Red Moon Nightmare: Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The Red Moon rose in the sky of Star City after Mr. Shadow was killed by the Red Moon Shadow, and Red Moon Demons began to appear throughout the city. The Red Moon Shadow appeared on top of the clock tower, and let out a loud bloodthirsty roar to gain the attention of the other Red Moon Demons that had just appeared. All the people were silent as well, paralyzed with fear. “My fellow demons. Our “master” is dead now. We need not worry about him any longer. Starting tonight, I, the Red Moon Shadow, shall be your new leader. Tonight, we shall eliminate all the foolish humans that dare defy our wrath!” the Red Moon Shadow said to all the other demons. “Now, feel free to start anytime.” The Red Moon Shadow said before going back into the clock tower. All the demons roared, and attacked the people of Star City. Meanwhile, back inside the clock tower, Zero was face to face with Brad and the Red Moon Shadow. “You monster. Why would you do such a thing?” Zero asked, grabbing his sword. “It is what the Book of Fear commands, so it is what we will do.” The Red Moon Shadow said. “But…you are too weak to be killed for now. You aren’t worth the time. The other demons will probably kill you tonight.” the Red Moon Shadow added. Zero could hear the approaching sound of a motorcycle as the biker from before riding a new motorcycle broke in through one of the clocks of the clock tower, breaking it apart with a metal spiked club. “Well, there’s my ride. Good luck surviving all of this, “hero” of the prophecy.” Brad said, getting on the back of the motorcycle, still holding the Book of Fear. “Just you wait, kid, I’m coming for you soon.” The biker said to Zero before driving off with Brad. The Red Moon Shadow glared at Zero, and jumped out of the clock tower through the hole the biker made.
Outside, the people were in a panic as they tried avoiding Red Moon Demon attacks. Zero looked to see that the city was in chaos. “There has to be something I can do in here.” Zero thought, looking up to see the bell of the clock tower. “That’s it! The clock tower’s bell! Maybe it’s used as an emergency evacuation signal.” Zero thought, jumping up mechanisms of the clock tower to get up to the section where the bell was located. “This bell looks really old. It looks like it hasn’t been used in years.” Zero thought, looking around for something he could use to hit the bell. He couldn’t find anything he could use, so he decided to hit the bell with his sword. The bell gonged through the entire city multiple times, causing all the demons to stop attacking people to block their ears. “Everybody! Get to the school! You’ll be safer there!” Zero shouted to the people outside as the clock tower’s bell stopped tolling, and the Red Moon Demons continued their assault as the people started running towards the school. Zero was shocked at what he saw when he looked outside the clock tower. People were being killed by the Red Moon Demons. There were dead bodies and blood spread through the streets of the city. On a rooftop, somebody with a large sword was fighting off demons alone without too much difficulty, so Zero didn’t really worry too much about that guy. “This is…horrible. Look at all of this chaos. All of this because of Mr. Shadow…” Zero said, looking at what was going on.
After getting out of the clock tower without too many problems, Zero made his way to the school with the dead body of Mr. Shadow. He heard some people, and checked the gym to see many people who survived the attack of the Red Moon Demons. People were scared and frightened, some depressed and sad from the deaths of their families and friends. Zero set Mr. Shadow down on one of the bleachers, and walked over to the group of survivors. “Everybody calm down for a moment. Now, I know a lot of you are a bit frightened about what just happened, but don’t worry. Things will be ok soon enough.” Zero said until somebody finally noticed Mr. Shadow lying dead nearby. “They got Mr. Shadow?” one of Zero’s classmates asked, surprised. “Mr. Shadow was the cause of all of this. He used a demonic chronicle known as the Book of Fear.” Zero explained, and most people gasped in surprise. “I think there was more to this than expected. I’m starting to think the book actually has a mind of its own, and it’s own will. That isn’t important right now. I’ll go out and look for anybody else. I can fight those demons, so I’ll handle it myself.” Zero added, going back outside the school to find out it was raining. The streets were silent, and no demons were nowhere in sight even though the red moon was still in the sky. “It’s far too quiet for this to be normal. Where are all the demons?” Zero thought as he walked around the city to find other survivors. He looked for an hour, and found nothing up until he reached the Star Bridge, raised up so nobody could leave the city. “Speaking of which, where’s the mayor? I never saw the mayor of this city at all yet. Maybe I should go check the town hall.” Zero thought, walking all the way to the town hall. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. “Ok, this is weird. The mayor should be in there. Why is the door locked, though? There must be something going on in this city. Something strange. But…it’s late. I better head back to the hotel.” Zero thought, heading back to the hotel for the night to get some sleep after a rough day.
