Full Moon Hike by Julie Steimle (ebook e reader TXT) 📕

My father exhaled and closed his eyes. “No. He brought a message from Mr. Deacon to inform us that you are flying around wild. He warned us that if anyone got hurt while you are here, he would press charges.”

“So…if someone tripped and fell on the other side of the camp, I would be blamed?” I jerked from his hold.

Lowering his hands, my father sighed again. “He said that you could probably command the imps to cause mischief. He believes that you did something like that last night.”

“It was the first time,” I said, backing up. “And it was harmless. I only made the imps—”

“That’s not the point.” My dad looked angry. I knew I was grounded now. “The point is the vacation is over unless you stop flying around at night. You have to be visible all the time. No more excursions by yourself anymore.”

Ick. It was the end of any fun. I wondered if this was for good. I also wondered if Dad knew that it didn’t matter if I were invisible or not if I wanted to give suggestions to the imps. All I knew was that the nasty stuff the brats in one cabin were doing and the punks were doing in the other would now be blamed on me.

“Then let’s just leave,” I said.

“We’re not going to San Diego,” my father replied as grim and serious as I never wanted to see. “You will not be rewarded for behaving so untrustworthily.”

That was worst of all. Not about being unable to change our vacation to a beach trip, but that Dad had made it clear that he could no longer trust me. And the mood in the cabin was so low that even Dawn’s imps did not suggest that she mock me for being yelled at instead of her. None of us were happy.

I hung my head and glanced to where my mother was standing with her hands clenching each other with that motherly worry. Biting my lip, I then eked out, “I don’t suppose this means I’m grounded? I mean you can’t exactly leave me behind now, unless we aren’t going on the walk to the lake.”

My mom crossed over to me and put an arm around my shoulder. “We are still going to the lake, and you are still coming with us, yes. But we want you to seriously think about the consequences of your actions. A lot of strange things are happening to you that none of us understand. But we love you and want you to make the right choices. Now, Eve, have you had any breakfast?”

I blinked and turned to look at her. Of course. Mom would have that on her mind most of all. I shook my head at her. “No.”

She led me to the kitchen where I got myself something to eat.

Our walk to the lake was expected to take the entire day. We certainly walked slow enough for it to. When we reached the water, we found a patch of park-like grass where we set up our picnic and took out a Frisbee. I found a tree with plenty of shade and took a nap underneath it for I don’t know how long, though I had slathered on plenty of sunblock just in case.

They woke me when we had lunch, though Dawn half-jokingly told me she really just wanted to let me sleep so she could have my chicken. We stayed at the lake for a couple more hours, skipping rocks on the glassy water as we waded on the pebbles. In way, listening to the calm of the air, it was easy to forget all the troubles the night before had caused. Mostly, the words of my father echoed in my head. I had disappointed him. He could no longer trust me.

How much that tormented me. I loved my family. They were the reason I wanted so much to just be normal. They were why I never lashed out in school when people picked on me. And thinking about it, I was sure none of the other vimps before me really had a family. All of them must have felt hated, rejected, abandoned and incredibly lonely. To be one-of-a-kind, too unique to ever fit in, was the worst kind of life. My family gave me something to belong to. They gave me something to live for.

As if all the wickedness and evil in the world were listening in to my heart, and with a resounding snort wanted to stomp on my last honest desires to be human, I suddenly heard the cry of an imp, echoed by that of a man as Dawn screamed.

My heart caught in my chest and I turned. Dawn struggled with a hand over her mouth and a knife at her throat.

Dad jumped up. “Dawn!”

The other hunter pointed his pistol at Dad. I saw it fire. The bullet would hit him. I dived, my wings popping out automatically, and I caught it. Everything moved fast. Dad ducked down. Mom screamed. Will and Travis ran up from the water to rescue Dawn, but the hunters turned to shoot at them.

I could not allow it. I would not.

