Tales of the Blood Moon

Just Hanging Out

The kid is clearlystartled. He came here, on the last stop of his shift, to deliverpizzas to some guy's fortieth birthday party. The catch is, I'mpretty sure the kid can tell the birthday boy is most likely about topunch his own ticket. I can sense it too, but I guess when you'redead, stuff like that doesn't really bother you as much.

The kid's name isGary, and he's what a lot of people refer to as a "sensitive". Dead people (which is to say, people like me) enjoy spending timewith sensitives. People generate energy whenever they're caught upin a really powerful emotion. Most people can't feel the energy ofothers, but you know who can? Dead people and sensitives. Not onlycan we dead folks sense that energy, but we can use it to do stuff toaffect the material world. Hell, if we have enough of it, we caneven manifest in the material world. Sensitives can't do anythingwith the energy, but the fact they can sense it makes them prettyneat in our eyes. Sensitives also have a way of detecting when deadfolks (such as myself) are nearby. They usually can't pinpoint ourlocation, but at least we're being acknowledged on some minor level,which is a nice break from going completely unnoticed all the time.

Gary acceptspayment for the pizzas and, shaken, makes his way back to hissubcompact. I have the ability to calm him, but I figure he'll comearound on his own. When he almost hits a passing car as he backs outof the driveway, I start thinking I should reconsider. I don'tactually do it, of course, because that would cost energy. While Isuppose I could have snagged some energy from the gloomy guy back atthe house, negative energy is not exactly my cup of tea. Energy thatcomes from a dark place, such as despair, terror or rage has a badflavor. When I say "flavor", I'm not talking about taste, sinceI don't have taste buds anymore. I'm referring to the sensationyou get when you taste something nasty. It reminds me of how youfeel when you can still taste your vomit right after you throw up,which I think explains pretty well why I don't like it.

I thought hisclose scrape would sharpen his driving, but it turns out I'mmistaken. We're cutting through a pretty fancy development on theway back to the pizza place and we pull up to a stop sign. Twolittle boys and a cute brunette in her early twenties are waving to acouple backing out of their driveway. Gary starts rolling away fromthe stop sign, eyes still fixed on the brunette, and almost runs intoa mailbox. I'm beginning to think this kid is a moron.

We finally make itback to the pizza place and Gary turns in his stuff so he can finishhis shift. I'm pretty happy he only works part-time because, notonly is delivering pizzas boring as hell, but the kid has shittytaste in music. I considered changing the radio station, but I'mtrying to move incognito. The kid's a sensitive, so he definitelyknows he's not alone, and I'm doing my best not to make himuncomfortable. When he takes his phone out of his pocket and callsone of his friends, suggesting they should get a couple more peopletogether and hold a séance, I figure I might have failed. Iunderstand the kid is spooked, but a séance isn't the answer. Séances are always bad news, since they send out a signal for milesthat all dead can sense. Unless you really know your stuff and canform a ward against troublemakers, you can never tell who might crashyour party.

About a half hourlater, the whole gang is assembled in a second floor bedroom of anabandoned house. My little band of misfits includes Gary, Pete, Joeland, most perplexing of all, Julie. I didn't think it would bepossible to find a teenage girl who'd want to hang out with thesethree particular teenage boys, but here she is. What's really odd isthat she's sort of pretty, in a bookish kind of way. Sadly, "pretty"and "crazy" go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and she(the clear leader of the group) produces a Ouija board from herbackpack. She then pulls out several candles, a lighter and, much tomy surprise, several multi-sided dice. Four-sided, six-sided,eight-sided, ten-sided, twelve-sided and twenty-sided dice cometumbling out of a velvet pouch. I'm not sure if they're going tohold a séance or play Dungeons and Dragons. Joel asks her why shehas dice, which makes me feel a little better that I'm not the onlyone confused. She explains that some spirits prefer to communicatethrough mathematics, so one must always be prepared. While I'venever heard of that before, I guess anything is possible. Still, I'mpretty sure she's just talking out of her ass to make herself seemmore knowledgeable than she really is.

