Full Moon

Prompt 20: Character is monster for a day

“Hey, Taylor, I need to ask you for a favor,” Lisa said.

Taylor looked up from his bean burrito, “Sure, what’s up?”

“Dave needs a break. From his curse,” Lisa said.

“Okay?” Taylor knew all about Dave’s curse. Poor guy turned furry every full moon.

“See, it’s the full moon this Saturday,” Lisa explained. “But Dave has a job interview and a date. He can’t go to the job interview if he’s prepping the chains and the cage and the raw steaks. And obviously he can’t go on the date if he’s in a cage in his basement chasing his own tail.”

“Yeah, that would be kind of a mood killer,” Taylor said. “How can I help?”

“Well, see, there’s a spell I can do,” Lisa said, “that’ll transfer Dave’s curse. Temporarily! One day, one night, back to normal with the rising sun.”

“Okay, that’s convenient,” Taylor said. “I assume you’re asking me to take on the curse? I’m not busy Saturday, so it’s cool. Why me though?”

“See, the spell will only work with a willing, human subject.”

“And I’m the only human ya’ll know well enough to ask,” Taylor guessed.

Lisa nodded. Lisa was technically human, but she was a witch, so she counted as “other” for the purposes of the spell. Also, she was probably immune to curses or something.

“Well, I’m not busy this weekend,” Taylor said. “I guess it can’t hurt to see how the other half lives, as they say.” He paused. “And you’re sure it’s just for one day? Because I don’t mind helping Dave out but I’m not really up to live the rest of my life howling at the moon.”

“Absolutely,” Lisa said. “I’ve done my research. And don’t worry, it’s not like you have to trust me to move the curse back. The spell wears off automatically at dawn.”

“Okay, cool. Wait. What if something goes wrong, and I get out and bite someone? Will they be stuck as a werewolf forever?”

“Umm…” Lisa pulled a hefty tome out of her satchel and flipped through the pages. She hummed in thought, and closed the book. “It doesn’t say. So. Yeah. Don’t break out of Dave’s basement.”

Taylor figured it would be fine. After all, Dave had never gotten out. He must know what he was doing.

Saturday arrived. Taylor showed up at Dave’s house, and Dave and Lisa showed him the basement set up.

“I bought the fancy steaks,” Dave informed him. “I’ll warn you now, you can’t really taste much of a difference, but I figured since you’re doing such a huge favor for me I’d at least put in some effort.” He flipped on the light switch in the basement. “Sorry for the whole serial killer vibe. I’ve tried to make the place nicer, but I always rip it up so there never seems to be much point. Don’t worry about shredding, well, everything. It happens.”

Taylor looked around while Lisa set up the spell stuff. The cage took up half the available room. There were chains attached to one wall, with thick metal cuffs on the other end.

“Kinky,” Taylor snorted.

“Just a precaution,” Dave said. He laid out several cuts of thick, juicy raw steak on a low table inside the cage. “These should keep you plenty occupied. Hopefully you’ll fill up on steak, howl a bit, and sleep off the rest of the night.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Taylor said.

“As long as I stay contained, it’s usually not too much of a hassle,” Dave agreed.

“Spell’s ready,” Lisa announced.

“Cool,” Taylor said.

He and Dave took their places in two chalk circles.

“Thanks for doing this,” Dave said. “Seriously, dude, you’re the best.”

“No problem,” Taylor said. “Good luck today.” He grinned. “And tonight.”

Dave grinned and nodded. “I’m gonna need it. Haven’t been on a date in… a while.”

“Anyone I’d know?” Taylor asked.

“Nah, met her at the coffee shop the night after the last full moon. We’ve been meeting for coffee and snacks, but this is the first date-date, so… here’s hoping.”

Lisa cleared her throat and started the spell. It didn’t feel like much to Taylor. Dave doubled over and puked up something alarmingly black and gooey. Then there was this weird, silvery light all around Taylor and then Lisa blew out the candle she’d been holding.

“Well, that’s that,” Lisa announced. “We’d better get Taylor secure.”

Taylor stepped into the cage, where he noticed the raw steaks suddenly looked a whole lot more appetizing. Nothing else felt different. He figured he’d be pretty bored until the moon rose.

“I’ll leave the TV on outside the cage,” Dave said. “And the remote in reach. Try to toss it outside the cage when you start changing, because you will use it as a chew toy.”

