By Moonlit Shores

Mandy swam to the shore, her breaths going steady with her strides. The beach was always her favorite place to be, and she needed a break from school. Spring break was the perfect way to clear her head and have some fun with her friend. After she got to the sand, she stood and walked out of the great ocean that had swallowed her moments before. 

“Girl, you are covered in sand!” her friend, Alice, shouted across the beach front. Alice and Mandy had wanted to go to the beach to enjoy some alone time together, as they haven’t had a week away in a long time. The two girls had known each other since seventh grade, and were each other’s best friend. 

“Yeah! But the water felt nice!” Mandy yelled back, then ran towards her friend. Alice was undeniably gorgeous, with bright green eyes and blonde hair. She was freckled all over and wore a red bikini that she had worn for the past three summers. Alice had been playing volleyball with some others that were also in their early twenties, and finished the game a few moments before Mandy had swam out. After several failed attempts of running in the sand, Mandy had finally caught up. 

“Hey girl, you ready to head out? We still got the rest of the week to come and tan down here.” Alice asked. 

“Yeah, I was just about to say that. Do you want to go grab some lunch?” The morning was so beautiful. The sand wasn’t too hot, and the two had woken up early enough to watch the sun rise against the ocean. It was beautiful, with the reds and purples mixing together. Alice agreed and the two walked off the beach. 

While Mandy and Alice were usually loud and outgoing, they had both felt tension this trip. Mandy had always had a small crush on Alice, but it was never anything she would admit. However, this beach trip was different. Mandy could not keep her eyes off of her this time. It was Monday, and they had left the Friday before for the beach, but Mandy was already ready to leave. It wasn’t Alice, it was just the trip in general, something just felt off with their friendship. 

“Mandy, I think we should talk about something.” The two were walking down the street to a local diner they enjoyed every time they went to the beach. Mandy’s heart sank with Alice’s words. 

“Yeah? What is it?” Mandy asked, but inside she already knew.

“Something has been weird between us ever since last month.” Oh, last month. The beautiful Valentine’s Day where Mandy was ready to admit her feelings, sure Alice felt the same. Mandy had written a note with a rose and a box of chocolates and was ready to tell Alice everything. But when she walked into the dorm, she threw the note away and just gave Alice the rose and chocolates. That note laid in Alice’s trash can for a week before she realized it looked out of place in the trash. Mandy didn’t necessarily know if Alice had read the note, but she suspected as much.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Mandy was being short and knew it. She just needed to listen.

“Well, I found the note… the one you were going to give me on Valentine’s Day.” She looked down at the ground. Alice had stopped in the street and looked flustered. “I, um, kept it.” Mandy’s face grew bright red as she saw Alice pull out a piece of paper folded and wrinkled out from her beach bag. “Can I read it… please?” 

Mandy nodded, knowing that she couldn’t escape the embarrassment. Alice began reading.

“Alice, I didn’t know how to start this. I still don’t know what to say. I guess I am in love with you, nerd. That’s it and I just didn’t know how to say it. I’m sorry if you hate me, but I can’t hide it anymore. I hope we can still be friends.” She carefully folded the crinkled paper back up and put it away. They stared at each other for a moment. Alice’s green eyes met brown eyes and they stood in silence while the rest of the world passed around them. People walked around them, laughter and car engines filled the air, and the world seemed to continue on as if Mandy didn’t just feel her heart sink and her world began to fall apart. Everyone else just… continued. 

Alice finally broke the silence. “I have been reading over this note for the past month now, trying to prepare myself for what I’d say.” Mandy opened her mouth to talk, but Alice held her hand up. “No, this note says everything I need to know. It’s my time now. So, I read this note over and over everyday. I want today to be the last time I read that godforsaken note. But I still needed to figure out what to say. And I think all I can say is-” She looked up at Mandy and smiled. She looked at her lips, yearningly, and grabbed Mandy’s shoulders. And before Mandy knew it, Alice was kissing her softly, but still deeply. It was an unforgettable kiss, one that sparks fireworks for years to come. 

Alice pulled away and smirked. “I have loved you for quite a while as well.” Mandy lit up and smiled a big pearly smile. She grabbed Alice’s hand and they continued walking to the diner. 

That night, the two walked into the hotel lobby and noticed that people were piled in.

“Goodness, it is crowded here.” Mandy said, pushing past people. They weren’t quite shoulder to shoulder, but there were many more than there were the night before.

“Well, it is Monday of official spring break. Maybe that’s it?” Alice said loudly, trying to speak over the crowd. As they pushed through the people, there was a loud scream and a man rushed into the lobby. He looked like a college aged boy, and he was holding his hand, which was bleeding. 

“FUCK, IT’S OUT THERE!” His scream was so loud, it quieted the whole lobby. Mandy looked at Alice and raised an eyebrow. 

“Hey, he’s probably just drunk, let’s go to the room please.” Alice pulled on Mandy’s arm, dragging the two of them to the stairs. Their room was on the third floor, with a view of the beach. Before they left, Mandy heard the bleeding boy scream something about a dog before they disappeared into the staircase. 

“That was weird.” Mandy said as they walked up the stairs.

“Yeah, he said something about a dog, right? He probably messed with the wrong neighbor or some shit.” Alice looked at Mandy and smiled, easing Mandy’s nerves. 

