campus” Justin pointed out. “That means the relic gave her something before she saw it” Justin said, staring at his little sister. We all rode in silence as I maneuvered the Suburban down the rough, muddy road.
After we had checked into a hotel, the four of us went out to find something to eat. We tried to enjoy the delicious Creole fare, and the conversation stayed light, but there was an unspoken undercurrent during the meal. All of us kept glancing at the windows, watching to see if it was getting dark. Back at the hotel before sunset, the four of us gathered in one room. I had rented two rooms, but no one wanted to be alone as darkness fell. Katie had opened the jar and discovered it was full of a grayish paste flecked with spots like pepper. It smelled vaguely of spices and more than a little like a swamp. We watched tv, not really paying attention, until Travis looked up from his laptop and said “I think I have an idea, but we will have to get the thing to come to us” he said. Katie surreptitiously stuck her finger in the salve and dabbed a bit on her wrist. Justin spoke “Travis, I think the beast is coming whether we want it to or not, and all your gadgets won’t help”.
“If I make a copper grid and hook up a power source, I should be able to add a remote switch so I can fry anything standing on the grid” he explained. “Enough electricity and anything will fry” he continued. He turned the laptop towards Justin, showing him the schematic he had worked up. As he started to point at the screen the door exploded inward off its hinges. We all recoiled from the noise as a dark shape filled the doorway. The beast was huge. Saliva dripped from the gaping mouth filled with gleaming teeth. The beast stepped into the room and started towards Justin with a guttural roar. Katie was closest to the door, but it ignored her. Its charge was slowed by the wooden chair Katie slammed into its head. The beast bounced off the wall and swung a taloned paw in Katie’s direction, but swatted only air. She grabbed the .45 from the table and fired at the beast. The slug slammed into the beast’s neck and splattered the wall with dark blood. Immobilized by the shock of the beast’s entry, the deafening explosion of Katie’s shot kicked me into action. I grabbed the shotgun and leveled it at the monster as it recovered. The 00 buckshot slammed into the beast’s chest with a thunderous noise. Racking the action I fired again, knocking the beast backwards thru the shattered doorway. Katie fired her pistol again, this time hitting the beast in the head, knocking it farther backwards. The beast grabbed its shaggy head and howled in pain. The 12 gauge roared again, this time slamming the beast against the rail. The next shotgun blast hit its chest and flipped it over the rail and off the balcony. They heard the beast land on a car below. The car had an alarm that started whooping. “Lets GO!” I yelled. We all grabbed weapons, Travis scooped up his laptop and Justin snatched his satchel off the chair and we ran down the concrete balcony towards the stairs. As we turned the corner on the balcony, Justin looked back at the car the monster had landed on. A dented roof and dark wet stains were all that he saw. “Its not dead” he yelled in warning. As I started to turn back towards Justin, I felt rather than saw the dark shape leap over the railing. Before the fear overtook me I wondered how it could jump so high. I saw the great paw swing towards me. All I could do was throw myself backwards. It almost worked. The claws of the monster’s paw caught my side as I went down. Suddenly I was lying on my back with this huge, hairy monster standing over me. Before I could react the beast reached down toward me. Katie was only a few feet away when she fired her .45 again. Once more the beast howled as the slug hit its head. It staggered slightly. It shook its great shaggy head, seeming confused. Dark blood poured down its head as it sniffed the air trying to locate the source of the pain. In less than a second the blood seemed to stop. With a deep growl the thing started back towards me. Before it could reach me, Katie fired again, and again, and again, each slug slamming into the hairy chest. As the beast staggered back under Katie’s onslaught, Justin stepped to his sister’s side wielding the other shotgun. I felt the shockwave as the shotgun went off just above me. The beast was losing ground with the impact of every bullet and shotgun blast. Katie’s .45 was empty, and Justin was on his last two shells when the beast fell backwards down the stairs. After she dropped the empty clip and slammed a fresh one in her pistol, Katie pulled me upright and shoved me towards Justin. My side was on fire and I held it tight, afraid to look. We started moving back the way we had just come, while watching the top of the stairs for any sign of the beast. As we reached the other stairs, Travis roared up in the Suburban. “Get in!” he yelled. Doors were opening and people were sticking their heads out cautiously. Only as we sped away did I think about what it must have sounded like. “We hit it with everything we had and it barely slowed it down” Justin said. I was holding my side, blood seeped thru my torn shirt. “Oh shit, Dad you’re bleeding” Katie said, wide eyed. As Travis swung the big SUV down a side street we could all hear the sirens as the New Orleans police responded to what must have been reported as a small war. I wondered if any of the reports included a huge hairy monster. “Where are we going?” Katie asked her brother, as Travis swung the big vehicle onto the onramp. “We are going home” he answered. I spoke from the back seat, “Travis, it followed us here and we cannot lead that thing back home, besides we still have to get the rest of our stuff” I told him. “Just get on the loop and drive around New Orleans”. Justin lifted my shirt and looked at the wounds. I winced as he probed the four slash marks on my side. “We need to get these cleaned” he told me, “but for once being a little overweight may have saved you” he said grinning. I shook my head, “if I didn’t have the beer gut the claws would have missed completely.
