Eternal Moon

Chapter One: Once Upon... a Strange Village and the Murdered Rental Car

Jamie ran as fast as her feet could carry her. Panting, sprinting, she rushed through the thick forest as if her life depended on it. Because it did. The moon hung full and white over the tops of the trees, its light threading down through the leaves as the sound of a long and mournful howl filled the world around her. It drowned out the sound of her beating heart, so fast that it pounded in her ears and filled her throat. Her sides were aching, her knees were scraped and bloody, and her mouth was dry as she tried desperately to outrun the monster that was hunting her, calling her, looking for her. It was so close she could hear the crashing of leaves and twigs it trampled in its wake, in its fight to catch her. It howled again and the sound was closer, making Jamie cry out with fear and dread. She just needed to get a little bit farther to the cliffs. Then she would jump and hope the river didn't kill her. After all, drowning would be a much better fate than what the monster at her back had planned.

She could hear the frothing panting breath of an animal and she screamed in an attempt to push herself just a little bit more, a few more yards. She yelped when she tumbled over her feet in her rush and crashed through the trees to the rocky cliffs where the land ended and the sea began. She could feel blood running down her face and her ankle ached. One or two fingers were broken and she grunted in pain as she tried to stand up. But all she could do was collapse and drag her foot through the rocky undergrowth to the very tip of the precipitous cliff. All Jamie had to do was turn her head a little and she could see the choppy, angry waves of the Northern Sea surrounding her below. They rocked and crashed against the cliff face, promising a harrowing and cold death. But she would welcome it, every single second of it. If it meant...

Jamie's breath left her when the woods in front of her moved and the monster revealed itself from behind the trees. It stood over seven feet tall, covered in dark, bristly fur, panting from a pointed snout that dripped long fangs covered in saliva. Its eyes were a piercing, preternatural green and they stayed on her as it walked forward on its hind legs, inching closer and closer.

A small rock collapsed behind Jamie and she watched as it tumbled down, down the steep cliffside into the treacherous sea. It disappeared into the waves, lost forever. But as she turned she could see the huge, monstrous paw of the beast edge closer. Her whole body trembled so hard she was sure she would fall off and she was so frightened she couldn't stop her bladder from releasing or tears from flowing down her cheeks. Certain death was all that awaited her and she said a small prayer for mercy as she stared into the eyes of the beast about to devour her.

Its lips peeled back, revealing two rows of stinking, pointed teeth as its breath came out like a dragon's. It growled, poised to pounce and she could see its claws curl in anticipation.

Jamie slowly stood up, closed her eyes, and stepped off the ledge.

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Two Months Earlier

"Fuck me," Jamie cursed as she tried to get the cellular data back on her phone. The navigation app continued to tell her she had no service, however, and she threw the phone down in frustration. The map was also no help. She had stupidly gotten off A96 when her navigator had seduced her with a shortcut, and she couldn't see anything through the gray haze of rain. She squinted and saw a soft yellow light in the distance but wasn't sure if the road led in that direction. She had to admit it now: she was lost.

"Good job, Campbell."

She rested her head against the steering wheel and let herself wallow for a few moments. Her stubbornness had once again gotten the better of her. Jamie had ignored her advisor's input and foregone the group trip to Dunotarr Castle, opting instead to trek out on her own. Her research had led her to the discovery of an apparently "extinct" village near Ballindalloch, just north of the Cairngorm Mountains, something that filled her with excitement and curiosity for the first time in a long time. She had come to Scotland for a study abroad after hitting a wall with her thesis; she needed some inspiration. So far she had found none either until she had come across the old tome that sat next to her on the passenger seat. Finally, she had a question to answer, a historical mystery to solve, a story that had no author. The only problem was that she had decided to try and find the location of the village on her own and had ended up lost as a result.