Wendigo: Part 2
The storm continues, the thunder roars louder, and Willow clings tightly to her mom’s arm as they hide in the attic. They remained still as they heard the footsteps coming from below.
“Mom I don’t want to die”
“You’re not going to die”
The footsteps grew faint as the creature entered a different room.
After minutes of searching, the creature grew impatient, He decided to draw them out by mimicking a familiar voice.
“Hello, Anybody here?”
Willow looked at her mom in confusion.
“That sounds like Officer Hughes, we’re saved”
Her mom was suspicious and didn’t trust it.
“Wait, Willow. Don’t!”
Willow opened the attic and the ladder dropped down. To her surprise, the face she saw was not Officer Hughes but the creature. It crawled on all fours at her, she backed up into her mother’s lap.
In disbelief of what she was seeing she froze. Her mom on the other hand grabbed the nearest object next to her; a ski pole and stabbed it in the chest. The creature shrieked but quickly recovered. It grabbed Willow’s leg and started dragging her, she screamed and reached for her mom. They both tried to hold on tightly but between Willow’s sweaty hands and the creature’s strength, they couldn’t hold a steady grip.
“WILLOW!”
Willow tried to hold tight to the floor by digging her nails into it, her fingers started to ache and bleed. The wood floors were old and chipping so she collected several splinters in her body before the creature took off running. Willow’s mom ran over to the ladder but they were gone. She sat in defeat as she just lost her daughter to a monster; nobody will believe her. They would all think Willow just ran away because of the issues between them. After all, she was the town’s “crazy lady”. Between that and her past drug history, nobody was going to take her seriously.
“My Willow, I’m so sorry. You always deserved a better mother.”
She cried, her tears fell as fast as the rain outside. Her anger was as unforgiving as lightning and her screaming as loud as the thunder. Hours after she calmed down; she decided to go looking for Willow.
She grabbed everything she could carry in her small duffle bag, a silver knife, her ex-husband's shotgun, holy oil, gasoline, and matches. She grabbed her jacket and keys and headed out the door into the storm.
“Stay alive honey, mommy’s coming”
Wendigo
Lightning strikes down onto a utility pole. The town goes dark; People scream in terror of the untamed storm.
Willow stares out the window and watches the rain pour down. Her mom started lighting candles all over the house. She knew if she came back home the storm would prevent her from going back to school. Unfortunately, her mom insisted she come home; her only reason was that she had to wash Willow’s clothes.
“It’s rough out there”
Willow nodded.
“Well at least we get to spend more time together”
“Yea I guess”
Willow left her old room and walked into the living room, her mom followed.
“I made cookies”
“Great,” she said sarcastically
“It’s your favorite chocolate chip”
Willow put her headphones on and started listening to her favorite horror podcast. Ignoring her mom, her mom just sighed. She couldn’t understand why Willow was so shut off with her; almost like she hated her.
Willow was listening with her eyes closed when all of sudden her mom grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Willow snatched her headphones off.
“what the”
Her mom covered her mouth and Willow couldn’t understand what was happening.
Her mom began to whisper.
“There is something out there”
“Like what? this is ridiculous!”
“Shhhhh seriously Willow honey, I saw it”
Willow peaked her head from over the couch. She looked at the closest window and saw nothing, she looked at every window and saw nothing.
“Mom whatever it is it’s gone”
“No, stay down”
Willow stayed down on the floor but she thought this was just another of her mom’s sad attempts of trying to keep her attention. After about ten minutes Willow peaked her head over the couch and looked at the kitchen window and there it was.
It looked like a giant-looking man with sunken red glowing eyes, its grey skin was slick tight to its bones almost like it hadn’t eaten in months. The creature knocked twice on the window as it saw Willow’s face peaking at it. Willow ducked back down and turned to her mom.
“What the fuck is that!”
“I don’t know”
“We gotta get out of here”
The creature kept knocking on the window as if he was going to get let in. It grew impatient and punched right through the window. Willow and her mom took off running upstairs.
Hunter: Part 3
Nobody moved, the bunker was silent.
A shadow appeared on the door, it was shaped like a person but they knew it couldn’t be some lost hiker. Mack couldn’t take the suspense, he went running out the door.
A big thump was heard just as Mack ran out, Dean followed behind to make sure he was okay. Mack was always running into danger blind which made him an incompetent hunter. It annoyed Dean to the fullest.
“Mack?”
Dean cautiously checked the right side of the bunker and saw Mack being held by his neck by a stranger.
“Put him down!”
“I heard you been looking for me”
“Who are you?”
“You we’re looking for Cassius so-“
“Your not Cassius”
“No, I’m Cain… his brother”
Dean’s face hardened with rage, he started shooting without thinking into Cain’s chest.
Tears fell from his face as he started to relive the death of his parents. Luckily for Mack none of the bullets hit him.
Dean kept shooting until his gun was empty even then he kept pressing the trigger. Unfortunately for Dean, silver bullets can’t kill Cain. Maybe if it was ‘your everyday vampire’ but Cain’s bloodline was different it required a lot more to kill him unless he wanted to fight him toe to toe.
Cain sighed.
“Look I don’t know why you hate my brother I mean I can bet there are a thousand reasons why. He was pretty shitty but he’s dead I killed him… silver bullets aren’t going to kill me.”
“What about wood bullets drenched in vervain?”
“Yea.. no”
Dean just stood there staring at Cain. He was so emotionally disabled that he couldn’t even comprehend what was going on around him. Cain put Mack down gently.
“You okay?”
“Y-yes”
Cain tried to walk over to Dean but Dean moved back; thinking Cain might try something.
Rose, Davina, Jack, and Blake finally came out to see what was going on. They all saw the rage on Dean’s face. Rose ran over to Dean and grabbed his hand.
“Are you okay?”
Dean didn’t respond, he just looked at Rose, he looked broken.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Shouted Rose
“Relax, his issue is with my brother… who is dead by the way”
“What do you want?” Asked Jack
“I heard he was looking for me so I decided to come to him instead.”
“You’re a vampire, we kill vampires. Mighty brave to show up here” said Blake
“I’m not afraid of you. I’m not your enemy I protect humans”
“I’m sorry you do what?”
“Protect humans. I look after one; his name is Sam.”
“Like you raise him?” Asked Davina
“Yea, his family was slaughtered by mine, so now I raise Sam, Me and my girlfriend.”
“And your girlfriend is…?”
“Human yes.”
They all looked in shock. Dean finally snapped out of it and rejoined the conversation.
“Yea, you are one of those vampires with feelings”
Cain nodded.
“That has to be bull shit right?” Asked Blake
“Weirdly not”
“You believe him?”
“A little”
“Do you trust him?”
“Of course not”
“So let’s kill him!”
Before Dean could say anything, Blake charged at Cain with a knife in hand and stabbed him. Cain looked at the knife and rolled his eyes. He pulled it out of his chest.
“Come on my girlfriend just bought me this shirt”
Blake gasped.
“Yea tried that with bullets didn’t you hear all the shooting I just did.”
“Oh right”
Mack laughed as he pulled out a cigarette and began to light it.
“I say we keep him… I like him”
“Keep him? He’s not our new pet, besides he was just holding you up by your neck!”
“Yes but that was the past plus he could be useful”
“For what? Hunting?”
“Duh”
Mack offered Cain a cigarette, but Cain declined.
Davina walked up to Rose and began whispering in her ear.
“We should keep the vampire around like we wanna make friends then kill it after we found out how to”
Rose nodded.
“I say we keep him,” said Davina
“Have you been smoking one of Mack’s homemade cigarettes?” Asked Blake aggressively
“Maybe she thinks she’s going to have a vampire romance,” said Jack
Jack and Blake started laughing.
Cain kept trying to interject but kept missing the timing.
Davina didn’t encourage them; she stood by what she said.
“Yea we should keep him, he could help us with other monsters.” Said Rose
Jack and Blake immediately stopped laughing.
Dean was shocked by Rose agreeing with Davina. Dean trusted Rose’s judgment; assuming it had something to do with their attraction for each other.
Dean nodded.
“Okay Cain, you stay but don’t try anything or I promise you I’ll search the whole planet to figure out how to kill you”
“No, I can't permanently stay. I got things to do at home.”
“Yea yea yea we know a human girlfriend and human child to get back to… weird shit”
Lily got up for breakfast as she knew it was pretty the same thing; eggs and toast. She yawned and stretched and headed straight to the kitchen. The messy kitchen covered in grease smelt a little different today. It smelled funny of the weird kind. She opened the fridge to get orange juice but once she closed it she saw an unfamiliar face.
“Hi”
“Hi… who are you?”
“Oh I’m Cain”
“Okay I’m Lily”
“Do you mind?”
Cain seemed confused for a minute then realized what she meant.
“Sorry standing in your way… right of course”
Lily brushed past Cain to grab one of the plastic cups on the table. Dean walked in already wearing outside clothes.
“Ready for battle already?” Mocked Cain
“Did you even sleep?”
“Vampires don’t sleep”
Lily spit out all of the juice, it splattered all over the floor and wall.
“Vampire!”
“Yea Lily sorry forget to mention I’m a vampire”
“That isn’t something you forget”
Cain smiled and left the room.
Before Dean could reassure Lily that Cain wasn’t a threat the alarm went off again.
“This is why I get dressed early”
Dean rushed to the main room readying his gun.
“Blake, are the cameras working yet? I don’t want any more surprises. The next one might not be friendly.”
“They are working really…. badly”
“That’s helpful. What does it look like?”
“Mmmm.. I don’t know can’t tell it’s fuzzy”
“Werewolves,” said Cain
“How do you know?”
“I don’t know we are like natural enemies,” Cain said sarcastically
“Right”
“Too many of them to fight”
“How many?”
“I don’t know”
“Give an estimate!”
“Like maybe 50 or more”
“50!”
Suddenly, a banging noise comes from the bunker door.
“They’re going to get in here, what's the plan?”
“Fuck!”
