See the Moon Rising
This story was related to me by a veteran of the Second World War. Names have been changed for legal reasons but the story I'm about to present is, at least to the man telling me this, accurate and true.
I met him in a retirement home for vets as part of a community service order. I was to go and help out anyway I could to work off the two hundred hours I was supposed to complete. I met him about forty hours into my service. The lady who worked there asked me to keep him company as his best friend from the war had passed on two weeks prior and he was keeping to himself. She thought since I was liked around the place by the others he might take a liking to me and open up a bit. I agreed and went over to him.
For the first two hours or so I tried to get him to talk but he just sat there looking out the window, like he was lost in thought. I talked about different things, but he just didn't seem to care. I asked him about the war, and he just kept looking out that window. I was going to give up when I decided to try one last thing. I told him my grandfather was also a veteran, but he fought in Korea. He seemed to stir at this and I kept going. Told him he was wounded trying to take a hill he was ordered to capture. A medic saved his life. After that he was shipped back home and swore off war. The old vet looked at me and gave me a slight smile. Then he spoke.
"Your granddad was a smart man. I swore off war when I finally got home. But I'm going to let you in on something. You can swear off war, but you never really let it go."
We then talked all the time after that. He told me of those days back then and how much time had changed. He talked about women he loved and lost, the struggles and benefits of a post war life, what it was like during the Cold War, etc. One thing I noticed was his reluctance to talk about the war itself he fought in. I mentioned it a couple of times, but he always said maybe one day. This went on till my last week of community service. The final day we sat down as usual in his favorite spot by the window. He told me he was sad I would be going and that he enjoyed his time talking with me. Then he said he wanted to tell one last story before I left. He had never told anyone outside who was there that day this story. Not even his late wife. He said whether I believed it or not was up to me. I was interested and listened up. He took a drink from his mug, cleared his throat, and started to spin me his tale.
I was part of the landing team that hit Omaha beach that fateful day in June. The Airborne guys took off first ahead of us earlier and landed in the early hours that morning. The ship ride over was tense. Feelings all around were of fear and anxiousness. But we were a proud bunch, and we weren't going to let something like death get in our way. At least that's what we told ourselves. That morning the first wave of men hit the beach. It was an intense situation. I was part of the third wave that assaulted the beach. By then we were starting to gain a foothold and start our way into the bluffs themselves. The fighting had been raging on for a few hours by that point. I made my way to the other troops at the sand wall that separated us from them. We eventually broke through and took the bluffs, then were ordered inland to make a perimeter to repeal any counter attack the krouts might throw at us to retake the bluffs. Half the day in and we had established a beachhead.
I was lucky to survive that day. It was also my first time killing another human being. Wouldn't be my last. I stayed on that beach for the next week. During that time I was sent on small patrols to make sure Fritz wasn't sneaking up on us. On the fourteenth day I was summoned by a Captain to be part of a nine man team to go check out an abandoned cemetery reported to have enemy activity. Locals that were fleeing the area had reported seeing a small German squad holed up at a cemetery about nine miles west of our beachhead. The cemetery was just that: a cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. There was no sounding village within miles of that cemetery. The Captains orders were to go and clear out that squad. He then assembled a team. Besides myself and the Captain, there was Johnny Toudur, a rifleman, Rizzo Caprice, a rifleman, Donald Watlick, our radioman, Michael Espinoza, our BAR man, Eugene Cardinal, a rifleman, Tony LaRuche, a rifleman, and last was Rene LaDupre, a rifleman. This made up our nazi hunting squad.
Toudur and Cardinal were from Tennessee, living in the same small town. Caprice, LaRuche and Espinoza all trained together in bootcamp and all ended up in the same company, same unit, and now the same squad. Watlick was pulled to serve as our radioman. He also spoke French and German. None of us had known him before then. The Captains origins were a mystery to us all. And then there was the Cajun, a one Rene LaDupre. He was the most queer out of us all. He and I were in the same Higgins when we landed. We both took out a machine gun team and were together when we held a line from a possible German reinforcement. He was, all in all, a good soldier.
