Chapter 19.
A Full Moon Reckoning
Later that same evening, the young priest Frederick stood alone in the courtyard of the old mission building. For hours the noise coming from the abbey's chapel had driven him nearly mad with horror and despair, but thank the heavens that it had finally stopped just now. He had been seriously thinking about getting in the car and escaping this place. The sudden silence had made him peek through the door and he saw that the demon/man/creature, whatever it was, had actually broken the steel bonds that held him in the chair and having toppled the hateful thing over, had retreated to the very centre of the cage, away from his tormentors. Brothers Peter and Connor were currently poking at their victim with sharpened sticks, but the creature seemed exhausted and had curled up in a ball, not responding. Frederick shuddered at the looks of disappointment on his comrades faces.
He withdrew again to the courtyard, praying silently for guidence about what to do with this horrible situation. He wondered where the rest of his group were. Surely they could not have not heard what had gone on. No doubt they were hiding away somewhere, pretending that they really weren't back in the Dark Ages. There was tension in the night air, making his skin turn to gooseflesh. The very woods had seemed to stand in silence, listening. Frederick glanced at the tall trees hanging over the high walls. They looked menacing almost, swaying gently though there was no breeze to speak of. Things were moving out there, the undergrowth rustling, leaves being stirred up at the passage of some woodland creature. He shivered, despite the balmy evening.
A pale gleam of light caught his eye. It was the moon, rising above the hills for the first time this night, full and powerful. Frederick had a terrible sense of foreboding as he gazed at the silvery orb. His imagination was surely running away from him, he thought, for certainly it seemed that the moon frowned down upon him, as if in anger. He jumped suddenly. Had he just heard a woman scream? He turned his head quickly, side to side, listening. No, nothing. The darkness and the fear were getting to him, he thought to himself. Best to get it over with. His feet crunched on the gravel as he made his way back into the chapel. He had decided to plead with his erring brothers on the monsters' behalf, even if it got him kicked out of the church community.
It was dark and quiet as he made his way across the floor. No moonlight penetrated here, except for one small beam that shone through the now open doorway, following him in almost. Frederick wasn't really paying much attention to the fact that this moonbeam did not follow the laws of physics, seeming to bend and curve as it made it's way towards the demon. What he did see, however, made him stop and stare widely for a moment. Suspended in the pale light there looked to be a pair of hands, glowing as they caressed the demon's back and shoulders, stroking back it's sweat tangled hair, soothing it. Frederick rubbed at his eyes and the vision was gone just as soon as he had looked for it. He looked into the cage, seeing that the creature still breathed. Every now and then it twitched as if plagued by cramps or something. His eyes were playing tricks again, or did he really see the demon's muscles bulging slightly, flexing, growing even? He turned his back to these mysteries and approached Connor and Peter, who had withdrawn a bit, whispering together.
"Brothers, I implore you to stop!" he said loudly, with conviction, as Peter and Connor turned to face him.
"Oh no no no. We are so close now! Do not let your pure heart go out to this, thing. Soon, we will know all about it's evil ways" replied Peter.
"I haven't heard it say a single word! This is not the way we were taught! This is not God's will! Centuries ago the Inquisition did such things to people. I cannot believe that we have learned nothing since then!" Frederick shouted, his voice rising with each word.
Peter and Connor were both about to reply when a sudden movement in the cage grabbed their attention. Frederick saw that the man had risen, standing silent watching them, smiling at them. It howled then and to the men's dismay, it was answered many times over, coming from the forest surrounding the mission buildings. The man-wolf ran at the bars and the cage shook as he shoved his weight into it, sliding it ever so slightly. Stooping now, the creature reached down and with a huge effort began to lift the whole cage up off the tiles, the chains on top of it swinging wildly. In stunned terror Frederick watched as the cage toppled over with a great crash, sparks flying as it skidded across the floor. The man-wolf howled once more, triumphant. Only now did the men see their danger and try to flee. Frederick found his feet glued to the floor.
The monster leapt straight after Connor, grabbing the back of his shirt, spinning him around. Frederick saw the young man go down as the monsters' hand raked his face, forming four long gashes that immediately sprayed blood. The creature dropped the boy, turning his attention to Brother Peter, who was scuttling backwards towards the door. The creature was fast, and cut off Peter's escape. Frederick watched in morbid fascination as the creature began to stalk the older man, menacingly driving him back up against the far wall. Peter was gabbling by now, nonsense syllables and Frederick saw that he had wet himself in his terror. Finally he could go no further, and Frederick closed his eyes, sure he was about to witness a gruesome slaughter. But no, even as the monster drew back it's lips and prepared to savage the man's neck, he saw Peter collapse to the ground, his hand clutching vainly at his heart as agony spread over his features. He fell, dead before he hit the floor. The monster stood over the body, snorting in either amusement or annoyance, Frederick couldn't tell. The thing ran to the door then, ignoring the cowering Frederick and the moaning Connor. It shoved the door open and left the abbey. Released then from the horrible spell that seemed to have bound his feet to the floor, the priest followed, heading for the main gates to lock them down.
He reached the place and fumbled in his pockets for the key. No matter what had been done to the creature, he couldn't in good conscience let the thing run loose in the countryside. He stood shaking, listening to the wolf howls coming from all around him, seeing their glittering eyes shining in the moonlight as they staked out the building. Every now and then he also heard the shrieks of his fellow brothers as the thing ran through the mission, hunting them out of every corner and cupboard.
He was still clinging to the large metal gates when silence once more fell. The forest breathed in anticipation. He looked over his shoulder and very nearly passed out in terror. The creature stood at his elbow, it's red eyes glowing and teeth bared. It stared fixedly at the key in his hand. Frederick didn't know why the monster didn't just slaughter him on the spot and take the key, but it continued to stand there quietly, as if waiting for him to make a decision. He stared through the bars at the wild wolves who had come forward now, into the open. His hand shook as he held out the key to the lock, hearing the loud click as the gate swung free. He stepped back and gestured for the thing to go. It paused a moment and nodded ever so politely before dashing into the woods, the wild wolf pack on his heels.
The moon swung over the boy as he fainted, gloating.