Eyes of the Blood Moon

Blood Moon Rising

She groaned, standing up and stretching out her arms. She dressed in flowy pastel yellow sundress, that complemented her copper tanned skin. The dress had been her mother's, and at the moment, she just really wanted her parents. She felt a bit embarrassed about it, she was nearly 30, and she still needed her mom when she felt upset. But then again, who could really blame her.

She brushed out her hair and then began to look around her very messy storage closet, coming across a lot of old memorabilia from her child hood. Each object hurt a little more than the last, knowing the past would always stay in the past. But eventually she found the crate, and hastily closed the closet, locking away the painful memories.

It was a struggle, getting Pebbles in the crate. He'd been trapped in the house to a coffee table for so long, apparently he didn't much like the idea of being confined again. Ella eventually lured him in with treats and quickly packed her overnight bag, before hearing the rap at her door.

She looked around the little cabin a final time. This place had felt everything she had felt on the island the last year. It'd seen her at her best and her worst and she was sad to leave it. She took in a deep breath, that didn't make her feel any better, and left.

Back in the midday air, she tried to convince her self she was simply going on vacation with her friends. Maybe if she could distort reality in her mind, it wouldn't hurt so much. But her mind knew better, and it never truly worked.

Erin, Sarah and Mildred seemed to all be feeling the same. They were all leaving the island they had called home for so long, and they didn't know if they would be back.

"Hey Pebbles," Erin greeted the crate in her best masking voice she could muster.

Ella could tell she felt just as guilty about leaving. She tried to convince herself this was for the best, and if they convinced the police to check it out, everything would be fine. But she had a gut feelings that was eating her away, something that told her it wasn't right. Still she has agreed to do this, so she wasn't going to back out. Not to mention she was scared, every part of her rational mind was telling her that it wasn't safe and she needed to leave, but she couldn't push down the feelings of guilt and worry of regret that  she'd leave everyone she loved and cared about on the island.

"Are we ready?" Sarah asked, reading Ella's conflicted face.

Ella didn't say anything, she just nodded and swallowed down the guilt. She walked down the steps as Mildred put her arm across her shoulder comfortingly, as of to say "it's going to be okay." However Ella wasn't so sure of that.

They walked towards the docks where the Belle should've been docked. However there was no ship in sight.

The air felt heavy. Something definitely wasn't right. This could be deeper than they thought.

"In all my years in this island, that ship has never been late," Mildred pointed out.

Ella knew as well, the Belle was never late. No matter the weather or the circumstances, that ship always showed up.

"Sturge!" Erin shouted to the man working in a nearby speed boat.

He glanced up at the group, his eyes shifting nervously.

"Where's the Belle? We were hoping to take a trip to the mainland," Ella asked him.

His eyes darted to there bags and the cat in the crate.