“IT’S UNCANNY, JOHN. My grandfather was off his rocker, but he described trying to take a picture of the murderer and nothing appeared. Just how we couldn’t see anything. Just shadows and blood.” Jim took a sip of his coffee, his fingers trembling in excitement.
It wasn’t too long ago that he was as pragmatic as the rest of his brothers and sisters in blue. Now he seemed to share the same dark circles under his eyes as his partner, his mind replaying the scene from the disk on repeat. “Even the reports back then mentioned a little girl too, but it couldn’t be the same girl, could it?” He shook his head quickly, running his shaking fingers through his hair. “No, no way, but there is a connection now. There has to be!”
The veteran looked out of the driver’s side window, barely paying attention to the scattered words of his partner. The ravings provided some comfort and entertainment as they sat in the car. They only had cooling coffee to keep them awake and warm as they watched for any sign of the Collins’ boy and the little mysterious little girl. Johns’ brow furrowed as he thought back to the video; recalling the smear of blood in the air from Mr. Collins. The crimson liquid has made out a shape, a hint to the specter.
A small, feminine profile, coating itself in gore.
He grimaced, shaking his head, “That ‘little girl’ would have to be about 40 now.” He looked back at Jim, frowning slightly. “We need to keep an eye out for the Collins boy. Once we find him, we can solve this case and put it out of our minds for good.”
Jim fell silent, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed into tight lines. “I...I think I believe him now. Just needed the proof. How could I not believe him? He may be crazy now, but he wasn’t -“
“Focus!” John glared, the bags under his eyes darkening further. “Just keep a lookout. Don’t get distracted by old stories.”
“But they are not old stories anymore!” Was the sharp, angry reply as Jim leveled his own intense glare at his partner. He opened his mouth to speak before his jaw grew slack, his eyes looking outside the driver’s side window, and beyond his partner. “...I think I see her.”
John turned his head, trying to see through the intense, pregnant fog. He lowered the window, peeking his head outside, “That could be any kid. We don’t what she looks like.”
The sound of the passenger door opening and then slamming shut jerked his attention towards Jim, who was now outside the car, stepping deeper and deeper into the thick mist. “I’ll be back.”
“Jim, come on! You don’t know if it’s her!” John gritted his teeth as he was ignored, watching his partner wade further into the gray. He shook his head, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut as he chased after his partner, barely seeing him through the haze. “Jim!”
Was the fog always this thick? Did it always cover the sky, making the colors of the world fade into white? No matter how close he tried to get to his partner, that silhouette became dimmer...
Until it was gone.
John stopped in his chase, his hands going to his knees as he took deep, heaving breaths. The humidity in the cold air was so thick, making it hard to breathe. He looked up from the ground, staring forward before he stood up, cursing his distracted partner.
He looked behind him, his eyes narrowing as he saw what must be the headlights of their patrol car in the distance. Walking towards it, figuring Jim would come to his sense. John glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a low moan, before his head jerked to the side. “Jim?”
Another moan hit his ears, causing him to follow the inaudible sounds. A shape appeared before him as he got closer; it was nebulous in the fog at first, but slowly the shape gained form and color instead of the pale grey.
Before it collapsed onto the damp grass.
He ran towards the slumped silhouette on the ground, recognizing it immediately. “Michael!” He knelt down in front of the young man, examining his pale, almost blue in hue skin. Michaels’ breathing was slow, his moans turning into soft whimpers as he shivered. His beige sweater was coated in blood; some of it brown and blotted, others parts still moist and bright scarlet.
“Jesus Christ, kid, what happened to you?” He knew Michael was too weak to respond, so he focused on those bruises on his neck, examining the deep sadistic blues and purples hues surrounding two large, dark burgundy holes, blood still seeping from them.
A vampire. Just like the crazy bastards said.
He pushed that thought away from his mind, ignoring it as he took his cell phone out of his pocket. This was too much for him alone. “This is Detective John Matson. I need an ambulance. I found the missing Collins’ son. He is weak; looks like he lost a lot of blood. Also, send police backup.” He sat up, staying close to the younger man as he detailed the nearest cross streets, “I need that ASAP.”
He hung up the phone, putting it back in his pocket. “It’s okay, kid, we got you. You’re gonna get help-“
A sharp crack rang out, a POP. A sudden burning sensation from his left lower abdomen accompanied that. Johns’ eyes slowly moved down, watching that thick and red liquid soaking through his shirt. He gasped, and then coughed hard, blood gushing up from his throat, down his chin and coating his beard. He fell forward before using his forearms to hold him up, “What...?”
