Terror in the Shadows Read online

  He gave his name and his spiel about being with the Department of Health and Human Services.

  “My ma and pa aren’t here. They’re at work.”

  Mostyn noticed she was somewhat flushed and was barely hiding a hicky on her neck. “That’s okay. Have they ever talked about seeing a creature around here, or anyone they know that has seen a big hairy creature.”

  “Uh, no, they haven’t. Why do you want to know?”

  “Because it might pose a health risk. We need to capture the creature and test it.”

  “Really?”

  Mostyn nodded.

  “What kind of health risk?”

  “We won’t know for sure until we test the creature. Of course, we have to make sure there is a creature to begin with. There seems to be some doubt about that.”

  “Well, Mike and I saw it.”

  Mostyn raised his eyebrows. “Whose Mike?”

  “My boyfriend.”

  A slight smile touched Mostyn’s lips. That piece of information explained the hicky. “Did you tell your parents?”

  “Heck no.”

  A young man came to the door. “What’s going on, Babe?”

  “He’s from the health department and says that creature we saw might have some disease we could die from.”

  Mostyn smiled. “I didn’t exactly say that. But if you saw the creature, I’d like you to tell me about it.” He paused and then added, “I won’t tell your parents.”

  The two kids looked at each other and then the girl said, “Mike and me were out parking. You sure you aren’t going to tell my ma and pa?”

  “Scouts honor,” Mostyn replied.

  “Well, like I said, we was out parking and something banged on the roof of the car.”

  “Scared the shit out of us,” Mike volunteered.

  “Did you see what it looked like?” Mostyn asked.

  “Not at first. It was dark,” the girl said.

  “We had the windows rolled up and the car was running cuz I had the air on,” Mike said.

  “Then there was a face pressed up against the glass. And I screamed and it ran away.”

  “What did the face look like?” Mostyn asked.

  “Kind of like a person, but not exactly. And it was wearing what looked like a fur coat.”

  “Which was weird,” Mike said, “because it was a hot night.”

  “When was this?”

  “About three weeks ago.” Mike answered.

  “Where were you?” Mostyn asked.

  The two kids looked at each other. And finally the girl answered. “We were in the parking lot behind the Baptist church. About…”

  Mike continued, “Two miles from here. Lots of trees near the church.”

  “Anything else you can tell me?” Mostyn asked.

  The kids shook their heads and the girl once again asked that Mostyn not tell her parents and he said he wouldn’t.

  Walking down the drive he felt confident they were on to something here that wasn’t quite within the realm of normal.

  ***

  Dr Mansfield wiped his brow with a handkerchief. The heat and humidity were all but unbearable, yet he would bear them. In fact he was positively giddy. He looked over the notes he’d made of his latest interview. Little pieces all fitting together to slowly fill in the puzzle. He was certain that right here in Tyler County was everything he needed to prove his theory. Evolution had indeed reversed itself. All that remained was to secure a specimen.

  On the other hand, Dr Cashel wasn’t having much luck. All she could think about was getting back to the hotel and her air conditioned room, taking a shower, and getting a gin and tonic. Perhaps Dotty was right and this was all a lot of hooey. It’s just that Mansfield sounded so sure. She sighed. Probably just some kind of weird cult they’d stumbled on. Something the locals or the FBI could handle. No need for the OUP to be involved. Maybe they could head back to DC early. That would be nice. And then her thoughts went back to getting that shower and a really tall gin and tonic.

  Special Agent DC Jones didn’t spend much time talking to the people in his section of the village. A few had stories to tell, and they were doozies. The rest knew nothing, or were just pulling his leg. If he didn’t sense a story in the first thirty seconds, he moved on.

  His training and his time in the Bureau had given him a sixth sense when it came to interviewing people. The time spent in the OUP had given him a healthy respect for the stories about things that go bump in the night. He didn’t fully understand what Mansfield was excited about, but he had come to a very solid conclusion based on what he was hearing. There was definitely something weird going on here.

  5

  Kemper and Cashel won and the team ate supper at the Chinese buffet. Over egg rolls, fried rice, Dim Sum, Teriyaki Chicken, wontons, and chow mein, the team discussed the day’s events.

  “We’re dealing with several humans,” Kemper declared. “The teethmarks on the bones are sufficient verification. Not to mention the DNA evidence from hair found at the scene. Human.”

  “Any matches?” Mostyn asked.

  “Nothing in the FBI database,” Kemper replied, around a bite of egg roll.

  “Still mock my ‘abhuman’, as you put it, theory, Dotty?” Mansfield asked, a smile playing on his lips.

  She was undaunted. “No verified occurrences. Might be some weird cult. We should check with Elswick to see if they have any here.” She licked her fingers, having finished her egg roll.

  And Mansfield was equally undaunted. “Except for those specimens the government won’t even let us examine.”

  “If they were real abhumans,” she countered, “I think Bardon would have been able to get in on the action.”

  Jones asked, before shoveling in a load of chow mein, “Is there such a thing as reverse evolution?”

  Mansfield put his fork down. “Why not? If nature can move in one direction, why can’t it move in the other given the right circumstances?”

  “I don’t know, Doc. You tell me.” Jones shoveled in another load of chow mein.

  “There’s no evidence of devolution. It’s nothing more than gothic fiction.” Kemper’s tone indicated she thought the idea was beyond stupid.

  Mansfield favored Kemper with a smile, and turned to Jones. “The human genome is virtually identical to that of our primate cousins. We are basically a hairless bonobo with opposable thumbs. Whatever it was that caused our genome to become different could easily be undone.”

  “We do have examples of inbreeding leading to deformities and mental deficiency,” Baker said.

  Cashel shook her head. “Deformities or a proclivity towards disease or lowered intelligence, but no examples of regression as Jeffrey is suggesting.”

  Mansfield held up his hand. “That we know of. However, I think we must face the reality that we’re here due to a fluke of nature. A chance beneficial mutation. And as we all know, most mutations are not beneficial.”

  Munching on teriyaki chicken, Jones said, “Those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are pretty awesome.”

  Kemper, Cashel, and Baker burst out laughing. Mostyn shook his head, and said, “Honestly, Jones.”

  Jones looked confused. “What do you mean?” And that made Kemper, Cashel, and Baker laugh all the harder.

  With a wry smile on his face, Mansfield said, “Maybe more like the Incredible Hulk.”

  “Yeah. He’s pretty awesome, too,” Jones said, and demolished more teriyaki chicken.

  “Comic books and TV shows aside,” Mostyn began, “is there any actual evidence for devolution? I mean, we accept evolution but there’s no actual proof for that either. We certainly can’t reproduce evolution in the lab.”

  A fork of chow mein paused in midair, and Kemper replied, “You’re right, Mostyn, we can’t reproduce evolution in the lab. Technically, it’s a working hypothesis because it’s the best explanation we have for the evidence we see. There is however nothing that indicates devolution has ever existed. Nothing.”<
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  “Yet,” Mansfield said.

  “I can see why Bardon likes you,” Kemper replied.

  Mostyn changed the subject. “I want to hear what we learned from the locals. Baker?”

  “Not much, really. I talked with nineteen people. None of them had seen the creatures, but four of them had friends or relatives who had. I got the names and addresses so we can follow-up. And a couple of people spoke of a haunted house and thought the creatures could be connected to the place. One fellow drew me a map and said we should definitely check the place out.”

  Mostyn smiled at the mention of the haunted house. “Very good. Cashel?”

  “I spoke with twenty-two people. One person saw something about a year ago. Thought it was a wolf or a bear. But the creature didn’t act like a wolf or a bear. So he thinks maybe it was whatever is making the attacks.”

  “Did he get a good look at it?” Mostyn asked.

  “No. It was dark and the creature was some distance away. Personally, I’m leaning towards Dotty’s thought. Some kind of cult.”

  “Okay. Thanks. Doc?”

  Mansfield cleared his throat, took a sheet of paper out of a pocket, put on his cheaters, and began. “I spoke with eighteen people. Three saw something. All sightings were after sunset, but only one had a fairly good look. He caught the creature in his headlights as it was crossing Highway Two in town.”

  “Did he describe it?” Mostyn asked.

  “Yes. Walked upright. The gait was human, yet not quite. It wore no clothes and was covered with dark colored hair or fur. He caught a glimpse of the face, which he said looked like that of a person.”

  “How long ago was this?” Mostyn asked.

  “April of this year. And for the record, I had three people also mention the haunted house. They told me there was a local legend about a family that lived there which was very reclusive and they just vanished.”

  “Did you ask where this haunted house is?”

  “I did and got directions too.”

  “Good. Thanks. We’ll compare them with Baker’s map. Jones?”

  He returned his fork to his plate. “I spoke with twenty-three people. Two have relatives who’ve seen the creature and I got contact information. A fifteen-year-old girl saw a shape outside her window at night. She thought it was somebody trying to look in and screamed. Whatever it was ran off. Her father ran outside, with his shotgun, but didn’t see anything. That was about a month ago. Another sighting was by a person out hunting just after sunset, back in January. He saw something he thought was a bear and took a quick shot. He wounded it, because he saw blood, but it ran off. He got scared when he saw the footprints, because they looked human.

  “Interesting. Very interesting,” Mansfield said. The excitement very apparent in his voice. Kemper merely rolled her eyes.

  Jones continued, “Two others got glimpses of something last year. They said they thought what they saw was a person, but not quite. And I had one person, must be about ninety, mention the haunted house and the family that disappeared.”

  “Good work, Jones.” Mostyn paused for a moment to compose his thoughts, then spoke. “I talked with seventeen people, four of whom saw something. The other people I talked to only got vague glimpses.” He then related the story the girl and her boyfriend had told him.

  Mansfield had a smile on his face. “What do you think, Dotty?”

  “Interesting stories. But no proof of anything.”

  Mansfield pressed. “But this is a growing pile of circumstantial evidence. And when it gets big enough…”

  Dotty shrugged. “Then we’ll have a big pile of circumstantial evidence. We’re scientists, we need concrete proof.”

  “I agree,” Mansfield replied, then he smiled. “There are those creatures the government has under lock and key.”

  Kemper waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

  “Which means we have a lot of work yet to do,” Mostyn said. “So let’s finish up here, get some sleep, and get back at it tomorrow.”

  Mostyn paid for their meals with his OUP provided credit card. They filed out of the restaurant. The night air was warm and muggy. In the distance, coyotes were howling.

  “That is such an eerie sound,” Cashel said.

  Dotty nodded in agreement, and said. “That, at least, is explainable.”

  6

  Mostyn couldn’t sleep. He got dressed, put his backup revolver in the ankle holster, his semi-automatic in the shoulder holster, and left his room. Down the hall he went to Jones’s room. He knocked on the door. No answer. He put his ear to the door and heard faint giggling.

  “Shit,” he whispered, and took a step away from the door. He walked to Dotty Kemper’s room and knocked. No answer. He knocked again.

  From inside he heard, “Who is it?”

  “Mostyn.”

  The door opened the length of the chain. “For God’s sake, Mostyn, it’s one-fifteen. What the hell?”

  “I can’t sleep. I want to check something out.”

  “Take Jones.”

  “He’s… Busy.”

  “Shit. Why me?”

  “Because you know how to handle yourself in a situation.”

  “We have a situation?”

  “Not at this moment.”

  “Oh. You just want to be prepared. Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  It was more than a minute, but less than five and Dotty Kemper was in the hall.

