The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

28. The Red Moon

Tommy kicked the dust around his feet as he walked around the rooftop of the temple. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips as he halted and stood in front of a large flood light as big as the roof itself, sending the colour red up into the night sky.

"You remember when we entered the perimeter of the temples? Those weird stone brick towers that were surrounding the entire area?" He breathed in the intoxicating smoke, cringing in the process.

The high priest's choice of cigarettes was not to his liking. It left a bitter and unpleasant taste on his tongue, but it would do for now until he restocked on his favourite brand.

"Yes. I wanted to ask what they were for," Baden responded.

Tommy tilted his head up and looked towards the red moon. He squinted until he saw what he could best describe as a very large lens covering the entirety of the temples and the surrounding area where the festival was held. The way they had positioned the lens made it impossible to see without an extremely good eye, and naturally, everyone was too bothered by the sacrifice to actually look properly.

"They are temporary structures that hold a glass lens up over the temples, and I presume there are similar ones over the towns throughout the island. The priests must put them up in secret every year."

"What for?"

"It's like a filter. The red light shines against the lens, giving the impression that the moon is red." Tommy tapped his foot against the large floodlight. It had a dimmer setting, which explained how the moon gradually turned red. "When you draw your attention away from the moon and look towards the stars, you'll notice that they are being affected the lens as well and look red."

Baden looked up into the clear night sky, drawing his attention away from the moon, and squinted towards the stars. Tommy was right: the stars looked like rubyies glinting brightly in the sky rather than diamonds.

"I thought it was odd that the moon would turn red on a yearly basis when the rest of the world only saw it every one hundred years," Baden commented.

"You heard the mayor earlier when he was talking with Blondie. The whole festival is a con to gain money and offerings from the villages of the island. It throws the fear of God in their faces if they don't comply." Tommy lifted his foot up high into the air. "It's an insult to the ancient gods." Tommy cursed under his breath. He was a strong believer in the ancient gods. "Which is where you come in, Baden. In your puppet form, you can fool them into thinking you're their god. They need you right now. Otherwise, all hell will break loose, and a lot of people will get hurt."

Baden nodded in understanding, and Tommy slammed his foot down on to the red light. Glass shattered everywhere, and the source of light frizzled out like a burnt-out match.

However, the moon was still red. Not as bright as it once was but still red enough to fool the locals. Tommy cursed. Of course, that wouldn't be the only source of the light. There were more, hundreds of them dotted all over the place. He didn't have time to smash them all.

How was he supposed to get the moon to turn back to normal?

He thought to himself, his finger and thumb rubbing his lips. He then snapped his fingers when an idea popped into his head. It wasn't the best idea in the world, but the only one they had left, and he started to tell Baden what he needed to do.

☠️

Jessica felt safe and warm in Levi's embrace. After everything that had happened, she was glad to be in his arms. The hug reminded her of her father. In fact, it made her miss Zachary Flint. She needed to find him, she needed to make sense of her life and why during the time she needed him the most, he wasn't there for her.