I waited until the throbbing in my side had lessened and called Kristy. I could hear the worry in her voice, but it was for her father. Things were not going well. In the 14 years since his first heart attack, Wade Kerns had slowly deteriorated. Now it was simply a matter of time. Kristy knew that I hated waiting in hospitals. She understood why. Both my parents had had to be removed from life support and allowed to die, first Mom, and then 7 years later my Dad. Kristy could tell something was wrong, but I played it off as guilt for not being there.
The rest of the night was quiet and uneventful. As we stopped for gas, Katie accounted for the ammunition. When we got back on the road she told us “We fired eight rounds of .45 and twelve rounds of buckshot.” She said shaking her head. “As far as I could tell none of us missed, but all we did was knock it back” she said in disbelief. “We knocked it back enough to keep it from killing us, and at least we know that nasty looking goo works” Justin said. Katie stared at her brother. “Sweetpea, Justin is right, that thing couldn’t see you” I said. “It didn’t help me do any more damage” Katie said thru gritted teeth.
The next morning, the four of us ate in silence, which is a strange place for us. The daylight brought a relative safety, but nothing had changed. We all knew now that there would be no sanctuary from the monster that chased us. As we loaded the remainder of our belongings into the Suburban, Katie suddenly stiffened. “You are quite the resourceful group” came a voice from the alleyway. Anton Sorvine stepped into the morning light and approached the group. Katie was reaching for her pistol, but Sorvine gestured towards the streets as he spoke, “young lady, I would think opening fire on a city street would cause you significant problems with the local constabulary”, he said. “Besides, I have not come to harm your family” he said cryptically. The boys and I clustered around her as she kept her hand under her jacket. Two of Sorvine’s men joined him, but took no action. Sorvine stuck out his hand in my direction, “Mr. Hixon I apologize for the difficulties and wish you well” he said as I ignored the outstretched hand. Leaving his hand extended Sorvine continued “I will be leaving today for England, and then on to my home”. I was unsure, but reached out and shook the hand of my enemy. Sorvine in turn extended his hand to each of the boys, and shook their hand.
The man extended his hand towards Katie. I think she sensed something was wrong, but she tried to dismiss it. She stared at him for a moment, and then reached out to take his hand. She had already defeated his henchmen once, she could do it again. Sorvine took her hand and spoke “Milady you were truly a worthy adversary” he said as he leaned forward to kiss her hand. Katie was surprised by the words. As he leaned down to kiss her hand she was surprised by the firmness of his grip. I watched as Sorvine bent to kiss my daughter’s hand. As Sorvine’s lips brushed Katie’s hand, I saw the man’s lips peel back. “Katie!” I tried to yell a warning, but Sorvine’s henchmen stepped forward crowding the men surrounding Katie. Katie felt the sharp sting as Sorvine bit the back of her hand, and then all hell broke loose. The henchmen stepped back as Katie pulled her hand back from Sorvine, a small trickle of blood already forming. Sorvine stepped back as well, with the henchmen closing ranks to protect him. Katie was shocked at