We were to only take weapons and ammo. Anything that we didn't need was left. We were to be light as the Captain, whose name was Howard Wright, wanted to attack quick and swift. We were to set out just before dawn and use the cover of darkness. At least that was the plan. There was a full moon out that night, so we tried to stick to the shadows as much as possible. We were to reach our destination in around a few hours, but had pauses along the way. Sometimes we thought we heard movement, most of the time it being a sheep or cow. About an hour in and Johnny started speaking first.
"The moon makes things look eerie out here," he said.
"What's the matter Johnny? Spooked?" Michael chimed in.
"Not really. Well," Johnny started before he paused. I could tell he looked a little nervous in the moons glow. "Y'all remember that movie where that man turns into a wolf?"
"Yes I do," Rene answered. "What about it?"
"Well, that movie scared me a bit. I was sixteen when I saw it, and it has stuck with me. When the moons full, I get spooked a bit." Everyone but the Captain laughed at that.
"So let me get this straight," I said, "you have no fear of a man with a rifle trying to kill you, but have a fear of a made up movie monster?"
"No, that's not it," Johnny said in reply. "I don't want to die. Hell, dying out here scares me greatly. It's just, you know, that movie spooked me. That's all."
"That monster isn't made up," Rene said. "It's a real thing. At least where I'm from." A awkward silence fell on us.
"What do you mean?" Johnny finally said.
"My mama used to tell us stories about them growing up," Rene replied. "She used to tell us not to wander too far in the woods or near the swamps or the loo garoo would get us."
"What's a loo garoo?" Johnny asked.
"Its the creole word for werewolf. It's a man that can transform into a wolf. A wolf man if you will. Mama used to tell us about her encounters with a few growing up herself. And it's not like in the movie. They don’t turn just because the moon is full. Though it does influence them a lot more to come during that time. No, mama said they can turn whenever. Those that are more attuned to it can control when and where they become one. But it can also trigger during extreme distress."
"Like what kind of distress?" I butted in, completely drawn into Renes story.
"Well, mama said one time when she was a young woman she was coming back home from her cousin who lived on the same street as her. As she was crossing the road near where it turns down her lonely dirt road she heard a couple men arguing. The sun hadn't gone down all the way and she it was still bright enough to see. She said she saw the two men yelling about something when one of them pulled out a knife. The other man started to run from him yelling not to do it. The man with the knife proceeded to chase him. He tackled the man not too far and proceeded to stab him. The man fell, writhing in pain. The other man started to walk away from him when all of a sudden the man on the ground started turning into this beast. The other man ran into the surrounding woods as the beast man got up and sniffed the air. It howled something fierce before turning to look at mama, then it ran into the woods in chase of the man."
"Bullshit!" chimed in Tony. "That's a lie if I ever heard one."
"Mama don't lie!" Rene said in defense. "She has never lied to us. Besides, if you lived where I do you would be inclined to start believing in some of the things that go on out there. They got the voodoo out there. Witchcraft, vampires, ghosts, and things that will give you the heebee jeebees."
"Quiet!" the Captain ordered. "Keep your eyes peeled."
We walked on in silence until we reached the outer perimeter of the cemetery. In the moonlight we could see the old chapel like structure. There were no lights on or any sound coming from the cemetery. Headstones lined the way up. Motioning us to take a defensive position we found points of fire and waited. Captain wanted to see if the enemy was still around. After about twenty minutes of listening and watching, the Captain decided to send someone up to check it out. I was volunteered. I was already on the side of the road the cemetery was on and quickly made my way to the first headstone. Peeking over, I saw rows of gravestones and not much else. Slowly, I made my way through the forest of stones, keeping a desperate ear out for sounds of anything. After a bit I was close enough to the church house to notice nothing was there. As I crossed the open field towards the church house I noticed one of the graves had been dug up. A big hole was where there should have been dirt. I kept on moving till I reached the church. From what I could see in the moonlight it was small. There was the wide open door leading in. On either side of the door were windows. Peeking in I saw moonlight coming in. There was a hole in the roof. Besides a few broken chairs and debris from the roof the church was completely empty. The back of the church had a single window at the center. I could tell the windows still had glass. Checking around the church I noticed nothing. On the other side was forest. I went back a ways and motioned to others it was safe. I waited by the first set of headstones as the others came up.
