Chapter 2: Full Moon Fever

[Bitom]

Friday, September 28th, 2012
1:00 am

The last few months have been calm, aside from the one incident at the high school when the Duncan boy, Jeff got into a fight with one of the other members of the football team and put him into the hospital.

Sam reports that the 'trolls' will enter a dormant phase soon, and everyone keeps the windows locked tight. Occasionally, the little creatures do try to get into one of the houses, and the group takes to doing patrols around the neighborhood in the woods, chasing the things away from the houses with small children in them.

After a few weeks of this, the 'trolls' are gone. A hesitant exploration of their cave reveals none of them, and also no giant tentacle. Sam seems convinced that they will stay gone for a good long time, measured in decades if not lifetimes.

Tonight, though, Fred heard rattling and knocking at his windows, on the side of the house where his child sleeps. Worried that the little troll things have come back, he heads downstairs and outside with his newly-acquired shotgun.

Instead of the porcupine-monkey hybrid he's expecting, he finds a man standing in his back yard. He is naked, but for a cloak made of some kind of fur. When he sees Fred, he simply smiles, showing pointed, filed teeth, then starts running into the woods.

Fred, about to call the police to report a lunatic pervert in the neighborhood, sees the man turn into a large wolf just short of the tree line before it disappears into the shadows cast by the full moon. He abruptly changes his mind and decides to call people who can handle what he's seen instead of the police.

John is on a business trip, but the others are available. Jason and Tom haven't even gone to sleep yet.

[MadVlat]

It just doesn't end, Fred thinks to himself. His shotgun is leveled at shoulder height as he enters his son's bedroom to check the window. "What the hell is this?", he barks under his breath. The naked man grins revealing his sharpened teeth and turns to run. That's when Fred sees that the man has his johnson flapping about and exposed.

He rushes the window with every intention of sending a load of shot into the perverts posterior when suddenly the fur clad man darts to the forests edge and shifts into a canine. Fred can barely fathom what he's seeing at first. Then with a final glance back the creature disappears into the trees and is gone.

Fred just watches for several long minutes beyond the glass wondering if he had just seen what he thought he saw. A cold shiver crawls up his spine and he quickly turns to check on his boy, closing the curtains as he moves. Assuring himself that his son has not been harmed he goes back up stairs and retrieves his cell phone and heads to the bathroom.

Sitting down on the edge of the tub he stares at the keypad. Almost in a trance from lack of sleep and the glowing blue digits he begins the calls. "I just had a naked wolf man Jack visit my home... I am telling the truth... He ran away when I saw him, but.. that's not even the strange part. He turned into a dog or wolf... Yeah the last time I saw him, before he disappeared; was that he was running on four legs"...

[Chanur]

The phone begins to ring and Vincent is startled awake. Groggely he looks over at the clock and its just a bit after 1am. He knows this is likely important at this hour and reaches for the phone missing the first time and grabbing it the second. "This better be good.." He begins and listens to Fred explain. "God we moved to the center of the Twilight Zone. Ill be right over."

Vincent crawls out of bed and throws on his sweats and sneakers and grabs his shot gun out of the closet makes sure its loaded. His wife rolls over and sleepily asks what he is doing. "Fred thought he saw someone walking around outside the neighbors house. The watch is going to check it out. Just being cautious. Go back to sleep baby." He then heads over to Fred's ensuring he has his keys and he locks the door behind him.

[TetNak]

Sam answers the phone but does not say much, just agreeing to come over. The man yawns and looks down at his wife, frowning momentarily before getting out of bed and dressing.

This time, he is more prepared for something like this, as Sam scoops up his laptop bag and throws it over his shoulder. The man immediately heads out the door, jumps in the car, and drives a few houses down to Fred's house.

"I wonder if most every monster tale that has been told has some basis in truth?" he asks himself, thinking about Fred's tale and everything they already know. "And why Fred? Why any of us? Do they know we know?"

The ride is over quickly. Sam hops out of his car and shuts the door quietly. He immediately marches up to Fred's door and raps on it a few times.

[Shadowwk]

Jason is deeply engrossed in a game this late at night when his phone goes off. Listening to the ringtone he knows its not his dad.

"They can wait, this camper has to die."

At the second call through, Jason huffs and grabs his phone and all but shouts into the receiver when he realizes who's calling.

"Hey Fred, whats up? Naked man, sharpened teeth? Ok. Ran and... Changed into a freaking wolf?! Fred buddy, you gotta lay off the scotch. No I'm kidding, course I believe you. I was possessed remember. I'll be over in a few."

The phone clicks and Jason shuts off his game. Standing and stretching he grabs his backpack and stick. Grabbing his keys, Jason locks the door and jogs to Freds.

"This is how you spend a Friday night."

[MadVlat]

Fred is already waiting when the others begin to arrive. His twelve gauge laying across his lap and the heavy mag light in his hand. "Try to keep it down the family is still sleeping upstairs", he says as Sam joins him on the porch. "I called the others. They should be here any second"...

[TetNak]

Sam stops knocking on the door and asks, "What happened." He slings his laptop bag around and starts getting his laptop out. "I will start skimming through the archives."

[Shadowwk]

Jason walks up the drive to see Sam on his laptop and Fred visibly shaken, shotgun in hand. "Hey guys, sorry it took me. I didn't wanna take my car for fear of waking my mom. So Fred, really? A werewolf? What's next, Count friggin Dracula?"

[TetNak]

Sam gives Jason a look, "I wouldn't be surprised there is something like 'Count Dracula' out there. Everything that has legend in the supernatural seems to have some sort of truth to it, at least in what we've encountered so far." Sam shrugs, walks in and sits down. "Fred, why don't you tell us about what happened." Sam is already logging into the archives he has access to and searching about the origins of the werewolf legend and any associated and likely reputable articles.

[MadVlat]

Fred pauses and stares into the late night sky for a minute and then begins to tell his story. "I don't think it was a werewolf. Something was different about the way he changed". He shakes his head as if he can't believe what he saw himself. "There was a rattling on the downstairs windows, as if something were testing them. I went downstairs and was checking things out when I saw him. Naked as a jaybird except for his fur cloak. He saw me at the same time and smiled before turning and running off to the edge of the woods. I kept my on him and he changed, next thing I know is there is a wolf standing there. It looks back and disappears into the woods".

Fred just waits for what he knows is coming. In silence, dreading the barrage of questions he can't answer...