Deirdre Collins had lived in Lupine Falls, Montana, for only a week, but she'd noticed something seemed very odd about her new community.
It was a very small town; roughly 400 people lived there, including herself. She'd been hired by a computer tech firm known as Alpha productions, which was based in the town. They'd offered her a salary she couldn't refuse, somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 dollars, if the company made its bonuses, which she would get a cut from via profit sharing.
She'd had trouble finding it on any maps, since it had apparently been founded only ten years before, by some silicon valley types, very much disillusioned with the dank life in Los Angeles. But they couldn't live without their Starbucks coffee, or their strip malls, or their high-speed internet, and so the small town had all of the trappings of city life, just without the density.
She lived in a spacious ranch-style house, graciously provided by the company. Though she only had two neighbors, both of the families were Alpha productions families; The Thompsons, who lived to the east, and the Davidsons, who lived to the west of her.
The past week had been hard for Deirdre, who was finding it hard to get acquainted with any of the locals. They seemed to be quite wary of outsiders, and unfortunately, she was an outsider. She'd noticed that everyone seemed to know everyone else, which bothered her a bit. How could a town, even one as small as 400 have such a tight-knit community?
She was assured by her boss, John, that things would become easier for her once she'd lived there a bit, though she was starting to have her doubts. She was growing weary of the stares she got when she browsed the streets. She'd even gone to the local nightclub, Club Heat, but had no luck bringing a man home with her. In fact, the club was really quite dead.
And to top it all off, her period had started. She menstruated around the full moon. She'd almost forgotten about it, until her cramping started earlier in the day. She hated the full moon, hated her period and hated this town.
Now it was seven pm, about an hour til moonrise, and Deirdre was sitting at home on a Friday night. There was no work for her until Monday. She absentmindedly paced about the house, trying to think of something to do.
It wasn't as though she was unattractive; her Irish heritage had given her striking features. She was nearly six feet tall, but a willowy 130 pounds, with proud breasts that stood firm without the need of a pushup bra. She had fiery red hair that hung to the middle of her back, and milk white skin which stood out in stark contrast. She had a lot of freckles, but it simply gave her more character, rather than act as a distraction or disfigurement. And to top it all off, she had piercing green eyes.
It couldn't be her, she decided. It had to be the town.
Then suddenly......