by M. P. Taylor
Reluctantly, I committed to seeing things through by crouching down and nibbling on the burger I'd saved from earlier.
Streets lights soon began to turn on and from above I could see the gentle flakes of snow falling through the air. It was a much lighter amount compared to the last two days. It seemed far worse given that I was now standing outside, exposed, and with little more than my coat to keep me warn. It didn't work but I was too proud to go down the street and buy a better coat. Besides, it looked nice.
Things continued to be silent for most of the night. It was nicer neighborhood, most people were well tucked into their beds before all hell broke loose.
My first glint at the creature came from a blur of motion along one of the sidewalks. At first, I hadn't been sure I'd seen anything at all. Just another trick of light from a tired night. I saw it again and knew that something was happening. It came about one of the cars, a lumbering, lanky form that must have been at least eight feet tall. Features were hard to make out but I saw claws upon its hands that dragged across the ground as it soundlessly moved forward towards the William household.
There was an obstacle in its way.
The police car parked along the walkway in front as well as the hidden one where the good detective was still taking up residence. Both of them had clear lines of sight and I doubt they'd miss a bashed in front door. They wouldn't be able to stop it and the last thing I needed was a bunch of dead cops. Hell, they might just piss the thing off and send it on a rampage through the streets. Given I had no idea what I was facing yet, I always assumed the worst was possible.
It proved quite capable of methodical hunting. With a slow crawl in began to move towards the police car on the far side of the street. It was sneaking upon them with lethal intentions. That meant it had knowledge of the human world. Many things didn't, but this one was smart enough to known what a police officer was and that they were a threat. Like a good hunter, it was moving to eliminate all obstacles to its prey.
The police seemed to be completely oblivious to the lurking death that was only two cars behind them.
I had to act. Mortals might have stupid, useless, incompetent beings but that's why it's all the more important to help them. What was the point of wielding magic if you couldn't aid those less fortunate?
Besides, I was feeling rather annoyed at constantly being taken off guard and it only seemed fair to return the favor.
My incantation was a longer one as I had a few moments before the creature was upon them. I stored power in the ambient air, the constant kinetic movement of wind and snow. A dull blue energy wrapped itself about me, crackling upon the roof top as I prepared for the final focus.
“Knehaul!” when my words reached a final incantation, I opened my eyes and leveled my staff. A ripple of energy went forth, freezing the air itself as it made towards the shadowy beast.
The thing must have heard the crackling of ice as it whipped its head about in the last moment, taking a jump backwards. Ice impacted where it had just been, but also expanded outward as more negative energy flooded the spot. In a moment, the ice had grown nearly ten times in size and moved to engulf everything nearly. Part of the officer's car and the nearby building were caught.
Far more importantly, so too was part of the beast.
With a quick rapt of my shaft I broke it off from the ice and began another spell. This one was far quicker. A short channeling and a thrust of my staff caused a razor wind to be more than just a saying. Thousands of micro sized snow flakes with deadly edges were shoved at the creature in a flurry of energy. It was a virtual whiteout in a single spot. It came to be mixed with the color of blood.
A rage filled howl came from that storm along with the sound of shattering ice.
Though I couldn't see the creature, I had enough deductive reasoning to know it had broken away from my ice. I prepared another long incantation, hoping to once more trap it in place.
That was when I had a dropbox tossed at me, thrown from the far side of the street with enough force to break my back should it hit. I dived backward onto my ass. My spell was broken and I learned a very valuable lesson.
Always raise a ward. Even if your ambushing a melee enemy from a position with great height advantage – always raise a ward.
That minor mistake was correct with a slamming of my staff onto the ground and an exertion of will. The typical aura of power about me, air turned into a translucent barrier of clear ice, harden to be a strong deterrent. It was a bit more juice than I usually used for wards. Given a strongbox up had just been thrown five stories, I figured better safe than sorry.
Gunshots. A quick series of controlled fire could be heard along with another roar. I made my way back towards the edge and peered out.
Valiant fools. One of the officers had gotten out of the car, drawn his weapon, and was firing upon the creature. He proved a better shot than Helen's late husband and quickly hit home with five or six rounds – small caliber. The creature staggered back for a moment and raised its hand to shield away the gunshots. A second officer came out and I saw the detective opening his door from a few blocks down.
They looked to have the upper hand, but I knew it wouldn't last.
The thing hopped forward towards the nearest officer. Massive claws came up from the ground and struck home in the stomach. My eyes widened in horror as the man was lifted upward and then ripped in two by a grotesque display of muscular strength – blood and worse sent onto fresh snow.
A tense pressure came to my chest as I had to fight down the urge to run away. This was stupid, I didn't have any real reason to be involved. Hunting this creature was just a hobby of mine. Sure there was a reward in the alchemic components of his body, but it sure as hell wasn't worth the risk. I could turn around, leave, and never have to deal with this again. I could be lounging around with Nomia right now.
The gunshots stopped and I knew why.