Hunter: Part 2
Dean decided to look around the house and figure out what he killed. He searched the main floor, kitchen, bathroom, and living room and found nothing. He proceeded to check upstairs he searched both rooms and the joint bathroom and found nothing. Once he got to the master bedroom he smelled something so foul. He held his nose. He smelt it getting stronger in the bathroom.
He pulled back the shower curtain and saw blood, carnage, and bones. He shut the curtain.
“Fucking sick”
He hesitated to open the bloody closet next to it but opened it anyway. He saw meat suits hanging up on hangers like clothes. These were fresh.
“Fucking shapeshifters! Great now I gotta burn the place”
He walked back downstairs in a hurry to get back to the gas station. He stopped short, he heard screaming coming from below.
“Help! Somebody help me please!”
He checked all the doors to see if there was a basement. In the kitchen, he found a side door with a huge lock on it. He hated wasting silver bullets so he punched it off.
He walked down the squeaky stairs. The dust was overbearing. He wondered how anybody could scream through all of it. Spider webs all over the ceiling looked as if it was abandoned months ago. He heard a voice call out.
“Who’s there?”
“Mmmm you first”
Dean made direct eye contact with a young woman who was chained up. The chains were rusty and her clothes torn.
“Please help me!”
“Okay just hold on a second. How do I know you're not a shapeshifter?”
“Is that what they’re called?”
Dean didn’t answer, he didn't buy the act.
“I’m not, I promise I’m not. I’ve been chained up here for weeks… I think I’m not sure how long it’s been. That thing looked like my fiancé but it wasn’t.”
“Your fiancé? Okay look let me just test it.”
“Okay”
He walked over to the young woman with his silver knife at the ready. She backed away in fear.
“Relax I just need to put it against your skin”
She held out her right arm and he gently placed the knife on her skin.
“Your clean”
“Okay great let me go please”
Dean took her chains and broke them apart with his hands.
“Thank you!”
“Do you have a family? A place you could go?”
“Liam was my only family”
“I understand you can stay with a friend of mine”
The young woman nodded.
“What’s your name?”
“Rose”
“Okay Rose I’m Dean”
“Thanks for saving me, Dean”
“I need you to go upstairs put some fresh clothes on grab whatever you want from your fiancé's stuff and fast”
“Okay”
They both quickly walked up the basement stairs. Rose went into Liam’s bedroom while Dean headed for the car. Dean sped all over to the gas station and charged into the store.
“Gasoline where?”
The cashier looked at Dean in confusion.
“Dude this is a gas station there is gas everywhere … weren’t you just here”
“The gallons of gasoline you keep in the back and don’t tell me you don’t have any because I know you do.”
“Taking some for the road? Smart.”
“Where?”
“Here you go but it’s empty gotta fill it up”
Dean walked over and rustled 20$ out of his pocket and slammed it on the counter.
“Keep the-“
“Yea I know Mr fancy man keep the change”
Dean walked away in a rush to get back to the house. He quickly filled the gallon container.
Once he got back to the house he started to pour gasoline on the steps. Rose came out wearing Liam’s baggy clothes and holding a small duffle bag.
“You’re setting the place on fire?
“Go wait in the car”
Rose didn’t question Dean; after all, he did just save her and seemed to know what he was doing.
Dean poured gasoline all over the house. Before he turned on the stove he searched the place for money and valuables. He only found 700 in cash.
He then turned on the stove and took a match from his pocket and threw it in the basement. He walked out as if he was fireproof and got in the car.
He took a deep breath and let it out.
After hours of being on the road, Dean was tired and his eyes felt heavy. He swerved off the road a couple of times, almost hitting trees. Rose jumped out of her sleep and saw Dean was barely staying awake.
“Hey I could drive if you're tired”
“No, I’m fine”
“Look you're going to kill us both, trust me let me drive, just tell me where we are going and I’ll get us there. You need rest.”
“Relax we’re almost there”
Rose realized Dean wasn’t too trusting and stubborn. She didn’t bother him anymore about driving but she did stay awake to keep him from crashing.
“So you kill shapeshifters?”
“Yes… among other things”
“Other things such as”
Dean sighed.
“Vampires, werewolves, demons, etc you get the picture?”
“Those… those things are real”
“If shapeshifters are real then you better believe the rest are.”
“Wow okay so why do you have to do it like you just like too… or?”
Rose looks at Dean in curiosity. She stares at him, almost pressuring him into an answer.
“Because I’m the only one that can”
Rose didn’t ask any more questions she could see Dean was very closed off and most likely grumpy from lack of sleep. She turned to face out the window. She had to let all that information soak into her brain for a minute.
“I know it’s a lot”
“I want to help”
Dean briefly looked at Rose then put his eyes back on the road.
“Help? Help with what?”
“The monster killing”
“If I had a penny every time I heard that.”
“Those creatures took something from me… the love of my life… we were gonna get married… have kids…you know start a family. The whole stupid white picket fence thing.”
“It’s not stupid”
“It is now”
Dean didn’t know what to say.
“I want to help”
“You need to understand what you’re signing up for… this life comes with sacrifices”
“Everything I had to live for died…”
Dean felt bad for Rose, he understands the pain of losing someone to these monsters. Just thinking about who he lost made him change his mind.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea I never recommend this to anybody but if you want to who I am to take that decision from you”
“Well thank you”
“This decision made this ride a whole lot shorter so we are here”
“Where is here?”
“Home”
They pull up to a dusty old bunker with a steel door. It was hidden in the woods about 5 miles from the road. There was a man outside smoking a cigarette. His face was sweaty like he was running in a marathon. His t-shirt had little tiny drops of what looked like blood.
“Welcome back, you brought in another stray”
“This is Rose she will be joining us”
Rose looked at the man suspiciously; something about him seemed untrustworthy. She walked closer to Dean; the man noticed and weirdly smiled at her.
“Don’t worry about Mack”
Rose just followed Dean down the stairs where more people were reloading guns and craving stakes. Dean stopped in the middle of the room.
“Everyone listen up!”
Everybody in the room gave Dean their attention.
“This is Rose she will be joining us, I want y’all to teach her everything you know”
Dean then pointed to each person to quickly introduce Rose to everyone.
“This is Jack”
“Hi Rose”
“This is Blake”
Blake nodded.
“This is Davina and Lily”
Rose smiled at each person uncomfortably. She wasn’t good at meeting new people.
“Davina will take it from here I have to go do something”
“Okay mmmm make sure you get rest”
Dean smiled at Rose and then walked away towards a room in the back.
“So what was the creature?”
“I’m sorry?”
“The creature that destroyed your life that made you turn to hunting”
“Oh shapeshifter”
“For me werewolves”
“You're so calm about it, how?”
“I guess I’m just not dealing with it. Lily and I ran into Dean about three weeks ago. We left our town because it was infested with werewolves.”
Davina gestured to Rose to sit in a nearby chair. Rose sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair.
“Dean and everybody drove back with us a week later to wipe them out but they were all gone.”
Rose didn’t know what to say.
“I know it’s a lot but if you’re serious about it then you need to train. Blake is a trainer he’s training Lily tomorrow maybe you should join them”
“Yea maybe”
Davina saw the uncertainty in Rose’s eyes.
“And if you aren’t serious let Dean know when he comes back and he’ll take you to Momma Leanne.”
“Who is Momma Leanne, she helps you live a normal life”
“How is that?”
“I don’t know I choose to come here”
Rose suspected that Momma Leanne is who Dean was taking her to before she changed her mind.
Dean came back over to make sure Rose was settling in okay.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, are you going to rest now?”
Dean laughed.
“Don’t worry about that, we are all about to get some”
Rose smiled. Something was happening to her, that feeling she got when she met Liam. That tingly feeling in her heart like butterflies fluttering all around trying to bust out.
“D can you help Rose get settled in? I have to tell Mack to come back in.”
“Yea no problem she can bunk with me and Lily.”
“Great, I didn't think she’d want to share a room with Blake.”
“Yea he snores way too loud.”
Hours later, Davina, Lily, and Rose are in bed.
Rose stares over at the bunk bed where Davina and Lily are and whispers.
“Hey?”
“Yea?” Answered Davina
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Sounds like an alarm”
Davina immediately jumps out of the top bunk bed and puts her boots on. She grabs her gun off the table. Rose jumps up and goes after her.
They both creep back into the main hall and there it was the alarm going off. Flashing red lights and a loud siren. Dean, Blake, Jack, and Mack are all at the bottom of the stairs with guns ready. Davina walks up behind Dean.
“What’s going on?”
“Something tripped the alarm”
“Well duh but what is it”
“I don’t know”
Davina rolled her eyes.
“How about one of you go check”
Mack heard Davina and volunteered himself. He walked up the stairs slowly and pushed open the door. He only saw a tiny rabbit.
“It’s just a little bunny rabbit”
Everybody relaxed and put their guns down except Dean.
“Relax it’s just a rabbit Dean you scared of rabbits” Jack teased
“No Jack I’m not but rabbits can’t trip my silent alarm unless it was at least 5 feet tall”
They all looked back at the door.
“Close the door” shouted Rose
Hunter
The icy wind blew along Dean’s face as he chased a vampire who unluckily crossed his path. Many people wouldn’t be able to keep up with vampires due to their super speed but Dean was different.
Dean wasn’t worried that this vampire was faster than him; he was leading him right where he wanted him. A few yards ahead was a trap; a silver cage lined with vervain. It didn’t have to kill him; he'd let the sun do that. Just as he planned, the vampire triggered the trap and got caught in the cage. Dean stopped right in front of the creature and looked it in its eyes.
“Wouldn't touch it if I were you”
“Foolish hunter silver is for werewolves”
“True I was werewolf hunting but you seem like more fun. You know… Word on the street is you know a vampire by the name of Cassius and you are going to tell me where he is and maybe I’ll decide to close my eyes and let you walk away.”
“Why do you want Cassius?”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No”
“You don’t have to tell me you’re the one in a cage soaked with vervain. Go ahead, give it a touch.”
