Full Moon (24 page)

Jesse smiled in victory. “We did it,” he
said.

“We sure did.” I’d never felt so happy. It
was the most rewarding feeling, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

As Jesse and I watched the birds swim around
the big lake, I felt his hand slip into mine. All over again, that
familiar electricity flowed through me. I couldn’t believe a guy
like him was holding the hand of a girl like me.

“I see why you love your job so much,” I
said. “They look so happy out there.”

His blue gaze lingered on me as he tucked a
strand of hair behind my ear. When he smiled, his white teeth
gleamed.

Bzzzz
!

When his cell phone rang, he answered it.
After a minute, he hung up and looked at me. “We have two pressing
cases that need our immediate attention. There’s an orphaned baby
squirrel that hasn’t eaten in days, and the bird that was trapped
inside a tire in that huge puddle of oil is ready to be
washed.”

I smiled and shrugged. “Duty calls.”

We jumped into the Jeep and sped off,
heading back to the zoo.

* * *

We went straight to work, tending the hungry
squirrel first and then the bird. It had a yellow bill and had a
bare yellow skin patch behind its dark eyes. The bird was blanketed
in black oil, so it was going to be a messy job. Jesse handed me a
pair of long, yellow latex gloves, and I also put a waterproof
apron around my neck to prepare for the job.

“This is a yellow-billed magpie,” Jesse
said. “What’s unique about these birds is that they don’t leave
California. They’re songbirds, part of the crow family. They eat
acorns, insects, carrion, fruit, and berries. You can’t tell now
because she’s covered in oil, but she’s black and white, one of
California’s prettiest birds under all this sludge.” He held up the
bird and smiled when it made loud clucking noises. “I think we’ll
call her Sally.”

As he talked so enthusiastically about the
bird, I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. I loved his caring
nature, his love for animals and his evident need to protect
them—just more qualities to admire about Jesse. He was gorgeous,
but there was so much more to him than his striking good looks. I
could have listened to him every second, every minute of every day,
and I never would have grown tired of his voice or of what he had
to say. His dedication to this zoo and these animals amazed me.
Some of the workers told me he spent countless hours there, even
when he wasn’t getting paid. He’d often go in on his day off to
feed a baby animal or bird, and he never once complained.

“How do you know it’s a girl?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’m just guessing. She looks
like a Sally to me. The only sure way is a blood test.”

“Then Sally it is,” I said with a grin.
“When did she get here?” I asked.

Jesse slipped on his long yellow gloves and
apron. “About a week ago.”

“Why’d they wait so long to clean her up?” I
asked.

“Sally had to be stabilized first. At first,
for almost a week, she was warmed and fed eight times a day. They
also gave her a rehydrating solution with a feeding tube to help
flush out all that oil she’d accidentally ingested. Now she’s ready
to be cleaned. Since birds depend so much on their wings and
feathers to function properly, removing this oil is her only chance
at survival.”

“I’ve got the warm water,” I said.

“Good. We’ll make her a nice bubble bath
with Dawn,” Jesse said. “This is definitely a two-person job,
because she might squirm a little. I’ll hold Sally, and you wash
her feathers really well.”

I nodded, indicating that I understood.

When Jesse approached with the bird, she
squawked and flailed, but he managed to keep a good hold on the
animal without hurting her. “Cleaning can be pretty stressful on
the bird,” Jesse said.

“I can tell. She’s not used to this, so I
can’t blame her.” He looked into the bird’s eyes and told it softly
to calm down. Amazingly, Jesse’s soothing voice worked.

I began washing her feathers and wiping off
the slick oil. I used a toothbrush and cotton swab to get all that
caked oil out of her eyes and off of her little head. As I scrubbed
the underside of the bird, I could see her iridescent blue-black
color starting to emerge. Her belly, shoulders, and large patches
on her wings were bright white. “Ew! The water is getting so
black,” I said.

“We move to the next tub, then the third and
fourth and so on, until the water is clear.”

Working so close to Jesse made my heart
pound, especially when he sneaked me little glances and smiles.

“Jeanie told me about her warning that I’m
some big, bad wolf,” he said, “but I’m not.”