Everyone came rushing up to the church house as the Captain asked for a report. Several of the boys were looking in the church while the others were looking out into the cemetery. Rene walked over to the dug up grave and started to kick some dirt in it.
"What happened here?" he said.
"Dunno," I replied. "Was like that when I walked up here. Whatever they was doing they seemed to have left in a hurry." As I watched him kicked some more dirt in he looked up at the sky.
"Pretty, isn't it?" he asked. "See the moon rising..."
Before he could finish shots started ringing out. I saw Rene get hit twice and fall into the open grave. We all took cover and started shooting back. Muzzle flash was coming from the tree line. We started hearing German voices and the Captain quickly started issuing orders. A grenade went off somewhere and we all took cover. Captain ordered us into the church house and take up defensive positions. As we all ran inside the Germans were yelling out something and the muzzle flash started to get closer to us. Bullets and broken glass were raining on us. Eugene and Donald tossed a couple of grenades out the front windows as Michael and myself got the front doors shut. We put a few of the broken chairs in front of it to hinder the enemy trying to enter in that way. We were all panicking as the barrage of bullets were seeming to overwhelm us.
The first screams came right outside the door. The German soldiers that were outside the church door started screaming and shooting at something outside. That was quickly followed by the other Germans shooting at something that wasn't us. Soon we heard yelling and screaming as gun fire was being shot all around us. We all looked at each other with frightened confused looks on our faces. The shooting suddenly stopped as did the screams and shouting. We listened for a few seconds for any sort of noise or sign that someone was still out there. A body jumped through the window as we all reacted and pointed our weapons at it. It was a German soldier. He was bloody and looked like he was attacked by something. The captain quickly went over to him and picked him up by his collar to his feet.
"What's going on damn it!" he yelled at the German. The Soldier looked visibly frightened and was shaking. Captain yelled the same words again at the boy. "Watlick, get over here. Tudor and Caprice, watch those windows, Cardinal, watch that back window." Donald went over to the Captain. "Ask this piece of shit what the fuck they were shooting at out there," Captain ordered. Donald told the man in German. The soldier looked at Watlick and said only one word.
"Wolfsbestie."
"What the fuck did he say?" Captain demanded. Donald turned to him with a confused expression.
"He said wolf beast."
"Wolf beast?" Captain said in a confused tone.
"Fuck!" Johnny exclaimed. "Did he just say wolf..." He didn't get to finish his sentence as something grabbed him and tried to pull him out the window. He screamed, holding onto the window beam as we rushed to help him. Something had a hold of Johnny’s legs as we tried to pull him back in. He was begging us not to let him go as his grip was slowly being pulled away from the beam. I went to the side of the window and stuck my rifle out. Something grabbed a hold of it, trying to pull it out. I reached for my pistol and fired blindly outside. Nothing happened. I then peeked out. Looking back at me were two orange eyes inside the head of what I can only describe as a huge wolf. Its teeth I remember were stained in blood as was its mouth. I let go of the rifle and jumped back in horror, yelling what the fuck was that thing. In one swift pull, poor Johnny was yanked out the window, his screams now blood curdling. Everyone backed away from the windows. Johnny continued to scream for a few seconds more before it abruptly stopped.
We all stared at the windows before the Captain shouted "fuck, the prisoner." We all turned, expecting not to see him there. Instead, not only was he there, in a corner, but he was shaking profusly and crying. He was, for lack of a better phrase, scared shitless. Tony goes over to secure him as the rest of us take up defensive positions. We are staring at the windows now. Michael sets his BAR up pointing to the back window. Myself and Eugene each have our rifles pointed at a front window. Donald has his pointed at the door. Rizzo and the Captain are at the center of the room.