“Vervain?”
Dean just smiled.
The vampire slowly reached out to touch one of the bars with his finger, it burned and melted some skin off.
“So again where can I find Cassius?”
“He’s dead”
“I’m sorry?”
“Dead… family said his little brother snapped and ripped his throat out”
“What’s this brother's name?”
“Cain”
“Where can I find Cain?”
“I don’t know he’s not exactly on good terms with anybody, he killed one of his own and ran off with some human.”
“A vampire running off with a human? First I heard of it.”
“Yea now let me go!”
Dean walked over to the rope, The vampire was relieved but Dean had no intention of letting him go.
“You can stay until morning.”
“No! You said!”
“Enjoy the sun!”
Dean walked away while the vampire screamed as he tried to break free of the cage. He walked in the direction of his car slowly, a bright light hit his face, and started to smile.
“Good morning vampy”
The vampire screamed in the distance.
Once Dean got in his car he immediately took off and headed back into town.
WestHallow was a quiet town but he got word that besides its cute small-town demeanor he was infested with the supernatural. He pulled up to a gas station to refill his tank.
When he entered the store he didn’t see much of anything he wanted to buy except beef jerky and water. He stood at the door for a minute just looking around.
“Care for a beer stranger?” Said the cashier
“Thanks but I don’t drink… I need all my brain cells for work.”
The cashier nodded.
Dean walked away to the back where the water was. He wasn't expecting to step into a pool of blood. He looked at the cashier who was completely clueless drinking a beer.
“Hey buddy you got a problem back here”
“Huh? A problem? What problem?”
“The blood on the floor”
“Oh yea there had a little accident a little while ago but the sheriff handled it”
“This much blood didn’t lead to a person's death?”
“Nah he just got up and walked away like it wasn’t nothing”
“You don’t say”
“Mhm”
Dean knew that it was too much blood for that person to be alive; he suspected supernatural behavior. He walked to the counter and paid for his stuff.
“Jerky, water, and gas. Keep the change”
The cashier nodded, he wasn’t too interested in anything besides staying buzzed.
Dean walked back to his car, threw the jerky and water in the passenger seat, and proceeded to the gas pump.
While putting gas in the car he noticed a guy about his age walking out of the discount store limping. Dean stared at him watching his every move and once the guy stared back; Dean's senses kicked in. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he knew he had to follow that guy. He took the gas pump out and immediately got in the car. He slowly drove at a distance from him. He saw him go into a house; all the lights were on. He wasn't the only one there, laughter came from the house. Dean didn’t know what he was walking into so he just grabbed a silver knife and silver bullets to put in his favorite gun.
“When in doubt go with silver”
He put the gun in the hostler he was wearing. He kept the knife in his hand but hid it behind his back while he rang the doorbell.
The door opened wide and there stood a man and a woman.
“Hello, can we help you?” asked the man
Dean got that feeling again. It made him more eager to fight whatever they were.
“Yes I’m not from here I just need to use a phone”
“Oh of course come in,” said the woman happily
“Thank you”
Dean walked in still holding the knife behind his back.
“I’ll go get you the phone”
“Make sure Ava isn’t on it Margaret”
The man looked at Dean up and down.
“You seem familiar”
“Is that so? I don’t remember meeting”
“Yea weird”
Margaret came back from getting the phone but for some reason was empty-handed.
“Doesn’t he seem familiar honey?”
“Yes he sure does, he seems like a hunter”
Dean immediately kicked the husband in the face, knocking him down. He goes straight for the kill on the wife; aiming to stab her in the heart but she doesn’t make it easy on him. She throws him into the living room, landing on the glass table. Dean is then put in a chokehold. He couldn’t see who but he knew it wasn’t the wife or husband considering they were walking right toward him.
He broke free and stabbed the person behind him in the heart. When he turned around he sees the limping guy he followed.
Both the wife and husband charge at Dean.
Dean pulls out his gun and shoots them both in the heart. They both drop. Just when he thinks it’s over a girl walks into the room and he gets that feeling once more. Without hesitation, he shoots her, and she drops.
“Yup when in doubt always go with silver”
Last Chapter: Part 4
The crisp midnight air blew through Detective Briggs' car; all the windows were down. The street was empty, he stopped at an oncoming red light. This case was weird to him he was sure the man was murdered. It couldn’t be the ex wife, she was the one who told him that the victim was left-handed. Bubbles couldn't have done it; she was genuinely shocked he was dead. Her reaction was sincere enough. He was missing something but what? He drove towards the 24 hour diner called ‘Roscoes’.
Once inside he ordered his usual cheeseburger with a side of apple pie.
Hours he sat there after he finished pondering who it could be. Then the neighbor appeared in his head. Why was he the only neighbor to peek through the door while all the other neighbors stood in the hall? If he knew the victim was lonely and quiet why did his demeanor seem like hatred?
Detective Briggs decided to question the neighbor in the morning. He was so sure that it was him he slept in his car until morning. He awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his window. He rolled the window down.
“Briggs what are you doing out here?”
Detective Briggs squinted his sleepy eyes.
“Charlie?”
“Go home Briggs”
“I’m working a case”
“A case? In your car? Asleep?”
“Obviously not at the moment but I’m pretty sure I got the right guy.”
“Just get out the parking lot at least go home wash your face”
“I’m working”
“All you do is work your neglecting your health”
“I’m fine don’t worry about me”
Charlie walks off and heads into the coffee shop on the corner. Charlie and Briggs were close years ago but had a falling out over a misunderstanding. Charlie’s wife was trying to comfort Briggs in a way Charlie deemed inappropriate.
Briggs headed to the old bridge apartments. He parked his car across the street. Before he got out he saw just the guy he was looking for; the nosey neighbor. He hopped out of the car.
“Hey!”
The neighbor turned around shocked to see Briggs.
“Yes detective?”
“I was wondering if I could come in and chat for a bit. I need more information on your deceased neighbor but it’s like he never existed.”
“Maybe that’s why he killed himself.”
Briggs smirked.
“Maybe”
“Something funny detective?”
“No but you didn’t answer my question”
“Question?”
“Can I come chat with you for a bit? I'm going around to all the neighbors in the building.”
The man stood there like a deer in highlights.
“Come in?”
“Yea just to ask you about stuff you saw him bring in the house besides the women. What kind of groceries he bought …stuff like that.”
“Mmmm sure just to chat yea… okay”
Briggs followed the man into the building.
The man's hand trembled while trying to put in the key.
“You alright?”
“Yes just fine”
Once the man opened the door, Briggs walked in and examined everything.
“So tell me what kind of food did he buy?”
“Mmm idk he bought a lot of coffee…mmmm bagels he liked bagels..”
Briggs walked through the hall into the living room.
“Mmmhm okay what else did you see him buy any hygiene products?”
“Yes mmmm he weirdly bought a lot of hand sanitizer”
“Okay, okay like to keep his hands clean.”
Briggs made direct eye contact with a photo on the living room window next to a small cactus plant.
“I didn’t actually get your name”
“Oh it’s Pete”
“Why did you lie to me Pete?”
“Lie?”
“You didn’t tell me you knew the victims wife… in a more than friendly way”
Briggs held up the picture to show it to Pete.
“Great photo by the way. Did the victim… I’m sorry Lance, did Lance know you were screwing his wife?”
Pete trembled.
“Look Vanessa told me he was a loser writer and nobody would miss him if he was gone. She couldn’t do it because everyone would suspect her so she asked me to.”
“And your dumb ass took the bait… look around Pete your a loser too. You live in the same shitty apartment he does. At least Lance made money from writing before Vanessa got everything from him in the divorce, what do you do what exactly?”
“I’m a cashier”
“A cashier? Really Pete, you think you're better than Lance? Why? Because you're younger?”
Pete stood there speechless.
“You're a loser Pete and now you’re a loser who's going to jail.”
Pete’s fight or flight response kicked in and took off running. He managed to climb out the back window with Briggs not too far behind him.
“I hate when they run”
Briggs realized he was getting too old to chase criminals, that or he really let himself go. He chased Pete for two blocks before completely running out of breath. Pete thought he got away as he looked back and saw Briggs stop. Unfortunately for Pete he ran right into two officers who almost let him go because of the confusing interaction.
“Cuff him you idiots!”
Before Pete could run from the officers one of his hands was cuffed and found himself being yanked back.
Briggs walked over to the officers. Officer Wilson and Officer Jones his least favorite.
“What are we cuffing him for Briggs?”
“The murder of Lance Tuffin”
“I thought it was a suicide” said Officer Wilson
“Yea”
“What? No! I told you… never mind he confessed to me. There is a picture in his house linking him to Lance's wife. They were screwing and apparently she asked him to kill him.”
“But why?”
“Yea Pete tell the stupid officers why?”
“I-she told me to do it if I loved her… she wanted the life insurance money.”
“Wait a min how would she still get money for that?
“They are still legally married just separated”
“So what’s all this talk about divorce and how she took everything from him?”
“He willingly gave her that because she was unhappy with him and he agreed to give her everything.”
Briggs was baffled.
“You’re a sucker and a loser she sold you out. She knew I was going to find out and I bet there is no proof she told you to kill him is it?”
“No…” Pete said sadly
Briggs looked away from Pete all he could think about was Lance.
“Poor bastard… you really dated the devil in disguise.”
“Soooo should we take him in Briggs?”
“Yes you idiots, he's guilty clearly!”
“Alright calm down. Let’s go murderer!”
Officer Wilson and Jones put Pete in the back of their car. Pete’s face looks pale as he comes to realize that he’s going to jail for a long time.
Briggs walks back to his car. He doesn’t get in, he just leans on the door. He starts reminiscing on how his wife used to celebrate him after catching a perp. She would welcome him home with homemade rum cake and cigars. One tear fell from his eye; he missed her and it wasn’t fair cancer got to take her away.
