http://slow.writerscafe.org/MoonlitWillow The original writings of author MoonlitWillow en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1775992456 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15     Digging his way out of his own grave was exhausting in a way nothing else could hold a flame to. Punching through the coffin until the wood cracked and splintered, knuckles bloody and aching. Dirt and rocks falling through the gaps, before engulfing him entirely. Clawing and fighting h.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2868940/     It was hot.     Heat waves emanated up from the cracked asphalt beneath Beau's boots, roasting him from below while the sun in the clear sky roasted him from above. It was a damn scorcher of a day, and as he walked along the smattering of abandoned vehicles littering the.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2853090/     A sharp whistle blew through the air and made Beau turn his head toward the sound on instinct, before his mind could catch up and tell him he recognized it. For the past few weeks, he’d gotten used to hearing it at least once a day.     Sure enough, the young woman.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2848675/     The unremarkable burger joint came into view when he crested the hill, the sight of it lifting his mood a few pegs. He wondered if their milkshakes were still good, and if the same cook was behind the grill flipping burgers. He hoped so. They'd veered into this small town in Nowhere Ne.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2843035/     Early morning sunlight spilled in through the windows and sliding glass door, casting warm, buttery gold rays over the armchair Jason had made himself comfortable in. Most Saturday mornings would start with a run and then a quick shower before breakfast and coffee. Then he'd get to wor.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2839179/     "Mommy?"    She looked down at the head of golden hair and big brown eyes peering up at her, and smiled. That sweet little face she loved so much. "Yes?" she asked, stirring the sauce so it wouldn't stick to the pan.     "Can I go swim?" Ronnie asked, one hand .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2838981/     Focusing on his job had been a struggle for Jason all day, but he managed. As kids came and went from his office throughout the school day, he found his mind wandering back to Lancaster, with his girls.     He smirked a little at himself. His girls. That had a nice ring .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2838592/     She woke to find herself enveloped in a warmth and scent so familiar, it almost ached. It might've, if not for the arms wrapped around her and the form of him behind her, just as familiar. For a long moment, she just breathed it all in, assuring herself it was real.     .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2837829/ *Five years earlier*      The music was so loud, it seemed to have thewalls of the frat house pulsing. Or maybe that was just his head. He hadn't hada drink yet, but he was a little high. Not enough to make him forget everythingweighing on him, not yet...but just en.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2837682/     One thing he'd learned about Noelle, way before they'd ever dated, and even before they could be considered friends; she didn't cry easily, and if she did, it wouldn't be for long.     Sure enough, in under five minutes she was pulling away and wiping her eyes. She took .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2837315/     Walking back from the post office in a city he'd never been to before, Jason was frustrated at having come up emptyhanded. Again. Every new lead seemed to run him right into a damn wall. He felt too much like he was being led around in the dark, and less like he was actually in control.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2837132/ http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2837131/     Driving all night wasn't an option, with all three of them being in as bad a shape as they were. She didn't want to admit it, but after a couple of hours, she knew she was just a f*****g hazard on the road. Dizziness was creeping up on her, no matter how hard she worked to fight it off.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2830752/     It was early, which was usually when she preferred to go for a run when she had the chance to be selective about when and where she got some exercise in. This early, people were usually still indoors, just starting their days if they were even awake yet. Less traffic - both pedestrian .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2830374/ Four years ago    "Oh my God, I'm so hungry," a whining voice grated at his ears, dragging out the last word seemingly for no other reason than to make the complaint even more annoying.     Lauren was almost intolerable.     He'd walk into the apartment, she'd.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2830180/ Vashon Island1985    The sound of a car coming up the gravel driveway caught Noelle's attention. She turned her head to see her mom's car through the trees, followed by another behind it. A shiny black one she'd never seen before, so she knew it wasn't Bobby. Curious, she turned her bike a.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2822671/     The monster sat bound to the white chair and glared at the camera in the corner of the room. Caught in its own trap, where it had spent more than a year torturing its victims happily, and reliving the best parts while watching the footage in its downtime.     