The name Mitchel will forever be tied to the MST3K sendup of the movie also named "Mitchell", so please forgive my little nod to that in the title. From here on out it serious business.
Last time... Steve and Stu found Lola hiding in the Dambuster, but then shots were fired outside and Steve raced out to protect his family.
He threw himself against the door frame, took a breath, and
then peeked out. A good way to get yourself killed was to run out a dark
doorway unannounced while a bunch of yahoos were shooting at God knew what.
“Coming out,” he yelled and he slowly came out with his
hands raised. A gun swung over his way but then the man embarrassingly turned
it away. Jill and Isaiah were still huddled together in the center of very
skittish men, all pointing their weapons up the road and even firing
occasionally.
“She got Mitchell!”
He looked down the road and saw the body about twenty yards
away sprawled out, its arms and legs at odd and unnatural angles.
“What happened?”
“He was checking something out, went off on his own, and
then something pounced on him from the roof – gotta be Lola!”
“It ain’t Lola,” Stu growled, emerging from the inside of
the bar with Lola in his arms. “Whoever and whatever it is going to pick us off
one by one if we let it, so none goes alone. Nick, Benny, and Duncan go check
out the first haus, we need to get inside and out of the open.”
The three men looked long and hard at Stu before nudging one
another towards the A-frames.
“Where did the thing go,” he asked the man he’d been talking
to, noticing his wife’s mouth drop open and the hurt in her eyes out of the
corner of his own.
“Back up the roof, I think I got it.”
“You can’t hit a barn Trent,” Stu interjected, he then
forced Lola into his arms and unslung his own rifle. “Come with me,” Stu said
and fixed him with a cold gaze. The two separated from the group.
“Steve,” Jill called after him, but the two men continued
on.
“Go check on Mitchel,” Stu motioned with his rifle when they
got close. He stepped closer and kneeled down beside the torn remains of the
man. Four great gashes rand from his right hip to his left shoulder from which
his insides were splaying out of.
“He’s dead.”
“Get his gun.” He picked up the old shotgun that had been
thrown away in the attack. As soon as it was in his hands the familiar scream
started to build up again and his eyes were drawn to the buck, intricately
carved into the dark wood stock. The buck moved its head, perhaps picking up
their scent. It was a magnificent elk, easily a twelve points – an old soul of
the forest. It swept the woods and then its black eyes found him and the scream
was all he heard.
“Hey!” Stu yanked the shotgun out of his hands. “I said give
it here.”
He stood up, shaking and sweating, but refusing to meeting
Stu’s watching gaze. Stu laughed, it was a short and biting laugh that held no
mirth or warmth. “I almost believe you have a soul.”
He looked away again, the scream had died away when Stu had
taken the gun, but hadn’t fully abated; now it started to build up strength
again. He looked to Jill, but she was purposefully avoiding looking his way.
Isaiah was watching however and his lips were moving. The scream stopped
suddenly, the resulting silence was equally as sudden and even more surprising.
He watched Isaiah, who despite all the turmoil and chaos around him appeared
serenely calm and content – Isaiah looked older, more mature than his ten years
of age somehow; he couldn’t put his finger on how but he was seeing his son
differently from across that snow covered road.
“My brother would know what to do.” Stu seemed to be coming
out of his own thoughts.
“He’s one of the folks the preacher killed.”
Stu snorted and looked away. “Forgot you were a cop for a
second. Yeah, him and two others. Killed them all with a hammer, bashed their
heads in.”
“Your brother deserve it?”
“Excuse me?!” Malice was etched into Stu’s face.
“Only two reasons for a man to bash another man’s skull in.
He wants to be sure the job’s done and he wants them to know it’s him.” He
refused to wither under Stu’s hateful stare, he’d endured worse.
“We talking about people that deserve it then we’d better
add you to the mix.”
“O.K. Stu, you know everything about me, you know how
everything went down, so walk away. Baby killer, that’s what you called me, so
walk away. Pass judgment. I’ll wait right here for that thing to do to me what
it did to Mitchel. Will that satisfy you?” His voice had been calm and his tone
reasonable, but he could see his words had gotten round the big man’s staunch
defenses. The two continued their stare down in the middle of the street.
“It’s all clear Stu!” One of the men had stepped out of the
first Haus and was waiving his arm to indicate all-clear. Next there was a howl
somewhere close by, loud enough to drown out the stillborn scream from the man
who was now being picked up and tossed into the front of the haus. The howl hid
the snap of the man’s neck as it struck the façade. Shadows had hidden whatever
had grabbed the man, so imaginations filled in the space with frightening
alternatives.
Its going to be a long night for everyone and not everyone is going to live to see the dawn. Plus, things seem ready to come to a head with Steve and Stu, maybe it will next time. Thanks for reading and please comment, shares, like, retweet, hashtag, and favorite.