“Miss you Isabel”
Last Chapter: Part 3
The Detective dismissed the other officers, he felt they were just getting in his way. He searched the apartment for any clues on the type of company the victim kept.
He searched drawers, cabinets, under the bed, closets but found nothing of use; besides the victim loved to drink. Bottles of empty whiskey bottles were laid about.
“Somebody liked whiskey in his coffee”
The coroner came to remove the body from the scene. The coroner was close friends with the detective and was always happy to see him.
“Detective Briggs”
“Kenneth!”
Detective Briggs knew Kenneth was his only friend. After his wife died years ago; he maintained very little friendships due to grief.
“The officers told me you think it was murder.”
“Yea, I know the poor bastard was miserable… you can look around here and tell that but his death… something doesn’t add up.”
“Well you’ll definitely get to the bottom of it. George invited me to go golfing next week, join us.”
“You know I’m bad at golf.”
“It’s fine we just go to relax. We all have draining jobs. I figured you’d enjoy some relaxation.”
“Eh maybe.”
“Let me know if you change your mind John.”
Detective Briggs nodded.
Kenneth handed a card to Detective Briggs.
“What’s this?”
“It fell out of his pocket. I figured it’ll be helpful.”
“Thanks”
Kenneth smiled and left the room.
“The Hot House? Classy” he said sarcastically
“Of course it’s a strip club, what else would a lonely man in his 50’s be doing. Weird, it's right near my neighborhood.”
He headed out to his car and quickly put the card in his pocket not to share with the officers outside.
“Any clues?” One officer asked
“Nope.”
Detective Briggs got in the car and drove away. He didn’t need or want those dumb ass officers in his way. They were the city's poor excuse of trying to uphold the law.
He got out of his car and walked to the main entrance of the club and immediately got disgusted.
“It makes sense this is in my part of town… disgusting.”
The neon pink sign was barely functional. The door handle looked rusty and the bouncer in the front looked annoyed that he was there.
“ID?”
“You want my ID? Do I look 12 to you?”
The bouncer didn’t respond; he just stood there with his hand out. Detective Briggs sighed and rustled his back pocket to pull out his ID.
“Here”
The bouncer looked at it for about 5 seconds and handed it back.
“Go ahead”
“Maybe If I cut my beard, I'll look 4 at the rate your eyes work.”
Once he got in, the smell took his nose for a wild ride. He couldn’t decide whether to focus on the smell of sweat or the strong smell of hot wings.
He walked over to the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey.
The bartender somehow knew he was a cop and immediately called him out.
“Another shot officer?”
Detective Briggs laughed.
“That obvious?”
“You're looking all around with the cop stare.”
“We’ll actually it’s detective.”
“Well excuse me detective. Who are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure. Any of these lady’s ever go over to 182 Hickory Lane?”
“The old bridge apartments?”
“Yes”
“A couple yea but Bubbles is a regular”
“Bubbles?”
“Yea the blonde one with a huge smile on her face like she’s the person happiest person alive.”
Detective Briggs looked around but didn’t see Bubbles. Before he could ask the bartender anything the DJ was announcing Bubbles to the stage.
A blonde girl that looked too young to work at a strip club appeared on stage. She was wearing just a thong and two blue pasties on her nipples. Her heels were tall and ironically enough looked as if they were filled with bubbles. Briggs made his way to the front pass all the thirsty men throwing their life savings at her. He put a 20$ dollar bill in front of her which got her attention.
“Bubbles, how's your day going?”
“Good, how's yours?”
“It’s great but work is so stressful.”
“I can help with that. I do private dances for 50$ a dance.”
“Pricey but sure.”
“Okay I’ll be finished in about 10 minutes, you can wait by the bar.”
Briggs headed back to the bar and waited for Bubbles. She came a little later than expected. He followed her to a room in the back and sat on the couch while Bubbles got the music ready. Soon as she turned around Detective Briggs pulled out his badge.
“Oh shit!”
“Calm down, I'm not here to arrest you, I just have some questions.”
“Arrest me? I’m 18”
“Really? Huh I- anyways do you know Lance Tuffin?”
“Oh you mean lonely Lance, yea.”
“Wait, you call him lonely Lance. That’s sad but alright.”
“Why is Lance okay?”
“No Bubbles, he's dead.”
Bubbles couldn’t believe it. She sat down on the couch next to Briggs.
“He was murdered I’m trying to find out who’s responsible. Tell me everything you know.”
“Well he was pretty miserable. He paid for me to come over and dance for him once a week specifically Wednesday nights. Then he started having a bunch of us come over every other day to dance for him.”
“Did he tell you anything?”
“Only that his wife hated him and he didn’t know why since she took everything in the divorce he just wanted her to be happy. I felt bad for him because he was always down. He always smelled like whiskey.”
“Hmmm okay do you know if he had any other girls there alone?”
“Nope, just me; he said I was his favorite.
“Okay Bubbles, he’s your 50$. Enjoy your day.”
“Thank you, come again!”
Detective Briggs laughed as he left the room.
“Talk about bubbly personality.”
Last Chapter: Part 2
The rundown apartment had tiny cracks in the stairs. Graffiti written in the corner on the left side. Very close to a neighbor's window. The hallway packed with apartments squeezed together so tight it should be illegal. In apartment 202 is where the body was found. Ex-wife found the body there after she hadn’t gotten a response in a month. She was currently sitting on the staircase crying. The smell lingered through the rest of the apartment. The body liquified and the heat just made it unbearable. After questioning the ex wife, the detective proceeded to call it just as the officer before him claimed.
“Suicide”
The ex wife was in shock she was certain it was murder.
“Are you sure? My ex husband wasn’t suicidal… and he was left handed.”
“What?”
The ex wife nodded.
The detective started to examine the body a little closer.
“Left handed but the gun was in his right hand, blood splatter was on the left and the gun was placed on the table.”
The detective walked over to the officers and changed his assumption.
“This man was murdered”
“Wait … how? we decided it was suicide”
“Can’t be. She mentioned he was left-handed and the gun was in his right. The gun was placed on the desk about two inches away. If it was suicide how would he place the gun back on the desk after he shot himself? Check the gun for fingerprints, whoever did this wasn’t smart enough to at least place the gun on the floor where it would be if he actually shot himself.”
“So the killer was an amateur”
“Appears that way… makes it more difficult unless another murder happens with the same MO.”
The ugly floral wallpaper peels leaving pieces dangling. Door 204 opened slightly. The detective saw and walked over. The neighbor tried to shut the door but the detective caught it with his foot.
“I didn’t see nothing I don’t know nothing”
“Sure pal that’s why you're the only one peeking while everyone else came out to be nosey.”
“Please I didn’t see anything.”
“Just tell me what you saw and I won’t bring you in for questioning or have your name written on any paperwork.”
“Well okay… he was a quiet guy you know, pretty miserable it seems, stayed to himself; but lately he had a lot of people come by.”
“What kind of people?”
“Women specifically… younger than him.”
“Okay… anything else.”
“The type of women that you know you pay for… out of his league…”
The Detective nodded.
“Thanks.”
Last Chapter
The cluttered desk is full of pens, notebooks, and loose paper. Some stained with coffee rings from five days ago. Birds chirp as they sit on the window sill. The gleaming sun lights up the room. The paintings on the wall are dusty from poor maintenance for all the focus has been on one thing; the book. So the floor remains unswept buried in balled up ideas that didn’t make the cut. The gun that was usually kept in the desk drawer was left open and it laid peacefully on the desktop. Blood and pieces of brain splattered on the wall. It was calm finally. No more deadlines, no more procrastination, no more crying and no more insomnia.
Siren
Water slams onto the deck on the boat and thunder cracks open the sky. The captain loses control of the wheel, the storm has the boat under its complete control. It rocks side to side and everybody onboard grabs hold of the nearest solid object. Holding onto the side of the boat was Michael regretting joining his father on this trip.
His father lost balance and fell over. Michael tried to run over to him but the storm rain poured down on him, messing with his vision. The only person who wasn’t bothered was Richard.
He sat on the deck, sliding back and forth; holding a bottle of whiskey.
“Just relax Mike it’ll pass” he said then he chugged the bottle of whiskey.
Michael narrowed his eyes on Richard. He understood that Richard was going through a breakup but that didn’t mean he had to act like everything else was small compared to it. Lila left him for another man who she was seeing on the side.
The other person on board was named Otto who was a long time family friend. He practically helped raise Michael after his mother died. Otto and Michael’s dad grew up together and shared the same passion for sailing. Otto was trying to help Michael’s dad up but both of them fell down in the process.
Michael calmly made his way over to help no thanks to Richard. He managed to help both of them up and help his dad to the wheel. They all grabbed hold in hopes a tight grip would help steady it.
An hour passed and they made it out of the storm. Michael walked over to Richard who was just lying there next to four empty whiskey bottles.
“How much of this did you drink?”
“You can clearly count”
Michael sucked his teeth.
“I was hoping some of this just spilled out during the storm”
“Nope pretty sure about 98% of it is in my body”
Michael walked away. Fed up with Richard and his wallowing. His best friend who was always full of life was now a drunken lifeless mess.
He knew he should’ve just stayed home with Caroline. She begged him not to go on this silly trip. She and Michael were planning on starting a family and that meant no random trips at sea with three guys, two old and stubborn, the other one broken. Michael pulled out a picture of Caroline from his wallet hoping it wasn’t too ruined. It was perfectly intact, he smiled at the picture.
“Mikey mike!”
“Richard?”
Richard put his arm around Michael. Michael quickly put the picture away.
“Do you know where the rest of the whiskey is? Otto won’t tell me.”
“No I don’t and that’s probably for the best.”
“Come on, I'm hurting!” He said aggressively
Richard stomped his foot. Michael pushed his arm off him.
“Get away from me you smell terrible.”
Richard walked over to Otto to harass him about the whiskey. Soon as Michael looked at his dad steering the ship, his dad yelled.
“Land!”
Directly after that they heard singing. Michael didn’t like it, it sounded terrible. Richard walked over to the edge of the boat.
