Moon Eater

Unsteady

Claire stared at Matt in disbelief. “The Brooklyn Devil?” she said faintly. Matt nodded grimly. “I always thought it was just a campfire story to scare kids.” He ran a hand through his hair anxiously. “My ma used to threaten me that if I didn’t go to bed early, the Brooklyn Devil would appear and attack me. Claire frowned as she processed this unexpected revelation. “When we were young, Zoey used to tease us with stories of the Brooklyn Devil too.”

That’s not all,” Matt said as he beckoned Claire to the laptop. She peered closer at the laptop screen in disbelief. There, staring back at her, was her face on a wanted poster.

“Fifteen million dollars?” she exclaimed as she scanned the bounty displayed below her photo. Her gaze drifted to the alias printed underneath;

“The Moon Eater.”

Suddenly, the diner seemed to spin around her. She gripped the table’s edge as a wave of dizziness crashed over her fragile state. She shot a desperate look at Matt. “Why would someone put a fifteen-million-dollar bounty on me with that name? I’m just a data analyst!”

Her mounting confusion and fear surged into anger directed at her friend. “I wish I were worth that amount of money.” The grim look on Matt’s face calmed her. He met her wild eyes with an odd mix of pity and resolve.

“It’s no mistake, Claire. I wish it were.” Claire stared numbly at her own warped reflection on the black screen, questions clawing at her throat too terrifying to voice. “The bounty was placed by someone called Mister Alpha,” Matt said as he scrolled down the laptop. “If there’s a bounty on your head, the Brooklyn Devil isn’t the only one that’s gonna be after you, Claire. Other bounty hunters will come looking, too.”

The waitress announced that Larry’s Diner was closing for the night, so Matt gently insisted on walking Claire home. Her mind swirled with the evening’s shocking revelations, from the lethal Brooklyn Devil to the ominous figure of Mister Alpha and her bizarre wanted alias. Not to mention the immense bounty now on her head.

The chilly night air did little to clear Claire’s thoughts as they walked in uneasy silence. When Matt spoke again, his calm tone carried an undercurrent of unease. “You need to be careful.” Claire nodded numbly, still processing it all. After a few more paces, curiosity overcame her fear. “Matt, did you ever notice anything strange about Los Angeles?”

Matt was quiet for several moments before answering. “Yeah, ever since I grew older. If you were around, you’d have noticed it too, but I think everyone’s scared to talk about it.” Moments later, after Claire had gotten home and settled, she drifted into a deep sleep. Still dreaming of her near-death experience.

***

A week went by, and Claire constantly found herself looking over her shoulder, paranoid that another attack might come at any moment. Yet, she played it cool at work, not wanting her colleagues to suspect anything was amiss. Ethan continued his usual jabs, as he chuckled from across the room with a lollipop in his mouth. “Hey, coffee girl, you’re looking more gremlin than usual.”

Claire spun around, mustering her wittiest smile despite barely sleeping. “Hey, resident man-child, still unable to drive properly despite all his money.”

Valentina, who was passing by, let out a sudden snort of laughter. Ethan was left dumbfounded. He chuckled and stormed off toward his office, slamming the door behind him in annoyance. Claire smiled, feeling a small sense of victory. As stressful as Ethan’s constant jabs were, they provided a momentary distraction from the harrowing events of the past week. In moments like this, surrounded by co-workers, she could almost pretend she wasn’t being hunted with a massive bounty on her head.

During her lunch break, Claire secluded herself at her desk and began researching the Brooklyn Devil and her mysterious alias, the Moon Eater. For the Brooklyn Devil, she found numerous unsolved cases and conspiracy theories on several blogs. One blog claimed it was a creature that prowled the Battle Hills at night, leaving behind a trail of bodies.

Another blog linked the Brooklyn Devil to high-profile killings across the decades. Politicians, mob bosses, celebrities, and even world leaders were all rumoured to be dispatched by the ominous Brooklyn Devil. The more Claire read, the more confused she became, as these were all just rumors and speculations, not facts.