Now, wrists.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2816316/     Leaning back in her seat with one hand on the wheel and the other arm hanging lazily out the window, she glared at the wall of idling cars ahead that shivered behind the heatwaves emanating from all the hot engines. It wasn't even May yet, but the daily highs were already pushing high .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2814725/     They'd decided to make the most of their trip to the coast. Sunny skies and sandy beaches seemed to do a lot for Noelle's mental state. He could see it in the way she closed her eyes and smiled a little when in the direct sun, and in the way she watched the waves ebb and flow across th.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2813233/     The demon stepped back into the dark room, steam from the shower rolling in through the opened door in his wake. She was right where he'd left her, hugging a pillow while she slept, waiting for him to return. Moonlight spilled in from the window, casting a ghostly glow over the bed and.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2812703/     He didn't know where the girl was, and for some reason it left him feeling unsettled. After what had happened between them a week ago, he felt like he needed to walk an pins and needles around her, so as not to scare her even more. She'd forgiven him, but he hadn't really forgiven hims.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2812390/     Sam came through the door, returning from his early morning jog, and frowned upon seeing him up and at 'em in the kitchen on a Saturday morning. It was only a few past eight, and usually he liked to let himself sleep in as long as possible. Now that their lives had become more routine,.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2811263/     He didn't know what to do, or what to say, or even how to get his mind wrapped around the phenomenon standing before him. From the look on his father's face, he didn't know how to proceed here, either. Standing in the doorway, in the same clothes he'd died in...the same clothes he'd st.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2811147/     There was a bite to the air outside on Vashon Island this afternoon. Midwinter in Washington State was usually cold and wet - everything soggy under your shoes kind of wet - but it had been bone dry since they'd arrived a few days ago. Insisting that she needed to head home to restock .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2809904/     He tried, tried like hell, not to let the memory of that woman and her child's face come to mind. There was no fighting it, though. The raw fear in that little boy's eyes burned into him. The scream he'd let out when that demon had set the whole house on fire echoed in his head. The so.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2809614/     The drive up to Oregon was a long one, but eventually the California sunshine gave way to rain-covered pavement and overcast skies when they crossed over into the Pacific Northwest. With the blood red Indian Dark Horse leading the way, it was an easy drive. He tried not to be so aware .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2808900/     It was well past midnight when a knock at the door had her coming up the hall to investigate. She grabbed a knife on the way and peeked through the peephole. Frowning a little at what she saw, she set the knife of the table and opened the door. Familiar eyes looked up from the ground a.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2808602/     They'd driven well into the night, and stopped over at a roadside motel in New Mexico to get some sleep before hitting the road again bright and early. Stopping only for coffee and breakfast to-go at the next gas station they saw, they made the final ten-hour stretch, reaching Gardena .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2808026/     He didn't stay the night, but he stayed until it was time for Ronnie to go to bed. She'd skipped off down the hall to go and get dressed into some footie pajamas and brush her teeth. When she'd come back out to hug him and tell him goodnight, he'd almost melted. He hadn't had a boring .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2807355/     Huntington Beach hadn't changed a whole lot, but he supposed four years wasn't a whole lot of time to make way for any significant changes. There was still an obvious divide as far as income went. You could almost see the change from lower to higher income in just one street. &nbs.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2807180/ http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2807171/     Everything hurt.     From her face down to the soles of her feet, everything hurt. With every full breath she took, her ribs ached in a familiar way. One of them was probably broken. The split on her lip only reminded her it was there when she'd eaten the food brought to.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2805388/     The cabin in the woods looked more normal than he would've thought. Nothing about what they found inside screamed vampire's den. It could've just been some person's hunting cabin, if they didn't know better. They did know better, though. A string of bodies had led them here, and Bobby .