The officers were have similar thoughts as myself. They were frozen in terror at seeing such an alien threat as opposed to what they'd been expecting. Had it been just a gunman they would have keep firing, but it was something to which they had no frame of reference, and so they stood still.
A moment from now it would bound over the car onto the next officer. I imagined the sound – ripping, a scream, and another corpse would be made. It was madness and it needed to be stopped. I had set out to hunt this beast, and I would do just that.
It bounded over the car with bloodied talons looking for another prey, just as I'd imagined, but I was ready.
From my staff a single shard of ice materialized and flew out. It was little more than a crude projectile backed up with speed but that was all I needed. It bounded through the air, colliding into the creature with a snapping force. Impaled upon its chest, the creature was thrown away from the officer and into the wall of nearby building.
There was no time to hold back or be precise. The beast needed to be put down.
“Mortem!”
I bundled up my will into a fearsome blast of entropy incarnate. It was the most powerful spell I knew. It was also the one I tended to use the least. All energy between me and the target was consumed in a trail that would be absent of light but also of energy. That energy that had been there, was simply drained away and would be for a few minutes. Nothing, not even light, would be able to move through it, but more importantly, neither would flesh.
My spell paid off striking the creature on it shoulder.
It roared once more and tried to pull away but could not. It was only a small beam of entropy but it pinned him into place as if it were the weight of a giant.
Fatigue washed over me, I was forced to drop to a knee. There was a good bit of irony in that creating entropy required vast energy.
The thing was smart. Like a trapped wolf, it began to rip at its limb.
Blood pooled onto the snow as it went to work – eviscerating its own flesh, cutting to bone and yanking with its muscles. Intellegence. Maybe not in an a
cademic sense but it was adaptive. It had taken the creature only a moment to decided it needed to be rid of its arm in order to fight back. More frightening, was the ease with which it did. There was no hesitation. My spell cost it an arm and roughly five seconds worth of killing time.
Not that it hadn't been energy well spent.
Those moments were precious to the officer who scrambled to the far side of the street, took aim, and fired upon the, relatively, stationary target. He was joined by the good detective Filson who opened up with his own sidearm. They were small caliber pistols but they tore through the creature flesh well enough.
Without an arm and plugged full of a dozen holes, the creature seemed to realize that the tables had turned.
It lowered into a three legged sort of run. It looked unnatural, clumsy, but its great speed carried it through the gunfire. I tried to slow it down with another chunk of ice but it was far too fast for my spells now that the element of surprise was lost. I ended up doing nothing more than crushing a newer model mustang that had been parked in the street.
The creature seemed to no longer be interested in the police men and instead took cover – jumping from car to car. I thought it might simply being trying to flank the officers, but when I saw the house, I realized its true aim, “It's going to her home!”
I don't know if they heard me over the clattering of bullets and ringing car alarms, and I didn't stay to find out.
The houses were close enough that I began to bound across the rooftops. It was a lot harder than I realized, the movies made it look so easy. I slipped on the ice after my first jump, and banged my knee on one of those cheap, metal satellites. An assortment of foul language came from my lips as I struggled to block out the pain.
My self pity ended when I heard a door being forced down on the street below.
The police wouldn't have time to intercept the creature. Even if they did, the results wouldn't be pretty. It could be wounded and damage had been done, but it was still seeking its prey. Worse yet, I knew I wouldn't be there in time to stop the slaughter.
When I jumped onto the William's roof, managing to not slip this time, I was forced to take a fire escape down to the nearest window. I blasted it apart with a brief effort of will and climbed through.
A shriek came from somewhere off in the house.
I lowered my staff, ensured my wards were ready, and plunged into the darkened household with a shotgun of magical energy ready to go.
The upper floor proved to be a dangerous net of obstacles, boxes were spread about the floor with no apparent reason. After nearly tripping a half-dozen times I managed to find a light switch on the wall.
I regretted turning it on.
The creature had been in the darkness, crawling like a great stalking cat. Its eyes were aimed, not at me, but at the young woman who was cowering on the ground. A quick glance up and I saw there had been another light switch. She'd turned the lights off in an attempt to hide and I'd ruined that for Ms William with record time. Her eyes looked at me as if I were perhaps the most evil thing that had ever existed.
The creature lunged at the woman and, for the first time, I had a good look.
It certainly wasn't a werewolf or any form of shapeshifter than I knew. It had only the thinnest amount of unrefined hair – it certainly didn't qualify as fur. The creature's pale skin, which seemed to be stretched to its limits, could be seen in loose patches – a sickly yellow tint to it. Most surprising to me were the hands, they had nearly human appearance were it not for their oversize nature and long, clawlike nails. They gleamed with blood.
It was rare when I didn't have a clue what I was dealing with and today was a supremely rare day.
“Get down!” I yelled at the woman, but she was too slow. I couldn't unleash my spell without also striking her. My magic was powerful, but mostly imprecise.
The creature surprised me by not tearing her to shreds. It closed its massive hands about her waist, lowered its shoulder and ran at me. I focused my will entirely on my ward as it bullrushed through me. The window to the fire escape laid behind and with it, freedom for it and nothing pleasant for Ms William.
