THE JOURNEY TO BEYOND BEGINS FROM WITHIN... Beneath the backdrop of a provincial town, Ryan Hayden lives the life of a typical 17-year-old boy. As with any teenager on the brink of adulthood, he questions his place among his peers and contemplates the quandaries of friendship and love. But as a consequence of a childhood tragedy that mysteriously separates him from his family, the boy struggles with thoughts of isolation. Amid this bleak but reflective time, he kindles his imagination by peering upon a glittering grove of stars. Within this realm of the vast unknown, he unwittingly unearths the secrets afflicting his dreams. A relentless quest to discover the truth about his past will ultimately deliver him to a startling revelation. The terror culminates in a battle that wedges his very soul between the elements of this world and beyond.
A full Moon materialized in the ebony sky over Belle Falls. It gleamed like a gilded guardian, casting its pale eye upon the snowy terrain with a muted tenderness. On such nights, when the Moon was unobstructed from Earth’s shadow, every other celestial offering was dwarfed by comparison. It was once whispered that those who gazed upon the unhindered moonlight experienced a radical transformation of their flesh and souls. Primitive urges prevailed, persuading those most easily influenced into sheer acts of depravity. Although the myths of the Moon’s provocative lure flourished primarily in the channels of one’s imagination, no one glimpsed upon its glow without shuddering at the notion of its legendary power. Tonight, Ryan’s dreams guided him through the moonbeams, and in the midst of his slumber he found himself standing back inside the tunnel of his nightmares. No refuge came to him here. The tunnel’s brightness intensified, nearly searing his eyes as he slept. Just as in his previous dreams, he observed a shadow of another person at the tunnel’s far end. He attempted to run forward, blindly stretching his hands out with a motive of capturing anything more tangible than air between his fingers. In the distance, his twin brother’s faint cries echoed. This sound drilled against his eardrums, but he proceeded with undaunted persistence. “I’m here, Robby! It’s me—your brother!” Progressing through the tunnel seemed like a minimal task, but no matter how many footsteps Ryan extended to the mission, he could not reach the place where he wanted to be. Despite his ineptitude in accomplishing this act, the cries from his brother still rebounded in his head—each one becoming increasingly more painful and deafening than the previous. Finally, after nearly exhausting himself, Ryan watched the tunnel’s lights dim, and his eyesight gradually adjusted to a diffusing blue haze projecting from a portion of the tunnel where he could not previously reach. In the softer light, Ryan stepped gingerly toward a weeping figure bent beneath perpendicular strands of energy. The haze in front of his face made it impossible to see anything clearly, but he eventually discerned the shadow of who he first thought to be his brother. “At last,” said Ryan aloud, perhaps even mumbling the syllables in his sleep. “I can see you now, Robby. You’re here with me.” The sound of his brother’s relentless sobbing drew Ryan to the tunnel’s farthest point, where a shadow slanted against a translucent doorway. “It’s okay now, Robby,” Ryan called out, tenderly reaching his fingertips forward to comfort the distraught figure. “I’ve come to help you, Robby. Everything is going to be okay.” “You’re wrong,” a voice replied, but it no longer carried his brother’s inflection. This intonation was distinctly older, and as the figure suddenly turned toward a tint of light cast from the tunnel’s cylindrical walls, Ryan’s eyes widened with bafflement. It was not his brother who crouched before him; he discerned only the old and withered face of his grandmother—Margaret Banner. “Grandma?” questioned Ryan with a perplexing stare. “Turn back,” Margaret’s voice boomed. “Turn back now!” “Is it really you?” “Turn back,” the voice repeated in a haunting shrill. Margaret’s cracked, colorless lips did not budge, but her face appeared exactly as Ryan had last observed it at her funeral—gray and devoid of any natural expression. It warned him one additional time. “Don’t come any closer.” Ryan’s eyes pivoted to a pale green light reflecting behind the figure; it was evidently a portal of some kind. Margaret held out her thin arms, blocking the opening from his eyes as best she was capable. “Beware,” her voice screeched, reverberating horribly throughout the tunnel’s entire length. “Beware—” “Beware of what?” “Beware of the Moon! Beware of the Moon!” At that precise moment, Ryan’s eyes peeled open, sending the images scattering in foggy remnants into his subconscious mind. Though in a state of half-consciousness, he sensed those same words forming on his own lips as he awakened from his nightmare. “Beware of the Moon!” he exclaimed, jarring himself from his sleep and toppling to the floor beside his bed. For a few seconds he could not regulate his own breathing. He heaved uncontrollably as a cold perspiration teemed from every pore in his body. After thrashing wildly upon his carpet, Ryan threw his hands over his eyes. He remained petrified for a few additional seconds, allowing his attention to drift to his bedroom window. The lunar light spilled through the curtains and shone directly upon his bare chest.
About Michael Ciardi
Michael Ciardi currently teaches English and creative writing at a high school in New Jersey. He is the author of two additional novels entitled Keeper of the Doves and Songs of a Peach Tree. He presently resides in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Find out how to get a signed copy of Phantoms of the Moon by contacting Mr. Ciardi directly at mciardi@franklinboe.org
THE JOURNEY TO BEYOND BEGINS FROM WITHIN...
Michael Ciardi currently teaches English and creative writing at a high school in New Jersey. He is the author of two additional novels entitled Keeper of the Doves and Songs of a Peach Tree. He presently resides in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Find out how to get a signed copy of Phantoms of the Moon by contacting Mr. Ciardi directly at mciardi@franklinboe.org