Shadow Crawler
Four.
While his daughter lived in a wealthy, lakeside neighborhood with her mother and rich-for-nothing boyfriend, Todd Willard lived in a small, stuffy apartment complex a few miles away. After he and his ex-wife sold their house, he found something comforting about it being so close to everything he held dear to his heart, including his work, his daughter, and the sports bar with scandalously clothed waitresses, but far enough from his wife so he didn’t have to see her face, that had recently been carved into like a Christmas ham at the local cosmetic surgeons.
And also close to him, was Hitchford GenetiCorp, a local genetics research facility. Being a man wrapped up in his work much too tightly, he had failed to notice the odd on goings at the blandly white, indiscreet building a few blocks away. That is, until that fateful Friday night, when he came home from the office at around ten. He found it odd that when he came to his apartment, finding everything on the floor, torn to bits, or just missing.
Flipping the light switch on, he hesitantly shouted, “Is anyone here?”
When he received no answer he, stupidly, walked slowly through his small living area and to the tiny kitchen where he heard a slight rattling. His heart beat against his rib cage so hard it hurt and beads of icy sweat dripped from his forehead. A tall, dark figure stood in the small kitchenette, grunting in a way no human ever would.
Sensing his presence all too soon, the figure turned around, its body human, but face mangled into something that seemed extraterrestrial. Its eyes were wide and manic looking, pupils dilated to an unbelievable extent. Todd’s breath came in a shallow, gasping manner as the beasts teeth dripped a deep red substance. The floor was illuminated by the open refrigerator door, puddles of the same liquid were covering the floor and got larger as it came closer to…the body of Debbie Harmon laying on the ground.
In a whirlwind of fear, anger, and total brokenness, Todd shouted at the beast.
“How could you kill her like that!?” he exclaimed through tears. His voice cracking embarrassingly, but at that moment he could’ve cared less. “What are you anyway?!”
It laughed evilly, and Todd punched it right in the face. Unfortunately for Todd, he had no idea who, or what, he was dealing with. Being one of the many experiments to go wrong at Hitchford, he was inhumanly strong, fed off of human blood, and was one of the ‘HitchVamps’ gone horribly, horribly wrong. Meant to be a strong, brave warrior, he was indeed fearless and merciless, but for all the worst reasons.
Picking up the heavy man by the neck, the beast sunk his clawed hands into his esophagus. Writhing in pain and desperation, Todd couldn’t get a scream out of his throat. He could barely breathe. He could feel his life slipping away as deep red blood flowed from his throat and coated the hands (or paws he couldn’t decided) of the beast who would eventually kill him. His mind flashed to the lawsuit he had received merely a week ago, over the harm done to a woman’s son while being tested upon illegally at Hitchford GenetiCorp.
And then, his breaths stopped, his struggling subsided, and his heart no longer held a beat. Chuckling to himself, the monster got his fill from the blood spilled from the innocent man’s body before picking up the lawsuit file that he ransacked the apartment for. He hadn’t come in there expecting to kill anyone, but who was he kidding?
Killing full-blooded humans was the bane of his existence now.
--- ---
Sitting on her couch that same night was Harper. While the killing of her father was unknown to her, she was passing out candy to children and watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show repeatedly with Thalia and Lucy.
“You know, these is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Thalia said, wincing as they watched a dragged out Tim Curry strut around suggestively for the sixth time that night. Lucy watched, still entranced by the oddities that made this movie so strange, even though she had seen it well over a dozen times before the night.
Harper, unfortunately, was stuck double duty, handing out candy to whoever came by that night. She passed out candy to too many vampires, princesses, naughty nurses, and Situations in the hours she spent wasting the away sugary delights she and her friends could have been eating themselves. At about ten, when most of the young kids were gone and the older, more pushy Trick-or-Treaters were out, Emilee Addison and a mob of other scandalously clad girls showed up at her door step.
“Hey, Harley. Is Sterling here?” she asked, bouncing excitedly. Her friends all did the same and Harper pinched the bridge of her nose.
“It’s Harper. And no, he’s not. He and my mom are both out of town.”
Emilee looked at her questioningly with her raccoon eyes. “Where?”
“Far, far, far away. They’re in Italy for their anniversary,” Harper lied, rubbing temple with a free hand.