“John...I’m...sorry...”
He pushed him up using his blood-soaked palms, his head turning to the side, seeing his partner standing still. Jims’ eyes were wide with horror, his jerking and trembling hands tightly gripping his smoking gun. John watched with blurry eyesight as Jim walked forward with jerky steps; he was a puppet, controlled by invisible strings.
John gazed numbly, fighting off the shock and agony as Jim kept whispering those words, over, and over. “John, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” His mouth gaped like a fish on land, his eyes darting around helplessly.
The veteran’s eyes slowly moved towards the specter next to his captive partner; she glided just a few inches above the ground, not allowing the moist grass to soak her bare toes. There was a tiny smirk on her face as she looked down at the wounded cop, watching him like a cat, watching her struggling prey, vainly trying to crawl away from their fate. She held up her hand, gently touching, poking Jim on the arm, causing him to freeze mid-step. She sniffed the air, her nostrils flaring before she grimaced, “Smells rotten.”
John tried to crawl away as the child came closer to him, the orientation of her body shifting so she was levitating above him, her face hovering above his as she stood in the air, parallel to the ground. Her tiny fingers came forward slowly...
“Get the hell away from me!”
Those tiny fingers lashed out, gripping his chin hard, nails digging into his flesh. He tried to jerk his head away, but the strength of that hand kept his jaw frozen. Even without using...whatever power used on Jim, she had proven that the old detective was as weak as an insect before her.
She sniffed at him, her head floating closer before her tongue snaked out, licking over his lips and beard. Pulling back back, her lips puckered, swirling his blood over in her mouth before she spat it back out onto his face, her eyes narrowed in disgust. “Indeed, foul.”
She dropped his chin before her body floated upright, perpendicular to the ground. She looked back at her latest prize, a smile returning to her face as she appraised him. “I have two. Two delicious cattle. New fresh, tasty meat...” Michael whimpered, as he was forced onto his feet, his body jerking unnaturally, pulled by invisible strings.
She giggled as she pulled the college boy to her side, before looking over to the frozen Jim. “And older, but well aged, prime rib. Yes, much better than this rotted husk.”
John grimaced, too weak to wipe the cold spit and blood mixture off his face, “Stop...let them go...!”
The girl looked down at the old, squeaking creature. “You remind me of someone.” She touched her chin, tapping it. “...I can’t recall.” She looked towards Jim and tilted her head to the side.
Jim released a croaked sob as his head followed the motion, exposing his neck, his veins pulsing. He could see through frozen eyes a bit of drool down the chin of the monster who owned him. His voice caught and trapped in his throat as she floated towards his neck, her mouth opening wide, then wider, stretching like a snake as her canines elongated into fangs. The fangs pressed against the exposed flesh, hitting their mark, before sinking in.
John watched the display in horror, seeing the blood gush and spill down from the girls’ over-stretched lips, down her chin. She was a messy, greedy eater, a glutton gulping down her meal. He tried to get up, tried to ignore the blinding pain, his hands shakily moving to within his coat, grabbing the handle of his gun.
Another shot rang out and John cried out as the bullet pierced his shoulder, falling to the ground again. Even while using Jim as a blood bag, she could force her victim to pull the trigger.
The monster pulled back from her meal, watching John writhe in pain with delight. Her red eyes glowing in the fog. “It would be a mercy to end your short rotten life...” Those eyes narrowed as she noticed the bright blue, red and white light coming from the street before she shrugged, “However, it seems fate has lengthened your pathetic existence.”
She turned away from the writhing man, floating into the fog. Michael dragged his feet, tugged by invisible strings that gave him his only strength. Jim, his head still jerked to the side, flinched, clenching his teeth as he stood still, one foot inching closer to his partner. “J-John-“
“Come along, my precious bull. Oh...and drop the weapon.”
His hands loosen around his gun and it fell worthless onto the grass, his ungloved fingers twitching in the mist as he was tugged away, pulled back towards his master.
John dragged his body forward, crawling after them. As they faded into the fog, his own vision darkened; the grass was soaking up his blood, taking away his strength, “Wait...Jim fight it...” He lifted a hand, desperate to reach out to the captured shadow of his friend, barely hearing the approaching footsteps before his hand dropped and darkness welcomed him.