"Watlick, where's the radio," Captain calls out.
"Sorry sir, I dropped it during the gunfight outside," he said.
"Son of a bitch Watlick. Do you know where?"
"Not far from the door here sir," he replied. We all tensed up as we knew what was coming next.
"Someone has to go out there and get it," Captain said. Audible fucks were said as we did not want to venture out of the church. As it turned out, we didn't have to. The radio came flying through the window, destroyed. A loud howl rang out. The thing bashed into the door that we had reinforced with debris from the church. Donald backed up a bit before firing a couple shots through the door.
We heard it run around the church. Michael started firing a few rounds while cursing. Eugene and myself started firing as it ran past the windows. It again bashed into the door. The door gave way a bit. Rizzo and Donald ran to it and tried to reinforce it again. Once again the beast bashed into it, pushing it a little further open. I ran over to help them. Together, we managed to get it to pushed closed before it bashed into it again. Tony ran over to the window and started firing in that direction before retreating from it. A growl was heard from the door and it started to run around the church again. We all took our positions again, waiting for it to attack again. Michael again lets off a few rounds as it passes his window.
Then, it got quiet. It didn't last long. But during that very brief moment I was really on edge. Tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Johnny’s body came flying in through the window. He fell a couple of feet from me. Rizzo ran and dragged him to the center of the room. He checked him for signs of life.
"He's still breathing yous guys," he said. Captain knelt down and checked on him.
"He's messed up pretty good," he said to no one in particular. "The son of a bitch out there cut him real bad. We need to get him back to HQ or he ain't going to make it." For the rest of the night the beast would bash the door and then run around the church.
I noticed it first that dawn was approaching. I let everyone know and we all just stared at the window. The beast was right there in front of it. We all saw it. Its matted blood soaked fur. Orange glowing eyes. Bare stained teeth. It let out this most awful howl before retreating. We heard it scream as if it were in pain before it fell silent. No one moved. We all had our ears on high alert, listening for any sound. None came.
I was volunteered to go check outside once the sun was out and shining. I did it hesitantly. Rizzo and Tony removed the debris from the door as Eugene secured the prisoner. Once the debris was removed I gave the signal to open the door. As soon as it opened I ran out, not knowing what to expect. What I saw was sure not expected. Blood, guts, and body parts scattered the front of the church as well as the cemetery. It was carnage that I'd only seen on the beach. That thing tore apart every German soldier out there that night. As I was comprehending what it was I was looking at I heard the rumbling of a tank approaching. I ran back into the church and let the Captain know. We all took up defensive positions, not knowing if they were friendly or the enemy. I had never felt so happy when a Sherman came into view. We all stood up as our boys came into the cemetery, setting up a defensive perimeter. Captain went up to his superior as the rest of us walked over to the Sherman. A few rows of jeeps lined up behind it.
"You boys had a hell of a night," some private said as he walked by us. We all were tired and frankly just wanted to get the hell away from here. Johnny was carried out on a stretcher onto one of the jeeps. The prisoner was brought out as well.
"We have a live one here," someone called out. We made our way over to the commotion when , to our surprise, Rene was brought out of the grave he had fallen into when he was shot. I noticed right off the bat that his clothes were in tatters. He was barley clothed. It looked like he was attacked as well. But he had no scratches nor any marks. On top of that, he looked like he hadn't been shot at all. There were no bullet wounds which I could see. Everyone else walked back to the Sherman but I stayed. I was trying to rationalize what I was seeing. As Rene was being carried away past me he opened his eyes, looking at me. He smiled and winked.
That was the story he told me as I remember it. He stated no one else knows what went down that night besides his squad that night. He doesn't know what went into the official report that his Captain made. He said I could take it or leave it as it was, but that is what he remembers of that night. We talked a bit more before I said goodbye to him for the last time. He wished me well and I went about my way. He passed away not long after. Makes you wonder just what the hell is really out there in this increasingly small world we have. I know one thing though. I will not be going near, around or directly to any place in Louisiana anytime soon.