The girls whined and frowned, their painted lips set in a supposedly sexy pout. “Do you guys want candy?” Harper offered with a shrug. She though chocolate was supposed to make everyone feel just a little bit better.
They all refused immediately. “I didn’t spend two months living at the gym just to waste my body on that crap,” a pesky raven haired girl piped, resting her hands on her Sexy French Maid costume-clad hips. Harper rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut, locking it.
It was rude, yes, but trick-or-treating at her house just to catch a glimpse of Sterling, without actually knowing her name, and then refusing her fancy chocolates was a little more rude in her book. Sterling peered over the railing of the stairs. He gave her a sorry smile.
“Well there’s more chocolate for us,” he said, as she slammed the bowl on the coffee table.
“Emilee is such a skank. I hate her guts,” Lucy muttered, getting a giggle out of Thalia and a disapproving look from Harper.
“She’s just…okay, she’s a skank,” she said defeated, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s the kind of person you don’t feel bad about lying to, just because you want her to go away.”
Thalia looked at Harper pleadingly. “Can we please watch the Phantom of the Opera now?”
Lucy tossed popcorn at her redheaded friend. “Boo you, whore. This is a great movie!”
Another chime of the doorbell pulled Harper out of the couch and to the door before she could be involved in one of Thalia and Lucy’s fights. Unlocking the door, an unpleasant rush of icy fear coursed through her veins as she saw who stood behind it.
“Boo.”
Harper jumped, the feeling her toes, although stuffed away in her slippers, went cold. The chill quickly spread through her body. Parker Rochester laughed deviously, pulling the dark hood of his shaggy hair. His emotionless eyes pierced through right through her, as though he could see the fear bubbling in her veins.
“I won’t bite,” he joked, flashing plastic fangs, “Unless you’re into that shit.”
Harper laughed nervously, placing a handful of candies in the plastic Walmart bag he had been storing his own candy in. She brushed a clammy hand on the sweatpants she was wearing before attempting to shut the door. He placed his foot in between the door frame and the door itself.
“So this is what you’re busy doing?” he questioned, his deep voice tinged with dangerous sexiness.
“Uh….yes?” she responded stupidly. “But, it was great to see you bye!”
After making a fool of herself, she slammed the door and locked it on him, walking quickly back into the living room. When ever that boy was around, adrenaline swam through her system, setting her on edge, and not in a good way. He wasn’t right.
Gone were the dancing alien transvestites and what played out on the screen was a live news feed from the apartment complex Harper’s father lived in. The makeup news lady stood before the scene, the one who usually reported the most upsetting, usually fatal stories.
“The bodies were identified as elementary teacher Debbie Harmon and high profile case lawyer Todd Willard. The murderer seems to have no motive as of right now, although the strange, gruesome ways that they were killed say more of an animal attack, but the kind of animal would be hard to find anywhere near Des Sauveurs. That is all the information that has been released on another murder of the serial killer who had been dubbed ‘The Beast’. Stay tuned to DSTV seventeen for more information.”
“Harper I’m so-Harper?” Lucy started, only to realize her friend had walked right out the front door. She and Thalia chased her to the car. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
Whirling around in a haze of mixed emotions, Lucy’s face was blurred by Harper’s tears. “Where do you think I’m going?”
--- ---
Harper’s SUV skidded to a stop in front of the apartment building her father had been found in. She killed the engine, and got out of the car so fast, Lucy and Thalia barely had time to unbuckle their seatbelts before she already made her way to the group of police men standing around. They stood around, discussing what Harper though was irrelevant to the case and wished they would discuss something of importance.
“Excuse me!” she shouted, shoving her way in between two large men uniformed in blue. “I’m Todd Willard’s daughter and I would like to know why the hell is going on.”
Of course, none of them were wanting to argue with an angry, emotionally distressed teenager when they had another huge murder on their hands. A man in a black suit and tie outstretched his hand.
“I’m Detective Polzer,” he stated in a deep, intimidating voice. “And there isn’t much we can tell you, Miss Willard. All we know is that he took a file on the Hitchford GenetiCorp case with him. We’re checking into employees or-”
“When did he get that file?” she asked quickly, rattling her brain for a connection to something. Lucy and Thalia rushed over as fast as they could, since Lucy still had her stitches in place.
