Voices of Poetry & Prose Issue #1 June 2014 | Page 20

It was out.

She could see the door in the distance, shut fast. She was too late.

Light scarred shadows on the wall told her it had escaped. And that it was angry. She stopped running – after all, there was no longer any need for haste. She started to examine the air around her carefully. It could be anywhere. Of course, it could have taken off and she would be none the wiser. Not until the reports came in.

Keeping an eye on her surroundings she pulled her phone from her pocket and set the Google alert. She’d have to make some calls. There were people to warn, people she had to call for help. All was not lost. Her job was another story. That was gone now – either they’d demand her resignation or her expulsion. Hopefully exile would not be called for, but it was a possibility – especially if the escape resulted in more death.

The door looked to be sealed. Keeping a watchful eye on the air around her, she moved as close to the wooden frame as she dared. She could see no obvious damage. The wood was not splintered or torn and the hinges looked pristine. For a second she had hope but then she spied the scratch marks around the lock.

Oh hell, someone had let Her out.

There was no body within eye sight. The ground around the door and the walls of the prison where she was kept was clear of long grass, underbrush or trees that could block or hide the area from the Protector’s eyes. So the escape had been planned. She examined the ground closer, there – faint footprints pressed into the dirt. Two, three, four. There were two sets of prints, one much smaller than the other. So they would have to look for two earth bound travelling with Her. It was something to add to the warning. At least there was something positive out of this complete disaster.

She tugged on the handle. It was sealed like she thought.

She pulled the large iron key from the tie around her throat and pressed it to the lock.

It was in that moment the air moved at her back. She turned but it was too late, the cloud of anger pressed her hard against the frame of the door. Thin tendrils of freezing air tightened around her throat causing her to gasp for breath as she was raised up against the wooden frame. Shards of wood splintered beneath her back and speared through her jacket deep into her skin as the icy fingers dug deeper. She tried to gasp the word “No.” but could get no air. There was a loud crack…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie stared at the scene before him and shook his head at the waste of life. The young Protector’s body lay before the open door. Her neck twisted in an impossible direction, the expression on her face was one of pure sadness. The alert had gone out at 6am that morning. It was now 9am. The creature would be long gone and any evidence that could have been gathered from the crime scene had been disturbed. Prints scattered beneath the windblown damage now wiped away any hint as to what had happened.

Charlie pulled his coat closer to this body to block out the sudden chill that bit at his flesh. Michael came up to his side, pulling his hat closer down on his large head. “Anything?”

“Nothing.”

Michael wrapped his woollen scarf tighter around his neck. “Teams will be in the area soon.”

Charlie acknowledged his comment with a nod and flipped through his phone. His new itinerary appeared. “There’s nothing more to be learned here,” he said. He gestured to the body. “Have it sent back.”

His partner walked off to speak to the cleaners. Charlie watched him for a long moment before he looked back at the door. The wall beside it was burned in the shape of the escaping creature. The bitter part of his mind wanted to make the call to remind the management team that he had told them so, that containing the destructive power of a Howler was fraught with danger. And now they would all pay the price of its anger. The more rational part of his mind could feel fear bubbling up beneath the surface of his calm exterior.

The howler was out now. Emotional, upset, uncontrollable. And they had no idea where it was headed.

As one, all of their phones rang.

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