"The Neon Moon"

“The Neon Moon”

By Cody Williams

 

1.

December 22, 1994. That date will be carved into my memory forever. That’s the night where it all started. That’s the night that it all started for the small town of Small Island. It was a Thursday afternoon. The Thursday before Christmas to be exact. I was a pastor way back then, but I have recently fallen out of that line of work. For some reason the town’s people of Small Town Island wanted to have their church service on Thursday rather than on Sunday.

            Yeah, I thought that it was a little strange, but I didn’t protest. I figured that I could just go ahead and spend time with my family on that day. Looking back at it now, I am starting to believe that it was a horrible mistake.

            The Neon Moon. That’s what people called it. I still shudder whenever I hear those words together. Every time that Brooks & Dunn song “Neon Moon” comes on the radio, I am forced to change it. It’s hard to explain but it’s kind of like going to the dentist to get fillings, but the dentist starts drilling into your teeth before your become numb. Or perhaps like an ongoing nightmare that I can’t escape no matter how hard I try.

            I first heard of the Neon Moon when I was at Floyd’s Barber Shop. I was sitting in the chair getting my usual haircut and shaving combo deal while he and Daniel, another man in town started to talk about it.

            “Howdy there Floyd! Are you and Marie getting things ready for the Neon Moon Thursday night?” Daniel asked him. Marie was Floyd’s wife of thirty years and was a very kind woman…and if you don’t mind me saying, she was quite a looker too! She had beautiful blonde hair that reached down to her shoulders. Her skin was soft and fair. Hell, she looked a lot like she should be Hollywood’s newest beauty queen. It was Marie who was the nicest to me when I first moved into Small Island. The day I moved in she brought me a freshly baked cherry pie, or, and American Pie as she called it.

            Anyway, Floyd stopped shaving me for a moment and wiped the shaving cream from the blade of the razor onto the hand towel he had looked over to Daniel.

            “Yes. Absolutely! It’s going to be a blast!” Floyd said as he gave a strange smirk to Daniel and then turned his attention back to the job at hand. Daniel smiled back at him and then walked out of the barbershop. I had only lived in Small Island for about a month at the time. I wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about, so naturally, I asked Floyd.

            “Hey Floyd, what is this Neon Moon that you and Daniel were talking about?” I asked him.

            “Oh, it’s just a time that happens every year on December 22^nd where the moon glows brighter than usual like a neon light in a bar. It also shines a beam at the church and looks so damn beautiful!” Floyd told me.

            “Oh really? Is it going to happen after the church service or something?” I asked him.

            “Yeah. Right after. In fact, if you would like to come over to the house Charles, I’m sure that Marie would love to have you!” Floyd said. I thought for a moment and then decided why not? I figured that it would be this type of event that would help me connects with the town’s people of Small Island. It turns out that I was right…but for the wrong reason.

            Now I know what you are thinking. What kind of bullshit were they feeding you? There’s no such thing as a Neon Moon! That’s exactly what I thought until I took the job in Small Island.

 

2.

The church was completely packed the night of the Neon Moon. As I stepped out onto the stage at the front of the sanctuary, the loud rumble of the congregation began to subside until it was finally completely gone. I placed the Bible that was in my hand on the podium in front of me and closed my eyes.

            “Let us pray!” I said as I closed my eyes and bowed my head. “Dear our lord and savior Jesus Crist…” I said as I started the prayer. I began to hear a strange sound coming from the back of the sanctuary. I can’t really explain it really. It sounded a lot like a grunt or a loud cough. I dismissed the thought of being anything wrong and continued the prayer. “In your name I pray…amen.” I said finishing the prayer as I raised my head and looked out into the congregation. Something was different. I could sense that from the start. For the first time in my tenure of the church I could see all of the congregation’s eyes. I ignored it, at first, and looked down at the scripture on the podium.

            “Please turn to the first chapter of John.” I said. I looked up from the podium for a moment. Not one of them moved. They just sat there and looked at me. It friend; faces either. They looked as if they were watching me ever. As if they were watching my every move. I don’t know why, but I slightly turned my head and looked out of the window that was to my right. It was almost as if I was drawn to. The sky was black and I could see the full just outside of it. It began to pulse like a neon moon in Las Vegas. I suppose that’s why they called it the neon moon. That’s when the sound started back again. As if somebody was coughing up enough tar to retar the parking lot. I turned my head again to face the congregation.

            They began to change. Floyd, who was sitting the front pew, stood up. His eyes turned a bright yellow color and hair began to sprout from his skin until he was completely covered. His ears became pointed and his nose began to resemble a wolf’s snout. Floyd growled at me and showed his teeth. His k9’s were as my pinky finger. The rest of the congregation changed as well. Men, women, and children all changed into the same best. They looked out the window at the neon moon and let out a loud screech just before they turned back and looked at me.

            “S**t!” I shouted as they began to charge towards me. I turned around and ran off of the stage and out the back door. The church sat up on what the locals often referred to as Wolverton’s Hill, which over looked Eagle Lake. The hill was named after John Wolverton, the first mayor of the small town. I reached the cliff and looked town. It had to be several hundred feet down to the surface of the smoky green water. I turned around for a moment to look at the beasts following me. They were on all fours running at me like a bullet shot straight from a gun. I turned my back to them once more and looked down. I closed my eyes for a moment just before I jumped off of the cliff and plunged into the lake below. Every town has it’s secrets…the Neon Moon is Small Town Island’s.

Copyright 2015 by Cody Williams
Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS
A division of TTP Entertainment

Author's Note

This one had a lot of starts and stops. I hope you all like it. It was hard to write. Comments and reviews are welcome as always.

-CW

Reviews

[Leslie Philibert]

I like Cody`s work, and enjoyed this. One small point. I would take out the first paragraph, and put in all the details in later. You rush too much to set the scene, as if you are worried about get the frame over.
For example, you don`t need to mention he is a pastor, when he is asked to hold a service. So (I think) you should take more time, even at the risk of being obscure.

[Cody Williams]

I'll look it over. Thanks for reading Leslie!

-CW

[Dayran]

The wolf is quite a family and social creature. They named Rome after Romulus and Remus. In a man's disposition ... the highest intuitive faculty may well be as sharp as a wolf. Its the source of our relations with people. It turns our oversights and carelessness into a lesson in precision ... in the way it raises our focus. That doesn't always have to be guilt or regret of course ... simply shaping up to fly straight. Good job CW.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Dayran!

-CW