“There are some women on that island just sitting there. They are really beautiful.”
Michael rolled his eyes.
“I know you’re going through a break up but focus.”
“No really look!”
Richard pointed.
What Michael saw made his face turn white. He had never seen such horrible looking women before. They didn’t even look like women, more like creatures masquerading as women. His dad, Otto and Richard pupils were dilated. Tunnel visioned on these creatures.
“Alright guys … guys?”
But they didn’t pay Michael any mind.
His dad started to steer the ship in the direction of the strange women. Michael ran to his dad and fought with him over the direction the ship was to go in.
He pulled left, his dad pulled right, but Michael was stronger. However, Otto and Richard came up from behind Michael and lifted him up and onto the nearby lifeboat. Richard held him down and Otto tied him up.
“What the hell guys let go!”
It’s like they couldn’t hear him. All they heard was that god awful singing. Michael couldn’t understand why it affected them but not him. Unfortunately, the boat crashed into some rocks but that didn’t stop his dad, Otto and Richard from swimming ashore to the creatures.
“Stop! They aren’t what you think they are! Dad, don't!”
Michael tried to wiggle himself free. It was hopeless Otto was a sailor so tying knots was a skill he perfected years ago.
Luckily Michael’s wiggling helped a pocket knife fall out his back pocket. With his hands tied behind his back he reached for it and managed to get it open without cutting himself. While he was trying to cut the rope he heard screaming, it sounded like Richard.
Michael started to cut the rope faster within minutes he got free. He jumped overboard and swam to shore. The island was covered in a heavy fog.
Soon as he wiped water from his eyes he saw Richard’s body tore open and something was eating him. He froze as he saw the creature’s figure, the face of a woman and the body of a bird. The creature shrieked at him. Michael couldn’t move; he just stood and watched as the creature ate Richard.
“Help me” said a voice softly.
Michael looked to the right of him and saw his dad reaching his hand out.
“Help”
“Dad” Michael whimpered
Before Michael could grab his hand he got pulled into the fog.
“Run Michael!”
Michael hesitated because he heard his father begging and crying.Then he heard a snapping noise followed by silence and his immediate thought was run.
Michael ran but as soon as he reached the water he saw one of those creatures. He thought this was it the end; never seeing Caroline again, never starting a family just blackness.
Fortunately, Otto stabbed the creature in the back of the head with a piece of nearby driftwood. It shrieked and fell over twitching.
“Run Michael, go home to Caroline… just leave us!”
“I can’t… I-I’m not going to leave you”
“We’re goners Mike!”
Otto pointed to his leg. He was bitten and it looked like something was spreading in his body. Tears fell from Michael’s eyes. Otto was like an uncle to him; he didn't want to leave him.
“Go. It’s okay, just go. Take the lifeboat and get home safely. There is enough food and water for you.”
Michael hugged Otto tightly. Then he swam back to the ship. As he cut the rope to release the lifeboat he heard Otto screaming in agony.
He jumped back into the sea stabilizing the fragile lifeboat. He got in and began to paddle as fast as he could.
Once he was far enough away, he started to wail. The thought of his dad, best friend and uncle dead was too much for him to bear. He couldn’t save any of them and he still didn’t understand why he was spared. He grabbed the cross from around his neck and held it tightly.
“God be with them”
All he could think about now was Caroline how he had to make it back home to her. She was his everything especially now since the last bit of people he called family was gone.
Possession
Alice woke up in a pitch black room. She panicked at the lack of sight, she couldn’t even see her own hands. The last thing she could remember was reading the weird looking book the quirky librarian recommended. She had recently gotten into reading things that had darker plots.
She blinked and suddenly, two bright lights appeared way above her head, she backed up to take a look.
She could see what looked like her room and her body was walking out the door. Confused and panicking, Alice screamed for her mom.
She didn’t expect a voice to answer.
“This is going to be fun”
Alice looked around.
“Who are you? What is going on?”
The voice didn’t respond.
Alice watched herself walk into her parents room and slit her father’s throat with the letter opener he gave her for Christmas, Alice eyes widened and throat felt like she ate sand but she managed to scream.
“Dad!”
Alice had to watch herself continue to kill her family. Her mom saw Alice standing over her father’s twitching body and ran into her sister’s room. She locked the door but that didn’t stop anything. Wildly Alice watched as she kicked the door in, her mom and sister sat in the corner of the room; trembling in fear. Her mom begged her for mercy.
“It’s not me mom!” Alice tried to get her mom to hear her the real her but no luck.
But the voice that responded to her mom said something completely different.
“This is just the fun I needed”
Terrified, her mom begged her to at least spare her little sister.
Alice watched herself set her mom on fire with just her hand. She screamed; she fell to her knees.
“Please make it stop” begged Alice
She thought this had to be some nightmare and she was going to wake up with her family alive and well. Unfortunately, for her it was all too real. Her little sister ran into the closet and shut the door. Her body walked towards the closet and bashed her hand right through, Alice felt that pain race through her right hand.
She watched as her hand grabbed sister’s neck right through the door and snapped it. No longer could Alice take this; she was sure she had to wake herself up. However, the voice spoke to her again.
“All finished, you can have your body back?”
“Have my body back?”
Suddenly Alice blinked and could see everything normally.
The house was silent. The smell of blood took over the house. Alice’s clothes were covered in her family’s blood. She backed away from the closet where her sister lied. She tried to wipe the blood off but the tears clouded her eyes. The neighbors must’ve heard the noise because she could see the red and blue lights shining through the bedroom window. She knew there was no way anybody would believe her. Instead of facing jail time she got the daring idea to end it. She walked to her parents room and to her dad’s safe, put in the code 0824 and took out his gun. She loaded one bullet in while the police were banging on the door for somebody to answer. She place the gun inside her mouth and pulled the trigger …
Skin: Part 2
He rushed downstairs and then stopped right by the kitchen and tried to calm himself. He took deep breaths to try to control his breathing so the imposters didn’t think he knew anything. Many thoughts rushed throughout his head like how did this happen and why? How long has this been going on? Are his parents really dead? Was it their flesh and bones in the tub?
Liam sat back at the table staring at his mom and dad.
“Honey you okay? You look like you didn’t have a good bathroom break. Is it an upset stomach? Diarrhea? Constipation?”
“Margaret, he doesn’t want to talk about his private business with the toilet.”
Liam couldn’t believe these weren’t his parents; they sounded, looked and acted like his parents.
Ava tried to get them to stop bickering.
“Mom, dad please”
She had no idea that those creatures were just imitating their parents.
Once they stopped bickering their mom served apple pie, also Liam’s favorite. Liam forced a smile.
“Don’t worry honey, I got vanilla ice cream to go with your pie, just how you like it.”
Liam didn’t say anything, he just blankly stared at his parents.
“Eat Liam” said Ava
Liam couldn’t take it, he stood up aggressively and their parents looked confused and surprised. He grabbed Ava and ran to the nearest door. Which was the basement door, now they were trapped. He realized he didn’t think this through which made him freak out. Ava didn’t understand she just watched her brother put objects in front of the door.
“Hey Liam… what’s are you doing?”
Liam grabbed Ava by the shoulders and looked her dead in her eyes.
“Those… those things are not mom and dad! They are monsters pretending to be them! I saw Ava… bones… in the fucking tub… blood everywhere I have to get you somewhere safe.”
Ava didn’t say a word. Liam continued to try to block the door he knew Ava would have a hard time processing. Suddenly, while Liam was putting a lamp by the door something hit the back of his head and knocked him out.
Hours later, Liam woke up in his old room tied to a chair. He groaned because the pain in the back of his head was throbbing. He started yelling.
“HEEEELLLPPPPP SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
Ava walked into the room.
“Can’t believe you went to war so pathetic.”
Liam felt foolish he knew now that Ava was not actually Ava. He looked at the imposter, his eyebrows went downwards and eyes began to water. He couldn’t believe his sister was gone, his little sister… his only sister.
“Sad Liam? Don’t worry Ava went down easy… she screamed for you her big brother who left her here all alone.”
“Fuck you!”
“Now now that’s not how you talk to children.”
“You aren’t a child, you monster!”
She laughed.
Liam could hear footsteps coming up the stairs; he assumed it was his fake parents coming to kill him. However, it was not. It was a strange man covered in dirt. The dirt left a trail.
“Who the fuck are you?” Asked Liam
The man crookedly turned his head and started to examine Liam. Walking around him checking his ears and little unique features such as birthmarks or moles. Once he saw enough he signaled for Ava to leave the room.
“Alright Liam let me level with you. Downstairs are my parents pretending to be your parents. My little sister is pretending to be your little sister sooooo…”
“So… you’re going to pretend to be me.”
“Very good.”
He grabbed Liam's shoulder and held on for about 5 minutes before his skin started to shed. It was the grossest thing Liam had ever seen. Blood splattered on Liam’s face, he started to gag. He closed his eyes in fear.
Once it was over, Liam opened his eyes slowly only to see himself naked. The imposter started going through Liam’s old clothes and found an outfit that fit. He pulled off Liam’s sneakers and put them on.
“What now? You kill me?”
“You’re two for two soldier I don’t know why my sister said you were dumb, you’re very smart.”
Imposter Liam dragged Liam into his parents bathroom. The odor smelt worse than earlier. Flies started to buzz around the shower and closet door. Once he cut the light on, Liam looked petrified. His face went pale and he started to jerk the chair around trying to break free.
“I’m going to tell you a secret because I like you Liam, your memories are pretty cool.”
Liam froze.
“My memories? What are you talking about?”
He looked deep into Liam’s eyes.
“This isn’t some sci-fi alien bull shit. Monsters are real and I’m one of them… I’m what you call a shapeshifter. When I touch you I get all your memories so that I can properly become you.”
“What? Monsters! Like vampires and werewolves?”
“Yes yes everything”
“No”
“Yes. I would tell you to come to terms with it but I’m afraid you have a lady friend coming over who I have to entertain.”