“Last Friday I believe, but what does that-”
“Last Friday, we were attacked by a crazy lunatic who slashed her ankles!” she exclaimed, pointing at Lucy. She awkwardly grinned and gave a small wave. “Does that have any connection at all?”
The detective pinched the bridge of his nose. Harper was sure she looked frantic, crazed even at this moment, but she didn’t care. Her father had been killed and she wanted answers. And she didn’t want to wait for them.
“Harp,” Lucy said quietly, watching her friend’s lip quiver. She blinked rapidly, laying her head on Lucy’s shoulder. Thalia wrapped her thin arms around Harper as well, just for her to feel comfortable and safe again. Her body wracked with sobs, her shoulders shaking violently. Her friends whispered words they hoped would comfort her.
“Miss Willard, we do no have enough information to tell you if it was even connected to the others. You will be the first we call when we do,” the detective said, standing close, but far away enough to make their situation much more awkward than it needed to be. Lucy nodded, giving him a dismissal as he walked away quickly to discuss more nonsense that had little to do with the case with the other cops.
Sniffling, Harper looked at her friends through red, swollen eyes. They each wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to her car. Lucy took the keys from her, squeezing her tight. “You can spend the night at my house. I’ve got enough chocolate to last a lifetime.”
--- ---
“Kellan.”
The beast, who had morphed himself back into his original human form, grinned at his friend. He was the youngest of them all, a vicious hybrid of human and cougar. He was a sly, smooth operator with the women, who had all unfortunately become his victims.
“You did it, man,” he said, bumping their fists together in a manly sign of approval and congratulations.
He smiled, remembering the satisfying way his neck almost squished between his forceful hands and the look on his face when he saw him-pure fear. It brought a sort of bubbly feeling to his stomach and all through his veins. It was better than the cocaine he had snorted, the heroin he’d shot, or anything he had ever smoked in his life. He was still chasing that first high, though. He was addicted to the thrill of the kill.
But his partner, he was even worse. He was after anything in a skirt, usually. He was innocent looking, surely, but the females he killed gave him an almost sexual thrill as well. To them, it was normal, but they weren’t humans anymore. They were evil, blood thirsty, soulless hybrids. They lived to kill lately.
“His daughter is very tempting, honestly. I can’t really control myself,” he said with a chuckle, licking his lips hungrily. “It’s too bad we might actually need to get something out of her, or else she’d be gone.”
Kellan laughed aloud, grabbing his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We won’t need her long.”
And also close to him, was Hitchford GenetiCorp, a local genetics research facility. Being a man wrapped up in his work much too tightly, he had failed to notice the odd on goings at the blandly white, indiscreet building a few blocks away. That is, until that fateful Friday night, when he came home from the office at around ten. He found it odd that when he came to his apartment, finding everything on the floor, torn to bits, or just missing.
Flipping the light switch on, he hesitantly shouted, “Is anyone here?”
When he received no answer he, stupidly, walked slowly through his small living area and to the tiny kitchen where he heard a slight rattling. His heart beat against his rib cage so hard it hurt and beads of icy sweat dripped from his forehead. A tall, dark figure stood in the small kitchenette, grunting in a way no human ever would.
Sensing his presence all too soon, the figure turned around, its body human, but face mangled into something that seemed extraterrestrial. Its eyes were wide and manic looking, pupils dilated to an unbelievable extent. Todd’s breath came in a shallow, gasping manner as the beasts teeth dripped a deep red substance. The floor was illuminated by the open refrigerator door, puddles of the same liquid were covering the floor and got larger as it came closer to…the body of Debbie Harmon laying on the ground.
In a whirlwind of fear, anger, and total brokenness, Todd shouted at the beast.
“How could you kill her like that!?” he exclaimed through tears. His voice cracking embarrassingly, but at that moment he could’ve cared less. “What are you anyway?!”
It laughed evilly, and Todd punched it right in the face. Unfortunately for Todd, he had no idea who, or what, he was dealing with. Being one of the many experiments to go wrong at Hitchford, he was inhumanly strong, fed off of human blood, and was one of the ‘HitchVamps’ gone horribly, horribly wrong. Meant to be a strong, brave warrior, he was indeed fearless and merciless, but for all the worst reasons.