The next morning, school was closed due to the funeral of Mr. Shadow and the victims of the “Red Moon Nightmare” being that day at the cemetery. Zero arrived as the principal was making a speech about Mr. Shadow. Zero was wearing a black suit, and a red tie, still carrying his sword around with him just in case somebody else wanted to kill him. “Mr. Shadow was a mysterious man. He never opened up to anybody. But…he was a victim on the night of the Red Moon Nightmare, so he will be missed.” The principal said, finishing his speech before a few of the school’s football players brought the casket with Mr. Shadow in it over to the hole made for it. “Mr. Shadow. You’re an evil monster of a man. But…you didn’t deserve a death by those demons.” Zero said before the casket was put into the hole, and buried. “Here lies Mr. Shadow. Mysterious teacher and victim of the Red Moon Nightmare.” Zero read, looking at Mr. Shadow’s tomb as people started walking away. After the funeral, Zero went to the clock tower, and thought of the situation at hand. “So, Brad has the Book of Fear now. He doesn’t look like he has any control of his actions, though. But he has the book. He’s a problem now. I’ll have to be very careful now.” Zero thought, sitting under a tree near the clock tower with his eyes closed as he heard somebody walk over to him. He noticed it was the person who saved him from the demons the other night. “Wait…you’re that guy. The guy with the sword who saved me before.” Zero said to the guy. “I have a question for you. I’m looking for a special sword. Do you know where I can find it?” the guy asked Zero. “A special sword? I’m not sure where you’d be able to find one of those.” Zero answered. The mystery man said nothing else and simply walked away without looking back at Zero. “I may as well head back to the hotel to get out of this suit. It’s getting close to dusk.” Zero thought, getting up and walking back to the hotel.
About an hour after his encounter with the mysterious man from before, Zero walked back to the hotel into his room. “How can Brad read the Book of Fear? Why is he doing this? Just what’s going on around here?” Zero thought, looking out the window, gazing out at the clock tower that still had the hole in the wall and the other large hole in one of the four clocks. Zero took off his tie, and threw it on the bed until he heard a knock at his door. “I wonder who that could be at this hour.” Zero thought, walking to the door, and opening it up. When Zero opened the door, one of his classmates was waiting for him. She had semi long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a black dress, which showed a sign she was also at the funeral of those who were killed in the demon attack on the night of the festival. “Wait a second, who are you?” Zero asked. “I…I was one of your classmates…before Mr. Shadow died.” The girl shyly said. “Anyway, why did you come here? The demons are coming soon, and you’ll be stuck here until morning.” Zero replied, looking out the window. “Well…you see…..there’s something I want to ask you, Zero. There’s this show going on at the Star City Stadium tomorrow after school, and I was wondering…if you wanted to go with me?” the girl asked. “Wait, you mean as some type of date?” Zero asked, surprised. Although, outside the window, the mysterious biker was listening to Zero’s conversation. “So, the kid is going to the stadium tomorrow. Perfect. I have to be there, so now I’ll be able to beat that kid at my best area. Good luck, kid. You’ll need it.” The biker said, getting on his motorcycle parked on a roof before driving off towards the Star City Stadium.
After Zero finished his conversation in the hotel room, he decided to escort the girl that came to his room back to her house in case the Red Moon Demons appeared. The suspicious fog began to roll in, and Zero was ready to get his sword out. “These demons come out earlier by the night. This is turning into quite a problem.” Zero thought as the red moon started to rise into the sky. “We have to move. The demons are coming.” Zero said, taking out his sword. Once the moon rose, the chase began. Demons started appearing as the light from the streetlights went out, and the red light from the red moon came in. The demons quickly caught Zero’s scent, and started going at him. “We have to go. Now!” Zero said, grabbing the girl’s hand before starting to run as the demons gave chase. “These guys never seem to hate chasing after me, do they?” Zero thought, turning into an alley as demons continued to give chase. Zero kept running through the alley until he ended up at a dead end. “Crap, a dead end!” Zero said as a few demons started closing in. “You monsters. I know you’re after me, but I won’t let you kill this innocent girl. Tell your leader that I’m coming for him.” Zero said, charging at the demons, slamming them out of the alley into a few trash cans. The demons were knocked unconscious, and no other demons were in sight. “That takes care of them. Now, let’s get you home before more of them show up.” Zero said, sheathing his sword. The girl nodded, and the two of them continued walking through the demon infested, nighttime Star City.