They approached the room, hand in hand. Once inside, Alice locked the door and giggled.

“Hey Mandy?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to take a shower? You still got sand all over your legs from this morning.” Alice wiped Mandy’s legs to show how much sand there was, and slowly lifted her hand higher and higher on Mandy’s body. 

Alice led Mandy to the shower, and the night ended in steam and love. Mandy had never appreciated Alice in such a way before. The two became intertwined until they both ended up on the bed looking out at the ocean as they drifted to sleep. 

It was three in the morning when Mandy was awoken by glass shattering. She sat up fast and was breathing extremely heavily. She looked next to her to see Alice awake and looking at her worried.

“Are you okay? Did you hear that?” Alice was worried.

“I’m okay, but I don’t know. It was so loud, dude.” Mandy stood up and looked out the big window they had. It was too dark to make out anything, except for a fast shadow running by near the pool area. “I can’t see much, but there’s someone running around down there.” 

A few minutes passed, and a loud scream could be heard. It sounded like it was coming from the bottom floor. Mandy switched into a protective state of mind and began grabbing clothes and their suitcases. She switched on a lamp and began packing.

Alice rubbed her eyes sleepily. “Are we leaving? It was probably just spring breakers, ya know.” 

“I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling. Here, don’t turn all the lights on, just this lamp. Go grab the shampoos and toothbrushes, I’m gonna get our clothes packed.” Alice nodded and got up, and ran to the bathroom. Mandy could feel a sweat starting to form, she was so scared. With the screaming, glass breaking, and the incident earlier, Mandy had enough of the mystery surrounding the beach trip. 

Once the two were packed, they began to head downstairs. 

“I promise, we will go to a different beach or something, but something is off here. I really don’t know what I saw by the pool or what that scream was, but I don’t want to find out.” Mandy said, dragging Alice by the hand down the stairs. As they approached the door at the bottom of the staircase, they heard a snarling and loud footsteps. It was as if a giant animal was right outside the door. They both froze, and Mandy pulled Alice to go under the staircase in an empty corner. She put her finger on her lip, signalling for Alice to remain quiet. 

The door suddenly slammed open loudly, and Alice began to hold onto Mandy. They had left their luggage at the bottom of the stairs when they hid, away from their hiding spot. Mandy looked down at Alice, who usually was a strong looking woman. She now looked meek, fear taking over her. There were loud footsteps above them, and then it stopped suddenly. A loud howl was echoing through the stairs, and the footsteps began again, running. It sounded like a giant wolf was running on the stairs, and the loud steps echoed until the creature was at the top of the stairs. 

Alice let out a small cry, and Mandy looked at her. Alice was crying silently, tears streaming down her face. Mandy held her for a moment.

“Alice, we have got to go. I don’t know what that is, but we have to get out of here. Are you ready? We are gonna run.” Mandy knew that hiding wouldn’t last forever, and that running was going to be the only way out. Alice nodded. “Let’s just leave the luggage, okay? Just run out the door.” 

Mandy stood up and began running, holding Alice’s hand behind her. They ran through the lobby, which was now deserted, and outside. The wind blew hard against their faces, and the entire street was silent, except for a slight sound of sirens that were far away. Their car was in sight, and the two got to it fast. 

As they approached the car doors, the loud howl began again. It sounded close, and they both looked towards the entrance. 

A large creature stood on its hind legs looking at the sky, howling. It was covered in dark fur, and towered over both girls even from a distance. The moonlight leaked through the monster’s mouth and it appeared as if it was a wolf. It was bigger than any wolf either girl had seen, and looked more man than monster. 

When it finished its howl, it stared directly at them, before getting on all fours. Mandy frantically searched for her keys, but couldn’t find them. “Where are the keys?!” she shouted at Alice, who was crying loudly. 

“I- I don’t know. They were on the t.v. stand, did you grab them?” she spoke through hard sobs. Mandy realized it was too late for the car. 

“Run to the beach!” she shouted at Alice, who began running fast. As Mandy ran, she turned back to see the beast coming for them faster than any animal she’d ever seen. Alice was far ahead of Mandy by the time they were on the beach. 

The sand was rough on Mandy’s feet, slowing her down. The beast’s footsteps approached louder. Alice began shouting something and had turned around, but Mandy couldn’t make it out. Alice was by the ocean, looking at Mandy far away, cupping her mouth to shout. Mandy felt like she could make it, but a searing pain in her back caused her to fall fast. She landed on her belly and face, feeling the coarse ground scrape her cheek. Her vision became blurry, and she rolled over on her back. The pain began to spread and she felt a liquid on her back. After seeing how far away the shore was, she realized it was blood she was feeling. The beast hovered over her, but turned its head somewhere fast and ran from Mandy’s body. 

Mandy was crying and began to spit up blood. She saw Alice’s face through her blurry vision. 

“Mandy, it’s okay. The police are here, it’s gone. We can go.” Alice’s voice was cracking, as she cried heavily over Mandy. Mandy looked past Alice’s face and into the sky. The stars sparkled beautifully above, and Mandy felt her vision darken.

“Alice, I love you.” Mandy spoke her last words into existence as she stared at the glowing stars, wondering what came next.