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2805305/     The deep, stinging pain in his shoulder was strong enough to pull him from sleep. He woke up and felt the sticky wetness on his back, telling him he'd bled through the gauze and probably ruined his shirt and the sheets. Sure enough, when he clicked on the light at the bedside table, pa.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2805296/     The girl on the screen laughed, but it was hard to hear over the volley of voices at the forefront of the video. There was a pool table, with a bunch of twenty-somethings milling around and watching the game. Kids ran in and out of the screen, chasing each other from the house and out .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2804683/     It was only her third outing in more than a month, but she didn't feel very nervous. Her captor was out there, somewhere, no doubt looking for her...but as long as she was with the brothers, she felt safe. They hadn't let her down so far, and she trusted more and more each day that it .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2804386/     As he pulled into the garage, he was all too aware of the scent of perfume on his shirt. Going out and getting his rocks off had definitely itched a scratch he'd had building for way too long, but in the end, it hadn't made him feel any better. The girl he'd picked up at the bar this e.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2804216/ http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2803954/     It was dark, and she'd retired to her room for the night when it was clear they'd have to start fresh and figure out their next steps in the morning. Sarah was their foot in the door on this one, and now they just had to find a way to work around that.     While she was .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2803943/ Vashon, Washington1989    The sun shone down on the expansive garden, bringing warm, herbal and flowery fragrances up into the air as the dragonflies zoomed around. Her footsteps were softened by the loamy soil beneath her shoes as she ran, laughing as the boys chased her through the rows .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2803804/     If he hadn't witnessed the things he had tonight, Alex wouldn't have believed the actual devil was standing in front of him in his motel room. He wouldn't have believed a pretty girl he'd picked up at a bar would turn out to be said devil. Before tonight, he hadn't even been convinced .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2802304/     Noelle shuffled through a group of students who were blocking the entrance of the hallway, trying to find a balance between politeness and assertiveness. None of them seemed to mind, so she figured she'd succeeded. She nodded at James when she broke through and met him at his locker.&n.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2800687/     It had been a long night, and it was only going to get longer. Not that he was complaining, not by a longshot. He was still riding the high of a job well done and the new and thrilling experience of his girl busting him out of prison. She was, too, if the hooded gaze of her eyes was an.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2799855/     Becca Lundgren's downtown apartment was a mess.     Standing in the entryway as the door closed behind them, Noelle took in the pile of unopened mail that had spilled off the edge of the coffee table, bringing her eyes to the scattered shoes, socks, and uncleaned spills .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2799208/     "Will you please stop squirming?" Noelle asked, voice striving for patience as her small hand closed its grip around his bicep while she tried to examine the burn those hillbilly freaks had left him with.     "It's fine," he said, for what felt like the fourth or fifth t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2798262/     "I was never interested in playing, Chazaqiel," said Lucy, a tinge of contempt coloring her tone as she slowed to an easy stop a few yards away. "I told you I'd make you burn if you tried to kill him again." Her lips parted slowly in a crooked grin, just enough to reveal a little of th.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2797409/     The air was thick with acrid smoke. Lightening flashed against the crags and fissures of the unnaturally black stone walls, the only source of light in this dark, dark place. At least the demons had stopped attacking them. It seemed that even they wouldn't venture this far into the dep.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2796754/     They'd been tracking the last movements of the latest victim in a series of mysterious deaths in Venice Beach, stretching back almost ten years. Every year, around the second week of October, a few poor girls ended up dead in their bedrooms, throats slit ear-to-ear. They might've just .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2795683/     It was a strangely normal evening, and maybe that should've been all the warning he needed to be more on his guard. He was just glad for a period of respite, no matter how brief it was. The constant training, planning, arguing...just one evening of normalcy was a blessing.   .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2795534/     The rumble in the distance caught he attention before anyone else, and he was on his feet and out the front door in the next moment. The headlight cut through the dark of the night and narrowed into focus as she pulled her bike to a stop in the driveway. She had her helmet and gloves o.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/MoonlitWillow/2795465/