“Jesse, it’s okay if you’ve dated other
girls. I’ve dated lots of guys myself. There’s nothing wrong with
searching for the right person.”

“Maybe, but I think I might be done
searching.”

“Huh?” I said, stunned.

“I’ve never felt a spark with others girls
like I feel with you, Taylor,” he said with heartfelt
sincerity.

“Yeah? Well, I definitely feel a connection
between us.”

He shot me his gleaming white smile.

As if she was annoyed that we were ignoring
her, Sally flapped her wings, splashing both of us.

I laughed as soapy bubbles flew everywhere.
“I’m soaked!” I said, grinning.

Jesse touched my face in a soft caress as
he wiped the soap bubbles off my face.
His blue eyes locked on me, and I couldn’t tear my
gaze away from him. For just a second, it felt like he was looking
not just at me but
into
me.

The door cracked
open a minute later, and Jeanie walked in. “I was assigned to help
you guys. And judging by how wet you look, you definitely need me.
That little bird is kicking both your butts!”

Jesse and I looked
at each other, then laughed.

I was off the clock at three p.m., but I
stayed until eight, and so did Jesse. I never knew I’d take so much
joy in helping animals. I didn’t even care about the money. All I
cared about was being with Jesse and doing something I loved.

* * *

Julie and I decided to take Max for a walk
in the woods, as her father had told her about a place that was the
perfect spot for dogs. Fred had finished working on our back yard
for the day, and he’d overheard me talking to Julie on the phone
and had given me the look, so I made sure to invite him too. Julie
drove us to the destination in her truck, and the three of us and
Max jumped out.

I glanced around. “Are you sure we’re in the
right spot? I don’t see any trails.”

“Yeah…we look lost,” Fred said.

Julie squinted against the sun. “Well, we’re
here now. It can’t hurt to have a look around.”

“Need I remind you of bears, mountain lions,
and wolves?” I asked.

Max glanced up at me and barked.

“See? Max wants to go for a walk,” Julie
said. “This is all public property.”

“All right,” I said, pushing some large
leaves and twigs out of my way. “We’ll go a little ways, then come
back.”

“Great.”

I put Max on a leash. He barked, then
hurried off into the woods, dragging me along.

Julie chased after me. “How about after
this, we grab lunch. I’m craving a big, juicy burger.”

“Mind if Jesse joins us?” I asked.

Fred offered an exaggerated eye-roll.

“That’d be great,” Julie said. “It’d be nice
to get to know him while I’m sober.”

I laughed. “Do you remember leaning against
him and telling him how pretty his eyes are?”

She cupped her mouth. “No way! Did I really
do that?”

I nodded as she looked away in
embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know how much you
like him. I promise I’ll never do that again.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. You were pretty
smashed, and we both knew it.”

She grabbed Fred’s arm. “I was soooo
wasted.”

He smirked.

We walked for a little ways and enjoyed the
beautiful, serene landscape. Having come from New York City, I knew
I’d never take all that natural beauty for granted. Streams of
sunshine poured down through the towering trees all around us.
Insects hummed, and birds chirped.

Max barked, then pulled so hard that I
tripped over a log and let go of the leash.

“Max!” I wailed.

Fred offered his hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, jumping to my feet and
peering ahead, “but where did Max go?”

He pointed. “That way. I hear him
barking.”

I shuddered, recalling the last time Max had
gotten away. “I don’t know why he does that,” I complained. “He
just takes off.”

“He’s a dog,” Julie said. “He’s just acting
like one.”

“Well, I’m sick of it. I need to train him
better.”

We stopped at wire fence with a “No
Trespassing” sign on it. I yelled for Max to come back, but he
refused again, just like the last time. Having no other choice, I
slipped my leg over the fence and jumped over it.

“Wait. What are you doing? That’s private
property,” Fred scolded, pointing at the sign.

“He’s right,” Julie said.

I shot her a look. “Since when do you
care?”

“Since now,” she said, pointing at a long
line of skulls dangling from a rope stretched from one tree to the
next.

I gasped. “Are those…human?” I asked,
completely frazzled.

