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Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Moon Phase - Waxing Gibbous

Alex's breaths ran ragged for several seconds as he tried to focus and decide what to do. Move south was the only option he saw. Anything else and he'd be just as screwed as staying still. After two steps in that direction, the sound of a door lock popping made him drop to all fours and slow his pace. His head kept turning back to watch for any lights hitting the brush beyond the cruiser's headlights.

Three, then five, then seven seconds passed with no hint of it, though Alex couldn't stop worrying about what the officer had seen. If they had seen him clearly enough. What they would report even if they weren't sure. Why the fuck did I listen to him? Alex thought as he slowed to a stop and spun around, dropping almost to his chest. The headlights, and the cruiser, had to be over thirty or more yards from him now. If he went too far south, he'd run out of shrubbery to hide around and the streetlights that were working would light him up.

After a glance left, Alex thought of breaking just his head through the brush to see what was there. The officer had yet to cross into the area, and he heard no footsteps against grass nearby. If they were still a good distance from him... The idea of more officers arriving and making a perimeter of the area then entered his mind. He couldn't hear the radios anymore, but if he waited too long...

Alex snapped his body to the left before that thought was finished with a slight lunge, his muzzle poking through the tall grasses first. The street was slightly above him, but what he could see of the cruiser showed no sign of an officer walking around. No sirens were sounding and no lights were flashing either. On the other side of the street, sandwiched between the curb and the closest building, was a cluster of trees and tall grass that only the moon was keeping lit. The other side was larger but had only trees with barely any grass.

With another look towards the cruiser, Alex attempted to guess what the officer inside was watching for. His lost catch had run towards the road ahead of him and by now was gone from sight, but its scent and blood was still on the south-bound breeze. For a moment, Alex thought about tracking it down; it wouldn't be hard, and he'd made it bleed, so exsanguination was very possible. He shook his head when the idea began to feel too risky. He had to focus on getting away.

After pulling his head back and closing his eyes, he tried to imagine what he would see if the cruiser's rear-view mirrors were all he was using. He knew his dad adjusted the ones in his truck to watch what was around the vehicle versus the sides. If he was where the officer was now...or were they just watching the line of brush? That possibility made both sides of the street equally appealing, but only for a moment; the basin he'd approached the ranch from was on the north side of the road, and the brush and trees lined the entirety of the roadside there. Going to the south side first would just leave him more exposed, if not to the officer to the cars that could pass by.

By then, doubt and unease was starting to creep back into his head, and Alex's pulse picked up again. Could he make it across the street without drawing attention? His father then came to mind. He had to have heard a call about suspicious animals by now. For a moment, Alex imagined him as the officer in the cruiser he was watching. That thought was quick to change into a twinge of guilt and tension throughout his gut. Damnit. Just get across and get home. It felt like a world away, and he stayed rooted to the spot. He couldn't have seen me that well. Not if he's just sitting there. Not if he was that far away with just the moon out. A touch of warmth soon reached his gut. Just get across, get home.

Alex poked his head out again when his limbs untensed enough, spotting a vehicle coming from the same direction the cruiser had. As it closed in, something struck him: If the officer was inside the cruiser, and it wasn't moving, they wouldn't hear his paws against the ground, and he could more easily cross by going north and slipping right into the basin. Alex was quick to act on that realization and trotted north as fast as he could go. When the noise of the idling engine crested, he slowed for a second to look around, resuming at full speed after he didn't see anything.

As the tree line approached, Alex again slowed his pace, halting at the very edge to scout out the area. The unhindered moonlight made everything he saw look spotlit, the headlights of an oncoming car doing little to increase the brightness. Even so, the basin was just across the street. Once back on all fours, Alex made for the street, pausing only to listen and watch for more incoming cars. The feeling of being watched crept under his pelt as the seconds passed, but with one push from his legs, he started moving and didn't stop until he was at the creek that lead to his house.

Along the way, he found traces of Shane's scent among the grasses and atop concrete, though none that lead into the creek he was using. When Alex looked back, towards the empty basin and the skatepark beyond, the question of where Shane lived came to mind. What he was supposed to do to make up for the loss of his catch quickly eclipsed it, though.

The first idea he had was to wait a while, then come back and see if he could find it. The police wouldn't spend all night combing the area, certainly not for one missing pig, but if he couldn't find it and came back empty-handed... How late can I stay up? With his heart and lungs at last relaxing, Alex felt much more fatigue than anything resembling a desire to sleep.