“How many remotes do you go through?” Lisa wondered.

“Oh, a few.” Dave laughed, then added, “Dozen.”

Taylor held out his hands so Dave could snap the cuffs in place. It felt a little weird letting another guy chain him up in his basement, but hey, that’s what friends are for, right?

After making sure Taylor was nice and comfy, Lisa left to go upstairs and keep an eye on things. Her presence in the basement would just agitate Taylor once he changed. Dave went to get dressed for his interview.

The first couple hours were boring as predicted. Taylor watched an old movie he liked, lounged against the wall, and drank the sodas Lisa rolled through the bars for him. He didn’t eat. Apparently he’d just throw up anything in his stomach when he changed.

He’d wondered how he would know when the moon rose.

It was pretty obvious, actually. The pain was a clue. It felt like every bone in his body snapped at once.

Luckily, it didn’t last long. Less than a minute. Damn, Dave could’ve warned him. Maybe after going through it month after month he just forgot.

The pain stopped, and then… everything got really weird and grey. All the color in the world just vanished. And suddenly those steaks looked like the most amazing thing ever. They smelled even better.

Lisa curled up on Dave’s couch with a book, listening for any noise downstairs. The moon had risen and there had been the expected crunching and howling. Then everything went quiet.

That was probably a good sign. Dave must be right; Taylor had shifted, scarfed down the steaks, and was sleeping it off. He’d wake up in the morning a little sore but none the worse for wear.

At least that was the idea.

The wolf inhabiting Taylor had other ideas.

Dave’s chains and Dave’s cage were designed to hold Dave’s wolf form. It hadn’t occurred to any of them that Taylor’s wolf form would be different. It was the same curse, after all.

But Taylor was smaller than Dave, by several inches. So his wolf form was, likewise, smaller.

It turned out that there was enough of a difference in their mass that Taylor’s wolf form was able to slip out of the chains, and shimmy between the bars of the cage. Taylor was a gymnast and dancer, and his flexibility transferred to the wolf form.

Free of the precautionary bindings, Taylor’s wolf decided it was time to go on a magical journey in the night. It busted right through the basement door, and ran down the street with a joyous howl.

Lisa heard the basement door crack, and then she heard the howl.

She called Dave.

“Dave, I hope your date’s going well but you gotta get back here,” she said.

“What happened? Is Taylor hurt?” Dave asked.

“Taylor’s loose!” Lisa said. “I don’t know what happened. I think… I think he squeezed through the bars!”

“Huh. Okay, I’ll be right there. Just let me think of something to tell my date,” Dave said.

Dave arrived about ten minutes later, but he wasn’t alone. There was a woman with him in a very cute little black dress, with a rifle slung over her shoulder.

“Tranq darts,” she said, “Formulated with a sedative that’ll flatten a t-rex.”

“You brought your date with you?” Lisa squeaked.

“She works for parks and rec,” Dave explained.

“I know all about werewolves and stuff,” the woman said. “I’m the one they call in when Mothman invades the local IHOP. I’m Tracy, by the way. Lovely to meet you.” She turned to Dave. “This idiot could have rescheduled the date. I would have understood.”

Dave looked embarrassed. “Anyway, Tracy knows how to track werewolves.”

“That’s good because my tracing spell is pointing to you,” Lisa said.

Between them, Lisa, Dave, and Tracy managed to locate Taylor. Luckily for them and for the surrounding populace, Taylor’s wolf was satiated by the steaks and just wanted to go for a run. Unluckily for them, the wolf had a lot of energy and was surprisingly good at dodging. They were all sweaty and exhausted by the time Tracy managed to get a good shot at his flank.

They hauled Taylor back to Dave’s house, secured him back in the basement, and went upstairs to wait for dawn.

Taylor had no memories of the night before, which disappointed him just a bit. He’d been curious what it was like.

“I owe you, man,” Dave said. “How about I spring for a steak dinner. Cooked, this time. Name the place.”

“We can make it a double date,” Lisa suggested.

“Double date? You mean… you and me?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah. If you want,” Lisa said.

“I have been trying to work up the guts to ask you out for two months,” Taylor admitted.

“I know. Dave knows. Tracy knows, and she met you half an hour ago,” Lisa said with a laugh.

They made sure to plan the double date for the new moon. Just to be safe.