The Blood Moon (Patreon)

Danny Lin ripped a long strip of packing tape off a cardboard box and began unloading his weekly supply of O-Negative Blood. The refrigerated pouches felt ice-cold against his bare hands. 

He gulped.

As he stacked them in the storage room cooler, his mouth began to water. The thick substance sealed inside the plastic looked almost black, but the familiar crimson-red tint kissed the edges.

Blood.

Sweat dripped down Danny’s forehead. He could feel his vampiric hunger reaching its boiling point. His body begged him to drink all of it right here, right now, and devour every last pouch. But his body remained still.

Danny peeked his head back through the storage room door to scan the shop. Fortunately, The Paragon Eye was still empty. Wiping his sweaty forehead with a towel, he moved to the front of the shop and locked the door. As he raised a hand to flip the open sign to “closed,” Danny's heart skipped a beat and began racing. Light from the setting sun beamed through the front windows and dragged across the sales floor. The familiar orange and pink hues painted the shop like a vibrant fresco and filled Danny with excitement.

He grinned and rushed back to the store room. It would be night soon.

The wall clock clicked, reading 8:15pm, just as Danny finished stacking the blood. His hand lingered on the last pouch. 

The open cooler chilled the sweat on his face, sending shivers down his neck and spine. Suddenly, everything became silent and still. The hairs on the back of Danny’s neck stood on end and he could feel it: the pull of the Blood Moon as it began to rise.

Danny’s vampiric fangs extended. His irises expanded until his eyes were like two inky-black spheres. He’d already had a pouch today, but he wasn’t in control at the moment. In a frenzy, he tore into the plastic sleeve and guzzled its contents. 

Slurping and swallowing, Danny’s heart raced as the sweet, metallic flavor gushed into his mouth and down the back of his throat. His legs buckled and he stumbled back against the wall. Feeling his consciousness slip back into his skin, Danny slowly pulled up his knees and sank to the floor. The pouch crinkled inward as it emptied under his vice-like grip. Once it was completely drained, he broke away and gasped for air.

“Fuck.” Danny blurted between ragged breaths. 

As he spoke, a stream of blood escaped his lips and trickled down both sides of his mouth. A long, bloody, satisfied smile stretched across his face as his eyes rolled back in ecstasy.

The wall clock ticked as dozens of minutes passed in the blink of an eye. 

Blood dripped onto Danny’s shirt while he sat there on the floor. The high from the O-negative sent his endorphins ablaze. His brain was scrambled and his skin felt loose, like his mind and body had both transformed into wobbly jello.

A soft ding-ding perked Danny’s ears. He recognized the familiar sound as the front door chime of The Paragon Eye. Someone with a key to the shop was here.

“Hey, Danny! You there?” A voice called out from the front of the shop. “We brought you some party favors for your big night.”

Shit fuck. Danny thought to himself. His body was still riding high and didn’t have the energy to sit up at the moment.

The sound of footsteps inched closer as the voice called out again, “Yo Danny, where you at?”

Jazmin’s figure entered the door frame. In her hands was a large, brown paper bag that crinkled under the weight of its contents. The bottom of the bag was soggy and smelled like blood. Jazmin spotted Danny sprawled out on the floor like a headless chicken.

“Ha! Looks like someone started early.” She chuckled with a knowing grin.

“Whoa, what? Is he okay?” Norman peeked his head in the room and scanned for Danny.

“Yeah.” Danny admitted with a sigh. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

They locked eyes and both grinned. Norman laughed while Danny wiped the blood from his mouth and chin.

Liam and Cora entered the store room last and helped Danny to his feet. Norman and Jazmin smooshed them all together into a group hug.

“HAPPY BLOOD MOON!” They all cheered excitedly.

Danny blushed and shied away, “You really didn’t have to do this.”

“Nonsense! This day only comes once every three years.” Cora shouted, pulling out her party poppers. She tugged the strings and shot a small explosion of red confetti into the air. Liam snapped his fingers and chanted a fire spell, lighting all the candles in the shop with deep crimson flames. Jazmin hung streamers and paper chains around the shop while Norman brought Danny another blood pouch.

The Feast of the Blood Moon was a very sacred holiday among Vampirekind. It marked the beginning of the Vampiric New Year as well as the Ascension of Markos, the First Vampire. All those years spending the holiday alone still haunted Danny’s memories, but today he felt at home. He looked around at his friends–his family–and smiled. They cared for him, and everything was perfect.

“I BROUGHT GIFTS TOO!” Cal shouted suddenly, interrupting the soft moment. 

Everyone jumped as Cal slammed a thick, loosely–wrapped carcass onto the checkout counter. He grinned around at all of them like a proud dog that had brought home a dead mouse.

A moment of awkward silence followed as everyone registered Cal’s “present.”

Steaming, purple blood oozed from the strange body and trickled down the counter’s wooden frame. As it pooled on the floor, the blood melted through the floorboards.

All eyes turned to Cal in utter disbelief.

“It’s a Lava Skater.” Cal explained as he drooled over the meat. “They’re a real delicacy in Hell.”

Liam poked the wrapping warily to make sure it was really dead.

“They actually go for pretty cheap on the Infernal Black Market cuz the meat spoils so quickly.” Cal said, tapping the top of the monstrous shell. “Besides, they’re tastiest when they’re fresh.”

