Chapter 8
Further in story character thens and nows
-oOo-
Hope didn't need a calender or to look up at the night sky to know when it was getting close to the first night of the full moon, her own body made it very clear to her. The fine hairs on her arms would start to tickle, a feeling much like both arms were constantly being brushed by invisible strands of spider web and, no matter how much she rubbed or scratched at her own arms, nothing eased the sensation. Hope herself would become increasingly restless, pacing around the confines of her room, increasingly yearning to run, it didn't matter where to.
The first time she felt this way, Hope went out for a jog, despite Joel advising against it. Initially it was fine, it successfully quelled her agitation but, as she continued jogging steadily around the park, the tension began to rise again, sending her stomach into knots and there was only the one release...Run. Run fast.
There was no gradual build up of speed from her steady jog. Hope simply switched from jog to full on sprint in one stride, startling the jogger behind her who was using Hope to pace herself. As she continued circling the park at racing pace, Hope's awareness of what was around her had faded, her focus shrinking until all she knew was the power of her own legs carrying her onward. She didn't notice people having to quickly scuttle or jump out of her way, or the shouts telling her to watch where she was going, calling her an idiot, and worse. Neither did she notice the young woman directly in her path who right then had her back to Hope and was bending over, chatting to a toddler by her side. Hope quite literally ran the woman over and, in a spinning whirlpool of limbs, they both crashed to the ground.
Despite the cacophony of noise triggered by the collision, Hope always after remained certain that even above the screams, the child's sobbing and other people shouting, she actually heard the woman's right wrist shatter and the sharp crack that was one of the woman's ribs breaking. It was something else entirely however that stood out for Hope both at the time and whenever she thought back to that day in the park. It was the unique and mouthwatering body odour of the fallen woman herself. Hope had found herself struggling to combat the powerful urge to sniff the woman's face while they were both on the ground.
Even with the broken bones and subsequent surgery on her wrist, the woman Hope slammed into turned out to be a very lucky lady. There had been time for her unique scent to become lodged deep in Hope's memory. Fate or good fortune, however, ensured that the young woman's path never crossed or ran parallel to Hope and Joel's on a night when the moon was full.
While extremely painful for the injured woman, the incident was also traumatic for Hope. Both guilt ridden and horrified by the incident, Hope had determinedly remained with the woman and her little boy until the ambulance arrived, despite the derision of the gathered onlookers. When the ambulance arrived it turned out that, following on right behind it, was a deputy sheriff.
Later, with the incident deemed to be thoroughly stupid but purely accidental, the deputy had called Joel to collect Hope from the Sheriff's department and drive her home. After providing Joel with a grudging description of what had led up to the accident, Joel had offered suggestions on strategies that Hope could try that wouldn't prove risky to other people. Ever since then, as the period of the full moon drew closer, Hope managed her increasing tension by resorting to eating raw meat and Joel never failed to ensure that the fridge was well stocked with thick cuts of bloody, red meat and hunks of offal from the local butcher just prior to a full moon.
That was where Hope headed now. Selecting a slab of sirloin that only just fit on her dinner plate and a carton of fresh milk, she turned to go back to her room just as Joel walked into the kitchen. Hope scowled at her uncle's intrusion and made to stalk past him but Joel deliberately side-stepped into her path. She tried a second time to bypass him, but again Joel used his body to block her.
"Hope. We need to talk."
Refusing to make eye contact with him, Hope's answer was snarled through gritted teeth.
"No. We really don't."
Joel tried putting a hand on her shoulder. Hope instantly turned towards the touch and glared at her uncle's hand, imagining herself biting into the raw flesh. Scenting the rise in her aggression, Joel snatched his hand back but remained stood facing his young niece.
"I don't want us going out during this full moon. We can secure ourselves down in the hide, I can keep us supplied with..."
It was a suggestion Joel had frequently made in the past, and Hope was heartily sick of it. Joel's sentence stalled when Hope's right hand shot forward. Grasping the gold chain around his neck she dragged his own moonstone pendant out from under his tee. Unfurling her fist she let the pendant lie on the palm of her hand and lifted it up in front of Joel's face.
For the first time in a long while she raised her head, and looked Joel in the eyes. Joel's body froze, becoming rock still, except his breathing and his heart rate, his heart being his betrayer as it's beat suddenly increased in response to the icy cold threat held in the eyes of his niece. He knew Hope would be aware of the change in his heart's rhythm, he had no way to hide it from her.
"You piece of shit! You made me what I am, an' I'm tellin' you once an' for all, the monster you put inside me will be hunting come the full moon. You can sit chained up in the hide till you rot for all I care, but don't you ever try to get me down there again. Got that?...The time for testin's real close uncle, can't you smell it? I'm ready for it. I can't wait for it. You better prepare yourself dear uncle...Now, do us both a favour an' fuck off outta my face!"
Shocked into silence, Joel stepped aside and made way for his niece.
-oOo-
Chick xxxx
A review or two seems to really help my typing finger ;p
