inhaled a deep breath through his nose. “Too simple. Something doesn’t just ravage the forest and disappear.”

  “Maybe that’s exactly what happened.” She offered. “Maybe it was full.”

  “I think it’s waiting to strike. I’m more certain than ever it’s here, watching. It’s why I’m not leaving them. I know Abel and Blake can handle themselves, but this thing…it’s powerful.”

  “We don’t know anything about it, why do you think it’s coming here?” Samira asked.

  “The kill pattern.” Silas was certain in his theory.

  “But there haven’t been any kills for two days. I think the hunters scared it off. We’re all exhausted from constantly being out on patrol.” Her shoulders slumped forward.

  “Maybe so, but I don’t want to take any chances. If it gets any closer to the town, we’re going to have to let folks know there’s a threat. It’s been hard enough keeping them out of the forest for now.” He paced the front porch and gazed with purpose out at the tree line.

  Samira hesitated. “Levi’s ready to scale back patrols unless there’s another kill site found today.”

  Silas leaned forward, stiff-armed on the railing of the front porch. His demeanor was wrought with apprehension. “I’ll let Dad know.”

  “I’ll keep you updated.” She said stepping down off the porch.

  Silas pulled his cell phone from his pocket to call Jeramiah.

  Horses screeching in fear shattered the calm of the afternoon. Silas didn’t stop to think, he ran down toward preparing to shift.

  Silas picked up his pace when he saw Powder streaking across the field like a huge dapple comet. She burst through the first paddock and jumped the second fence, running like the devil was at her heels.

  Several horses scattered from the barn and broke into the main field. They gathered at the outer fence Powder had managed to jump.

  They cowered together pressing up against one another. Stomping their hooves into the soft dirt of the paddock.

  Blake and Calvin met in the paddock with the horses. Blake went into the barn to search for the threat and found nothing. Calvin was calming the horses along the back fence.

  Silas reached out with the pack link asking Blake what happened. He was sure it was the creature but wanted confirmation. He also was worried that whatever it was could still be in the barn.

  Blake answered that there was nothing there.

  Silas turned with purpose in Powder’s direction hoping that nothing had happened to her. His keen wolf senses picked up the scent of the creature.

  “I can smell it.” Silas told Samira using the pack link. The creature’s scent drove him forward harder and faster.

  He darted through the woods kicking patches of dirt in the air as he ran at top speed through the trees. Samira couldn’t keep up with him.

  Levi and the pack hunters were on the way. Samira pleaded with him to wait.

  Silas wasn’t going to let anything happen to Ayry’s horse. Adrenaline thrummed through his heart like a freight train, he was closing in on Powder and the monster.

  He broke through the trees into an open field and skidded to a stop at what he saw.

  Powder was panting in the middle of the tall grass being comforted by a beautiful woman. She stroked Powder’s neck making a shushing sound. He scanned the area for the creature, but there was no sign of it, only the lingering scent.

  He turned his gaze back to the woman dumbfounded by her beauty. Her long blond hair flowed down from a grey hood that hung loosely down her back. She glanced in Silas’ direction and he was captivated even more by her violet eyes.

  Silas was so lost in her that he had all but forgotten about the creature he was chasing.

  Powder knickered softly and nuzzled into the woman. She giggled and pressed her forehead against Powder’s and then turned to Silas. “Hello there, wolf.”

  Her angelic voice resonated through him and he could barely think. He shifted into human form. “Are you okay?”

  The woman smiled and widened her eyes at Silas’ form. “I’m fine.”

  Silas was astounded and couldn’t think straight. “What are you doing out here. No one is supposed to be here,” he paused and continued, “It’s dangerous.”

  Light danced i
n her eyes and her lips quivered with the hint of a smile. “I can take care of myself. Besides, this beautiful girl was frightened, don’t you think we should get her home?”

  Silas took a few steps closer. “Yes, I was coming to bring her home.”

  She turned and whispered something inaudible and Powder lowered her head. The woman then leaped effortlessly up onto the horse’s back. “Lead the way.”

  Silas could barely speak or form sentences. His thoughts were only on every word he could think of to describe her beauty, but none did her justice.

  “Are you okay?” She asked with a girlish grin.

  He nodded and shook his head to regain his wits. “Yes, it’s this way.” He wanted to shift back into wolf form in the event they encountered the monster, but he needed to find out more about her.

  The creature’s scent had subsided, or the sweet smell of the woman had distracted him from anything else. He felt as though the immediate danger was gone.

  He walked along side Powder, “What were you doing out here?”

  “I was taking a walk. It is beautiful country here.” She said and Silas noticed a strange accent.

  “Where are you from?” He asked.

  “Far away.” Her answer was short following up with a question. “What is your name?”

  Silas winced realizing he hadn’t introduced himself. “I’m Silas, one of the park rangers here.”

  She pushed her dainty hand downward from her perch. “I’m Cierce.”

  “Nice to meet you.” He scanned the tree line before they entered the forest.

  Levi, Samira and Luca were approaching.

  Cierce tensed and put her hand on Silas’ shoulder, “Be careful, something’s coming.”

  Silas’ skin was set aflame at her touch. He was stilled a moment before turning to her. “They are the pack hunters. My friends.”

  Cierce’s hand lingered hot on his flesh. She hesitated to retract her hand but did so slowly caressing along his shoulder. “Friends?”

  “Yes, they were looking for Powder.” He said slightly in a daze.

  Levi stopped when he saw Cierce on the back of the horse and gave an inquisitive stare.