As if on cue, the Lava Strider let out an ear-piercing shriek and flailed its insect-like arms in the air. Cal punched a hole through the creature’s shell and it fell limp and quiet again. A nasty brimstone smell immediately filled the room as the goopy Lava Strider flesh splattered the checkout counter. The purple meat pulled apart like smelly string cheese. The coven looked on in horror as Cal devoured a large raw chunk of the stuff. They quickly covered their noses and backed away in disgust.

Cal licked his claws and hummed with satisfaction after each taste.

“So delicious! Danny, you have to try this.” Cal exclaimed as he continued to stuff his mouth with Lava Strider flesh.

Danny’s expression turned sickly and he covered his mouth. 

“I think I’ll pass...but thanks for thinking of me.” Danny said while choking back vomit. 

Cal smiled and nodded as he continued eating his gift. His cheeks swelled full of the purple flesh. He extended a handful to Norman who just shook his head and mouthed “no.”

From the brown paper bag, Jazmin pulled out a blood pouch. It shimmered in the light with silver and gold blood. Danny’s pupils dilated with excitement.

“Unicorn blood.” He whispered as his mouth immediately watered.

He gladly accepted the pouch and sank his teeth into it. The flavor of ambrosia flooded his senses.

“I wasn’t sure which to get you, so I kinda splurged and got a couple options.” Jazmin said playfully as she handed him the bag.

Inside were several pouches of chilled blood from different creatures. The sweet, juicy aroma just about sent Danny’s nose over the edge again. There were more unicorn, wyvern, and basilisk pouches–a good variety of all his favorites. Underneath were some extra pouches of O-negative, AB-positive, and B-positive human blood. He recognized them as donated blood pouches from each of his coven members.

He looked up with teary eyes and saw all of his friends had bandaids and arm wraps around their elbows. They had all donated blood so he could enjoy the Blood Moon festival to the fullest.

Danny clenched his fists.

“You guys…” He said, his voice shaking as he held back tears.

The coven moved in for a second group hug. They nuzzled into Danny’s warm embrace and threw their arms around him. Cal wiped his claws on a nearby towel and joined in too, squeezing everyone tight.

Outside, the last rays of sunlight vanished and the night rose. Danny’s hairs stood on end and he broke away from the hug.

“It’s time.” He said excitedly.

Liam turned on his black SUV as the group piled into the car. They drove the winding cliffs up the Red Cove shoreline through the thick forest of Oregon evergreens. The wild scent of pine and bark bit the inside of Danny’s nose. His vampiric senses were heightened. He could feel the change begging to take over, but he held it back until they reached their destination.

“Dude, the pacific northwest is fucking beautiful.” Cal breathed as he took in the sights.

They pulled up to a cliff overlooking a lush, mountainous valley and parked. That’s when they saw it–the crimson moon stretching high into the night sky. Its light blanketed the valley in every shade of red.

The others stayed near the car as Danny walked out to the edge of the cliff. He casually removed his shoes and curled his bare toes in the damp mountain grass. 

“Look away friends. Let’s give him some privacy for this part.” Liam said, shielding his eyes with his hand. 

Cora, Norman, Cal and Jazmin did the same as Danny stripped nude to fully bask in the light of the Blood Moon.

With a relaxed sigh of happiness, Danny let go and released himself. The scent of nature filled his lungs as his bones began popping, cracking, and twisting outward. His fangs dropped and expanded into a wide set of razor-sharp teeth. His ears elongated and shifted outward like two big, leathery teardrops. Thick, black fur sprouted from head to toe as his body doubled in size. Leathery bat wings grew from the back of his delts to the edge of his wrists. They folded inward against his back claws. The final part to change was Danny’s nose–it darkened and softened before pushing out into the shape of a furry snout. 

“He’s beautiful.” Cal said, voice filled with admiration.

Danny looked back at his family, now fully transformed, and smiled. His beady black eyes showered them with affection before he turned his snout toward the Blood Moon.

Kneeling low, he sprung forward over the cliff and barreled down into the valley below. Just before he hit the treeline, Danny opened his wings and soared off into the distant forest.

Liam choked back happy tears and mumbled, “Have fun out there you hairy dork.”

Cora gently rubbed his back and affirmed, “He’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll have a great hunt.”

“HOLY SHIT IT’S GOOD!” Jazmin exclaimed suddenly.

Liam, Cora, and Norman turned to find Jazmin eating a piece of the Lava Strider. 

“You brought that shit with you?” Liam asked, disgusted.

“Oi! Save some for me.” Cal joked.

Jazmin shoved a handful into Norman’s grip and motioned for him to try it. His eyes stared down at the steaming meat with displeasure. Nausea rose in his throat.

“Do I have to?” He asked weakly, gulping down baby barf.

“Just shut up and try it.” Jazmin replied.

Norman reluctantly bit off a nibble and chewed. After a second chew, his eyebrows shot to the roof of his scalp and his eyes lit up with satisfaction. He swallowed and gawked at Liam and Cora, holding out the meat.

“It tastes just like pizza rolls!” He shouted with pleasant surprise.

“Right?!” Jazmin shouted in tune.

A curious Liam and Cora moved closer to taste it for themselves. The skeptical expressions on their faces vanished as they savored the flavor.

“Holy shit! You weren’t kidding.” Liam said amazed as he swallowed a large chunk.

“Okay, that’s ridiculously good!” Cora mumbled between bites.

As they all feasted on the strange purple flesh, Cal laughed and said, “See? I told you it was good.”

© James Schleisman July 2020 All Rights Reserved