Liam just remembered about Rose, he came home to tell his family about Rose. They've been dating for two years and he proposed a week ago.
“Don’t you fucking touch her!”
“Bye Liam!”
Liam tried to scream but the shapeshifter held his mouth closed. He took a huge bite out of his neck. Blood shot out , the shapeshifter kept eating. Liam’s body started to shake. His last thoughts were about his sister at least he’ll get to see her again.
Skin
The sun was beaming in WestHallow, the thick humid air covered the town; it was enough to keep everyone inside.
Except Ava who was waiting on the steps impatiently for her brother’s arrival. She hasn’t seen him in a couple of years due to his unresolved issues with their parents. Ava’s face was covered in sweat; it dripped down the side of her face and onto her bright yellow T shirt. She tugged at her jeans shorts uncomfortably. Her mom made her wear them but they were a little snug. Her parents were very controlling about everything, she understood why her brother decided to leave. Her mom walked to the front door peeking at Ava suffering in the sun.
“Ava”
“Yes?”
“Come inside you will see your brother very soon.”
“I know”
“Now Ava before you pass out”
Ava sucked her teeth and came inside. Soon as she walked through the front door a blast of cool air hit her. She wiped her sweat with her hand and plopped on the couch.
“Can’t we call him?”
“Well he has never been late before.”
“Sooooo?”
“I’ll call him to see how far he is.”
Ava smiled. She was overly excited to see her brother. She wanted to tell him all about how she's doing in school and that she joined the track team. Her mom looked at her in worry.
“Mom?”
“Sorry sweetie he didn’t answer”
Ava grew more impatient. She crossed her arms and sunk deeper into the couch.
“Stop pouting I’m sure he’ll be here soon”
Ava didn’t say anything, she just watched her mom walk into the kitchen. She tried to sneakily get back outside to wait but her father caught her in the act.
“Ava” he said sternly
“Yes dad?”
“Sit”
Ava sat back down and sunk back into the couch. Her dad looks at the clock.
“Liam’s late? That’s a first”
Liam was never late; he had a weird thing about being on time and time in general. Ava thought he was a bit obsessed with it.
Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. Ava jumped up and ran to open it.
She opened the door so quickly the doorknob fell off. She saw Liam’s big cheese smile and jumped on him. He caught Ava and gave her a big bear hug swinging her around. Once he put her down Ava immediately snapped on him.
“Where have you been! You’re late! We’ve been calling you! I was sitting in the hot sun waiting!”
Liam laughed.
“I miss you too”
Ava smiled. She reached for him to take her hand. Once he held her hand she pulled him upstairs and showed him his old room.
“Mom didn’t change a thing I see.”
“Nope, she said when you come back home you’ll need it.”
“So I guess her and dad are going to try to be less controlling.”
Ava hesitated to answer.
“Y-yes… they are.”
“Mhm”
Liam didn’t believe a word Ava said. He knew his parents would never change. They are old and set in their ways. Ava pulled him to her room.
“Look it’s Mr. fish”
“Oh wow he’s still alive!”
“I promised you he’d be here when you come back.”
“Yes you did. Thanks Ava.”
Ava pulled Liam's hand all the way into the kitchen where his parents were setting the table and preparing lunch.
“What’s with all the paper plates and plastic utensils?” Asked Ava
“Oh most of the silverware is dirty and we didn’t have time to wash them.” Said their Dad
“Mmm okay…”
“Hi… mom… dad”
“Liam you’re late”
“Yes, well I got caught up in a situation on the road.”
Their mom looked up in worry. She put the pitcher of iced tea down; rushed over to Liam.
“What happened? Did something happen to your car?”
“Margaret you’re doing that thing the kids said they don’t like that you do”
“I’m just asking”
Liam smiled.
“Nothing dangerous mom and my car is fine.”
His mom reached to hold his hand but she pulled away; Liam was confused. He thought it was something he did wrong.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“Yes. Where did you get that ring?”
“Oh a friend”
Their mom didn’t say anything, she just went back to preparing lunch. She made Liam’s favorite Chicken Alfredo.
Once everyone was sitting at the table. Ava started telling Liam all about her first year in high school and how great it was going. Liam felt nothing but joy to see his sister so happy.
Liam then shared his war stories and all the things he experienced. He made sure to mention too many violent or unpleasant things so he wouldn’t ruin the mood.
“Excuse me I have to go to the bathroom”
Liam walked upstairs to his and Ava’s shared bathroom from habit and tried to use it. He realized the toilet had no water in it and wasn’t working so he went into his parents bathroom inside their room. It smelled absolutely horrific. Liam covered his nose. He tried to use the bathroom but had to figure out where that smell was coming from because it wasn’t the toilet. He opened the shower curtain and looked into the tub.
“What the fuck!”
He saw a pile of bones and flesh. Blood was all over the tub. The smell was also coming from the closet. Once he opened the closet he saw what looked like skin meat suits and they were just hanging up like clothes. He immediately shut the door.
“What the fuck is happening…”
Liam began to panic. He knew his parents weren’t some kind of psychopaths who played dress up in other people's skin. If those weren’t his parents and they were some kind of imposters, what did they want and why did they do this?
Liam began to talk to himself.
“This is not possible”
“Mom… dad…dead?”
“What the fuck!”
He took a deep breath in.
“Okay we just have to get Ava the fuck out of here…Let’s just be calm and smoove.”
“Yes I can do this.”
Empathy Bites: Part 3
They all look like they were dressed for battle. All of them holding either a stake or dagger. Cain stood up and gently backed away in fear.
Cassius heard the commotion and ran over. He could smell the fresh blood of the humans; it almost drove him mad. His eyes turned red, his mischievous smile would make anybody cower in fear.
“Hunters! Must be my lucky day, stand back little brother, let me show you how it’s done!”
Cassius sprung into action and grabbed his first human. He bit into the man’s neck and ripped his throat out. Blood poured from his neck, he tried to cover it but as quickly as the blood spilled out; that’s as quickly as he died. Cassius snapped two others necks without hesitation. Cain couldn’t watch, he screamed for Cassius to stop but Cassius couldn’t hear anything besides the sound of his own maniacal laughter.
Their mother and father rushed in and instantly joined Cassius in the fight. Cain just watched in horror as his family slaughtered all of the humans one by one. Once all of them were dead, they all looked at each other in agreement that they did what they had to.
“Cain sweetheart, it’s okay”
“Stop babying him he should’ve helped or done it himself”
“He’s a punk”
Cain looked at them all in disgust. He couldn’t believe they did that, he expected that type of behavior from his brother and father but his mother; that shocked him. His mother reached out to hug him but he didn’t go for it he just stared in disbelief.
“Sweetheart I’m sorry but they would’ve hurt you.”
Before Cain could answer, a sound broke the attention they all had on each other, it sounded like crying.
It came from the nearby hall. They all walked over to see who was crying.
To their surprise it was a human child who was brought along during the fight and witnessed everything that just happened. The child had to be no older than 7 or 8. Once Cassius saw the child he looked at his father and his father nodded.
Cain knew exactly what that meant so he stood in front of the child.
“Cassius back off!”
“Oh please you can’t beat me”
“Please don’t make me hurt you!”
“You hurt me? That’s a laugh!”
Their mother looked concerned, she didn’t want to see her boys fight but their father seemed to accept the idea; finally getting Cain to act like a grown up. The child backed into a corner in fear of everyone in the room. Cassius tried to go after the child and Cain punched him with enough force to knock him halfway across the room.
“Is that all you got?”
Cain charged at Cassius causing both of them to knock into the nearby statue; smashing it to pieces. Cassius punched Cain in the face twice and threw him into a wall. Cain felt every ounce of pain because his brother was stronger than him, he didn’t want him to hurt the child but he didn’t think he could win either. Cassius started gloating about how great and strong he is which gave Cain enough time to figure out how to stop him. He looked at his father and mother who were just watching nearby.
“At least try to beat up your brother Cain, be the man and vampire I taught you to be.” said his father
That was the last straw for Cain. His eyes turned red and his fangs pushed out and he locked his eyes on Cassius. All he could see was red. He was tired of not feeling good enough for his family. He was going to show them how sinister he could really be.
Unaware that his brother was not listening to him gloat, Cassius didn’t see Cain charging directly at him.
Cain in a fit of rage grabbed his brother by the neck and started to choke him , he looked at his father.
“Is this your favorite son?”
Before his father could respond Cain looked Cassius deep into his eyes and said “I never liked you”.
Cassius punched Cain and tried to get free of his grip but couldn’t. Cassius' eyes watered as he knew it was the end. Cain snatched Cassius' throat out and watched his body drop to the floor.
“Now you favorite son is dead”
His mother screamed.
“What have you done!” She yelled
Cain didn’t respond, he just stared at his father waiting for his approval. His father stood there in shock as he watched Cassius’ body turn grey.
His eyes teared up and his lip quivered.
“What happened father I thought you wanted me to be like Cassius. Now I am Cassius, brutal and ruthless; are you happy now! Do you love me now!”
“Cain please…” begged his mother
“Whatever I’m leaving”
“Where are you going?”
“As if you care… I thought you were better than these two but you’re just like them mom …monsters!”
“Cain!”
Cain didn’t respond to his mother’s pleading. He took whatever money that was in Cassius' pocket and walked over to the child.
“Hey there”
The child covered his face.
“No it’s okay I’m not going to hurt you”
The child just peeked through his fingers to see Cain’s bloody face and clothes.
“Look I’m sorry you had to see that but I won’t let them hurt you okay… and I’m not going to hurt you… ever, okay?”
The child looked into Cain’s eyes and trusted him. He reached his hand out and Cain picked him up and carried him towards the front door. Cain’s mother panicked and ran after him.
“Where are you going with that… that… thing?”
Cain turned to her in disappointment.
“I knew you were just pretending to understand my feelings for humans. You don’t get it and you never will.”
