Fire at Dusk: Part 9

“You did this to my brother, you and yer boyfriend! We should've gotten rid of you when we had the chance ya filthy hag!” shouted Mike. The sound of skin clapping against skin echoed through the nearby shattered window, its thin glass shards resembling a mouth full of jagged teeth. “I'm gonna make you suffer fer what you did ta him!”

“It is not I who will suffer but instead you. You, your friends and family will all suffer until you have met the same fate as he!” a feminine voice shouted back, her words followed by the sound of her spitting. The mill shuddered as though a heavy wind had just battered it.

“Just you wait dearie fer when I get back from upstairs, then we'll see who really suffers,” Mike said a cold flat tone in his voice. The sound of heavy boots clumping against the floor echoed through the night.

“What the hell is goin' on?” whispered Buck to Shirley Sue.

“I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this,” whispered Shirley Sue. “Let's try and get a closer look. Lift me up so I can see in the window.”

Buck crouched down and Shirley Sue mounted his shoulders. His heart fluttered as her hands came to rest on his. He stood up and approached the window. The pale moonlight illuminated the floor of the mill as Shirley Sue strained her eyes to see what was going on. She had set her flashlight on the ground, not realizing that she might need it to see what was happening inside of the building. As her eyes adjusted to the pale light she let out a gasp.

“Oh my-” her whisper was cut off by the sound of an inhuman shriek. The noise caught Buck off guard and he turned to face the noise. His sudden motion tilted Shirley Sue to one side and he lost his balance. The duo collapsed in to a heap on the ground. They quickly collected themselves and looked in the direction from which the noise had come. In the distance at the tree line a glowing creature stood, its head pulled back, as it let fourth letting fourth a second harrowing shriek. It lowered itself down onto its fists and looked directly at Shirley Sue and Buck.