Blood Moon

1 | History

"Hurry, hide!" 

The two children nervously crawled underneath their beds. The night is quiet but they hear the creaks of the wooden floor.  The door is barred by a large mahogany desk without any lit candles. They hide in the dark relying on moonlight from their windows.

"I'm afraid." says the younger child.

"Don't worry, we will get out of here." assures the older one.  

Footsteps are heard from outside, which seems to come closer and closer. They nervously look at the shadow that loomed under the seeping light from their bedroom door. 

"Children." says an old woman. 

They quiver from the sound of her voice, covering their mouths as if they could be heard breathing.  Intently they listen when an uncomfortable, screeching sound is heard like the door is being scratched by fingernails.  Then, a sudden hard thump follows startling the children. 

"I can hear you," she says. "Come out..."

Another loud thump. 

"... don't make me come get you." 

Hearing this, the two children hurridly crawls out in search of something - looking every now and then at the bottom of their bedroom door for the shadow that has now left. 

"I found it!" the older one exclaims in a whisper.  They both pull the floor door with all their strength to open it. 

"Go first" insists the older child. 

"But it's too dark in there." says the younger one. "I'm scared." 

Oh, my sweet darling,

My touch is near. 

They could faintly hear the old woman singing.

Don't ever be frightened

Of the night my dear. 

Her every verse becoming louder.  

One child carefully goes down the passage while the other holds the cover. 

Your dreams are pleasant

And your days at peace. 

She continues, now much clearer. 

"She's close! Hurry!" says the older one, anxiously.

Don't ever be frightened,

Mother is here. 

And as the older child was about to descend the secret passage, their bedroom door was broken down and staring at them is the woman holding a brightly lit lamp. She grabs onto one of them and proceeds to drag the child outside of the room, slamming the passage door shut.

"No, mother! Please! Don't do this!"

The old woman continues to hum her song while the older child is being pulled from one hand. 

"Run! Leave me here! Don't come for me!" shouts the older child to the younger one who is frozen in place, thinking quickly on what to do next. 

Whips and screams are heard while the younger child's heart raced and beads of sweat accumulate. 

"If I go on to escape and search for help, it may take days before I could return and by that time, it may already be too late.  But.., but if I become a hero myself, we might not be able to get out of this hell at all." the child thought, a dilemma that is hard to bear. 

Screams resonate through the walls but oddly, they could never be heard from outside the house.  This makes help impossible to come and their time is running out. 

So stealthily, the young child gets out of the floor passage, grabs the iron lamp, creeps closer to the kitchen and...

WHAM! 

The old woman was hit at the back of the head with the lamp, breaking its glass to pieces.  This temporarily disables her, causing her to kneel down the floor. The younger child quickly gets the older one by the arm and gathers the strength to carry them out of the house through the passage. 

The old woman indignantly tries to follow suit but is dazed from the attack. The two children make it out into the woods barefoot. They can hear their hearts beating out of their chests as adrenaline pushed them to run further into the deep woodland without even looking back.  Although hurt and limping, the older child is aided by the younger one. They managed to escape but are now faced with uncertainty. In the darkness, there is no way for any help and the night is a time for predators to roam freely. 

So the children stopped in the middle of nothingness surrounded by towering trees, unnerving noises, and the deathly cold. Terrified that they may not survive on the ground, they decide to climb a tree where they can easily spot anyone or anything that may approach them. They agreed to take turns in sleeping but tiredness is difficult to control so they eventually both fall into slumber. 

"Children... children..." 

The older child jolts back into consciousness and looks around cautiously. 

"What was that?" the younger child asks. 

"What?" replies the other. 

"That. There." as the young one points to the bushes not far from where they're staying. 

The two children grasp each other's hands in anticipation of what's to come out from the dark.  A figure slowly emerges and speaks. 

"Come down, children. Don't be afraid." 

The children knew it wasn't the old woman although a bit nervous they follow what is asked. They descend from the tree and reluctantly walks closer to the unknown person in front of them. As the moonlight shines upon the face of the stranger, the children relaxed and an unusual calmness engulfs them. 

The stranger holds out its hands to them, letting them know that it's safe to come along. The children give their trust and walk with the stranger, knowing that they will no longer have to go back to that dreaded place they used to call home.