“Cain! Stop! Stop right now! Please stay, we can forgive you for killing your brother.”
She reached out her arms for a hug.
Cain turned away from her, uninterested in his toxic family he stepped on top of the fallen door and proceeded outside. The wind still roared and the child shivered, Cain used his jacket as a blanket while he carried the child along the path. No idea of how he was going to live in a world amongst humans by himself or take care of one but he felt different now and unphased by the challenges ahead.
Empathy Bites: Part 2
The storm started to calm down but the wind stayed consistently wild. It blew the dead leaves all around the garden. By the small blood fountain he saw his mother sitting on the bench.
“Cain, my sweet son; come sit”
Cain sat next to his mother. His mother noticed the sadness in his eyes and started to gently rub his back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Me and dad got into a …. situation again”
“Situation? Is he still bothering you about your empathy for humans.”
“Yes… I found a girl earlier so I brought her home and well I did what I was supposed to but at first she got away and dad saw and I think he was disappointed.”
“Yes, your father is always disappointed in something”
“I think he wants me to be more like Cassius”
“Don’t be ridiculous, he loves you. He just doesn’t understand that you are different from your brother.”
Cain laid on his mother’s lap; she ran her fingers through his dark black hair. Her sharp nails looked like knives dancing in his scalp.
His mother always babied him , he was the baby of the family. Whenever things didn’t go right with his dad his mom would be there to defend him. She loved that Cain was different; he understood things and felt things that long forgot or just never had.
“Victoria you’re doing it again” yelled his father from the balcony
“Eavesdropping again how rude”
“I wouldn’t have to if you treat him his age, he's 54… he has to grow up eventually.”
“Can you just come down here I don’t like yelling”
Soon as Cain lifts his head from his mother’s lap his father is standing right in front of them.
“Maybe you and Cain should have a talk. He’s your son and he’s feeling unloved.”
His father sighs.
“Yes we should talk”
“Yes you should”
She blows him a kiss and walks gracefully back inside.
His father joins Cain on the bench and they sit in awkward silence for what feels like an eternity.
“So mmmm you think I’m too hard on you…”
“Yes”
“Okay well mmmm I’m sorry but you are a vampire… humans are food.”
“Can’t I just go back to blood bags?”
His father sighs.
“Cain, you're old enough to hunt on your own. We shouldn’t be depending on us to provide connections for you to eat. If you’re hungry you find a human…. Simple.”
Cain doesn’t say anything, he just looks at the ground. He kicks the nearby pebbles. His father uncomfortably changes the subject.
“Cassius is coming home today.”
Cain rolls his eyes.
“Great” he says
His father gets up and leaves the garden. Cain could tell how excited his father was and that only proved his statement from earlier. His father wanted him to act like Cassius. Cassius was a ruthless vampire and a brutal big brother. He tormented Cain just as much as humans.
Cain decided to go to his room and hopefully Cassius wouldn’t come bother him.
Cain laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. The posters on his new favorite rock band were slowly peeling off. He looked at the blood stain on his sleeve and felt worse. He wondered if the butler moved the body yet. He wanted to see her face and apologize again, her death was eating at him. He closed his eyes to try to drown in the silence but was interrupted by his brother's loud footsteps walking towards his door.
Cassius kicked the door in.
“LITTLE BROTHER GUESS WHO!”
Cain rolled over to the other side of the bed.
“Now that’s not how you treat your brother”
He grabbed Cain by his collar and pulled him all the way downstairs. Cassius enjoyed watching his brother hit his head on every stair.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs he released Cain and walked over to the girl’s lifeless body.
“Dad told me you did that… did you?”
“Yes” he said sadly
“Really? I’m surprised I thought you were a punk and decided you wanted to pretend to be human or whatever”
Cain didn’t even dignify that with a response his head was still spinning from ending that girl’s life. Cassius poked the girl's eye and laughed.
“Yup she’s dead!”
“Don’t touch her!”
“What’s the matter? Are you upset you killed a precious human?”
Cain shoved Cassius away from the girl and closed the girl’s eyes.
“You are upset over someone you didn’t know and I bet you didn’t even know her name.”
Cain froze in place as he realized that he didn’t know her name. Cassius started to search the girl, he realized her dress had pockets on the sides. He pulled out a small black leather wallet.
“Look it’s her wallet. Surprised she has one … doesn’t look like she has any money.”
Cain snatched it from Cassius and opened it. It was full of small coins, nothing more than a dime. He couldn’t find an ID , just a picture of the girl and her family. Her and what looked like to be her dad and a small dog. Cassius leaned in to see but Cain tried to move it from his view.
“Turn it over, see if there are any names on the back.”
Cain turned the picture over to only find one name, Emma.
Cain’s heart almost felt like it was going to start beating. His face froze and he dropped to his knees. Cassius grew bored with the situation and walked away.
Suddenly the front door flew open and in came a crowd of people.
Empathy Bites
Thunder roared, rain poured down and lightning danced across the night sky. Everyone ran for cover locking their doors and windows.
Everyone except Cain who was slowly walking home along the road as if the storm didn’t exist. He didn’t live in the town among all the other people. He lived in a big manor about a mile away. It was called Darkwood Manor which he thought was weird that a house would have a name. During his calming walk he saw a girl lying in the middle of the road. He rushed over to see if she was okay but she was unconscious. He decided to pick her up and carry her home for dinner.
Once he reached the gates of the manor he noticed the girl started to move a little as if she was waking up. He slowly walked to the door where he was greeted by his father.
“Welcome home Cain… I see you’ve brought home dinner.”
Cain didn’t respond; he pushed past his father. They were at odds over a disagreement from a few nights ago. Cain laid the unconscious girl on the dining room table; hesitant he leaned in and sank his fangs deep inside her neck. The girl woke up and started to scream. She pushed him off and then they locked eyes. He could tell she was ready to put up a fight, he was amazed at her bravery. She backed up in fear and fell off the table; she started running frantically down the hall. Cain sighed he knew his father would again lecture him on playing with his food. He took off running after her which only took him a few seconds. Unfortunately, she ran into his father first. The girl’s brunette wild curly hair covered her face, his father lifted it to look into her eyes.
“Very pretty”
His father turned her head to the side and saw the bite marks. Disappointed, he glared at Cain.
“Playing with our food again I see”
“I- she fought back”
“That’s what they do we discussed this finish her and then go find your mother she’s been asking for you.”
He pushed the girl towards Cain, he grabbed her in close and the girl started to scream. She kicked and tried to pull away but didn’t get anywhere. His father walked off and Cain just looked at the girl. His eyes narrowed in sorrow, he didn’t want to harm her but he had to impress his father.
“I’m sorry but I need to do this… I don’t want to … I’m really sorry.”
The girl started to cry.
“Please don’t hurt me” she pleaded
Cain turned her head to the side and bit her. She screamed and cried until suddenly silence. He dropped her lifeless body while blood dripped from his mouth. He felt so empty but all he could think about was making his father proud. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and went to find his mother.
Moon: Part 4
The bright blue house was faded and the fence around it looked weak. The windows dusty; definitely a fixer upper.
The sheriff opens the car door to let Lily out.
“Ladies first” he mocked
Lily got out of the car and immediately tried to get away but the sheriff grabbed her.
“Not so fast , don’t you want to see your sister.”
He dragged her by her arm towards the house. She kicked up dirt trying to get away. She didn’t see the point in screaming for help since it was broad daylight and everyone was outside, people saw what was going on and nobody interfered.
He pushed open the door slowly and pushed Lily in. An awful smell hit her nose. She looked around and saw that not one box had been unpacked. The place was practically a blank canvas, not even a picture was hung up. The only empty box she saw was the huge flatscreen box that she had bought.
“Jessica?”
Lily walked into the kitchen. Still no Jessica the smell got stronger. She used her shirt to cover her nose. Still in denial that her sister is dead , she kept calling out to her.
“Jess? … Jessica?”
She finally walked into the living room and the smell became unbearable. She gagged and turned away. The sheriff began to chuckle.
“What is so funny?”
“Looks like you found your sister?”
Lily looked confused until the sheriff pointed behind the couch. Lily walked over, her hands began to shake and her lips began to quiver. She looked down to see her sister's dead body. No face, just her body, her old beat up sneakers that matched with Lily’s, she was wearing her favorite jeans with the tiny hole in the front right pocket. Plain T shirt with her tiny jean jacket their aunt got her before she passed.
“Jess…” Lily said softly
Full of rage and heartbreak she charged at the sheriff. They both hit the floor; not thinking she started to punch him with all her strength but he tossed her off without breaking a sweat.
Lily hit the nearby bookcase and the sheriff pulled out his gun, Lily covered her face. One shot was let off, Lily's heart was racing; she looked to see where she had been shot but when she looked up the sheriff was gripping at his chest and then fell over at her feet. Davina was standing right behind him holding a gun. She was shaking and she let out one tear.
“Davina?”
Davina just stood there in shock at what she just did. She dropped the gun and Lily ran over to her.
“Davina you just saved my life”
Lily hugged her. Davina just started crying and Lily couldn't understand why.
“Why are you crying? You did the right thing… you saved me.”
Davina looked down at Lily.
“But I didn’t save her… I’m sorry I didn’t save your sister.”
“It's okay… she would be grateful to you knowing you saved her little sister.”
Moon: Part 3
The sun peeks up from behind a small building. The town of Fallbrook is bustling and busy. Kids are playing and dogs are barking. The difference between daytime and nighttime in Fallbrook is uncanny. Nobody really likes or helps outsiders, when Lily shows up looking for her sister she doesn’t get much help. Lily parks her car and walks up to the first person she sees.
“Excuse me, can you help me find The Sheriff?”
“Well you happen to be lucky because here I am”
“Oh great, I’m looking for my sister’s house Jennifer Caisley”
She hands the picture to The Sheriff. He doesn’t look at the picture for two seconds and gives it back.
“Nope, never seen her here.”
“That’s strange she said she was moving here.”