It was nine-thirty when I left...must have been at least an hour since then. Unable to recall the last time he stayed up anywhere close to two a.m., two, three more hours at most, was all that he believed he could manage.

He returned home to find the yard clean of fresh animal scents, and the time at eleven-twenty, according to his desk clock. Near it was his phone, the screen showing no missed texts or calls. One hour, then I'm going back. With that, Alex opened one of his windows, and the guest window, and starting from the front door, did a check of the outside from every available window. With the evening breezes still going south, the wooded area across the street was where he hoped he'd see something he could feed on.

For the first fifteen minutes of his pacing of the house, he ignored the rumbling of his stomach that had started before he'd come inside; if he caught something, that would deal with it. When nothing presented itself in that same time, a glass of water and four hot dogs were what he made for a snack.

Half an hour soon passed, and then forty-five minutes, both with nothing coming into view. Only scents being carried on the southern breezes. Alex had started yawning several minutes before, and soon after it began, saw no more reason to stay home if nothing was coming close.

The sight of Bailey sleeping on his bed made him pause for a moment when he returned to his room. His pet's eyes were on him in a second, but his head stayed down and no growls sounded from him. _Good boy, Bailey. I'll be home soon._Once his window was shut, Alex left him be and was outside shortly after.

As he retraced his steps towards and along the creek he'd used, the yawning that had started at home progressed into longer and more frequent events. The sight of the basin, how much more land he had to cover before he could even start searching, caused it again and made him shake his head.

It was as he continued towards the bridge that something he hadn't considered came to him: If the stable near his high school had been cleared of animals, how many more months would it be before similar places in the area started shutting down or moving? The idea of traveling out of town every few months to reduce the likelihood was quick to follow, but so did a twinge of sadness that he didn't expect. Alex fought the uncomfortable feeling back as the bridge came into view. Having an excuse to get out of town, possibly spend some daylight hours roaming without fear of being seen, couldn't be that terrible of a thing.

Once he was underneath the bridge, the lack of police lights in the distance relieved a bit of his now building exhaustion. The lights at the football field were still on, which he expected, but as he came closer, he heard no more cheering. As he came within several yards of the street, Alex stuck close to the nearby building and as soon as he could, he peered around its edge. Though the grass and trees obstructed much of his view, the cruiser from before was gone. He then let what felt like a minute pass, crossing the road only after no cars drove by and he heard nothing in line with footsteps.

The shallow recession by the road was where he started his search, his head pulling up every few seconds to watch for oncoming vehicles. The scent of the pig eluded him until he found a weak trace from it near where the cruiser stopped. How much road and area there was behind him made several possibilities of where it had gone come to mind, but if he was only now picking up its scent, and on the ground instead of the air... Where the hell did it go?

Alex moved north again, past a shallow depression and towards a concrete lined creek that ran parallel to the basin. The sides went down almost eight feet, and there was some water at the bottom, but no hint of the pig. The possibility that it had fallen into the other side came to mind, but that was proven false ten seconds later. With everything to the north being industrial buildings and parking lots, all of which were illuminated, Alex questioned if the police, or someone else, had found it and taken it. For the next few minutes, he couldn't come up with a better explanation for why he'd not found its scent beyond a few spots in the grass, and after he went even further east, enough to let him see Industrial Blvd once again, it became the only explanation that made sense.

Alex groaned and covered his face as that idea settled. Torn between wanting to kick himself for losing his catch after all that effort, and hoping another option presented itself before he couldn't stay up any longer, another yawn escaped his lungs. As he wracked his brain for ideas about where to find something he could catch, the idea of trying the ranch again came to mind. He didn't have to go far to see that not only were the police still there, but the silver pick-up he'd seen a week before had joined them.

The shopping center he'd passed was his next idea, but even after minutes of pacing, no scents of living rodents came on the breezes. He then headed west again, back to his middle school. The baseball field was barren, and the only scents besides those from Shane that he found among the grass and concrete were from loose canines and felines; he shook his head and massaged his throat when the thought of attacking such animals surfaced. Further west, he darted across another street, towards an area he'd passed a month ago on his way towards his high school. The scents of the stable animals were indeed gone, the lone scent that caught his interest leading him north into the shrubbery and trees, but to nothing he could chase and catch.

Alex then stopped to think some more, only to feel his eyelids, and his head, growing heavy. The sudden increase in his heart rate snapped him awake, but only for as long as it took him to once again reach the creek leading north. Another yawn got away as he closed his water-soaked eyes for even longer, and by the time he reached the park it ran by, he'd started wiping his eyes.