When she also searched for Moon Eater, very little credible information surfaced. One archive described it as a creature with an insatiable hunger; another claimed it was seen as some sort of saviour by Native American shamans. They held ceremonies and rituals to appease the Moon Eater. Frustrated, she leaned back with a sigh. More questions swirled in her mind than when she started. Nothing explained the bounty on her head, nor even Mister Alpha.

Lost in thought, Claire nearly jumped out of her skin when a gentle hand touched her shoulder. It was Valentina. “Sorry, Claire. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was wondering if you could help me with a report,” Valentina asked. Claire nodded, forcing a calm smile as she closed her laptop. Questions still reeling in her mind.

As closing time approached, Claire began her journey home, her mind replaying the disturbing encounter with the Brooklyn Devil. She still felt shaken to her core by how close death had come. She barely noticed Ethan pull beside her in his red Audi S8.

“Need a ride, coffee girl?” he called out the window in his usual teasing tone, expecting her to decline as usual. To his surprise, Claire gently nodded and opened the passenger door without her usual retort. He shrugged and stepped on the gas.

“Eager for my driving, are you?” Ethan jabbed as they sped through a yellow light. Claire sighed and grabbed the dashboard desperately as Ethan sped past a truck, narrowly avoiding a collision.

“Don’t flatter yourself pretty boy; you really need driving lessons,” she muttered as she gripped the seatbelt. Ethan chuckled, unfazed as always by his reckless antics behind the wheel.

As he drove, he glanced over and watched Claire stare vacantly out the window, weighed down by some invisible burden. Her knuckles whitened around the strap of her bag, and her dark hair captured the changing lights of the cityscape. Her green almond-shaped eyes, normally bright with wit, now looked dim. “You alright?” he asked gently. She blinked and turned as if remembering where she was.

“You don’t need to pity me.”

“I’m not,” he insisted, hesitation in his reply rather than the usual snapback. Why was he being nicer lately? “You just seem...

Claire sighed. “It’s been a crappy few days. That’s all.” Ethan nodded slowly as he swerved. “Crappy days are a part of life. We all have them.”

“Oh please, with your trust fund, I’m sure your days are absolutely miserable,” Claire teased, a smile tugged at the corners of Ethan’s lips as he slowed down in front of Claire’s home. “We all have our crappy days Claire,” Ethan muttered as he parked. “Just breathe and take it one step at a time, you’ll get through whatever you’re going through.” Claire giggled as she stepped down. “Look at you being motivational, she teased. Immediately, dark clouds began to roll in, and the first drops of rain began to fall. “Thanks for the ride,” Claire smiled at Ehan before rushing home.

***

The atmosphere was filled with silence in the apartment, safe for Shelly’s meows. “Fine I’ll feed you,” Claire hissed as she poured cat food into a bowl and gave it to Shelly. She picked up strange noises that seemed to echo outside their home; she crept towards the source and waited by the door, expecting an intruder.

Instead, a clap of thunder sounded directly overhead as winds howled. Claire sighed in relief but remained unsettled. After an hour of failing to distract herself, she decided on an early night. But just as she reached to shut her lights, she heard faint scrapes that echoed outside, again. Shelly started hissing uncontrollably with her tail up, clearly agitated. Claire tiptoed to the door nervously. Lightning flashed, outlining a large silhouette outside the window. Her pulse raced as different thoughts swirled in her mind.

Suddenly, a deafening crash exploded as the door crashed open. Claire watched as a large silhouette loomed at the entrance, holding an axe that glinted menacingly in the flashes of lightning. Before she could react, the axe was hurled towards her head; she sidestepped as it narrowly grazed her hair. The large silhouette appeared from the entrance, uncovering a tall, bulky man. He sported a goatee and had tattoos all over his biceps. He growled in a low, menacing tone,

“I’m here for the Moon Eater!”