Chapter 140: Full Moon Shadow

The endlessness of the farm was stretched in the morning sun. Viktor smeared the sweat from his forehead and plunged the shovel into the earth. Alfonso was somewhere not far away, taking care of the animals. Soon, the loud bursts of laughter broke the silence. He chuckled to himself. But Viktor could not get rid of something disturbing. It had grown every day; every day something new made his instincts sensitive.The farm had also served it's purpose, even if he had always known that it won't be for long. "Hey, Viktor!" Alfonso greeted him, balancing a bucket of water on his hip and jogging to reach him. "You left out the rooster's pen, and it stares at me because it wants a piece of me." Viktor burst into laughs and shook his head. "It is , remember you kept teasing it, Alfonso. Leave the poor bird alone." It was right at that moment that, as Alfonso was about to reply, rattling across meadows came two soldiers on their horses. Ariadne's forces-the sign on their armor, their movement sending fear in the air. And all the other villagers too stopped working, eyes fluttering between soldiers. Viktor cast Alfonso a sideways glance; Alfonso barely nodded back. The soldiers dismounted their horses and worked towards the farm-the boots crunching against the earth. The leader was a man who seemed to wear a sneer on his face as he walked up to Viktor and Alfonso. "Well, well," the soldier drawled, his eyes going over the two men. "What do we have here? A couple of farmers being tough? " Alfonso forced a smile, his grip on the handle of his bucket growing tighter. "Just honest men doing honest work, sir. Nothing more." The soldier erupted with a belly laugh; the others joined in, but their chuckles sounded like sandpaper in viktor's ears. "Honest labor?" he chided, now closer to Viktor. "You most certainly do not look like a farmer to me, big guy, but more like a piece of meat who lost his way to the battlefield." Viktor said nothing, clenching his teeth against the urge to speak back. "Cat got your tongue?" the soldier sneered, taking a step closer to him. "Or maybe just stupid to be talking?" Forward stepped Alfonso, lighter but firm of tone: "We have came only to work on the land, sir. We don't want any trouble." He turned toward him; his smile broadened across his face. "And you, huh? You thinks you're his diplomat or what?" At this, the others just exploded in another louder laughter, and he gave a wave of his hand to be gone before a full fight actually got underway. "Come on, boys. These fools are not worth our time. Let's leave, before we end up getting what makes them pathetic." The soldiers remounted their horses and disappeared into the sun, their noisiness dying out with them. Viktor watched them all go, his fists bunched, knuckles white. "They will get what it very soon," Alfonso growled, giving the bucket a cruel jerk aside. "Let it go," he replied. "we can't afford to attract the unwanted attention.". Alfonso sighed, running a hand through his hair. 'Yeah, yeah. You're right. But one of these days, Viktor…" 'Not today," Viktor cut in, his tone final. The sour taste was still in their mouths, so the two kept working. Days passed, the sun went low until it went behind the hills. The night's dark sent the villagers inside their cottages, and now the farm was pretty silent. The moon was high in the sky, bathed in a silvery glow, casting it upon the fields. Viktor felt it before he saw-a familiar tug deep in his chest. His breathing quickened, and he stumbled back from the toolshed, clutching his sides. "Viktor?" Alfonso's voice cut through the haze as his figure approached in the dim light. "What's wrong?" "I… I don't." Viktor doubled over, a guttural growl escaping his lips. Alfonso's eyes went wide with the sudden realization of what was happening. "The moon," he whispered. "It's full." Viktor dropped to his knees, body bucking as fur sprouted along arms and up over his face. His eyes were an unsettling yellow, his teeth growing sharp and fang-like. Alfonso took yet another step back as his friend's body gave over to the transformation at hand. "Viktor!" she cried aloud, the panic dripping like honey from her voice. "You have to fight it! Somebody will see you!" But Viktor was beyond listening now. The monster within him had prevailed, and he stood upright with a deafening howl, a towering figure of a werewolf. Alfonso snatched a tarp from the tool shed and slung it over Viktor's shoulders. "Come on," he hissed, tugging him toward the barn. "We need to get you out of sight!" Viktor snarled, baring his teeth, but a part of his brain seemed to recognize Alfonso. He followed him into the barn, which Alfonso shut behind them, barricading the windows. 'Stay here," Alfonso said firmly, his voice trembling despite his best efforts to stay calm. 'I'll keep watch outside." Viktor snarled but didn't move, his glowing eyes fixed on the ground. hours passed, the cold, silvery light of the full moon kept pouring upon the ground without stopping . Outside, Alfonso moved from side to side, unable to remain in one place. He was afraid that anybody might appear, that soldiers could return at any moment. Finally, with the first light of dawn well over the horizon, the change began to reverse. Viktor's fur disappeared, his claws and teeth shrinking once more until he was human. He fell to the hay, shaking, almost uncontrollable, in exhaustion. Alfonso burst in, falling to his knees beside him. "Viktor! Are you all right?" Viktor looked up, his eyes bloodshot, brimming with guilt. "I. I couldn't stop it." "It's not your fault," Alfonso said, clamping a reassuring hold on his shoulder. "We're going to get through it. For now, though, we have to be careful. If somebody saw you…" "They didn't," Viktor managed to croak out. "Thanks to you." Alfonso gave him a weak smile. "That's what friends are for."