With no one in sight, the park illuminated only by the moon, Alex diverted into the southernmost part of the park. Expecting at least one duck to be resting near the pond, he found none beyond their weakening scents in the grass. The wooded area near his house was the last place he checked; two fresh scents were among the felled branches and leaves, but both led him towards, and then up, one of the many trees.

When he retreated to the safety of home, Alex didn't go straight to sleep. Instead, he popped his window and kept watch. Something had to come around.

Five minutes later, his eyelids closed and exhaustion took over for a second. He shook himself awake, stopping shy of slapping himself, but after another few minutes the same thing happened, this time as he watched from the bay window. His breathing and heartrate were starting to slow as well, something Alex tried to counter to no lasting effect.I can't fall asleep now. He told himself that for another few minutes, and got in another quarter of an hour of observing before his upright stance, as well as his all-fours stance, started getting wobbly.

Alex felt little besides defeat as he headed back to his room, anchoring one leg atop his bed to counter what he'd just felt. His eyelids drooped again within seconds, and five minutes later, at 2:05 a.m., he couldn't keep himself up any longer. After he flopped onto his bed and settled, sleep took over within a minute.

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Moon Phase - Full

When he awoke the next morning to the sun streaming past his blinds, his desk clock was the first thing he looked towards. 9:31. No. Fuck. Alex's throat tensed and his left paw curled into a fist as he swore repeatedly to himself. It wouldn't be dark until 6:00 or so tonight, and if his hunger hit before noon... I can last that long. I don't go feral like this.

When he at last got up and approached the hallway, his father's scent was quick to reach his nostrils. A brief snore was all he needed to know he was home, with a check of his phone showing no missed messages or voicemails. Even so, Alex couldn't shake the feeling he'd gotten word of what happened last night, or that he would start questioning him as soon as he saw him.

When his stomach began rumbling a while later, the thought of eating anything and finding out the hunger was already affecting him made his arms wrap around his chest to counter a sudden under-pelt shiver. If his parents could leave him alone for the day...but that still left Bailey. Alex settled on keeping him outside with his dishes, the garage door open for him to cool off if he needed it.

Another half hour of his stomach grumbling passed before he found a glass and got some water. How good the snacks in the cupboard smelled when he came close made his hunger feel more self-imposed than unwanted, and the hot dogs he'd not eaten came to mind, causing a lick of his fangs. When he pulled them from the fridge, only one was cooked; that one lasted for four bites before three more were cooked and consumed. Some more water and a few pawfuls of snacks rounded out what could loosely be called 'breakfast' before he returned to his room.

Once his window was open, he found a book to read and tried to get absorbed in it. The sound of his father rousing snapped him away from it a while later, and as Alex listened to him get ready for the day, his gaze kept shifting between the book and his bedroom door, what he planned to say staying in mind and ready.

When his father did appear, dressed in half of his police uniform, the recoil through his body didn't evade Alex's attention. "Hey, dad." He said when he was met with silence.

"What happened last night, son?"

The lack of extreme emotions in his father's tone relaxed Alex's nerves a touch. He had to be talking about the disturbance call. "I wanted to get something early, to be ready for that hunger."

"From the calls I got, it sounded like you weren't alone." Alex cursed Shane for being so reckless at hearing that. "Was it the one you told us about?"

"Yeah."

"Why were you there with him?"

"Because he followed me. Said I had the same idea he did."

"So, the missing pigs?"

Alex nodded. "About that, though..." He felt his ears start to bend back. "I lost the one I caught."

His father sighed, and laid his head against one palm.

"I tried to find it. Had no luck."

"Because we found it." His father said after his hand was pulled away.

Thought so.

"So, because that happened, what happens now?"

An unconscious swallow came when Alex didn't speak for two seconds. The idea of killing someone's pet remained as morbid and gut-wrenching as before.

"Alex?"

"I'll get hungry, but I'll have to suck it up until night comes."

"You have any idea when that'll happen?"

Alex shook his head. "An hour, maybe." His father kept silent, and he glanced at him.

"And you've dealt with this before?"

Alex wasted no time nodding. He didn't want the details coerced out of him. "I'll manage."

His father hummed in response.

"What happened to the pig?"

"The owner took it to be put down after one of the officers found it."

Figures.

"Regardless though, don't go back there. I don't think the officers who reported to me and dispatch really saw you, but after what you and this guy did there, there will be some kind of surveillance."

