Tales of the Blood Moon

A Blood-Red Circle

"Well?" Jamesasks, sweeping his .45 left and right while scanning the surface ofthe putrid pond.

"I'm not sure,"Matthew replies, wrinkling his brow and holstering his own weapon. The area is silent save for the sound of fallen leaves being blownthrough the woods by a strong breeze. Closing his eyes and breathingdeeply, Matthew's senses extend beyond his body. The smell of wetfur behind him causes Matthew to turn and walk a few steps, stoppingonly when the scent becomes overwhelming.

"C'mon, tell mesomething," James snaps.

"It should beright here," Matthew states, his words a mixture of confusion andirritation.

"I think I'dknow if there were a bear as big as a fucking elephant standing infront of me." James sounds as frustrated as Matthew feels. "Ithought you could track the damned thing with magic?"

Matthew's eyessnap open, glaring at James. "I thought you had a dog that couldtrack the damned thing?"

"I told youbefore we got started this morning that Duke is gonna be laid upuntil that bullet wound he took heals up," James snarls, returningthe glare and holstering his weapon as he advances on Matthew. "Ifyou hadn't pushed that little brunette into her car and sent heraway, she probably could have told us where the stupid thing is rightnow."

"If you hadn'tbarged into the cabin, shouting about a bear and waving a gun aroundlike a maniac, maybe I wouldn't have sent her away," Matthew shootsback.

"So I wassupposed to just let her stay in there until the bear showed up andkilled her?"

"No," Matthewsays, breathing deeply in an effort to calm himself. "You weresupposed to try explaining things to her in a reasonable manner. Youwere not supposed to start screaming at her and slapping theglasses off her face when she didn't move fast enough for you."

James waves a handdismissively. "Bitch was too slow for her own good. If it was upto her, we'd have all been killed. Sometimes you gotta light a fireunder a chick's ass, you know what I mean?"

"No, I don't,"Matthew says as he begins trudging up the hill. "What I doknow, is that she's most likely notified the police about a pair ofgun-waving lunatics in the woods. We need to get going."

James jogs a fewsteps to catch up with Matthew. "I gotta ask you something. Whydid you have me park my van on the main road instead of just drivingstraight to the cabin?"

"If the bearwent on a rampage, it would have ripped your van to pieces." Matthew smirks. "I didn't want to have to hear you bitch aboutit."

Oblivious to howsnide the remark really was, James nods. "Thanks." James fallssilent for a moment before asking, "You really think that guysummoned that bear?"

"Roused,"Matthew corrects him. "The bear was woken up, not called up."

James nods, thoughMatthew is unsure if James really understands. "I still don't getwhy he sent the thing to kill her. She had booze waiting for him andeverything. Hell, if he played his cards right, he might have gottena blowjob outta the deal. Tell me again why we didn't just shootthat guy on sight? What was the point of hiding out behind sometrees until the bear showed up?"

"Killing himaway from where the bear was roused wouldn't have stopped the bear,"Matthew explains. "I'm not sure where that guy is now, but if hedoesn't put the bear down soon, I'm sure we'll hear some reports onthe radio. A bear that big is sure to draw some attention. Besides,I had a premonition about the bear that led us up here in the firstplace. If the bear is going to make another appearance, I'll justhave to hope I have another one."