Shrieking with all the anger and fear that had been bottled up inside me, I leapt first at the hunter that had Dawn, bit into his neck then tore the hand holding the knife from her, grabbing the knife next and throwing it at the other with the gun before he could fire. As Dawn fell down, clutching her throat, and panting with terror, I pushed off her attacker, flinging him into the tree behind him. I snatched her, flying up to set her high in the boughs. She clung on as I dived back down again.

I don’t remember the rest. It was a blur, really. All I remembered was the anger I felt, the smell of their blood and the taste of it in my mouth. That part was impossible to forget. A mixture of sweet and salty, and strangely satisfying. In fact, the taste awoke something in me, sending that powerful wave to crash over me again, knocking me out of my senses.

Nearly.

There was another thing that I remembered, and it was the face of my father as I carried him to safety, setting him nearer to the campground with my mother and my brothers. His eyes were wide and full of tears. I didn’t know if it was tears of fear or not. I hoped not.

I came to, vomiting over the edge of the path next to the ranger’s station where Will was dousing me with a hose. Everyone stood over me.

“Eve?” My mother’s voice trembled. “Are you ok?”

I looked up at her. “Me? What do you mean? Are you ok? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Will emitted a loud relieved moan and dropped the hose. “She’s back to normal.”

“Thank God,” Dawn said.

“Back to normal?” I peered from face to another. “I didn’t do anything bad, did I? Oh, gosh, please tell me I didn’t.”

My father’s face was pale. He was also shaking, but he crouched down and took me by the arms. “Oh, Eve. My poor Eve.”

He pulled me to his chest and rocked me.

Everyone gathered closer to me, putting their reassuring hands on my head and back. All their hearts were thundering. I knew I must have done the worst thing possible. I must have. Only with them all around me, safe, I didn’t want to know what it was.

We didn’t go back to the cabin at all until late that afternoon. Mom and Dad were talking with Mr. Deacon behind closed doors inside the rangers’ station. I could not make out any of their imps, though I really think that was their intention. Will, Travis, and Dawn sat with me on the bench inside. The ranger herself peered at me as if I were a curious wild animal they had newly found. When my parents and Mr. Deacon emerged, the look Mr. Deacon gave me was surprisingly soft. However, he said nothing and went outside before I could find out from somebody else what I really had done. Mom and Dad came up to me with tired, yet calm smiles.

Dad said, “Ok. We had a talk with him, and he says we can finish out our vacation here. Tomorrow we’ll go to the canyon as planned, take our pictures, and then I was thinking we ought to go into the town and eat out. What do you say?”

He was actually just asking me. No one else. I looked to the others just to make sure though. Then I said, “Ok.”

They didn’t say a word about what happened. I didn’t dare ask, though I wondered if I had maybe killed the man who had attacked Dawn. The idea of me being a killer filled me with nausea. It also didn’t explain why Mr. Deacon suddenly seemed to feel sorry for me.

So, we spent the rest of that day at the cabin. We played cards, charades, and shadow puppets late at night with candles, and we toasted marshmallows over the coals of our barbecue after roasting corn and baking bananas. And at bedtime when the moon was high, calling to me to go flying, I took a walk through the open cabin and stretched my wings out, trying hard to clear my head of hungry thoughts.

I was floating on that wave of urges now. It could feel it…smell it…taste it. The taste of that man’s blood was on my tongue, beckoning me, urging me, crying out to me like liquor called to an alcoholic.

Mr. Deacon had been right. It was terrible. I mean before when I could smell blood, it had excited me, but it also made me feel ill. This was much worse because in my deep gut there were desires screaming at me louder than imps could shout. It was hard to keep still when things around me were quiet. I was afraid, terrified really, that I would bite my loved ones next. Now that I knew human blood was the most delicious thing in the world, it drove me mad.

I nodded off on the floor until I heard gunfire in the camp.

Groaning, I sat up and walked to the front window.

Shadows ran from one cabin towards the lodge where the Deacons lived. But then the Deacons really would have been out hunting for rabbit and raccoon. So why would anyone be shooting in the camp?

Dad rushed