Picking up the heavy man by the neck, the beast sunk his clawed hands into his esophagus. Writhing in pain and desperation, Todd couldn’t get a scream out of his throat. He could barely breathe. He could feel his life slipping away as deep red blood flowed from his throat and coated the hands (or paws he couldn’t decided) of the beast who would eventually kill him. His mind flashed to the lawsuit he had received merely a week ago, over the harm done to a woman’s son while being tested upon illegally at Hitchford GenetiCorp.
And then, his breaths stopped, his struggling subsided, and his heart no longer held a beat. Chuckling to himself, the monster got his fill from the blood spilled from the innocent man’s body before picking up the lawsuit file that he ransacked the apartment for. He hadn’t come in there expecting to kill anyone, but who was he kidding?
Killing full-blooded humans was the bane of his existence now.
--- ---
Sitting on her couch that same night was Harper. While the killing of her father was unknown to her, she was passing out candy to children and watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show repeatedly with Thalia and Lucy.
“You know, these is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Thalia said, wincing as they watched a dragged out Tim Curry strut around suggestively for the sixth time that night. Lucy watched, still entranced by the oddities that made this movie so strange, even though she had seen it well over a dozen times before the night.
Harper, unfortunately, was stuck double duty, handing out candy to whoever came by that night. She passed out candy to too many vampires, princesses, naughty nurses, and Situations in the hours she spent wasting the away sugary delights she and her friends could have been eating themselves. At about ten, when most of the young kids were gone and the older, more pushy Trick-or-Treaters were out, Emilee Addison and a mob of other scandalously clad girls showed up at her door step.
“Hey, Harley. Is Sterling here?” she asked, bouncing excitedly. Her friends all did the same and Harper pinched the bridge of her nose.
“It’s Harper. And no, he’s not. He and my mom are both out of town.”
Emilee looked at her questioningly with her raccoon eyes. “Where?”
“Far, far, far away. They’re in Italy for their anniversary,” Harper lied, rubbing temple with a free hand.
The girls whined and frowned, their painted lips set in a supposedly sexy pout. “Do you guys want candy?” Harper offered with a shrug. She though chocolate was supposed to make everyone feel just a little bit better.
They all refused immediately. “I didn’t spend two months living at the gym just to waste my body on that crap,” a pesky raven haired girl piped, resting her hands on her Sexy French Maid costume-clad hips. Harper rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut, locking it.
It was rude, yes, but trick-or-treating at her house just to catch a glimpse of Sterling, without actually knowing her name, and then refusing her fancy chocolates was a little more rude in her book. Sterling peered over the railing of the stairs. He gave her a sorry smile.
“Well there’s more chocolate for us,” he said, as she slammed the bowl on the coffee table.
“Emilee is such a skank. I hate her guts,” Lucy muttered, getting a giggle out of Thalia and a disapproving look from Harper.
“She’s just…okay, she’s a skank,” she said defeated, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s the kind of person you don’t feel bad about lying to, just because you want her to go away.”
Thalia looked at Harper pleadingly. “Can we please watch the Phantom of the Opera now?”
Lucy tossed popcorn at her redheaded friend. “Boo you, whore. This is a great movie!”
Another chime of the doorbell pulled Harper out of the couch and to the door before she could be involved in one of Thalia and Lucy’s fights. Unlocking the door, an unpleasant rush of icy fear coursed through her veins as she saw who stood behind it.
“Boo.”
Harper jumped, the feeling her toes, although stuffed away in her slippers, went cold. The chill quickly spread through her body. Parker Rochester laughed deviously, pulling the dark hood of his shaggy hair. His emotionless eyes pierced through right through her, as though he could see the fear bubbling in her veins.
“I won’t bite,” he joked, flashing plastic fangs, “Unless you’re into that shit.”
Harper laughed nervously, placing a handful of candies in the plastic Walmart bag he had been storing his own candy in. She brushed a clammy hand on the sweatpants she was wearing before attempting to shut the door. He placed his foot in between the door frame and the door itself.
“So this is what you’re busy doing?” he questioned, his deep voice tinged with dangerous sexiness.
“Uh….yes?” she responded stupidly. “But, it was great to see you bye!”
After making a fool of herself, she slammed the door and locked it on him, walking quickly back into the living room. When ever that boy was around, adrenaline swam through her system, setting her on edge, and not in a good way. He wasn’t right.