After a few more minutes of walking, the two reached the girl’s home without too many problems. “Well, here we are.” Zero said, looking around for any demons that may jump out of the shadows. “Thanks…Zero.” The girl said. “I just have a quick question, first. Would you happen to know where Mr. Shadow lived while he was still alive?” Zero asked. “He lives on top of a hill in this creepy looking house. You can’t miss it.” The girl answered. “Thanks for the info. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Zero said, letting go of the girl’s hand before walking away, heading for the location of Mr. Shadow’s house. It took him a bit of looking around, but he soon found the hill where Mr. Shadow’s house was on top of. “It’s just up there. Mr. Shadow’s house. I’ll have to be careful. Who knows what Mr. Shadow did to his house to keep all the secrets inside there.” Zero thought as he made his way up the hill, looking around to see no demons. When he reached the top, he saw a big, creepy looking house with a gate blocking the entrance to Mr. Shadow’s yard. “Weird house for a guy on a teacher’s salary.” Zero thought, walking over to the gate. He pushed the gates open, and they moved with a slight sound. Zero walked into Mr. Shadow’s yard, and the gates slammed shut. Zero quickly turned around, but the slam didn’t seem to attract any demon activity. Mr. Shadow’s yard looked like a graveyard, but the house itself only looked worse since the red moon war directly above it. Zero walked up the steps of the front porch, and pushed open the two large front doors to the house. When Zero walked into the house, he couldn’t really see anything since none of the lights were on. The most Zero could see was a staircase and a few other features, but for the most part, he couldn’t see too much. “I have a bad feeling about this place…” Zero thought as he walked in, and the doors slammed closed behind him. “Something isn’t right in here. I feel a cold chill coming from somewhere in this house. Luckily, I carry around a flashlight.” Zero said, taking out a flashlight and turning it on. There were no signs of any recent activity in the house at all, but Zero was still suspicious. He walked up the stairway he saw up to the second floor. He checked many rooms, but didn’t find a thing. “Ok, this is weird. You’d think Mr. Shadow would have some information on the Book of Fear or the Red Moon Demons, but there hasn’t been anything yet.” Zero thought, walking down to the first floor until a trapdoor appeared under his feet, causing him to fall down to the basement. He landed in a large chair in front of a few advanced looking computers. “This looks like Mr. Shadow’s personal study. But why is it in the basement of his house…unless, this is where all his personal files are.” Zero thought, noticing all of Mr. Shadow’s computers were on as if they had recently been used by somebody. Zero pressed a key on the keyboard on the table in front of him, and all the computers turned on. Since it was already on the desktop, Zero looked at all the files Mr. Shadow had on his main computer. “Let’s see what you have here, Mr. Shadow. Red Moon Reports, List of Dead Humans, and Personal Matters. Personal Matters? That’s quite suspicious.” Zero thought, moving the mouse over to the “Personal Matters” folder, and then double clicking on it. A screen popped up requiring a password to open the folder soon afterwards. “I had a feeling you would put a password on this thing, Mr. Shadow. That just proves you’re hiding something. I wonder what he would put for a password, though. I think I have an idea.” Zero thought, typing in “Red Moon Brute” into the password box. The password was accepted, and the folder was able to be opened. In the folder were a lot of pictures of ancient looking inscriptions that Zero couldn’t read at all, but he slightly understood what they meant. “These pictures…it looks like it tells of a dark prophecy. It seems like the Red Moon Demons are only the appetizer of all of it. According to this, Mr. Shadow was supposed to die. But I do not like the look of this last part. It looks like the world will end due to the Book of Fear.” Zero said, surprised. “Just what does this mean? We’re all doomed?” Zero wondered until he saw a file marked “The Light Prophecy.” Zero opened the file, and it told of a green haired boy who will save the world from the end caused by the demon book. “This one sounds somewhat different compared to that first one. The first one says the world will end, but this one says that a green haired kid will save the world from the end. This makes no sense. I don’t get any of this. Oh well. It’ll be dawn soon. I better get back to the hotel.” Zero said, walking away from the computers, leaving them on as he left.