It wasn't even close. My ward was nearly shattered. I knocked aside with enough energy left over for me to rebound off of the far wall. The entropy spell had drained me far more than I'd realized but there was little to do about it now.
My only mercy was that the creature didn't seem to care much about finishing me off. It was likely too much effort on account of having his only remaining arm full of Ms. William's screaming body. It just broke through the wall and made its way out.
I staggered onto my feet, stumbled out to the fire escape and tried to see the beasts. There was nothing expect for the freshly falling snow.
Footsteps came from the stairway. I turned just in time to see a pistol being aimed at me. Center of mass, close range, and I wasn't very lucky today. If he pulled that trigger I'd be in for a really bad wound assuming it wasn't fatal. My ward was still up but not by much. Teasting it would be unwise.
I just stood there and looked at the officer who's hands were shaking.
The officer was soon joined by Detective Filson, who batted down the pistol when he saw it was me, “She's on our side. The ice from the roof.”
The officer looked at Filson and nodded his head. His hands still shook as he took a step forward and looked into one of the open rooms.
I saved them the effort, “It's gone.”
“Where?” Filson demanded, without hostility or annoyance in his tone, he simply wanted an answer, “And where's Ms William.”
“It took her,” I turned my back to them and looked out the window into the alley streets, “I...I don't know where.”
“That thing took her? What the fuck is going on tonight,” Filson rubbed his head but I saw a look of relief briefly go across his features. He was glad that creature hadn't been waiting for them.
It had been his duty to charge into the building, to protect innocents, but I think he knew his chances and was glad to not be confronting the killer. His partner, the officer who'd just manged to escape the thing's claws in the earlier portions of the fight, collapsed onto the ground.
It was perhaps, unprofessional of him. Given what had just occurred, and my own failures, I wasn't about to criticize the officer for needing to sit down and take a breather.
Hell, I had half a mind to join him. I didn't. There was still work to be done.
The creature had taken Miss William alive. It had been a choice on its part as it could have just disemboweled her. I didn't know if it was better or worse that she was still alive.
There were many cruel habits of monsters. Murder and rape among the more shallow end. Some had the means to rot one's soul, mutating an otherwise normal human into one of their twisted kin for example. I didn't know if that beast had the capability to do that, but I assumed as much. It had taken Miss William and, given its streak of brutal murder, I had to assume it was either to torture or transform. Both being reasons I shouldn't have held back my spell, I know I'd rather die than have either fate.
“How do we kill it?” the detective asked.
“Good question, I'll let you know when I find out,” I began to walk my way out of the building, but turned and offered a bit more advice, “If you see it again, just run. Dying won't help anyone.”
“Like hell,” Filson fell into step behind me. The officer followed as well, apparently not wanting to be alone, “We need to call in backup. S.W.A.T, national guard, the entire marine core.”
“And tell them what exactly?” I mussed, “That a monster needs to be put down?”
He grimaced, an extraordinarily ugly sight, “You think they won't believe us?”
“Think? I know they won't believe you,” I shivered as we stepped out of the building onto the cold streets. Blood was everywhere, a think trail that marked the beast's passage along with a shattered wooden door
A street officer, one dress in civilian clothin
g, meet us on the stoop, “I called it in. Backups on its way. Is the gir-”
“Abducted,” Filson said.
The new member of the police party eyed me, “Who's this?”
“A friend,” the detective declared though I heard him muttered in a lower tone, “I think.”
“Just grab Stevens and get back to the car,” Filson order. His junior looked us both over, clearing thinking something was off, but he sighed, nodded and moved to help the other officer who'd once more collapsed, “Christ. What are we going to do?”
Stupid mortals. So clearly outmatched but still they tried to fight back the things in the shadows. Admirable but also pointless.
“You will do nothing. Make up some story about a bear running through. Your dash came had an angle on the creature so there should be some evidence to support a beast attack, but I implore you do not mention magic or a monster. It will just make for a quick dismissal, even if it is the truth.”
He pointed to one of the massive chucks of ice that had belong to my spell. It lay shattered across the back of a mustang, “How am I suppose to explain that, or how about why a bear would break into our person of interests' home and abduct her? Ah, fuck!”
I tried to give a smile, the type to reassure that all will be well, but failed.
He had tangled with something that just didn't exist in the world of most people and, no matter how reasonable, he'd be dismissed for trying to tell the truth. Even a lie wouldn't be clean as there would be too many questions for him to work out. Things wouldn't be alright. Not for him, not for the dead officer whose corpse lay a few feet away, and certain not for Ms William.
“I'm sorry,” it was all I could muster, “I should have been able to stop it.”
“I may not know much about what's going on, but I've got a good handle on one thing?”
“Hm?”
“You saved one of mine. Tried to save another,” he looked to the dead officer and sighed, “Sometimes you can't...but you tried. That's enough for ya not to be sorry. That all being on the assumption this thing ain't your fault.”