Gone were the dancing alien transvestites and what played out on the screen was a live news feed from the apartment complex Harper’s father lived in. The makeup news lady stood before the scene, the one who usually reported the most upsetting, usually fatal stories.
“The bodies were identified as elementary teacher Debbie Harmon and high profile case lawyer Todd Willard. The murderer seems to have no motive as of right now, although the strange, gruesome ways that they were killed say more of an animal attack, but the kind of animal would be hard to find anywhere near Des Sauveurs. That is all the information that has been released on another murder of the serial killer who had been dubbed ‘The Beast’. Stay tuned to DSTV seventeen for more information.”
“Harper I’m so-Harper?” Lucy started, only to realize her friend had walked right out the front door. She and Thalia chased her to the car. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
Whirling around in a haze of mixed emotions, Lucy’s face was blurred by Harper’s tears. “Where do you think I’m going?”
--- ---
Harper’s SUV skidded to a stop in front of the apartment building her father had been found in. She killed the engine, and got out of the car so fast, Lucy and Thalia barely had time to unbuckle their seatbelts before she already made her way to the group of police men standing around. They stood around, discussing what Harper though was irrelevant to the case and wished they would discuss something of importance.
“Excuse me!” she shouted, shoving her way in between two large men uniformed in blue. “I’m Todd Willard’s daughter and I would like to know why the hell is going on.”
Of course, none of them were wanting to argue with an angry, emotionally distressed teenager when they had another huge murder on their hands. A man in a black suit and tie outstretched his hand.
“I’m Detective Polzer,” he stated in a deep, intimidating voice. “And there isn’t much we can tell you, Miss Willard. All we know is that he took a file on the Hitchford GenetiCorp case with him. We’re checking into employees or-”
“When did he get that file?” she asked quickly, rattling her brain for a connection to something. Lucy and Thalia rushed over as fast as they could, since Lucy still had her stitches in place.
“Last Friday I believe, but what does that-”
“Last Friday, we were attacked by a crazy lunatic who slashed her ankles!” she exclaimed, pointing at Lucy. She awkwardly grinned and gave a small wave. “Does that have any connection at all?”
The detective pinched the bridge of his nose. Harper was sure she looked frantic, crazed even at this moment, but she didn’t care. Her father had been killed and she wanted answers. And she didn’t want to wait for them.
“Harp,” Lucy said quietly, watching her friend’s lip quiver. She blinked rapidly, laying her head on Lucy’s shoulder. Thalia wrapped her thin arms around Harper as well, just for her to feel comfortable and safe again. Her body wracked with sobs, her shoulders shaking violently. Her friends whispered words they hoped would comfort her.
“Miss Willard, we do no have enough information to tell you if it was even connected to the others. You will be the first we call when we do,” the detective said, standing close, but far away enough to make their situation much more awkward than it needed to be. Lucy nodded, giving him a dismissal as he walked away quickly to discuss more nonsense that had little to do with the case with the other cops.
Sniffling, Harper looked at her friends through red, swollen eyes. They each wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to her car. Lucy took the keys from her, squeezing her tight. “You can spend the night at my house. I’ve got enough chocolate to last a lifetime.”
--- ---
“Kellan.”
The beast, who had morphed himself back into his original human form, grinned at his friend. He was the youngest of them all, a vicious hybrid of human and cougar. He was a sly, smooth operator with the women, who had all unfortunately become his victims.
“You did it, man,” he said, bumping their fists together in a manly sign of approval and congratulations.
He smiled, remembering the satisfying way his neck almost squished between his forceful hands and the look on his face when he saw him-pure fear. It brought a sort of bubbly feeling to his stomach and all through his veins. It was better than the cocaine he had snorted, the heroin he’d shot, or anything he had ever smoked in his life. He was still chasing that first high, though. He was addicted to the thrill of the kill.
But his partner, he was even worse. He was after anything in a skirt, usually. He was innocent looking, surely, but the females he killed gave him an almost sexual thrill as well. To them, it was normal, but they weren’t humans anymore. They were evil, blood thirsty, soulless hybrids. They lived to kill lately.
“His daughter is very tempting, honestly. I can’t really control myself,” he said with a chuckle, licking his lips hungrily. “It’s too bad we might actually need to get something out of her, or else she’d be gone.”
Kellan laughed aloud, grabbing his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We won’t need her long.”