Dawn came as usual, and Zero’s day was normal, for the most part. When he arrived at the school, the halls were empty, but he could hear noise coming from the gym. He walked to the gym, where another assembly was going on. “As we all know, the famous Phantom Rider has been sighted in Star City lately, and he will be at the show at the Star City Stadium tonight. I advise all of you to be careful, as the Red Moon Demons have been coming out earlier than usual. We’ve already lost Mr. Shadow and many other people on the night of the festival, so you should stay cautious no matter what.” The principal said. Zero only listened to that part of what he was saying before heading up to the roof. “That biker…is he going to be at the stadium tonight? He does come and go quickly, like a phantom or something. That prophecy he mentioned when I first met him, though…was that the same prophecy that will end or save the world? This is so confusing. Two prophecies that sounds nearly completely identical up until the ending, which results in either the end of the world or no end at all. This just makes no sense. Maybe it has something to do with the Red Moon Demons or the Book of Fear. It doesn’t really matter too much to me…yet.” Zero thought, looking up at the sky. “This place is really weird. Weirder than most places I’ve visited.” Zero added, sitting down and taking a moment to take a break.
School soon ended for the day, and Zero quickly returned to his hotel room to grab a few things before heading to the stadium. He grabbed his ticket, his sword, and decided to wear a black and green cloak in case he got caught up in a fight. “I just have a bad feeling that weird biker from before will be there, so I have to be extra careful.” Zero thought as he walked out of the hotel room. As he walked down the stairs, thoughts of the strange prophecies raced through his mind again. He still didn’t really understand what all of it meant, but he decided to forget about it for now to focus on the current problems. The Red Moon Demons, the raised bridge, and Brad with the Book of Fear. After he walked down the stairs, he saw Brad standing in the hotel lobby, wearing Mr. Shadow’s old mask and holding the Book of Fear. “Zero, I knew you were staying here.” Brad said, his voice sounding deeper and more evil. “What are you doing here, Brad?” Zero asked with a demanding tone. “What? Can’t two classmates just talk for a minute?” Brad answered. Zero didn’t say anything, but he was still prepared to take out his sword. “You already know I have the Book of Fear now. I know you want to take this “dangerous book” out of my possession. But…I have an idea. We’ll settle who will keep the book. Come to the football field at the school in three days. That’s all the time I’m giving you.” Brad said, opening the Book of Fear and reading a passage which caused him to disappear in a burst of dark fog. “Good luck trying to beat me, kid.” Brad’s voice echoed through the lobby for a few seconds as the dark fog cleared up. “That was…weird.” Zero thought, paying no mind to it and walking out of the hotel towards the Star City Stadium.
Brad reappeared at the Stadium, inside the main stadium during the five minute break before the last race. The biker guy was on a dirt bike that looked a lot like his motorcycle. “So the plan is simple. Find Zero, and eliminate him using the Book of Fear. Seeing as you are not part of the prophecy, the power of the book may not transfer to you.” Brad said, handing the Book of Fear to the biker. Immediately after touching the Book of Fear, the biker could feel it’s dark magic starting to effect him. “Perfect. I’m going to enjoy this.” The biker said. “Just…don’t go overboard with it. It’s a lot of dark power. I feel like my own strength was being ripped out of me when I handed that book to you. Take care of it…Shadow Rider.” Brad said before walking away, feeling really weak. Zero finally arrived at the stadium by the time the last race nearly ended. He handed in his ticket, and went into the stadium. He looked around in the main hall, and thought he just wasted his day with simply waiting for the girl to arrive. “Maybe she’s already in the main stadium, watching the race or something. I’m assuming so.” Zero thought, checking his watch. He walked up a few stairs up to the main stadium, where the last race had just ended. “And now, our champion, the Shadow Rider, will select one member of the audience today to face off head to head for the champion’s belt.” The announcer said as the Shadow Rider drove over on his dirtbike. He looked around for a few moments until he noticed Zero. “You! Zero!” the Shadow Rider shouted, pointing at Zero. The spotlight shone onto Zero, and the audience cheered. “It is decided. Our champion, the Shadow Rider, will face off with the green haired kid in the audience. Come on down, kid.” The announcer said. Zero had no other choice. He jumped onto the dirt of the main area, and walked over to the Shadow Rider. “I’ve been waiting for this for a while. Now I’ll be able to finish you off in my own personal game.” The Shadow Rider said. Zero looked around, and he understood the only way out of the stadium now was to beat the Shadow Rider…in a race.