“Sorry, No Jennifer Caisley lives here”
“Are you certain? she came here about a week ago”
“Yes, it’s a small town. I would know”
The Sheriff walks across the street to his car and drives off.
“Okay well he’s definitely hiding something”
Lily walked over to a small store with bright neon lights. The sign was very hard to read and she couldn’t tell what kind of store it was. She walked in with hesitation and walked up to the woman at the register.
“Excuse me?”
“What can I help you with?”
“Mmm I’m not buying anything I just want to know have you seen this girl”
Lily hands the woman the picture and the woman seems to recognize Jennifer but she doesn’t say anything.
“Soooo no?” Lily asks
“No … nope.”
Lily doesn’t believe her. She saw it in her eyes. She knows something but doesn’t want to speak. She looks as if she will get in trouble if she says anything.
“Please … she is my sister. I'm all the family she’s got… she hasn’t answered the phone in a couple of days. I’m worried about her.”
The woman says nothing, she looks away and stares at the nearest window pretending to not see Lily.
“This town is weird…” Lily says in annoyance.
Lily waits for the woman to even glance at her but gets impatient instead. She rolls her eyes and turns around.
“Stupid small town with rude ass people”
Lily leaves the store in annoyance. She walks over to her car.
Right as she reaches for the handle someone grabs her arm and pulls her into a small alleyway.
“Get off me!”
She sees it is the woman from the store.
The woman lets go of her arm and looks around.
“What is your problem! And what are you looking for?”
“Keep your voice down, I'm trying to help. The sheriff can’t see us talking … I know what happened to your sister.”
Lily is silent.
“Your sister came to our store last night during closing … my dad didn’t let her in, it was after hours… I tried to help her.”
“What happened to her?”
“She’s dead…I’m so … so sorry”
Lily begins to tear up.
“You’re lying … She's alive and this is a sick joke because you small town people hate outsiders. Well fuck you!”
Lily tries to walk off but the woman grabs her arm and pulls her back.
“Listen to me ! I’m not lying, your sister is dead. Shot by the sheriff for seeing something she wasn’t supposed to… she should’ve just stayed in the house. There is a curfew for a reason.”
Lily just stands there taking it all in. She balls up her fists while the tears run down her face. Heartbroken she swallows her pain because she has to know more.
“What did she see?”
The woman looks at her in concern.
“I can’t tell you… besides you won’t believe me if I did tell you”
“Tell me right now!”
“A werewolf”
Lily looks at her in annoyance. She unballs her fists.
“A fucking werewolf … really? Do I look like I want to play right now?”
The woman just stares at Lily with a serious face. Lily stares back.
“I’m telling you the truth, werewolves exist especially here and we try to keep them under control but one got out when your sister came to our store and he tried to get her but I stopped him.”
“Time out okay say I believe you. You’re trying to tell me werewolves exist and you’re some kind of werewolf hunter?”
“No… not really. Listen, you have to go home.”
“What about my dead sister!”
“She’s dead now you can’t help her but you can help yourself. Go home!”
The woman leaves the alleyway in a hurry and runs back to the store. Lily leaves the alleyway shortly after but not before the sheriff sees her.
“Hey, still looking for your missing sister.” He yells
Lily just looks at him. All the rage building up inside her felt like it was going to burst. She didn’t respond and she walked back to her car quickly. The sheriff wouldn’t let her go without a conversation. As Lily got in the car and slammed the door, he leaned in the window which made Lily even more upset.
“So what were you and Ms Davina doing in that alleyway?”
Lily remembered what Davina said about the sheriff.
“I was asking her where to get drugs in a small town like this… you know the legal kind.”
Lily pops her left eyebrow and gives a crooked smile.
The sheriff takes a deep breath.
“Drugs huh?”
“Yes”
Lily starts the car and reaches for her seatbelt.
The sheriff steps back from the car and reaches for his gun.
“Step out of the car!”
“Wait …what the fuck why!”
“Step out of the car now!”
Lily turns the car off and steps out. Her palms get sweaty as she holds them up so he can see. He walks over to search her pockets and whispers in her ear.
“I know you know”
Lily takes a deep breath. Tears fill her eyes.
“Why did you kill my sister!”
“She saw too much”
“You bastard she was living here you could’ve told her about your stupid little werewolves.”
The sheriff looks surprised.
“Davina told you about werewolves?”
“Yes. Why don’t you just kill them, the town will be safe once you get rid of all of them.”
“Little girl, you think werewolves are just mindless creatures. They are people! My family!”
Lily looked shocked.
“Come on, let's go!”
“Where are we going?”
“Right to a place where you can see your sister.”
Lily looked confused. Davina told her, her sister is dead. The sheriff pushes Lily in the back of his car. The leather seats are peeling and it reeked of cigarettes and coffee. The smell almost made her vomit. Gum stuck to the bottom of her left shoe and the windows were dirty. The car was old and neglected, anybody can tell it doesn’t get cleaned. The sheriff got in the car and quickly made a U-turn. Lily could see Davina through the window staring; she looked worried. Lily sighed.
“I’m afraid I’m going to get bed bugs from sitting in here. Does your house look like this too?”
The sheriff ignores her.
“I’m going to take that as a yes. This is gross, this gum is fresh … that’s stuck to my shoe. It’s like today fresh… did you know it was back here?”
“Shut up”
Lily crosses her arms.
The drive wasn’t far , they stopped right outside a bright blue house with a white door. The house looked like the one Jessica was showing her except more worn down.
“Here we are!”
Moon: Part 2
She rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the landline. However, she forgot that the landline was not installed yet. Panicking she frantically searched the living room for her cellphone. After about ten minutes of searching everywhere she could possibly think of she stopped to take a deep breath.
“Okay Jennifer you’re fine don’t panic… I mean you don’t understand what happened anyways. Maybe it’s fine… what would you say anyways ? Who are you going to call? The ranger station? The police? Who do you-“
Jennifer heard footsteps upstairs. She froze just listening to the footsteps go from room to room. The footsteps were heavy like somebody was wearing really thick leather boots. Jennifer decided to hide in the pantry.
The stairs started to creek and she could smell whoever it was; they smelled like cigarettes and beer.
“Come on out I’m not going to hurt you”
The man was about six feet tall holding a shotgun. His peeling leather jacket was somehow also stained and his pants had splashes of what look like white paint on them. Aside from his clothing and odor he was a pretty handsome looking older man. His face seemed trustworthy, so Jennifer slowly exited the pantry.
He looked at Jennifer up and down and then began to look all around the room.
“How did you get into my house?”
The man smirked.
“I am Sheriff Clark, you must be the girl that doesn’t understand what a curfew is”
“My name is Jennifer sheriff , sorry I wasn’t told about the curfew… I just wanted batteries for my remote.”
The Sheriff starts to open every draw and every cabinet there is.
“What are you looking for?”
“Jennifer, what do you see tonight?”
“I’m not really sure but I think … I think I saw a giant wolf but it didn’t look like any wolf I had ever seen… It was different.”
“Mmmhmmm, maybe you’re just tired then. There are no wolves here.”
“Tired? Aren’t you going to investigate or something? Don’t you believe me?”
The Sheriff doesn’t respond, he just continues to search the house. He walked into the living room and flipped over the couch cushions.
“Stop! I don’t have whatever you’re looking for?”
“I’m going to say this one more time… maybe you’re tired … because there aren’t any wolves here.”
“I am not tired, I know what I saw. A woman was there. You have to believe me.”
Sheriff Clark sighs.
“I wish you would’ve just caught the hint I don’t want to have to do this but you're new here and we have rules and I can’t have people come snooping around here. It would complicate things and I don’t like complicated.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sheriff Clark points his shotgun at Jennifer. Before Jennifer could react he pulled the trigger. Shot her in the head blowing her face open. Blood splattered all over the walls and her body dropped to the floor.
Moon
On a calm summer night in FallBrook, the moon was tucked beyond the clouds and the streets were silent. No one is ever out past 8 pm because of the town’s reports of supernatural sightings. Except for Jennifer who had just moved to FallBrook yesterday night and wasn’t aware of the town’s curfew.
“Where is everybody?”
Jennifer looks around as she walks to the closest store for batteries. She sees the store’s bright neon lights and rushes over. To her surprise, it was closed but somebody was inside. A man with a red baseball cap and a beer in his hand.
Jennifer knocks on the door.
“Hey, I know it’s late. Can you just help me out with two double-A batteries?”
She shows him the money in her hand. The man looks at her and waves his hands indicating she should go away. He then shuts off the lights and fades into the dark.
“Shit!”
Jennifer looks around to see if any other stores are open. All the store's lights were off and nobody could be seen. Just when she was about to walk back home she saw a strange shadow and a wave of fear rushed over her.
“Hello? Anybody there?”
No one answered and the shadow disappeared quickly. Jennifer started to panic; almost tripping to get away. She walked back home. The wind blew through her light jacket but that wasn’t the reason she had a chill down her spine. She sensed that someone was following her and took a quick look back. She saw another shadow and immediately started to run.
“Shit shit shit!”
As Jennifer ran as fast as she could she heard large footsteps directly behind her and started to scream for help.
“Help! Somebody, please help me!”
Directly after she heard a gunshot and her body's first reaction was to freeze.
She froze in place, unable to move on turn around. Tears fell down her face as she was too scared to know what happened behind her. She slowly worked up the courage and turned around.
“What the…”
Jennifer stood in surprise, her eyes couldn’t believe what they had seen.
There was a wolf and woman standing about 50 feet from her.
“You okay?” Asked the woman
Jennifer just stared at the wolf in shock; she didn’t think wolves could be that size.
“I’m going to take that as a yes. Go home .. now!”
“But… but…”
“Home now!”
Jennifer took off running all the way home. She couldn’t even take out her keys without her hands shaking.
“What the fuck was that”
She finally gets the key in the door and slams the door behind her. She locked it but it didn’t feel like it was enough so she pushed the nearby bookcase in front of the door and ran to her cellphone.