After lighting thecandles and stating some nonsense about requesting that dangerousentities refrain from participating (because we all know evilbastards are always courteous enough to respect a request), they getdown to business. Calls are made for any spirits present to makethemselves known. Naturally, I ignore that request. Realizingnothing is happening, Julie states she is now invoking the power ofthe oncoming red moon. I have no idea how she can "invoke" thepower of the red moon, since the red moon doesn't work that way. Thered moon's power isn't something anybody can control. Smart peoplerealize the red moon is nothing but bad news and spend the whole daypreceding its arrival inside their houses trying to think happythoughts. Of course, I said smart people, not this gaggle ofdimwits.

She goes on forawhile longer before I'm sufficiently bored and about to leave. Itake one last look around the room and, swirling in the corner, is apurple-black mist. The mist rapidly takes on a shape I suppose youcould define as roughly human. The shape is almost seven feet high,and its body is draped in a shroud that produces on its surface anappearing and disappearing assortment of red eyes and fanged maws. The head of the shape is vaguely human, but considerably lumpier thana normal human head. Covered in dark bruises, weeping sores and deepgashes, the head has a bloody bandage wound around it that coversboth eyes, no nose at all, and its oversized mouth is an underslungjaw, filled with serrated, razor-sharp teeth. I think it's safe tosay shit just got serious.

The gang seemsoblivious, with the exception of Gary. His face is suddenly ashenand he's beginning to shake. The other three notice something'swrong with Gary but, before they can do anything, the thing sweepsforward to engulf Gary inside it. A moment later, I can see Garyagain, but he's not right at all. Gary stands slowly, his now-yelloweyes surveying the room. Having seen all I need to see, I use someof my energy to cause the door to open. Joel and Pete do thesensible thing and haul ass, but Julie is still on the floor, tryingto scrape up her dice. I'm not sure if she's in shock or trying tomake a saving throw, but I need to get her out of here - fast. Iuse more of my energy to send Julie sliding backward out of the roomand then slam the door as soon as she's clear. With no real effort,the thing using Gary's body backhands me completely out of cohesion. Being "out of cohesion" is just another way of saying my spectralform is dispersed. We dead normally drop cohesion whenever we wantto travel someplace really quickly. The weird thing is, I didn'tthink a corporeal form could forcibly disperse my spectral form. Youlearn something new everyday, I guess.

By the time Ireform my spectral self, Joel and Pete are outside the house,panicking and trying to figure out what to do. I exit the room andsee the thing controlling Gary's body at the top of the stairs,holding Julie by the head. One hand is under her chin, while theother is holding the back of her head. She can't scream, but she'sgrunting and thrashing. Gary's mouth is beginning to stretch andcontort, until his lower jaw juts out farther than his upper jaw andfills in with razor-sharp, serrated teeth. With his mouth openingwider than I would have thought possible and a terrible resultimminent, I realize I have to do something I truly hate. I don'thave enough energy left to save Julie, but she's terrified, andthrowing out plenty of energy I can use - if I'm willing to takeit. I let the energy flow into me and realize I was wrong aboutsomething: The sensation isn't like the feeling you get when youtaste your own vomit lingering in your mouth, but more like thesensation you'd have if you tasted someone else's vomitlingering in your mouth. Instantly, I'm next to Gary and I push myhand inside him. I don't know everything about possession, but I doknow enough to understand two of us can't be in one person at thesame time. Reflexively, Gary expels us both. The difference betweenme and the thing is that, while I'm ready, it's caught by surprise. Once kicked out, the thing swirls as mist, trying to get itsbearings. I use the opportunity to burn enough energy to send bothGary and Julie soaring (less than gently) down the stairs and out thedoor. Instantly, I'm standing next to them. Joel and Pete recoverfrom their shock long enough to help Gary and Julie to their feet andthe four of them take off running. Looking back at the house I cansee the thing, now fully formed, standing in the doorway. I decideit's time for me to be leaving as well. As I drop cohesion and zipaway, I make a resolution to spend the next red moon hiding outsomewhere and thinking happy thoughts.