'human', I decided to treat myself and my friends one last time. It is a tasty change from our usual fare." He favored me with a savage grin.
"You may keep the change, and I intend to recommend you to my acquaintances." He then picked up the last carton and a couple of bottles, and perched himself on a tombstone to enjoy his repast.
I couldn't believe it! We were still alive. It almost didn't seem fair. Weren't they supposed to kill us?
Then I realized what I was thinking. I started up the engine and floored the gas peddle. By some miracle, I retraced my way around all those headstones without hitting one, and soon we were through the gate and on our way out of town. The last I had seen of Caldwell, he guzzled beer, his head thrown back as if he bayed at the moon.
I didn't slow down until we were on the highway back to Delasalle. Michele woke up soon afterwards. We didn't say anything at first; she didn't even ask what happened. I guess she was as grateful as I felt just to be alive. As we entered Delasalle, however, we made a pact never to tell anyone about the events of that evening.
But I could see that something bothered her and that she couldn't get it off her mind.
"What's the matter?"
She frowned as she tried to put it into words. "It's just that, Caldwell was a human being the last time I knew him. What could have changed him into one of those...things?"
"I have a possible answer, but you're not going to like it."
"I know I won't like it," she lied impatiently. "Spill it."
I took a deep breath before explaining. "Do you happen to know anything about him?"
"Only what I read in the newspapers two years ago. He had been a student at Keekishwa University, but he lived in his family's home in Tamarack, in the marsh quarter, near the cemetery. I can remember drivers complaining about making deliveries there, especially at night, because the property bordered one of the more desolate areas of the graveyard."
"Is the rest of the family still there?"
"I don't believe so. The newspapers reported that he lived alone, but they didn't say what happened to the others. Is that important?"
I nodded. "What I think we have is a family that has had dealings with those things in the cemetery, probably for a long time. Their fortune might even be based on the gold and jewelry the things acquired from the graves they opened."
"Graves?! You mean those things are ghouls?"
"I didn't want to mention that myself, but Caldwell hinted as much to me before he let us go."
Michele shuddered violently. "But what does that have to do with Caldwell?"
"My guess is that the association became so close that, ah, interbreeding occurred."
Michele threw me a shocked expression.
I nodded. "Caldwell may have been a result of that. He would look human until some point after puberty, when he would begin to transform into...his present state."
"Never mind!" After a moment, though, she said, "You're right, I didn't like it." She then fell silent for the remainder of our trip home. Whatever she thought, she kept it to herself, but even in the darkness, I could see the blood draining from her face.
When we finally arrived back at the store, we both breathed a heavy sigh of relief. We had survived, and Michele had a windfall that could pay for the entire week. We were ready to clean the store and head for our respective homes. We barely made it across the parking lot, however, when we felt a tremor beneath our feet. It lasted only for a moment, but we froze, a common thought of "Not again!" running through our heads. Then another one came, then another, and another. They increased in frequency and each grew stronger than the ones before; it was as if something huge was coming towards us.
Suddenly, the whole front of the store exploded. Concrete, cinder blocks, and dry wall flew into the air, only to rain down around us in a torrent of chunks and rubble. A steel beam longer than a car fell on top of my jeep, crushing it to the floorboards. We ducked and covered our heads, praying we wouldn't be next.
When the last bit of debris had finally dropped to the ground, we hesitantly looked up. A gigantic creature stood where the store had been, nearly four stories tall. It had a massive, bulbous, furry body supported by three short, massive legs that ended in cloven hooves. Four gigantic tentacles sprouted from the top of the body and waved in the air like angry snakes reared to strike. A countless number of smaller tentacles writhed among them. The body sported four huge drooling mouths that gibbered insanely in some language other then English. The whole monstrosity looked inky black; if it hadn't been for the full moon we never could have seen it.
We stood rooted in place, our minds so numb with horrific terror we couldn't move. Then the mouths began to speak words we could understand. Each mouth had a different voice, but all were stentorian, and they spoke in some alien harmony, like an off-key barbershop quartet.
"I would like to place an order," the voices boomed. One of the four great tentacles extended itself and dropped an uncut diamond as big as a bowling ball at our feet.
When we didn't respond right away, it added, "Your service came highly recommended, and I understand you deliver."
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Bonus Story: Love Triangle
Excerpt from the Cairnsford SVU interview with Abigail Hemmings: