He glanced down at the hammer head that jutted out of the waistband of his jeans. Jake knew that if the Prowler revealed itself, the hammer would be out of his pants so quick… He didn’t want to carry it openly in front of the kids, but needed it close. The waistband was perfect.
“I’m done,” said Jenny, flushing the toilet.
Jake and the children all turned back to face her. Out of sight behind them, a black shape stepped out of the deep shadows on the landing. It observed them for a second before pushing Charlie’s bedroom door open and scampering inside.
“Th…Thanks for doing this, Jake,” said Jenny. Her voice shook as much as her body. The tears and mucus that constantly dripped from her face slicked her flabby skin. It glistened in the candle light.
She looks like a giant, pink slug
, thought Jake, instantly guilt-ridden over the observation.
“Come on,” said Jake, giving the children a gentle tug. “We should get back into the bedroom.”
“I want Mummy,” said Bronwyn.
“I’m sure she’ll be up to check on you soon,” said Jake, hurrying them along. Jenny followed behind. “She’s with your Dad, keeping an eye on things downstairs.”
“But it’s day again!” whined Charlie. “Monsters only come out at night, and they’ve gone!”
“No,” said Bronwyn. “They’ve not.”
Jake shivered from Bronwyn’s cold voice and picked up his pace across the landing.
As they passed through the doorway, the kids jumped onto the bed and crawled over to the headboard, resting back on it side by side. Jenny hesitated just over the threshold.
“I…I hate this, J-Jake,” she said.
He closed the door and jammed the chair to Charlie’s desk under the knob. He gave it a pull and, sure it was tight, eased his arm around his mother’s shoulders. He rubbed her through the fabric of her T-shirt. It was damp. She sweated profusely.
“It won’t be long now,” he said. “They’re thinking of ways to get us out of this. The children are their priority, but you…you’re
my
priority.”
He squeezed her.
Jenny put her hand on his.
“H-Help me get back down, J-Jake,” she said, pointing at the mattress on the floor. The blankets were all bunched in the middle. “I think I n-need to sleep again.”
Jake was uneasy with his mother sleeping so much. Probably a symptom of shock, the threat she’d slip into a fear induced coma flared in his thoughts. Yet, having her sleep kept her quiet, which stopped the children becoming upset.
He decided to let her sleep.
Jake grabbed her hand as she eased herself to the mattress. His thin bicep strained, taking more and more of her weight. Her behind lowered within inches of the blankets, and the wet grip of her sweaty skin slid free of Jake’s hand. Jenny fell back with a thump.
“Sorry,” said Jake.
“It’s…It’s okay. But Jake?”
“Yes?”
His mother looked up at him with a confused look on her face.
“I’m…I’m wet.”
“What?”
She couldn’t have pissed herself
, he thought,
she’s just been!
Jenny spread her legs and from in between, a wide circle of black liquid seeped out. The seat of her beige shorts was already stained.
“Mum, get up quick,” he said, holding out a hand. Jenny took it. With a mighty heave, he pulled her back up and examined the blanket.
The growing pool of black oozed from underneath the material.
“Mum, get on the bed with the children.”
“Why? What’s-”
“Now! Do it!”
With a cry, she crawled onto the bed. The children, keeping their eyes on Jake, rushed to her side and wrapped their arms around her waist.
Jake pulled the hammer out of his waistband. On all fours beside the mattress, he picked up the corner of the blanket and slowly lifted it.
The candle light barely penetrated the darkness revealed. Jake held the blanket higher to allow more light to enter.
He swallowed.
“W-What’s there, J-Jake?” asked Jenny.
“I don’t know yet,” he replied.
He lifted the blanket higher still.
A half-mashed eye stared back at him through the darkness.
“Jesus,” he cried, dropping the blanket and holding the hammer out in front of him.
4.
“At least that’s another problem taken care of,” said Joe on hearing the news. “Is your mum okay?”
“It didn’t help her nerves much,” Jake replied, “but she’s better now. Plus it’s woken her up a bit. She’s upstairs with the children, telling them old stories about Dad to keep them occupied.”
“Then some good has come of it. Jenny’s feeling better, the Prowler has been killed and it’s finally daytime.”
Sunshine seeped in through the peepholes like two torch beams, eliminating the need for candles. Although the living room was still dim and had its shadows, everyone felt glad to be out of the flickering candlelight.
Frank had spent most of the morning in the kitchen, using the hot water tap to make coffee. He was alone in doing this; no one else wanted a drink made this way. He seemed quite content to sit in the kitchen and drink, despite the sight and smell of the Prowler bodies scattered around the floor and work surfaces. Eleanor asked him that if he was to stay in the kitchen, to alert them
immediately
should the mana appear. Frank agreed, and popped his head into the living room every so often to report nothing had happened. He checked that Anne was all right, glared at Joe and returned to his caffeine-fuelled vigil.
Joe remained fixed by the window. The slightest sound from outside and he quickly pressed an eye to a peephole to relay what was happening. Usually it was a group of Prowlers, back to large numbers, patrolling down the street. There had been no sighting of The Collector since the early hours.
“He’s also waiting,” said Eleanor. “Same as us. Thinks he can wait us out.”
Joe yawned.
“But why would he do that? You said that he probably has the power to burst in here, so why doesn’t he?”
Eleanor leaned back on the sofa.
“I don’t know, Joseph. Maybe if we do manage to communicate with him…”
Anne, who dozed on the other side of the sofa, moaned.
“No,” she said, her eyes opening. “We wait.”
“I’m sorry,” said Eleanor. “I thought you were asleep.”
Anne stretched her arms and groaned as her shoulder popped.
“I think I was for a moment. Please, can we forget about talking to him until it’s a last resort?”
“How long do you intend to wait?” asked Eleanor.
Anne settled back done.
“Until late afternoon. I don’t think we’ll be bothered in the daytime. He won’t take the risk of being seen. I don’t think I can face another night, though. We wait until later and then make a break for the car. It might catch him off guard.”
“It won’t work,” said Jake from the corner. “Those things are everywhere. It only takes one to see you and they’ll all come running. We won’t all fit in the car anyway.”
Joe sighed.
“He’s right, but at least we’re now thinking of how to get out of this. Sitting around hasn’t helped.”
Anne balled her fists. “But it got us this far. We’re alive, aren’t we?”
“Deans!” shouted a voice outside.
Everyone fell quiet, listening hard…
“Deans, get out here. Right now!”
Jake swallowed. “Oh my God,” he said, starting to shake. “He’s calling us out!”
Joe pressed his face to the peephole.
“It’s not him,” he said quickly. “Jake, you’d better get over here.”
Jake stood, hammer at the ready, and approached the window.
“You two better get out here!” came the cry from the street. “I know you’re in there!”
Jake looked through the hole and gasped. “Smithy?”
He stood at the Dean house with his back to them, his long, greasy hair tied back in a ponytail.
“I’ll wait here all day if I have to,” he shouted. “I know what you did!”
He sniffed and pushed his glasses up his nose.
“You know this guy?” asked Joe.
“It’s Smithy. I buy…” Jake coughed. “He’s a friend of mine. He must know about what we did to his grandmother.”
Joe turned from his peephole to look at him.
“What
did
you do?”
“Erm…nothing. Must be a…misunderstanding.”
Smithy marched up the driveway and knocked on the front door. “Come on out and face me, you cowards!”
“We have to do something,” said Eleanor. “We can’t just leave him shouting out there.”
“What can we do?” said Anne. “We can’t go outside…”
Joe started to bang on the horizontal door covering the window.
“Hey! Over here! Hey!”
Anne jumped off the sofa and ran over to Joe, grabbing him around the shoulders.
“Don’t! They’ll come back!”
He shrugged her off and spun to face her.
“Look outside,” he cried. “Just look.”
She stared into his eyes.
“Look,” he said again.
“Oh no,” groaned Jake. “I can see it!”
Anne stepped past Joe and lowered her gaze to the peephole.
Smithy continued to pound his fists against the front door of the Dean house, shouting threats against the twins.
Anne scanned the street and garden around him.
“I can’t see any Prowlers,” she said.
“Look up,” said Jake. “Up near the window!”
She paused, following his instructions.
“No,” she said. “This can’t happen!”
Montgomery lurked just below the slant of the roof, head turned to one side, watching Smithy directly underneath.
“Hey,” Anne called, slapping her fists on the wood. “Over here!”
“Smithy,” yelled Jake, following Anne’s lead and hitting the door. “Get outta there!”
Joe stepped between them, also beating his fists on the barricade.
Outside, Smithy stopped and cocked his head.
“I think he heard us,” cried Jake.
“Last chance,” shouted Smithy. “Open up or I’ll knock this fucking door down!”
Something landed with a splat on his shoulder. He stopped shouting and turned his head.
“Fuck,” he spat, staring at the thick, white mess. “Damn birds!”
He pulled a tissue from his coat pocket and dabbed the stain.
Jake, Anne and Joe continued to beat against the wood, shouting at the top of their voices.
Smithy still fussed with cleaning his shoulder.
“If I had my pellet gun you’d be sorry, you feathery little bastard…”
He looked up.
Smithy screamed from the sight of the beast above him, covered in drooling mouths.
“Move,” cried Jake. “Fucking move!”
Montgomery swung down, its chest and belly ripping in two, forming the huge, teeth-lined maw. It fell directly on top of Smithy, the teeth clamping down on his neck. His head disappeared inside the mouth.
“No,” Jake screamed. “It’s got him!”
Montgomery twisted its body sharply and the rows of teeth slammed together.
Smithy staggered a few steps back down the driveway until his feet tripped over themselves. He fell forwards. Montgomery rolled off his shoulders, landing as gracefully as a cat on its large hands.
Smithy’s headless corpse smacked the flagstones of the driveway, sending a jet of blood shooting from the open neck.
Montgomery, all mouths revealed and licking the air with thin tongues, padded over and ripped chunks of flesh from the open wound.
Morning Tea
1.
Eleanor called the house meeting immediately. Jenny and the children remained upstairs while the others gathered in the living room. Anne and Eleanor sat close together on the sofa. Jake and Frank sat in armchairs with Joe stood by the window.
“We need to do something,” said Joe. “The longer we wait, the worse our situation is becoming.” He pointed to the window. “People are being slaughtered out there, innocent people who have nothing to do with this.”
“I still can’t see how
we
have anything to do with this,” said Frank. “If your insane theory about this blue fire, this mana, is true, why hasn’t he gone? The fire’s gone.”
Joe released a long sigh. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“Talk to him,” said Anne from the sofa. Eleanor patted her clenched hands.
“I still think it’s too risky,” said Frank, crossing his arms defiantly.
“Remember,” said Eleanor, “that although he’s attacked the house, he hasn’t really tried to attack
us
. That pet of his went after Charlie, but he called it off. The Prowlers only attacked because the mana was here. Maybe he can sense when it appears. I’m sure if he wanted to, he could barge straight in and butcher us all in an instant.”
Everyone fell quiet.
“But he hasn’t. I still think he needs us alive and that is where we have an advantage.”
Jake, fidgeting with the head of the hammer, looked up.
“What about my brother then, eh? He didn’t seem too bothered about keeping him alive, did he?”
“I’m sorry, Jake,” said Eleanor. “I’m trying to think of our situation like a game of chess. He wants to take the king, the mana, which he thinks we’re protecting. The way he’s playing, it’s on the high offensive. He wanted to take one of our pieces away to show his opponent an…an early dominance, if you will. At the moment, all our pieces are gathered in the corner of the board. We’re surrounded. Sure, he’ll try and send a few of his pieces through, but remember, it’s the king he’s after.”
“Keeping in with this stupid analogy,” said Frank. “We have a problem. There is no king! The fire has gone.”
“Yeah,” said Jake, waving the hammer. “So why don’t we go on the offensive?”
“You’re not listening!” Eleanor moaned.
“So what do you propose?” said Frank. “We just lie back and let him do whatever he wants?”
“No. If we talk to him, find out more, there could be some way to come to an arrangement, a stalemate.”
Frank got up and started towards the doorway.
“Where are you going?” asked Joe. “We need to discuss this.”
“I’m going for a coffee,” said Frank. “This is crazy. We can’t just pop out for a chat. He’s a psychopath!”