Forbidden Fangs

Chapter 4

The flashing blue and red lights that had been Kylie's salvation quickly became abrasive and irritating. She'd stayed behind with one of the detectives while the other led the paramedics and uniformed officers into the woods to retrieve the body. She'd watched them load Erik, bloodstained and staring, into the back of the ambulance and drive away. Then the questions had started, and it seemed they would never end. With an emergency blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Kylie perched on the hood of a police vehicle and recounted the events. Except for the bright light and the vibrations. She could not explain those, and did not want them to think she was crazy.

“Is there anything else you can tell us, Miss Donaldson?” The portly detective who called himself Baker was asking, “anything you may have left out?”

Kylie thought about the terror, the feeling of helplessness when she'd been caught in that bright light, listening to that earth-shaking vibration. She could not explain it. It sounded like every story of an alien abduction she'd ever heard. If she told the cops that, they'd subject her to a psychological evaluation, almost certainly. They might even suspect her of being involved in Erik's death.

“No,” she responded, and then repeated a shorter version of the story she'd told. “We thought we heard someone scream and we went to investigate. Erik heard a rustle in the bushes and… and then I found him like that.” She stifled a sob with her hands as the memory of his pale, lifeless body wafted through her mind.

“Are you going to be alright to drive yourself home, Miss Donaldson?” Detective Baker asked. “If you like, you could ride with me and my partner can bring your vehicle.” The second detective nodded cordially as he returned from talking with some of the uniformed cops. He was long and lanky and had a kind smile, but Kylie could not appreciate it.

“No thank you, I'll be fine.” She said, fishing her keys out of her back pocket. “I really just want to get home to bed.” She lingered a moment longer, eyeing her car.

“Alright, well you're free to go.” Baker closed his notebook with a decisive flip and pocketed it. “Here's my card,” he said, passing her a small cardboard rectangle. “Don't hesitate to call if you remember anything, or if you need anything. We're able to connect you with grief counseling services if you-”

“I, I really just need to get some sleep.” Kylie interrupted. She thanked him again and then scurried to her Honda, blipping the locks open with the FOB and climbing into the front seat. She deposited the detective's card in her red leather purse, where it still sat on the passenger seat. She took a deep breath, and then another, finally firing up the sedan's four cylinder engine and pulling away from the picnic area.

Once she got up to cruising speed, she began to feel a little better. Something about being in control of a moving car always comforted her. The Honda hugged the turns as she came out of the forested area and crested the big hill that looked down on the town of Wallgrave she called home. It was a small place, with a population of only around forty thousand. The many lights blended together like a pretty window display as she whizzed down the hill, letting the weight of the car carry her. She saw the long, low building which served as a call center where she worked, the tall aged clock tower and the modern, bulky public library next to it. The streets sprawled out in a rough grid, a familiar map that would always take her home.

Kylie lived in a three story walk up in a quiet part of town mostly occupied by small family homes. She pulled into her spot in the parking lot and shut the Honda down, listening to the engine slowly tick to silence. She felt afraid to get out of the car for some reason.

It's just nerves, she told herself, you saw Erik dead today. Just because you hadn't known him long doesn't make it any less traumatic. She took a final deep, steadying breath and picked up her purse and pushed out of the car.

The streetlamps cast the lot in an eerie glow, and Kylie hurried across the windswept pavement, scuffing through small piles of dead leaves. She made it safely to the door and fumbled with her keys before fitting the right one in the lock and moving inside. Once on the other side of the security door, she realized she had been holding her breath and let it out in a long sigh.

Tea, she told herself, that's what I need. Tea and bed.

She climbed the stairs to her third story apartment and let herself in, locking the door behind her. She dropped her purse on the little cafe-style table and moved through the small kitchen, filling the kettle and placing it on the stove. Soon she had a steaming mug of chamomile clasped between her hands, leeching the warmth and inhaling the sweet vapor. The pleasant aroma and mild flavor relaxed her to the point where she was no longer thinking of Erik, nor obsessing over the strange events she had been witness to. Thoughts of extraterrestrials faded to the back of her mind as she put the mug in the sink and moved to her bedroom, changing and getting into bed.

At first it seemed that the events of the night had stopped haunting her, but as she slid beneath the covers and closed her eyes, the memory of Erik, dead with two bloody punctures in his neck, returned to her mind. Kylie rolled this way and that, trying to get comfortable, but the event felt seared into her mind, and no matter how she tossed and turned she could not shake it off.