The Moonlight Chronicles (Book 1: The First Bite)(Complete)&Book2: (teaser)

Chapter 1: Bitten (Prologue)

Today started like any other, but it took a wrong twist somewhere along the way. I know it's hard to believe but maybe if you walk down the shadowy trails of the forest at night you may just believe me.

I'll start at the beginning. My friend Ryan and I dared each other to do something crazy and adventurous. So, we went on a white water rafting trip through the back woods of Colorado. Things started normal enough when we arrived at the site and set out on our adventure, but that first night of camping in the forest will never leave my memory.

It all started with a slight rustling in the bushes. I roll over and shake Ryan awake. He listens for a bit, scowls, then yawns as he tells me, “Go back to sleep. It’s just the wind.” I look into his deep brown eyes and find comfort in his words. Between his shaggy dark brown hair and scruffy beard, he looks like he belongs out here. So, I decide to trust his judgment and settle back into my sleeping bag, but as hard as I try I cannot shake the feeling that something is out there

When he begins to snore again, I quietly sneak out of the tent with my trusty metal encased flashlight and look around trying to prove to myself that I’m not crazy. I know I heard something. Even if it is just a rabbit, I know I’ll sleep better knowing that there is nothing dangerous circling my tent while I am in it and defenseless inside my sleeping bag. The thought of a thin wall of nylon protecting me from all the animals of the forest isn't the most comforting as I try to sleep. Especially when I know how many of those animals are predators with deadly claws, fangs, or both.

I check all around the nearby bushes, but can't find a thing. Defeated, I walk back to the tent thinking Ryan must have been right. It was just the wind, and I am just being paranoid. As I reach for the zipper, the beam of light radiating from the tip of my flashlight catches a bit of movement and I cannot resist the urge to find out what is keeping me from sleeping.

It doesn't take long before I find a track...and then another. Before I know it, I am so far away from my campsite that I can't see the tent through the brush any more.

I am no experienced woodsman, but I do realize when the tracks turn back towards the direction I just came from. Suddenly my stomach sinks and I realize just how bad of an idea this is. I went running off into the woods…alone, at night, in the middle of nowhere, chasing who knows what, and left my unconscious friend alone…in the tent that I can no longer see.

As if on cue, I can hear my friend begin to scream, and it's mixed with the deep growls of some unknown beast. I bolt back towards the sound, ignoring the stinging of the bushes as they whip past.

As I approach the camp, I trip on a tree root and fall to my knees. My flashlight clatters to the ground and goes out. I immediately search for it in the darkness. When I find it, I rapidly flick the switch hoping it will spring back to life, but it's no use. The bulb has broken, and no matter how many times I flick the switch it will not turn back on. Then I look up and realize that everything seems unusually bright in the clearing where we camped. Through the leaves above I can see a full moon. I think to myself "Those were just stories right? Tales meant to scare the young ones at night."

Then he screams again and I suddenly don't care anymore. My friend is in danger because of me…and possibly hurt. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try to help him. I grab the flashlight like a club and sprint through the final set of bushes.

A sharp branch cuts the back of my hand and I can feel as my blood begins to trickle down my fingers. It stings, but I don't care. A small cut was nothing compared to the agony I heard in my friend's screams. I approach my tent which, to my surprise, looks perfectly fine. I sigh in relief as I think, "Thank god, he must have just been having a nightmare." I loosen my death grip on the flashlight and open the zipper to my tent.