She walked over to more closely inspect
them. “No. Animal.”

I let out a sigh of relief. My gaze shot to
a long, horizontal rock, about ten by three feet, carved with weird
symbols and ancient writing. I traced the engraved letters with my
fingers. “What do you think this means?” I asked.

“I have no idea what the symbols are, but
the letters are in Latin,” Julie said, squinting for a better look
at them in the bright sunlight.

“Latin?”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s some kind of memorial or
something.”

“Think it’s a headstone?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but this whole place is
givin’ me the creeps. I’m not going past that rock, dog or no
dog.”

I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture.
“There. Now we can Google it when we get back.”

Julie shuddered. “I wanna get out of
here.”

“Wait here,” I said. “I have to get
Max.”

“I’ll come with you,” Fred said, trying to
sound brave and chivalrous.

She grabbed my arm, then Fred’s. “Are you
two crazy? You guys can’t leave me here in Freddy Krueger’s back
yard all by myself!”

I sighed loudly. “Then you’ll have to come
with us. I’m not leaving my dog behind.”

“But it’s some kind of creepy cemetery,
and—”

“Go or stay. It’s your choice.”

“You expect me to wait here by the skull
collection and the hieroglyphic mummy headstone for some
chainsaw-wielding maniac to come after me?” she said.

“You’ve watched too many horror flicks,”
Fred said, laughing.

“Well, maybe that’s why I’m still alive.
Consider it research.”

I sighed. “We’ll be right back. I can’t
leave Max.”

“Let’s just wait here for a minute. Surely
he’ll come back.”

The place was strange, even more frightening
than the mountain lion, and I didn’t like the thought of my dog
running around over there. My gaze shot to the animal skulls
knocking together in the wind. My stomach was in knots. “Look,
Julie, we have no idea who owns this land. They might shoot him on
sight. Clearly, they’ve got no problem killing animals.”

“Fine. Let’s go get your dog,” she said,
climbing over the fence. “But if I get killed, just know I’ll be
back to haunt you.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said
with a smile.

We walked through the thick woods, calling
for Max. I stopped when I heard a twig snap, as if someone was
following us. I took a deep breath to settle my overactive
imagination, then pushed through some ferns that opened up like a
doorway into an Easter-grass green meadow. There, we saw Max,
barking at a fire ring made completely out of stones. I cocked a
brow, confused. “Max?”

“He must be barking at a little animal,”
Julie said, “like a mouse or something. It’s probably hiding behind
one of those rocks.”

I gazed at all the rocks in the large ring,
guessing someone had once camped there. But then, as I looked
closer, I noticed a pile of boulders in the center, with a black
tin box sitting on top of them. I swallowed an egg-sized lump in my
throat. “Oh my gosh. Do you think this is some kind of…altar?”

Fred glanced around. “Whoa! Do you think
they sacrifice animals out here?”

“Or humans,” I whispered.

Julie clutched her chest. “What if it’s some
kind of satanic cult?” She picked up the black box and tried to
open it, but it was too tightly sealed. “Won’t budge. I wonder
what’s inside. Whatever it is, they’re trying to keep it a
secret.”

“Dude, you touched it!” Fred said.

“One, I’m not a dude. Two, I’m sure it’s
just an empty box,” Julie retorted.

“You don’t know that.”

“It’s light as a feather.”

“Maybe we should just leave it alone,” I
said. “If I remember right, Julie, you didn’t even want to come
over here.”

“I know,” Julie said with a gleam in her
eye, “but aren’t you curious?”

“Maybe curiosity is what killed all those
cats hanging on that clothesline back there,” Fred said.

“Yeah, we really shouldn’t be messing with
it, Julie. I don’t wanna be cursed or something.”

“Do you really think it’s witchcraft?” Fred
asked.

“Maybe it’s just teenagers experimenting,” I
said, grabbing the box. “Let’s just put it back where we found it.”
But as I held it, curiosity struck me, and I turned the box over in
my hands several times, looking at it carefully. When the lid
opened, seemingly on its own, I jumped.

“You did it!” she shouted. “What’s in
there?”