  “A three-piece suit? What the hell, Mostyn?”

  “A blouse and slacks. What the hell, Kemper?”

  “Very funny. Where are we going?”

  “I want to follow up on something someone I talked to earlier had said.”

  “Okay. So, where are we going?”

  “The Baptist church outside of Heirloom.”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake.”

  A smile touched Mostyn’s lips. “Maybe it is.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind, Dot. Are you armed?”

  “Of course.” She touched her fanny pack and pointed to her right ankle.

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  They walked to the elevator, took it to the ground floor, and exited the hotel. They walked over to the SUV, and Mostyn pressed the button that unlocked the doors. He got in on the driver’s side, Kemper taking the front passenger seat, and in a minute they were driving out of the lot on their way to Heirloom.

  “What’s so important about the church, Mostyn?”

  “It was where one of the sightings took place.”

  “So why are we going there at this ungodly hour?”

  “Couldn’t sleep, and got to thinking if lightning might strike twice.”

  “How lucky for me. I should’ve followed my first thought and told you to go to hell.”

  Mostyn sang, “Jesus saves. Jesus saves.”

  “Sure he does.”

  “Such a cynic.”

  “Whatever.”

  Mostyn chuckled, but said nothing, and in silence they drove the rest of the way to the church.

  According to the odometer, Heirloom Baptist church was actually one point six miles outside Heirloom on the Heirloom Road. The small frame building was located fairly close to the road. A drive led around to the back of the building, where Mostyn assumed the parking lot was, based on the description given to him by Mike and his girlfriend.

  As he drew near the drive, Mostyn turned off the headlights. He left the parking lights on until he had turned into the driveway, and then he turned them off as well.

  “Why are we going dark?” Kemper asked.

  “Least possible disturbance.”

  “You really thing we’ll find something?”

  “Don’t know.”

  When the big black SUV pulled into the lot, Mostyn and Kemper saw a big old Pontiac a short distance away, not far from the tree line. The car was bouncing, the squeak of the springs just barely audible.

  “Looks like someone’s going for a ride,” Mostyn said.
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  “Idiots.”

  “What? You never did that, Kemper?”

  “A car? You’ve got to be kidding?”

  “Nope.”

  “Forget it. Now what?”

  Mostyn put the SUV in park and shut off the engine. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  They exited the vehicle, flashlights in hand. The old Pontiac stopped bouncing.

  “I guess he scored,” Kemper said.

  “Hope they don’t regret it.”

  “Now who’s the cynic.”

  “Just saying. Babies you know.”

  “Gotta point there, Mostyn.”

  “This way, Kemper.”

  Mostyn cut across the lot on a path that would give the occupants of the Pontiac their space. Kemper was next to him. Their flashlight beams illuminated the asphalt, and when the asphalt ended, the short strip of grass before the woods.

  Just before the trees, Kemper hesitated. “Awfully dark in there.”

  “That it is. And there may or may not be a bogeyman in there.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Mostyn and Kemper carefully picked their way into the woods. Behind them, in the east, a golden moon began coming up over the treetops. They heard the Pontiac start and drive out of the lot.

  “Bet they’re wondering whose SUV that is,” Mostyn said.

  “Probably scared shitless someone was spying on them and will tell their parents.”

  Mostyn chuckled. “Probably.”

  Out of the darkness a rock knocked Kemper’s flashlight out of her hand. Mostyn turned his off and they dropped to the ground. All around them they heard grunting and feral sounds. Neither one said a word. Whatever was making the sounds, and there had to be several of them, they were obviously looking for Mostyn and Kemper.

  Mostyn touched his pistol to Kemper’s hand and then touched her hand with one finger, followed by a second, and then a third.

  Kemper wrote “OK” with her finger on Mostyn’s hand and pulled her pistol out of the fanny pack.

  Mostyn tapped Kemper’s hand once, twice, three times. They jumped up, and fired into the darkness.