A Stash of Goods
An hour after nightfall, Arlis Cumberland parked the unmarked sedan in the gravel driveway adjacent to the old Miller's Woods mansion. He pulled a flashlight from the dashboard compartment and placed it in his windbreaker pocket. From the passenger side, his new partner Laurel Morrison, looked on as he withdrew his Smith and Wesson .357 snub-nose revolver. He carefully spun the cylinder to be certain it contained five soft-nosed shells—ones that would expand on impact and open a wide channel, leaving a gaping hole on exit.
"What time is it?" Morrison whispered.
"Ten to eight. We'll skirt the outside of the house to check."
"We can split up and meet around back."
"Uh-uh, we go together," cautioned Cumberland.
They passed very slowly across the overgrown lawn and around thick underbrush, checking windows at ground level. At the rear of the house they discovered amongst the bushes an iron gate at the top of stone stairs leading down to a side entrance. A quick play of flashlight revealed an entrance missing its door.
He grabbed hold of Morrison's arm to prevent her from heading to the stairs. "I've got a really bad feeling."
"Look, Arlis—Christ she had a loud whisper—if you don't come along, I'll do this myself. Still, I really thought you wanted to find out about the crazy stories and why these people go missing."
"I'm in," he said softly. "Now shush!"
She made an effort to lower her voice. "What are you afraid of? Maybe we'll find something like a stash of stolen goods or nothing at all. You're acting like we should have brought along shotguns with magnum double-aught and tasers. Maybe even backup."
Remaining silent, Cumberland pointed the flashlight beam at the rusted metal gate, tilting on its bottom hinge. It was open enough for them to squeeze through without risking any noise by opening it farther.
He whispered, "You have to be quieter."
He placed his finger over his lips to silence her and looked beyond the gate at the stone steps spiraling down into darkness. Cumberland found it peculiar that there was no dust or dirt on the steps or below the gate. There remained a thick layer of dirt and pebbles along the inner spiral edge of the stairs where the stones had crumbled away. It was as if someone had come before them to sweep the debris away.
A cold shiver ran up his spine. The place gave him the creeps. Despite anything he told her now, Morrison would bull-headedly plow right ahead with the investigation, and as the senior partner, he had a duty to protect her.
"Say nothing, even if you want to. Tug on my sleeve instead."
She nodded, her face revealing curiosity about his change in attitude.
The pair made their way slowly down the crumbling stairs, into the deepening darkness. Glancing behind, he could see the moonlight from the overgrown entrance they had left only moments ago. Nearing the bottom of the curved stairwell, they came to a stop. Ahead of them, a dim, glistening light came from the walls of a limestone tunnel.
Cumberland listened; it was too quiet. There should have been sounds of mice or other nocturnal animals, but there was nothing. He played the flashlight beam along the wall and the floor, revealing layers of undisturbed dirt and bones. To his horror, he recognized a human femur and tibia.
He felt certain that something was there beyond the darkness. There it was again: a faint slap on stone that stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Cumberland took a firm grasp of Morrison's forearm to restrain her from walking ahead.
His grip tightened as intuitively he sensed danger.
The tug on his sleeve told him she had heard something. A heavy breath exhaled close by. Someone was there, hidden in the dark.
Cumberland released her arm to reach for his revolver.
Enormous hands reached out from the darkness and lifted Morrison completely off the ground, and she screamed when a fanged mouth tore fabric and flesh from her shoulder. The beast tossed her effortlessly across the corridor, against the wall, where she crumpled and fell.
The smell of gunpowder followed the flashes of light as Cumberland shot point-blank into the creature, emptying the chamber.
Stunned from her abrupt contact with the wall, Morrison watched the furry creature take a firm grip on Cumberland's shoulder bending him backward over its raised thigh. Her partner shrieked in agony as the beast ripped him open with a quick swipe of its forepaw.
The hideous shrieks from Cumberland continued. For some unknown reason, he still gripped the flashlight in his hand, and its beam jerked back and forth, illuminating the scene for her.
Once the creature began to eviscerate and dismember her partner, she felt shock overtake her senses. As oblivion came, she remembered the stories, the missing people...and now knew why.
-THE END-
