DARK SONG

Panting, huffing, panting. They heard it beyond the door. The breathing was rapid and heavy. They were alerted and drawn by the sound of it. They followed the trail of blood down the bare hall, its floor an odd collage of rotting and moss infested planks of wood, its walls pale and weathered. A variety of doors existed here; their hardware tarnished with age but there was only one door that was of any interest to them, the one at the end of the hall.

Tracking it all night had been difficult, even in its wounded state it remained as elusive and cunning as ever.

Throughout the night, it managed to hide and run, avoiding attention, blending into its surroundings.

Perilous games of hide and seek, of cat and mouse unfolded in the darkened forests, the steep valleys, the anonymous ghettos and the sleeping junkyards as they tracked it across state.

Within the confines of an old abandoned house it had retreated, hoping to escape them.

It had not been successful.

"Are you sure your daggers are blessed?" Charlie asked.

"I watched Father Evans do it with my own eyes," Reggie said.

Charlie could smell the Budweiser on Reggie’s breath as he spoke, thick and bitter. He wished to hell that Reggie would keep his drinking to a minimum when they were in the middle of things like this.

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of earplugs. "Put your plugs in," he said to Reggie.

Reggie did as he said pulling out his own earplugs and pushing them into his hair filled ears.

"Don?t pull?em out until we?re safe from it," Charlie said, feeling his pulse beginning to race and his palms growing sweaty. He yanked the axe out from under his suspenders, wiping the blood covering its blade onto his flannel shirt.

"Don?t stare into its eyes," Charlie said. "The beast is smart."

"Goddamit I know Charlie! Can we just get this over with? I?d like to kill this thing and get back to my six pack."

Irritated, Charlie braced his axe and lifted his right leg. With one quick bash, the brittle door flew open, almost flying off its hinges.

The two men charged into the room stopping abruptly as they soaked it in. The walls were covered in blood; gnawed wet chunks of rat bodies or what was left of them littered the floor. Deep scratches marred the skeletal tables and chairs as did the dirt and mud.

"It must be starvin?," Reggie shouted, kicking an overturned bed back onto its legs. "It’s taken a liking to rats."

Charlie glanced around the room noticing that the windows were still intact. "Stay fresh, it’s got to be still in here." But where, he thought.

Reggie joined his buddy’s side as the two studied the pool of blood in the center of the room; it was fresh and bit darker than human or animal blood.

A deafening screech filled the room scaring the hell out of the men. They turned to locate the origin of the shrill sound and two wet objects slapped them right in their faces.

Taken off guard by the rat corpses the two gagged and stumbled, trying to clear their sight. Wiping the blood from their faces, they gawked at the shape soaring at them from the corner of the ceiling---

A second later their backs were hitting the floor hard.

Charlie felt the wind get knocked out of him. Fighting to catch his breath, he felt the pain shoot up his spine as his eyes rolled back in his head. The axe slid out of his hand.

Heavy breathing was the only sound in the room, coming from behind them. Charlie looked over at Reggie; he was squinting and holding his head but was still conscious. Charlie then worked his gaze to the source of the breathing; slowly he managed to roll himself onto his belly and look upon it right side up.

In the corner of the room, it waited, waited for the men to make their next move, watching them with milk white eyes and panting like a beaten dog. Its leathery wings parted, revealing the naked body of what appeared to be a woman.

This was no woman.

Her hands were talons, sharp enough to take the head of a man off with one swing; her feet resembled claws, the claws of a bird of prey. The rest of her body was shapely and smooth, ample breasts with pink nipples and sumptuous curves that would entice any male and she would pass for actual human were it not for the tiny scales that lined her thin waist and slithered up her back.

The dark hair that crowned her clung to the jagged teeth lining her powerful, defined jaws. The blood seeped from her mouth in globs, drooling to the floor. She favored a gash across her bulging rib cage, which seemed to be healing quickly.

Charlie shook the fuzziness from his head as he kept his eyes glued to her. Contemplating his next move, he watched her open her jaws and listened to muffled tones as she emitted the sweetest sound any man had ever heard.

He was not worried; his earplugs were doing their thing. He heard Reggie moan beside him and shifting his gaze, he noticed that his plugs had fallen out of his ears and lay across the room.

"Shit!" Charlie threw himself onto Reggie, using his hands to cover his friend’s ears. "No Reg, don?t listen!" He searched for Reggie’s daggers and found that they too lay

across the room.

She continued to sing, the sweet call filling the entire house, the windows of the room cracking with the pitch. Charlie fought to keep Reggie down but it was becoming harder with every passing moment. Reggie squirmed beneath him, wanting to go to her, obeying the song she weaved so seductively.

"No! Reggie damn it, no!"

Charlie pressed his comrade’s ears harder but it was doing nothing. Seeing the daggers again he leapt from Reggie and rolled over to the blessed weapons, the only type of weapons that were effective against her. Any blade would work actually as long as it was blessed.

With a roar, Charlie rushed towards her, daggers drawn. Silencing her own singing, she turned to face him, a smile curling onto her face.

A talon met his charge, slashing across his chest in an upward angle.

The force sent him reeling against the wall, he thought he felt a rib crack as he hit. As he fell to the ground, she broke into shrieking laughter and took flight, her bat-like wings carrying her through the window.

Reggie stood on his feet again, rubbing his head. "What happened?"

"The bitch got away." Charlie managed to pull himself off the floor. "Get your damn plugs. We?ve got to regroup and find out where it might be going."

Vivid waves of autumn colored leaves surrounded the pick-up that the men took refuge in.

Reggie wrapped the bandages around Charlie’s ribcage taking notice of the bruises that peppered his friend’s chest and stomach.

Charlie was seething as he watched dead leaves dance in the breezes outside. He scanned the night sky for traces of her, perhaps a shadow zipping by or the unnatural

stirring of the wind or the scattering of animals. Even the animals were afraid of her. She could be anywhere by now, seeking new prey to strengthen herself and heal the damage they had managed to do to her some forty miles back.

"Ahhh," Charlie winced.

"Sorry buddy."

"We can?t let it get away Reg. Not after what it did to Brad."

"I know, don?t worry. We?ll get it."

"Damn Harpy, I don?t know what corner of hell it comes from but we?re sending it straight back there, in pieces!"

Yes it was a Harpy. Charlie would probably have never known what one was if it wasn?t for that night. His little brother Brad had been living with him and his wife Kelly for about a year. On a particularly cold Friday night Charlie and Kelly had gone out for dinner and to the drive-in for a movie. Brad stayed home claiming to be sick. Charlie knew he just wanted to stay home to gaze at porn and drink Heinekens.

Returning from the movie they came home to find the house in the dark, not a single light on. That was unusual, Brad had never shut a light off in his life, even when he had gone to bed.

(excerpt from Shadow Tales - Dark Song)