Alex glanced at his father again. He wanted to respond with 'I'll try', since the place was still one where he could get something if he had no other choice, but gave an 'Alright' instead. When his father stepped away and towards the kitchen, he got up and headed for the sliding glass door in his room.

The backyard was barren, as usual, and no noteworthy noises had sounded for the last hour. With the garage door key in his paw, he slid the door open and made for it, slipping inside once it was unlocked and checking and locking the latches on the front rolling door. All he had to do now was lure Bailey out after his father left, and then keep to himself until nightfall.

As 10:45 approached, the hunger Alex had been fearing surfaced. After confirming it with a taste of a snack he'd had earlier, he retreated to his room, shut the door behind him and took a seat on his computer chair. His pulse had elevated a bit within the last minute, and he slowed his breathing to try and calm it. When it at last did, Alex found the novel he'd been reading and went back to it.

His growing hunger proved as much a distraction as the words on the pages. Keep it together. I've done this before.

By 11:34, it was noticeably worse, and his pulse rose again. Paying any attention to the book after that became a trial as the void in his stomach intensified. How dry his throat started feeling around noon provided the sole counter to his fears of treating his father's scent like that of a potential meal, and he made for the kitchen.

"Everything okay, son?" his father asked from the office as his glass was filled.

"Yeah."

"Then, about tonight, have you thought about where you'll go?"

Figuring his father knew about the evacuation of the animals at his high school, Alex answered as best he could. "There's an animal farm near Marcus' neighborhood."

"That's quite a way north."

"I know. Just an idea." Alex said as he found some straws and took a drink.

"Anyplace else?"

"Uh, I guess the parks and ponds around here."

"That's a little vague."

"I mean the park down the road, and the pond near Nathan's place."

His father took a few seconds. "And what if none of those work out?"

Alex sighed quietly as his stomach began to rumble. The ranch was his best bet in that case, and for a moment, he felt like his father knew it. "Then I'll have to take what I can get. Like before." When his father didn't respond, Alex refilled his glass and returned to his room, this time powering on his XBOX and hoping a game would be more effective at distracting from his hunger.

For a while, it was; the rumbling of his abdomen and spreading emptiness through his muscles started winning back his attention as 12:42 approached. With the game paused, Alex leaned against the head of his bed and laid a paw over his stomach. Five more hours of this, and likely worse? He gave himself a few minutes without distractions before turning his console off. He couldn't imagine the hunger crippling him in any way, but he'd yet to go more than five hours without dealing with it.

When Alex forced himself to breathe slower, in the hopes of calming down, his heart didn't cooperate; the knocking on his door a while later only made it speed up. Once he was settled in his computer chair, he pulled his paw away from his abdomen.

"Hey, dad." He said once the door opened and his father walked in. His skeptical expression, and the stall in his response, left Alex hoping he at least looked calm.

"Something wrong?"

Alex shook his head. "No. Just thinking about taking a nap."

"When you're hungry?"

"I've got to kill time somehow."

His father paused again. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then, son."

Alex nodded in response. "You too, dad." His father then began to close his door, and until he heard his truck start up, he stayed seated.

The scent trail his father had left relaxed his stomach, and made his tongue twitch, getting him to move faster towards the kitchen pantry. After a few seconds, he found the dog treats he'd bought for Bailey and poured three into his paw. The scents coming off them were more pleasing than he thought, but with getting his dog outside a sudden priority, once he found him resting on the office sofa, he wasted no time saying his name and showing him the treats.

Bailey's expression remained blank, and his tail didn't move, even as Alex came closer. Certain he was torn on what to think, Alex tossed one of the treats at him. His pet still didn't move, opting to simply crane his neck to reach and snap up the treat, once it stopped bouncing.

"C'mon, Bailey. With me." Alex said as he walked away. After five seconds without hint of his pet, he returned to the office. "Outside, boy." This time, Alex returned to his room and waited, leaving his door and the one into his parents' bedroom open. Several minutes went by with no sign of Bailey taking interest, and he set the treats aside.

As he started thinking about other ways to get him outside, the sound of creaking and claws on wood reached him through his open window. Alex's head snapped towards it and he came in close, before questioning what was entering his yard. A cat was the first thing he thought of, his head shaking again as the thought of using one for food entered his head.

As he continued to stare in the direction he thought the noise had come from, from behind the garage, he saw an upright, black and tan furred werewolf emerge. Shane turned his direction as his flesh began to chill, the sight of a slab of meat in his right paw the only thing keeping Alex from recoiling in horror.